Arkane Dishonored 2 - Emily and Corvo's Serkonan Vacation

[toro]

Like how this is shaping up. Also digging that there's a mode where you can play without powers. Imagine it'll feel a lot like playing Thief.

Nope. It doesn't. You can larp Garrett but the game doesn't even have a stealth shadow system therefore you can forget about it.

It's an exercise in tediousness, you can do it but there is no challenge or satisfaction in the end. That's what I felt after I've ghosted half the of the first game, I got bored and then I started killing everything.

And guess what, chaos gameplay is really more satisfying. After all you get so many OP powers and when you are killing stuff the game feels much more like in its element.

Another point is that in Thief you were supposed to run from guards (or at least not engage them as free willy) while in Dishonored you know you can kill them all therefore the thrill of hiding is missing.

By bringing the stealth in discussion they are catering to the Thief fans but that's only PR talk. As it was already discussed many times before, stealth in Dishonored is pointless.

But this doesn't mean that it's a bad game. Chaos gameplay, the world and even the story are exquisite. It will be a solid game and its own experience. But comparing this with Thief is not applicable and it will result in disappointment.

Just my 2 cents. I don't think I'm exaggerating about this. In fact, I look forward to kill everything

 

[Excidium II]

Yeah, I guess the ideal way to play the game is using stealth to find advantageous position, and then getting rid of targets in cool ways using powers and gadgets.

I larped garrett through the entire game and it was kinda dull.

 

[Infinitron]

 

[toro]

It's the same footage as the last 5+ trailers. Are you even watching what you are posting?

 

[orcinator]

even the story are exquisite

Someone actually thought the story was good?

 

[Daedalos]

Never understood peoples fascination with this series.. What really makes it stand out from all the other generic fantasy light-rpg stealth-action FPS/3rd persons?

I found Dishonored 1 really boring and bland. Uninstalled after like 40 minutes of tedious play. Story is shit, graphics mediocre, ai pretty shit.. etc.

You're much better off playing something like the THIEF, BioShock series (or Deux Ex series), Splinter Cell series, Metal Gear Solid series, and of course Alpha Protocol, which is exactly the same genre, but much better quality games.

 

[Infinitron]

Dumbfuck Daed...oh wait.

 

[toro]

even the story are exquisite

Someone actually thought the story was good?

Well, truth to be told Dishonored story is not exquisite but it has its moments. Also the game has a good atmosphere and that helps a lot from a story telling POV.

Care to explain what is so retarded about the story?

 

[tormund]

Dishonored's story was p simple and it was neither bad nor good IMO. It just... is.

It deserves award for having one of most obvious and unsurprising "big twists" though.

 

[toro]

Never understood peoples fascination with this series.. What really makes it stand out from all the other generic fantasy light-rpg stealth-action FPS/3rd persons?

I found Dishonored 1 really boring and bland. Uninstalled after like 40 minutes of tedious play. Story is shit, graphics mediocre, ai pretty shit.. etc.

You're much better off playing something like the THIEF, BioShock series (or Deux Ex series), Splinter Cell series, Metal Gear Solid series, and of course Alpha Protocol, which is exactly the same genre, but much better quality games.

Well, my feelings on Dishonored are mixed, but the game has some strong points: vertical exploration, huge levels with multiple paths, the original setting and art-style, some C&C during missions and chaos gameplay. It's not much but it's something.

On the other hand: stealth is boring and pointless, powers are OP (Blink trivialize everything), AI is brain dead and the ending is shit. Dishonored 2 adds more powers, more unique missions, a weather system and a crafting mechanic for Emily.

I understand your disappointment but you are making the same mistake as other people: Dishonored is not Thief/Deus Ex and it wasn't designed to be Thief/Deux Ex. It tried to be something else and it failed in my opinion ... but you can still have fun with the game.

I'm not sure this is an argument but you can also do much worse than Dishonored.

 

[Garrettt]

Damn you guys are all a bunch of sourpusses. The Dishonored series is a stealth assassination game however there are non-lethal options too.

