Arkane Dishonored 2 - Emily and Corvo's Serkonan Vacation

[Morgoth]

Raph had zero input on D2.

 

[Butter]

Was Dishonored 2 good? I liked the first one enough, but apparently 2 didn't sell well?

 

[forumvisitor#451]

Sadly the plot and overall design is not as tight as the first one. But 2 improves on gameplay mechanics in virtually every aspect, gives you plenty of choice to turn off or on any helpers or HUD elements and plays even better with some excellent level design. First one felt more rounded, wholesome, 2 is sometimes disjointed mess, but level design and moment-to-moment gameplay more than makes up for it.

 

[JarlFrank]

Dishonored 2 has the best level design in any game of the 2010s.

 

[Sodafish]

Dishonored 2 has the best level design in any game of the 2010s.

It's not the whole game, it's just the Clockwork & Stilton Mansions, although they are fantastic.

 

[JarlFrank]

Dishonored 2 has the best level design in any game of the 2010s.

It's not the whole game, it's just the Clockwork & Stilton Mansions, although they are fantastic.

No, it's the whole game.

 

[Lutte]

Dishonored 2 has the best level design in any game of the 2010s.

No, that would be Prey.

 

[Child of Malkav]

Dishonored 2 has the best level design in any game of the 2010s.

No, that would be Prey.

Prey has very very good level design, but it's no clockwork mansion nor Aramis Stilton mansion.

 

[Morgoth]

Prey was also using a gigantic space dungeon, not Thief-style missions.

 

[Lutte]

Dishonored 2 has the best level design in any game of the 2010s.

No, that would be Prey.

Prey has very very good level design, but it's no clockwork mansion nor Aramis Stilton mansion.

It is, instead, something far more awe inspiring on the whole : a game world that comes alive. There's no singular place that is as outstanding as something like the clockwork mansion but the effort in bringing an entire space habitat and its surroundings alive, with every single nook and cranny making sense in context and being explorable, is a more impressive endeavor to me.

And the Mooncrash DLC does have an area that mechanically comes close to the feel of traversing a place like the clockwork (although without the visual spectacle), with the advantage of having some of the most focused and thought out gameplay of any Arkane game to date. Much of the qualities of the levels of a game like Dishonored 2 can only be experienced by employing self-limitations in your runs like going full stealth and restarting the mission if you get seen, while Mooncrash has gameplay mechanics that force you to truly engage with the level.

 

[agentorange]

They're two entirely different types of level making. A single, cohesive world, and then a distinct level based, variety heavy style. But Prey and Dishonored 2 are both shining examples of their respective level design philosophy.

 

[UserNamer]

Dishonored 2 has the best level design in any game of the 2010s.

No, that would be Prey.

Prey has very very good level design, but it's no clockwork mansion nor Aramis Stilton mansion.

It is, instead, something far more awe inspiring on the whole : a game world that comes alive. There's no singular place that is as outstanding as something like the clockwork mansion but the effort in bringing an entire space habitat and its surroundings alive, with every single nook and cranny making sense in context and being explorable, is a more impressive endeavor to me.

And the Mooncrash DLC does have an area that mechanically comes close to the feel of traversing a place like the clockwork (although without the visual spectacle), with the advantage of having some of the most focused and thought out gameplay of any Arkane game to date. Much of the qualities of the levels of a game like Dishonored 2 can only be experienced by employing self-limitations in your runs like going full stealth and restarting the mission if you get seen, while Mooncrash has gameplay mechanics that force you to truly engage with the level.

I prefer challenging games. I remember dishonored 1 as a cool game but I was put off by the total lack of challenge. How was the dlx were you played as the villain in Dishonored 1? Is Dishonored 2 more challenging that 1?

 

[Wunderbar]

Dishonored 2 has the best level design in any game of the 2010s.

No, that would be Prey.

Prey has very very good level design, but it's no clockwork mansion nor Aramis Stilton mansion.

It is, instead, something far more awe inspiring on the whole : a game world that comes alive. There's no singular place that is as outstanding as something like the clockwork mansion but the effort in bringing an entire space habitat and its surroundings alive, with every single nook and cranny making sense in context and being explorable, is a more impressive endeavor to me.

And the Mooncrash DLC does have an area that mechanically comes close to the feel of traversing a place like the clockwork (although without the visual spectacle), with the advantage of having some of the most focused and thought out gameplay of any Arkane game to date. Much of the qualities of the levels of a game like Dishonored 2 can only be experienced by employing self-limitations in your runs like going full stealth and restarting the mission if you get seen, while Mooncrash has gameplay mechanics that force you to truly engage with the level.

