bukary on 22/11/2016 at 17:13
I've just finished Dishonored 2. And I have a mixed feelings about this game. I'd give it
7-8/10. It was a really inconsistent experience. In my opinon Dishonored 2, as a whole, is worse than Dishonored 1, although in some parts it's so much better.
Pros and cons:
LEVEL DESIGN (+/-)This game has two of the most innovative levels I've played in like... 10-15 years: Clockwork Mansion and Stilton's bunker. The greatness of the former comes strictly from incredible level design that allows us to change the enviroment "on the fly", the latter is extraoridinary because of some gameplay mechanics that allow us to play two (
or even three) levels (with different visuals and AI's routines) simultaneously. Both are jaw-dropping and provide one of the greatest gaming experience ever. There are also two other well-done levels: Addermire Institute and Conservatory. Thoughtfully laid out, realistic, beautiful, convincing and immersive.
Inline Image:
https://s17.postimg.org/nknsbslkv/R3_403640_20161122131622_1.pngUnfortunately, the level design is also inconsistent in this game. The
duke's palace is a great place to sneak and kill, and provides some interesting gameplay solutions for the players (mainly because of vertical exploration possibilites). Unfortunately, if it comes to architecture, this modern Malibu-like mansion (although it looks beautiful) seems completely out of place in Dishonored's world. The developers tried to authenticate such design with some background explanation that comes from our protagonist's mouth, but it was completely unconvincing. It felt like a level from Hitman and ruined immersion. (At the same time I have to say that the person who designed this mansion could work as an architect! Impressive project!)
We were also presented with backtracking. Some areas in the first and the last mission are the same. It could make sense storywise, yet it was still a not-so-enjoyable and boring experince. Some kind of "backtracking" can be interesting (like in Stilton's bunker), but it was not the case here. I was expecting grand finale to be the most amazing level in the game. It was quite the opposite. And, what's more, interiors of the tower were a boring (visually) place to sneak. Last impression should always be remarkable.
I also think that Dishonored 2 would really benefit from some horror level. We have bloodflies, infested people (zombies), witches, barghests... Great possibilites to scare the player to death. I was hoping that the Institute would be a terryfing experience. It wasn't. Just look at the screenshot and imagine this place filled with some nest keepers during heavy storm:
Inline Image:
https://s15.postimg.org/5cdb4pvaj/R1_403640_20161122130333_1.pngSTORY (-)It's definitely the weakest part of the game. Copy-paste from Dishonored 1. Boring and presented in a completely unconvincing way. The starting point and characters are not well established. It begins with deus ex machina. We don't care what happens, because we couldn't establish any kind of emotional bond with the main character. Everything happens too fast and seems rather unrealistic (even within the game world). We progress through the story without interest or concern about the main protagoinst and his/her allies or enemies. The notes we find give us some interesing background, but it's not enough.
The story isn't even structured as it should be: the narrative exposition should be longer in order to immerse us into the world and introduce our enemies, the main sequence of events should lead to some interesting twist or turning point, and the last part of the game should provide us with some kind of catharsis insdead of leaving us bored. I was waiting for something interesting to happen, but it seems that the main twist of the game was revealing the identity of
Meagan. Really? The whole story was basically: you need to eliminate the next target. Period.
It's a shame because Dishonored's lore (whales, inventors, witches etc.) is great. It's a shame because Terri Brosius is listed in the credits. The world of Dishonored deserved much better story.
ART DIRECTION (+)It's fantastic. If you played Dishonored 1 and liked it, you'll get more of the same. Great architecture, interesting objects, nice outfits etc. It's what distinguishes Dishonored from other games.
Inline Image:
https://s18.postimg.org/yiq1p3c3d/R4_403640_20161122130100_1.pngENGINE (+/-)The game looks quite good, but I believe it's an incredible art direction that mainly contributes to it. The engine seems to be one of the problems (and advantages) of this game. Yes, it allows for creation of the amazing Stilton's manor or Clockwork Mansion, but, on the other hand, it prevents the developers from designing some big levels that are not divided into loading zones. Even the bunker (one building) had to be divided. Breaking the level really breakes the immersion.