It doesn't claim to be a spiritual successor but it does claim to be inspired which it definitely is. Having played through the DLC recently you can see the thief inspiration come out more than in the main game.

The DLC had player narration, briefing videos, a store front before each mission (which had a very thief-esque ambient in the background), you could knock out guards and hide their body, play the whole game without killing a single person. The DLC had more of a thief feel than the main game had but the game has readables, pre-recorded conversations with the audiographs, pickpocketing, loot laying around in the world, guard conversations to eavesdrop in on, vertical exploration and multiple points of entry per level all with a very supernatural overtone to it. That in it's core is very thief universe if you ask me... sure it didn't have lockpicking and a light gem but when it ticks off every other box so well who really cares? As someone who loves the thief series it's a huge win for me and because of how immersive and detailed the world is I am able to enjoy the world fully as a stealth game.

From what i've gathered from interviews, Dishonored 2 takes the style they evolved with in the DLC's with Daud and runs with that (again the DLC's were even closer to thief than the maingame was), and for the cherry on the cake we now have Stephen Russell as the voice actor. That makes the game more in line with thief than Thiaf could ever hope to achieve.

Will the game please thief elitists? nope... But they still have thief/darkmod fm's to play (as do the rest of us who are able to enjoy Dishonored and the fan missions from the thief world).

 

[BobtheTree]

I definitely liked the DLC for Dishonored more than the main game. Dauwd was a way more interesting character than Corvo. Granted, the missions were smaller, but they felt more refined to me.

 

[Beowulf]

Never understood peoples fascination with this series.. [...]

The Dishonored series is a [...]

The Dishonored series is just one game so far.

 

[Siel]

 

[Garrettt]

Never understood peoples fascination with this series.. [...]

The Dishonored series is a [...]

The Dishonored series is just one game so far.

Pretend I wrote franchise instead of series for the next five months :mrpresident:

 

[Somberlain]

Granted, the missions were smaller

Last mission in Knife of Dunwall and first mission in Brigmore Witches were kind of short but the others weren't any shorter than in the base game, I think.

they felt more refined to me.

Well, because they were. DLC did quite a few things better than the base game, like better economy, higher difficulty (tougher enemies and an additional difficulty setting) and more non-lethal tools. Levels also had more options and variety. Sure, the DLCs didn't fix all the problems but they were definitely an improvement, which hopefully continues with Dishonored 2.

 

[free999enigma]

This will be clearly the "Game of the Year" :D

Spoiler

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/Xb0el

Thanks for my new desktop background

 

[orcinator]

Care to explain what is so retarded about the story?

As the other guy said, it's very simple and that twist is very predictable. Another complaint I remember is that the whalepunk and magical aspects are almost entirely detached from from the main plot and how the Outsider's monologues made me cringe.

 

[Azalin]

The story wasn't bad,it wasn't something to remember but it got the job done,the setting on the other hand was good and has promise

My main complain with the game was how short it was,yeah you are supposed to go for multiple playthroughs using different styles and approaches but it would be nice if the second game was a bit longer and the levels were more like the dlcs with more variety

 

[DosBuster]

I think the plot knew it was predictable, and very intentionally so. Dishonored very much reminds me of an Elizabethan era of literature, where often audience knew the twist (See: Classic plays such as Othello or Romeo & Juliet). Dishonored's plot was not to wow the audience with some shocking twist but to instead entertain and allow the gameplay to work with the setting which it did wonderfully.

 

[DeepOcean]

