The beginning of Dishonored 2 will be very familiar to players of the first game. The Empress of the Isles has been violently usurped, our protagonist — framed for horrible deeds — is on the run and to make things worse a terrible plague is growing more prevalent with each dead body that hits the streets.
The sequel to one of 2012's greatest games sticks very close to the established playbook, offering more of the same stealthy action and a familiar mix of freedom, exploration and dark steampunk-without-the-steam fantasy (the industry runs entirely on whale oil in this old-timey world which also contains heavy doses of mysticism, making for a very interesting aesthetic).
The big difference between the original and the sequel, apart from a change in scenery and the expected technical upgrade, is that many of the systems have been amped up, with mostly positive results.
The first big departure you'll see is probably the one that adds the most: a choice at the beginning of the game lets you play as either Corvo Attano — hero of the first game and royal protector — or Empress Emily Kaldwin, a badass-in-training who also happens to be Corvo's daughter.
In a game all about choosing which magical abilities to unlock and using them in tandem with the environments and your weapons to creatively kill / avoid your enemies, your choice of character matters a great deal. Though they share some common ground in skills that lets them move around or survey the area more freely, at later levels they differ substantially.
For example, while Emily can learn the very enjoyable Domino (link multiple foes together and they'll share the same fate, be it passing out from a sleeping dart or dying from a sudden hole in the head), Corvo's Bend Time lets you slow proceedings for the ultimate kill or unexpected getaway.
Whoever you choose, you'll escape to the beautiful, deadly city of Karnaka and make your way though 10 sprawling stages to unravel the conspiracy. Like last time, these are self-contained levels with their own stories and discrete themes (as opposed to nodes in an open world), but they're all broader, taller and more alive than ever before.
The play-your-way design has been ramped up since last time, with each moment a dilemma between sneaking around undetected or hitting your enemies head on and adding to the pestilent body count.
While the game clearly encourages you to try to find non-lethal options and remain totally undetected, it allows for brawnier approaches, too. If you're trying to be sneaky, you'll find the various levels offer plenty of options to infiltrate and subdue. If you're going in sword unsheathed, or your plans of subterfuge have gone awry, you'll spot plenty of opportunities to creatively and artfully dispatch your foes.
Every playthrough will be different depending on whether you choose to use your powers to stay hidden or to launch gruesome assaults on your enemies (which the game broadly terms "low chaos" or "high chaos respectively) and importantly whether you choose Emily or Corvo.
In the most basic sense that's four different play styles to experience — and they're sufficiently different that I would quite happily play through the game four times to see each — but the reality is the choices are much more granular. Many objectives can be achieved in a variety of ways that will change the story down the line, for example, and your choice of when to upgrade any particular skill will give you a different toolkit to tackle each different sandbox-like level.
Just being a Jedi in Dishonored 2. #PS4share pic.twitter.com/CLsblZa8m4
— Tim Biggs (@weeklyrift) November 21, 2016
Speaking of upgrading, it's here that we see the one major example of this sequel going too far in adding more content, to the point that it becomes a chore.
The runes you need to get stronger the bonecharms that can augment your abilities are scattered liberally throughout each area, but the only way you'll find one is by using a creepy steampunk heart to reveal their locations. Having to infiltrate and puzzle your way into dozens of out-of-the-way areas sounds on paper like it fits the game, but in practice it's a real bore. There are too many powerups to possibly nab them on your way to where you're going, meaning you'll periodically stop, check the heart, and abandon your mission to go hunting.
The alternative is skipping the items, which means your choice is between spending half your time wandering in circles in order to fully upgrade your character, or focusing on where you actually want to go and dealing with fewer upgrades.
Frustrating collectibles aside, Dishonored 2 is at its best when its twisted, intriguing world of bloody streets and mechanical mansions provides just the right opportunity for you to mix your chosen abilities in a creative way to achieve your ends. By splitting the possible abilities across two different characters, and by siloing its adventure into chunks that allow it to introduce some surprising and spectacular wrinkles, Arkane has made it possible for you to spend even more of your time enmeshed that world than before.
Dishonored 2 is out now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
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