Furthermore, the game does not run very well on PC. I installed the latest patch (1.2) and the game still stutters sometimes because of strange fps fluctuation (30-60 fps)*. Fortunately, the mouse stuttering is gone. Quite powerful machine (i7, GTX 1080, 16 GB RAM) can not run this game in 60 fps (outdoor locations) on High/Ultra settings in widescreen resolution (3440x1440). In the interiors everything is very smooth. Once you get outside the performance is strange: the fps counter shows 30-60 even if I am standing in one place and not moving my head. Such sudden fps drops cause severe stuttering and can make this game unplayable for many PC owners. And there's absolutely no reason for this engine to be so resource hungry. It's hard to believe that's it's not some kind of a bug that can be patched.
I hope that Arkane will use the next version of Void (or completely different engine) while building Dishonored 3.
*Update: changing antialiasing method from TX to High FX removed fps fluctuation. Strange. The game runs quite smooth (~60 fps) in every area on Ultra settings. I am not certain yet if it is a permanent effect.
EXPLORATION (+)It's one of these rare games that encourage and reward exploration. And level design supports it with various routes to the same place, endless mantling possibilities, lots of "secret" passages and so on. It also invites you to replay the level in a different way. Great job!
CITY HUBS (-)There's only one city hub that
feels right: the port in Karnaca. It's quite big, it looks good, there's much to do there. And it's... first in the game.
Inline Image:
https://s12.postimg.org/6m27pcsml/R2_403640_20161122133450_1.pngThe other hubs feel artificial, cramped, repetitive. These are the areas where immesion of being in a real place vanishes. These are always few streets (very artificially separated from the rest of the city) with infested building and black market shop. And you always do the same there. Rob black market shop, find bonecharms, visit the shrine etc. Again and again. After some time I was so bored with this recurrence that I just wanted to start the real mission. This is where Dishonored 2 stops being an immersive sim and starts to resamble some Ubisoft game. Thank God the world somehow reacts to your doings: for example, if you rob black market shops, the life gest harder in one small area.
The only city area where developers tried something new was Dust District. Unfortunately, in my opinion this level was the most ugly one. I know that it was supposed to be like that (because of the dust problems etc.), but it really could be done in a more interesting way (visually).
It would be great if Arkane created one big city hub with various quest and no loading zones. It would be much more immersive. Thi4f formula (bar loading zones) would be ideal in this game, because all mansions that we visit are located in the same area.
COLLECTIBLES HUNT (-)The hunt for bonecharms and runes becomes tiresome after some time. And I think it's because in terms of the story there's so little in the game to justify their presence in certain areas. Of course, we can read about the Outsider and the cult in various notes, but in order to make collecting these items more immersive and interesting the developers could create some quests with background story. Right now it comes down to equipping the Heart and collecting items that are marked on the screen.
There's also one more problem with runes and bonecharms. As I said earlier in this thread, the game is definitely too short. Not because of short playtime, but because of inability to use the powers (runes and bonecharms) that I was collecing during gameplay. There should be at least 2-3 more levels in order to play with the abilities and diagrams that the player gained. Give us some large underwater areas, Arkane, so that we can use all these bonecharms with "leviathan" abilities! Right now they are useless...
GAMEPLAY (+/-)Sneaking and killing are tremendously fun. Obviously, it's much easier if you're trying to cause chaos in the city. The game is no longer a challange then. But we also have some interesting stealth powers that can be a joy to use. However, sneaking mechanics could definitely be improved with some visibility indicator as there's none in the game.
Unfortunately, the progression through the game is not as fun as it could be (and not as fun as it was in Dishonored 1). I am not certain what's the problem here. Perhaps it's because there are no new challanges in the second part of the game: we know all the mechanics and, what's worse, we know all the enemies. There are no surprises till the end (with the great exception of Stilton's manor). And the quests are no challange at all either. If you want to go non lethal way, you can do it easily. For example, in one of the quest I was supposed to create some item from three ingredients in order to get rid of my target. I thought that I will be fighting my way through the whole building in search of these ingredients. It turned out that they are in the very same room where I received the quest. I just needed to turn around and collect them. Done! Seriously, it's some lazy quest design. That's why the game became quite boring at the end.
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Dishonored 2 feels like an expansion pack to Dishonored 1. A collection of some interesting or even amazing maps that do not a create convincing whole. I was expecting much, much more... Nonetheless, Dishonored 2 is worth buying. It's definitely one of the best stealth (and action at the same time) games. I would say that I enjoyed it
almost as much as Alien: Isolation (which, to be honest, had much, much worse stealth mechanics). It's also the second best gaming experience that I had this year. Blood and Wine still occupies the throne.
I'd gladly replay Dishonored 2. But not without NG+. I hope the patch is coming soon. And why on earth are we not able to possess a whale with our powers in this game?! :)
