If you’re like me and ached for more gameplay after finished Dishonored 2 you’re in luck. The stand-alone title Death of the Outsider has arrived and it brings new abilities. This is our Dishonored: Death of the Outsider review.
The Rundown
When I heard that a new Dishonored title was on its way I couldn’t help but get excited. As a man who despises what DLC has done to the gaming world, I was thrilled to find out that Dishonored: Death of the Outsider was a standalone title – one that I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into it. The new entry in the Dishonored franchise brings us into the eyes of Billie Lurk, who, one could argue, has one of the most interesting story arcs in the franchise. Debuting in the first DLC and being more prominent in Dishonored 2, Billie goes from running with the group that killed Dunwall’s Empress to redeeming herself as someone who helps restore the royal order. It’s exciting to be able to step into the shoes of a completely different character and a good call by developer Arkane Studios.
Graphically speaking there doesn’t seem to be any improvements made compared to Dishonored 2, but that’s hardly a bad thing; Dishonored 2 had some downright amazing graphics. Karnaca returns as well and veteran players can rejoice – there does not appear to be any major changes to the layout. That’s not the only step up veterans will have either, as Death of the Outsider does not feature an in-game tutorial to the basic mechanics like Dishonored and Dishonored 2 did. That being said it’s easy enough to pick up that it shouldn’t be a problem for new players either.
Billie Lurk is not your Corvo
With a new protagonist to the story comes new abilities – yes, new abilities. Billie doesn’t get her abilities from the Outsider (the god-like, black eyed character that plays a part in the entire series) so instead of magic potions, you have cooldowns. The first ability I want to talk about is the ability to listen to rats, and it’s oddly pleasing in its delivery. By listening to your furry friends, you can pick up clues on everything from your current mission, to hidden entrances to target areas.
Game of Thrones fans rejoice – you can play a weird version of Arya Stark! Billie, after completing your first mission to save your old mentor, can temporarily steal the faces of other people. Yet, unlike the heroine Arya, your targets need to be alive and each step you take drains your resources but it provides you a unique chance to avoid detection and pass by areas you normally couldn’t.
If you were a fan of Corvo’s ‘Blink’ skill, it’s been replaced by something similar yet different enough to add another layer of dealing with enemies. Called ‘Displace’, it lets you mark the area you want to jump to but delay the actual jump. I personally used this to great effect by leaving my marker up on a balcony, dropping onto guards for a kill from above, then jumping back to the balcony safe and sound to wait for things to calm down.
Lastly, you have Foresight, an ethereal time-stopping like ability that lets you whisk around for a short period of time in a spirit-like form. While in this form you can fly around, mark targets, mark bone charms and even place a marker for Displace. It’s a wonderful feature to scout areas and formulate a plan without alerting enemies to your presence.
The Wrap Up
I don’t want to give away too much and spoil anyone’s fun, but rest assured that Death of the Outsider is a worthy installment in the series. It lightens up on the story consequences from your actions and allows a much more liberated approach to your gameplay in which I found myself gleefully slaughtering guards more than creeping around corners. If you feel like I didn’t touch on the story, it was intentional. The title doesn’t leave much mystery on the main goal of the game and giving away details is not my style – go discover them for yourself.
TLDR; If you’re looking for a fresh take in a familiar setting and enjoyed either, or both, of the Dishonored games I feel no guilt in fully recommending the $30-dollar price tag for this stand-alone game.