I don't buy the argument that you should dismiss the weak plot because that wasn't the focus of the game or because somehow a weak story on a game like Dishonored make sense, the weak story indeed hurt the game because of a few decisions from Arkane:
1) You are an assassin on a revenge mission, that is the kind of plot that involve emotion and the need to know well the targets you are killing for the satisfaction when you kill them, you are the royal protector revenging your dead woman and trying to save your daughter not some assassin for hire like Daud. If they made the plot like a series of assassinations from Daud, unrelated hits like Hitman, it would make sense why the game is so distant towards the characters both allies and enemies, the revenge story however didn't work well with the way Dishonored was made.
2)You aren't some no name dude, you are the Royal Protector and father of the soon to be empress. You aren't like Gordon Freeman, a dude without a clear past and without a family, Dishonored tries to be much more detailed on its world building than Half Life so a voiceless protagonist doesn't make sense on this ocasion as this isn't an RPG and you can't create your character.
3)Dishonored plot and backstory is too much detailed to be just a conceptual background like Doom, the game doesn't say "Here are your weapons and go assassinate the badguys." like Doom does, it tries to develop Emily, the Empire of the Isles, give motivations for Corvo but the problem is that while the plot isn't as underdeveloped to be just a loose background, it isn't developed enough to be interesting and it falls on an uncomfortable middle ground. It does a revenge story where the revenge doesn't feel satisfying, you have a daughter you barely know and barely care, you are the Royal Protector but for all intended purposes, you were the royal nothing as you don't have a single loyal friend in the city despite being a very known figure.
4)There are many examples of games that despite having loose backgrounds for plots, they did a much better job than Dishonored and I just need to name Thief 1 and 2 here.

 

[Infinitron]

I agree that Dishonored's storytelling has an antiseptic quality to it. It's setting-focus is reminiscent of some of the things people have said about PoE* (with Outsider visitations being like crappier Thaos flashbacks that try to "make it personal").

It's always going to be a bit difficult to create an effective character-driven narrative with the limitations imposed by this series' gameplay tenets, though. And that goes for Thief as well - its attempts to incorporate "character drama" into its story always fell flat. It was at its coolest in the first game, when it was just about being thrown into a conflict between primal forces.

*Incidentally, Harvey Smith and Josh Sawyer appear to be close internet buddies.

 

[Siobhan]

I'm probably fishing for a dumbfuck tag with this one, but I'd say Dishonored has the best kind of plot a video game can hope to have: the one that the player can choose to throw to the sidelines without the developers constantly shoving it back in their face. I immediately hit F whenever a cutscene started, and the pseudo loading screen boat rides I used as bathroom breaks. So I have no idea what kind of plot twist you guys are talking about nor who the Outlander is. And I suffered no ill consequences from that. The general atmosphere and setting is clear from environmental cues, and missions are sufficiently structured via the level design to ensure that there aren't any "now what?" moments (one noteworthy exception was when some NPC at the homebase insisted I talk to some other guy for a debriefing first and I had no idea who he was referring to). In that respect Dishonored is very similar to DX, which has a fun, goofy plot that is there for those who care and leaves everybody else alone.

 

[LESS T_T]

Harvey Twitter time. Some are already known and maybe posted here, but whatever.

How long is the Dishonored 2 campaign going to last approximately?

If Dis1 was 8-12 hours for most people, Dis2 is probably 12-20.

can you please tell, what is an Antique Serkonan Guitar in dlc pack?

a musical instrument. it's a decorative item with a history, and you can pluck it to make a note...it's a simple thing (though the backstory is cool)

was the sokolov driving the boat?

yep

In @dishonored 2, will we see the ability to use powers in one hand and items like the heart in other?

same breakdown as before

I think you've answered this question before, but will there be loading screens between sections of the levels in #Dishonored2?

between missions, yes

saw someone asking about Callista, but I'd love to hear if Cecelia is alright! Alive? Getting her vitamins? Somewhat happy?

i hope she's happy

Hi Harvey, I loved Dishonored, but curious if D2 continues the 'bleak ending if you kill people' thing. Wasn't a fan of that. :/

to be fair, it was 'grimmer if you kill a lot' - but we have an improved version of that

Hey Harveyi have a quick question, why does corvo's mask look slightly different also why is his hand wrapped,Thanks

hand wrapped to hide the Outsider's Mark

Did Delilah meet her demise back in the Void where Daud fought her? Seems like she somehow managed to find the way to come back.

daud did not fail

While I was watching the gameplay, which was awesome btw, I noticed that Emily's Mesmerize and the Timepiece are a little Overpowered. What can Guards and other enemies do to defend against that?

