Dishonored 2 was fantastic, so I did not hesitate to start the DLC turned standalone game, Dishonored Death of the Outsider. I’ve loved my journey through the Dishonored series. Each installment better than the last, so I looked forward to the last installment. Although I don’t think Death of the Outsider is as great as Dishonored 2, it was a fitting end for the series, so far.
A Violent Path to the Death of the Outsider
Throughout the Dishonored games, I leaned toward a fun mix of non-lethal takedowns with some oops killings along the way. The consequences of the Chaos system guided me, but in Death of the Outsider, that system is gone.
Playing as Billie Lurk in Dishonored Death of the Outsider, I basically went on a killing spree. I avoided civilian kills unless they were rude or lippy, but anyone who would harm me was not safe. Sometimes the bodies filled the street.
Don’t get me wrong, the non-lethal approaches in previous games were genius, but the new sense of freedom was a nice break. Mistakes I comfortably solved with my blade, grenades and darts. Body parts everywhere.
Dishonored Death of the Outsider Story
The Dishonored Death of the Outsider story was a nice wrap on the franchise so far. Empress Emily and her father are ruling the kingdom and Billie Lurk is back to her old self. I played as Billie Lurk searching for her mentor, the Knife of Dunwall aka Daud. Last time the two were together, Daud spared Billie’s life despite her betrayal.
Now the game revolves around the hunt for Daud in hopes to reclaim that lost relationship (the father she never had). The search for Daud ended early when I discovered a cult held him prisoner. That cult obsessed over the Outsider and the Void powers he handed out to select few. Daud was of interest since he was one of the lucky few to wield those powers.
After playing the Knife of Dunwall DLC for the original game just last year, it was a treat to reunite with Daud. It was great to see him unleash on his captors with help from my Billie Lurk. He slaughtered them all in a blink of an eye, but that left him out of breath.
Daud’s plan to find a knife the created the Outsider and use that to kill him takes the whole Dishonored story full circle. During that quest, I loved learning the lore of the Outsider and the Void. His presence since the first game was mysterious, so I loved learning his backstory and true motivations.
It was a fitting end for both Daud and the Outsider, well I guess depending on which ending the player chooses. My “other” way decision I believe is the best one.
New Gameplay Straight from the Void
During my playthrough of Dishonored 2, I found a way to save Billie’s eye and her arm. The ripples in time from those action turn to bad dreams for her. The Outsider eventually augments both that eye and arm with Void powers. There’s no upgrading powers in Dishonored Death of the Outsider other than bone charms, but the new toys are fun to play with.
Displace is similar to the teleport powers from the previous game, but it’s not instant (unless you equip a certain bone charm). I aim where to teleport and a void shadow shows up in that spot. Next I choose to take its place. Even more brutal, I could teleport into someone and explode them. I enjoyed that bit a too much.
Foresight paused time and I controlled a spirit to view nearby objects or enemies. It’s a great recon tool to tag enemies to see where they are and where they are going. I also liked tagging the various pickup items and readable books or papers.
Semblance was a great tool for infiltration. It steals the identify of a live NPC, then knocks them out if they are awake. As long as there’s Void energy and the body is not found, the disguise remains. It’s great for sneaking past enemies in plain sight, but I opted to get up close and slaughter enemies with a friendly face.
Void Strike knocked back enemies with a charged attack from the sword I stole from the cult of the Outsider. I rarely activated it, but it was a nice extra.
There were also new tools like a Voltaic Gun, Hyperberic Grenade and Hook Mines. The Voltaic gun was like an Assassin Creed blade that shoots darts. Hyperberic Grenades lift enemies into the air and Hook mines pull enemies into like a black hole. I rarely used most of them. I was too busy exploding people with Displace.
Contracts
A nice addition to Dishonored Death of the Outsider were contracts. Each provides various rewards (mostly coin) for various challenges that double as side story missions. There are various different types of contracts including stealing, killing, spying and more.
A great example was someone harassed by a blackmailer asked I observe the blackmailer at the bank, then follow them. After finding their accomplice, I was to kill them both. It felt like a proper assassin contract.
Immersive Sim Fun Still There
The immersive sim gameplay is still great in Dishonored Death of the Outsider. There’s a bank heist section that highlights Arkane Software’s commitment to great choices. I chose to retrieve a container of gas from an estate auction, then gassed the bank inhabitants via a the duct system.
One of the contracts I picked up required stealth in the bank, so I put aside my bloodbath tactics for a bit. A nice change of pace, but the gas didn’t knock them out into a deep sleep more like light nap. That meant taking extra care for stealth.
It’s also great how clever the ways to gaining safe combos are in the game. In the bank there was a whole vault to contend with and many ways to access it. Complete with a proper math nerd puzzle to open all it’s boxes.
There were other paths to take at the bank beyond my gas tactic. Other options included a frontal attack, access via sewers and via the sanitation system. My choice was the classic heist movie one, but the explored some of the other stealth options a bit.
What’s Next
In less than 2 years, I played Deathloop, Dishonored, the Knife of Dunwall DLC, the Brigmore Witches DLC, Dishonored 2 and now Dishonored Death of the Outsider. I now understand why Arkane has such a great reputation with gamers. Can’t wait to see what’s next in the Dishonored series, but for now I’ll move onto the next Arkane masterpiece, Prey.