Last year, Arkane Studios brought back the Dishonored franchise with a vengeance, thanks to the long-awaited sequel – and it did not disappoint. The follow-up gave you not one but two different characters to play around with, along with a handful of abilities that made you an even deadlier killer than the first time around. That said, the option to still “play it cool”, as it were, was still present, in case you aren’t feeling quite so lethal this time around.
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Since then, we’ve seen bigger games hit the landscape that have taken slightly away from Dishonored 2‘s luster, but fear not – next month, the series will be making its return once more with Death of the Outsider, a game that focuses on a new entity as you swear to get revenge against the dangerous Outsider.
This time around, you’re controlling Billie Lurk, who fans may remember from previously released DLC for the first Dishonored. She’s a great character that didn’t get nearly enough attention in the story, so the fact she gets her own is really cool – and with plenty of her own sick powers to boot. Bethesda recently invited me down to QuakeCon 2017 to get hands-on with the forthcoming adventure, weeks before its release.
First, let’s talk about Billie’s abilities. First up is the ability to steal someone’s identity. With this, she’ll be able to get around town – and more importantly, armed guards, a little easier. She can grab onto a nearby citizen (provided she hasn’t killed them) and basically “suck away their face” (not kissing, silly) and use it for a temporary amount of time. If you’re trying to get through a checkpoint with a guard at it, or slip past a populated area without drawing much attention, it’s a useful ability. But just remember, it uses energy – you won’t be able to walk around too long before you have to recharge.
Playing Your Way — With Power
Next up is Foresight, and this is a rather new ability that’s useful if you’re trying to scout ahead. With it, you can leave Billie’s body for a few seconds and warp your way through walls and open sections, tagging any items of importance, such as guards or bonecharms (level up capabilities, like increasing strength and speed in certain terms) that you think will prove useful to your character. This is incredibly helpful if you like to plan ahead and stay in one piece, so you don’t go running in and putting yourself at risk. Again, though, you can only use it for so long before you need to recharge.
Finally, whereas Corvo has the Blink ability, Billie can use Displace. With this, she can teleport from one location to another, using a quick zapping ability based on where she places a marker. There is a trick to this, as you’ll need to set up the marker first so that you know where you’re going. Once it’s set, you hit the button again and ZIP! Off you go. This is helpful if you’re trying to get away from enemies or just want to cover ground more quickly – or maybe get through an area that’s covered by an immovable gate.
Like the first game, Dishonored 2 lets you play however you please, so you can be as crazy as you want spilling blood, though guards will overwhelm you if you’re not too careful. However, the consequences aren’t so dire this time around, as they won’t immediately call upon extras if you end up spilling a little blood. That said, some concerned citizens may come to their aid, so you might want to tread a little lightly. And, yes, things can get difficult, so prepare for battle. I died several times during the demo, mostly due to my own mistakes. Whoops.
The controls in Death of the Outsider are as good as what Dishonored 2 offered, which is to be expected. Arkane Studios knows damn well how to craft a good adventure, and continues to show its trade here, as you block incoming attacks, take down guards with stylish finishing blows, and use your abilities to either get out of harm’s way or wreak more havoc (depending on your style of play).
We’ll Get Dishonored Again Soon Enough
The game also looks as good as the first thus far, with a beautiful, stylish town to roam through and some interesting characters joining the fray. They’re well designed, and markers help you locate next objectives with ease. That said, you’ll still need to do a little looking around.
For instance, one part of the game had us seeking a solution to open a safe using a different character’s voice – and since we couldn’t use him directly (because, well, we knocked him out, he deserved it), we had to find a recording of his voice to use in its place. That led us to a room with an electrified floor that would fry us to a crisp walking upon it, so we had to find the room to deactivate the power and check nearby display cases to track down the other audio piece. It’s intuitive, and certainly not impossible – which falls right into how Dishonored works, really.
Those of you who found the first two games of the Dishonored series to be quite rewarding will find Death of the Outsider to easily follow suit. Though it isn’t as long as an adventure (it’s a spin-off, not a sequel), it’s just as rewarding, especially if you’re looking to use cool abilities to you advantage. Billie’s turn will come soon enough when the game arrives on September 15th for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.
Disclaimer: Bethesda provided travel and accommodations for this weekend’s QuakeCon event.
