Arkane Studios is now a well known developer due to its fantastic piece of work with the Dishonored series. When Dishonored 2 was released several months ago, many were pleased with the game and the reception from the critics was well received. To further expand the lore, Arkane Studios released a mini-expansion where the Outsider from past games will finally meet his demise. Having received a standalone expansion and not a DLC like the Brigmore Witches, does Death of the Outsider puts the series once again on top?
Death of the Outsider takes place after the events of Dishonored 2. Instead of playing as Daud or Emily, players will now be playing as Billie Lurk as she sets out on a mission to find her mentor, Daud. When both reunited with one another, they begin on planning the assassination of The Outsider, whom has appeared in the past two games. Unlike the past game in the series, or even the DLCs like Knife of the Dunwall, Death of the Outsider offers very little content. The mini expansion doesn’t offer anything new at all to make the series stand out. Instead, the game only has five missions and takes about 3 to 4 hours to finish, and that’s depending on your skills.
Exploration in the Dishonored series has always been one of my favorites. The ability to tackle your missions in different ways or areas to go to have always been something I really loved about the series. With the Death of the Outsiders, it manages to have expansive map sizes, but the areas featured in this mini expansion felt like it’s already been tackled in previous games and offers little innovation. Don’t get me wrong, the game still has that Dishonored vibe to it that everyone loves, but it’s just fails to bring out something new.
When it comes to the combat, it will all feel familiar except Billie has a few new skills that you get to try out. One of Billie’s skill in the game is the ability take form of an NPC character that allows you to move freely in the area for a limited time, while the other skill allows you to scout the area. The other ability is similar to Blink that allows you to teleport from one place to another. Like the previous games, the game offers two ways to approach the mission, go in the assault mode or the stealth mode where you will really have to make use of Billie’s new skills.
For fans who love exploring every corner of the map, collecting Bone Charms are back in the game. There are about six bone charms to collect in every mission and they are all scattered throughout the areas. With the Bone Charms that you collect, you can enhance Billie’s abilities or stats, giving you an edge in doing certain missions.
In addition to doing your missions, there are available contracts that you can pick up. These contracts are mini-missions that you can do where you can get coins or items at the end of the mission. The mission varies from burning an enemy in the boiler or destroying a cache of wine. These Contracts adds more depth to the challenge being offered the game.
As far as visuals go, nothing breathtaking can be found in the Death of the Outsider. Those who have played Dishonored 2 before, they will not find anything exciting with the visuals of the game. Most of the assets used in this mini expansion has already been reused on the main game, except for a few. Though when it comes to performance, the game still suffers from the pop-ins, despite playing it on PS4 Pro, but they’re not really that game breaking.
Verdict
Dishonored: Death of the Outsider will leave fans with an uneven feeling. The new story, which ultimately concludes the Outsider’s story, is nice, but the game itself lacks innovation or features that add to the series. With an adventure that lasts a couple hours, players are left with an experience that feels lacking. Regardless, Death of the Outsider is worth it for fans or anyone looking for more in the world of Dishonored, provided you scale back expectations.
[Editor’s Note:Dishonored 2: Death of the Outsider was reviewed on PS4 Pro platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]
