DISHONORED: DEATH OF THE OUTSIDER
As finishing chapters go, you Karnac it
Another minor character gets their own stand-alone game to finish a big series? It’s easy to assume that Dishonored’s Billie is just, ahem, Lurking in the shadows of Uncharted’s Chloe and Nadine. But it’s a welcome trend, and Death Of The Outsider aptly ties up Arkane’s murky world of assassinations. Vengeance is a running theme in Dishonored, and that’s still the case here as your one last job is to kill the Outsider, the black-eyed figure responsible for most of the series’ events. So it’s a surprise to find that most of it plays out more like a heist. The elaborate centrepiece is, in fact, a bank job, offering different entry routes and methods. Do you break in from the rooftop, the sewers, or through the rubbish disposal? Or why not take the side quest to get a substance to send the staff to sleep before you waltz straight in?
Of course, Dishonored is all about giving you options. Billie can’t Blink but Displace, which lets you set up a spot to warp back to as long as it’s in your line of sight. Instead of Dark Vision, Foresight lets your out-of-body self explore to mark enemies and items, while Semblance gives you the power of Game Of Thrones’ Faceless Men up to a certain distance. You can even listen to what the rats are thinking (they sometimes offer clues).
While the choices are intoxicating, chaotic combat still isn’t Dishonored’s best suit. Don’t let every guard rush you down – if you’re going to be violent, put the knife in before anyone’s any the wiser.
ALL OVER DIS
There are also some welcome changes. Your mana gauge now gradually regenerates, and the morality system has been done away with. The latter makes sense for Billie, who can also access contracts where you might be asked to assassinate someone, or just pilfer an item. While there’s nothing to rival Dishonored 2’s Clockwork Mansion, its story is well told in a shorter, taut outing. Compared to Emily’s distant dull narrations, Billie is also a more compelling protagonist, with some great wry observations.
Even without the Chaos system, there are reasons to warrant another playthrough, whether that’s mastering a non-lethal, non-alerting playthrough or to go through New Game+, which gives you a combination of Corvo and Emily’s powers. But even taken as a one-off adventure, Death Of The Outsider is a satisfying conclusion to the story that began five years ago, one that – despite the title – you do have a choice over.
VERDICT
“VENGEANCE IS A RUNNING THEME, BUT MOST OF THIS PLAYS OUT LIKE A HEIST.”
A fine send-off for the Dishonored series, with enough new tricks to let you experiment freely, explore, and execute in a shorter but no less satisfying campaign. Alan Wen