Number 2: Dishonored 2

Copyright Arkane Software and Bethesda Softworks

I know I was hard on it on my review, but after a second playthrough, some very awesome upgrades and patches from Arkane, Dishonored 2 morphed from “great expansion pack sequel” to one of the best games I’ve ever played.  Even with my initial review, made from a pacifist Emily run, I loved every second of the game.  It was a smart, expanded sequel that knew what was good about the first game and knew where to build and where not to.  It wasn’t a huge leap forward like the first, but it did wind up making a better game.

Dishonored has been only my top 10 list of favorite games for years, so imagine my surprise when I found that Arkane managed to improve upon what was already so good.  They added nonlethal takedowns in combat, expanded the maps so the game was even less linear, with some levels almost feeling like completely open cities, and came up with new, cooler powers and even better gadgets and weapons.  It also fixed one of the major problems of the first game, that it had this deep, robust combat system, but it was only useful for the players who didn’t care about the morality system.  Here, we’ve got so many options, it doesn’t matter which route to take, each side has more depth than it did previously.

That doesn’t mean pacifists are just as deep as assassins, but it does mean that the game is no longer just a matter of blinking to the highest spot, blinking back down once a guy is isolated and choking him out.  Now, each room and guard placement allows for multiple ways around them, with tons of ways to solve each problem.  It’s the essence of gameplay in a lot of ways.  Dishonored has always thrown the toolbox at the player and let them go at it, but there are some nice new tools here that make the experience fresh, and definitely not a retread of the original, as my first playthrough led me to believe.

The difference between Emily and her father Corvo is one of the biggest reasons behind this.  Emily’s powers are definitely hers, unique and represent her in a way that seems to indicate what kind of character she is, as well as her regal standing.  It’s very cool, and does a good job of showing how and where the series can grow and evolve, and that’s awesome.

The map design also does a good job of making both Corvo and Emily feel like their different by making ways to ensure that each protagonist can use their powers.  While one playthrough may make it feel like a simple update, but playing as both characters, it shows the real depth in the game, and how each character has their own strengths and weaknesses.  Sure, the best option is to get as high as possible to bypass as many guards and obstacles as possible (although now, they do manage to post guards up on the roof now, which, kind of makes the bad guys in the first game seem kind of dumb), but when it comes down to brass tacks, and getting above everyone isn’t the best option, or even an option at all, using their different abilities means that the player can’t always approach every situation in the same way.

What’s even better is that Arkane has made a point of polishing the game after the release.  They’ve managed to fix most of the PC performance issues (although my 1070 still saw some dips to 54 frames per second), which does a lot to win my good graces.  Even more, they’ve added new game modes and special challenge modes, all for free.  New Game Plus even allows cross buying of powers, allowing Emily to Time Stop or Corvo to Domino, which only deepens the game further, even if it will make the already over powered assassins even more powerful, this is augmented by the fact that there are so many different approaches to how you can play the game by doing this, meaning that while the challenge against the AI may be gone, the new challenge of finding the coolest way to get past guards becomes even more challenging.

On the whole, the only real negative is that, like the first game, the story has a lot of potential, but the characters are flat and a lot of the ideas pan out.  Other than that, everything just sort of kicks ass.  It’s hard to say no to a game this awesome.