I prefer challenging games. I remember dishonored 1 as a cool game but I was put off by the total lack of challenge. How was the dlx were you played as the villain in Dishonored 1? Is Dishonored 2 more challenging that 1?

they are all on the same level.
Dishonored 2 maybe a bit more challenging due to enemies detecting you faster, but that's about it.

 

[vortex]

How to make stealth gameplay more impactful and harder?

 

[Morgoth]

How to make stealth gameplay more impactful and harder?

Question is why would you want that anyways? A pure stealth experience was novel back in the days of Thief, but easily overshadowed by its way cooler setting and level design.

Prey and Dishonored are the natural evolution of this genre, allowing you to expand on your voyeuristic fantasies while still giving you the instruments to fully go in batshit insane. The feel of absolute control with (reasonably) unpredictable outcomes is what makes Arkane games so fun.

I've a hard time imagining a modern Thief that wouldn't be shit and boring. Like that one Eidos Montreal made.

 

[JDR13]

I keep seeing people claiming a total lack of challenge, and they're full of shit. How challenging it is depends on how you play it.

 

[JarlFrank]

Full ghost never-get-spotted with zero kills is more challenging than Thief.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

I like challenge and I like Immersive Sims, but specifically seeking challenge in Immersive Sims is...odd. It’s never exactly been a staple of the genre. UU is maybe one of the more difficult ones, but even compared to its contemporaries it is laughably easy.

 

[Latelistener]

Technically no one forbids them to create a layer of complex stealth mechanics, but that would mean taking time from something more important for this type of games. So it's not an evolution of Thief, but rather a different branch.

 

[DalekFlay]

I keep seeing people claiming a total lack of challenge, and they're full of shit. How challenging it is depends on how you play it.

In Dishonored 2 on hard, where enemies notice you much faster, if you want to do a full stealth run and get all items/upgrades then it can be pretty damn challenging at times.

 

[vortex]

I told you.

https://me.ign.com/en/pc/173509/news/the-dishonored-series-has-not-been-put-on-hold-says-arkane

The death of Dishonored has been greatly exaggerated. In an interview with IGN Middle East to celebrate the studio’s 20th year anniversary, Arkane Studio’s Co-Creative Director Dinga Bakaba said that the rumors of putting the Dishonored series on hold was “misquoted” and no such decision has been taken so far.

In 2018, Arkane Lead Designer Ricardo Bare had said that the series was “resting for now”, giving uncertainty to a possible new game in the series. The particular quote blew out of proportions amidst the news that Dishonored 2 had sold below expectations, having managed to sell 2.5 million copies on consoles and PC combined, as compared to the more than 3 million copies of Dishonored sold on PC alone.
However, Bakaba said that while they won’t be revisiting the Kaldwin storyline again, no one has pulled the plug on the Dishonored series yet. “Well, first of all, it’s weird because for us as a studio, we never did a sequel to a game we made before. It was interesting to make and everything. But the rumors of putting the IP on hold was highly exaggerated and was misquoted,” he said.

“You know, it’s not necessarily the same thing when you are talking about what could be done, and you are telling a journalist it’s not what we are doing right now. It’s really not the same thing. So, I don’t think there was a decision to put Dishonored series on hold. I think the initial quote was over interpreted.”

As for what the future entails is uncertain, but the series is unlikely to return to the Kaldwin storyline as that part of the story is complete and done for. “It’s something where we had a story to tell about the Kaldwins and the Outsider, and that story is over,” he said. “So, whatever happens, that Dishonored is complete. This is the best, and most honest answer we can give but, in any case, I don’t think we will be revisiting that [the Kaldwin storyline]. That’s clearly a creative choice. Some other people might have thought differently, you know, but that was a creative choice to not revisit that part of the Dishonored world.”

Bakaba also added that Arkane is not a studio “of one game, and I don’t think we will ever be.” During the interview, he explained that it’s important for them to continue to create new interactive sims that are heavy on world building and exploration, which are some of the key elements of an Arkane game. The studio recently announced Deathloop, an action-adventure game for PC and current gen consoles, that follows two assassins in a “mind-bending story” with “meticulously designed levels”. A release date for the game is yet to be revealed.

 

[Butter]

Wait. The guy's name is Dinga Bakaba? Is that Parisian or something?

 

[Terenty]

After completing Dishonored 2, which is vastly superior to the first game, i'm willing to give Deathloop a chance

 

[Morgoth]

“meticulously designed levels”

 

[Grim Monk]

A pure stealth experience was novel back in the days...


Prey and Dishonored are the natural evolution of this genre...


I've a hard time imagining a modern Thief that wouldn't be shit and boring.

Those arguments seem strangely familiar...

Do you also have any fascinating insights about Bethesda Fallout vs Black Isles work?