the powers cost Runes to buy and Spiritual Elixir to use, and they only affect 2 people (until upgraded) can be upgraded to 3 then 4

plus there are short delays built into useage, and range/duration limits

feels balanced to us, in playtest; but you can also play No Powers mode

what happened to the [clockwork soldiers] from last years trailer?

it was an earlier model

we all know Jessamine and Corvo were in love, but would Dunwall's law allowed her to marry him if she wanted?

i think so - against the judgement of the aristocracy

will there be an option to toggle the outline around the objects of interest on/off?

yeah we went nuts on Options menu choices this time

Oh, options, lots of options.

will Karnaca have a day/night cycle?

no, baked into missions

how long have bloodflies been in serkonos - would corvo have early memories of them?

yes...usually not as thick

in times of war, disease or corruption, there are more bodies = greater infestation

how does corvo feel about the outsider? did he miss him after dh1 or glad to be rid of him?

daud hated the Outsider; Corvo is more mixed...like, "this gives me an edge"

sokolov looks like a much more pleasant person in dh2 than the first game. What happened to his angry face and dem eyebrows

matured

So does the Outsider have to do human things like eat or drink?

nope

hey Harvey, do you know if the levels in Dishonored 2 are split up distinctly by loading screens like in D1?

they're large, and we try to avoid loads, but yes they are - we are not open world

we prefer it for this game to open world; but we like it better with fewer loads

hey! I was just wondering if the gay and bi characters in dis 2 are prominent characters-target-, or more background characters

prominent

Noticed a lot of places in the demo where you could see your body/legs but is this an all the time thing like Crysis/Battlefield

no, we have partial body awareness

I guess that it's the beginning of photography in Dishonored2 & although Sokolov's portraits are famous photo is more modern

YEP

lore-wise is silvergraph essentially wet-plate photography? (using whale gelatin? cousin celia's dry silver mines? lol) so cool

you probably know more about it than we do, but I would assume something Jindosh developed akin to daguerreotype

we are sort of set in 1852 this time

a thing I love: the way early photographers all had their own techniques, producing different results http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/frph/hd_frph.htm

Hi Harvey, can I ask you why you guys decided to keep the sword in the right hand? For non-lethal playthroughs it felt like an ever-present, almost useless tool. Was it to show on screen when you're in stealth mode, or for defense, etc?

for most players, it's nice to have an *instantly* available tool to block or attack; always there, instant response

Alright, sounds reasonable! Can't expect the game to be made exactly to fit my playstyle, haha. Thank you!

this time you can also use one of the Enhancements defensively, upgrading so you can block incoming projectiles

why are you change model of mech guards from 1st trailer?It's like: wood is better for dust climate,or there were other reasons?

there's a bit of fiction in the game about the change Jindosh made from the earlier version

what happened to Samuel the boatman? He was one of my favorite characters. Is he in D2?

the grave

There was a guard leaning on the balcony Emily finished him by doing a special animation. Object interaction killing is new?

we trigger different animations based on enemy positioning, yes

you might be talking about the "ledge" case; one of the new states for assassination or nonlethal subdual

no and yes

About the "No Powers" mode:

No Powers makes the game harder but is unrelated to anything else

does this mean you get around every level without blink?

YES

what about corvo though? can the outsider take his powers back?

same option exists for Corgi Attano

Is this mode meant to still support both killy&stealth play styles?

totally - nonlethal nonviolent ghostly never detected no powers is really a thing

is flesh+steel in dh2 still an achievement or just a game mode? if u deny the powers can u get them later if u change ur mind?

hard to remember the details of the script for the Tepphy/Achievement here in LA, but...there still is one; taking the powers invalidates it; you cannot change your mind

is you say no to his powers, can you still have chats with him at shrines? those were some of my favourite little moments

yes

you mentioned a game mode with no powers, is it only an option in Settings or is it a choice in the story to deny the powers ?

choice in the story

 

[Rahdulan]

Corgi Attano

I always knew he was dog person. Great info.