How do we feel about the Dishonored franchise, particularly 2?

[YourMomsHouse]

I really love these games, although this kind of fondness took a bit of a kindling to get there (but I must say I always enjoyed my first playthroughs). It seems that RPG Codex doesn't like anything that can be played without Microsoft Excel or isn't a turn-based pedophile japtoon.

About me:

• Love stealth games!
• Has a deep appreciation for inspired art direction and worldbuilding.
• Played almost every immersive sim worth playing besides Arx Fatalis and Ultima Underworld.

What really struck me about the original Dishonored is how it really evoked Half-Life 2, which is largely because they shared the same art director – Viktor Antonov (R.I.P.). I found the setting and lore to be uniquely, *ahem*, unique across any medium I've experienced, so reading collectible lore for once wasn't a complete chore because I was genuinely interested in understanding and learning how the world worked. Sure, the characters weren't exactly complex Dostoevsky-tier enigmas...but who the fuck cares besides pretentious retards who probably somehow managed to entirely fail the SAT reading section? They are likeable enough, and that's more than all I need.

I initially liked, but didn't love Dishonored 2 and I believe this is largely because my first run was on the PS4. I finally ended up playing it again on PC, this time with a high-end RTX card at 4K and a new soundsystem. The significantly shorter load times, enhanced accuracy of the mouse, and orders of magnitude better performance truly enhanced the gameplay – it was like playing a completely different game. I could now pull off extremely complex maneuvers with extreme precision, 'twas the difference between confined to a wheelchair and being a decorated Olympic athlete. Even on subsequent playthroughs over half a decade later, the level design still strikes me as being exceptionally inspired. With a much bigger screen displaying 4x more pixels, the art direction and assets of the game truly popped and I couldn't help myself from taking a screenshot every other second. I also had a finer ear for the truly amazing and idiosyncratic soundtrack by the late Daniel Litch and how the soundscapes were on put on steroids, again R.I.P.

Don't get me wrong, I love both games but I'm not sure why some people act like D2 is objectively better than D1 when:

• There are literally over twice as many powers.
• The graphics are objectively better, significantly improved granularity, shading & lighting techniques, more world physicality/interactivity, etc.
• Each respective level has more unique mechanics that truly makes them stand out.
• Improved audio and music.
• AI is far more reactive, they actually look up now, work in teams better, have larger search zones, better adapt to player tactics, etc.

I recently played Thief for the first time and it really struck me how much of an homage the Dishonored franchise is to thief. The looting for gold of various objects really stood out to me, I can't think of any other stealth games like this. It's a true shame that this is probably the last Arkane game we are ever going to get. If Marvel's Blade fails – Arkane is doomed. If Marvel's Blade is wildly successful, again – Arkane is doomed.

 

[Salem]

niggers

That's very nigger behaviour chimping out like that

 

[Dark Souls II]

I played it for a while and there was that quest where you have to invade a brothel and you can kill whores, your target is some guy fucking a whore, I remember killing him and the whore and then slashing the dead whore on the bed for like 5 minutes enjoying the ragdoll physics and sound design. But I deleted the game after that, wasn't really interestied in the story and setting and it all seemed meh.

 

[Falksi]

Dishonoured 1 is great. Really nice blend of stealth, action, exploration and linearity.

Dishonoured 2 did the trend thing of bloating all that up so it became boring. It was still OK, but I could never be arsed to finish it because it felt so padded out and samey (played it through twice up to around the 3/4s way point)

Both games suffer from having easily exploitable guard patterns, which draws all guards to one area when you kill someone, so you can then wipe them out, and both games require you to restrict your powers to very basic stuff in order to not OP them.

Dishonoured 2 felt like it went far too much down the normie path. "Twice as many powers!" whoopie. It needed less, not more.

 

[Vlajdermen]

You have to appreciate Falksi making an actual informative post with an educated opinion among the sea of edgy 12 year olds looking for attention. Easily one of Codex's best posters.

 

[YourMomsHouse]

Dishonoured 1 is great. Really nice blend of stealth, action, exploration and linearity.yos

Dishonoured 2 did the trend thing of bloating all that up so it became boring. It was still OK, but I could never be arsed to finish it because it felt so padded out and samey.

Both games suffer from having easily exploitable guard patterns, which draws all guards to one area when you kill someone, so you can then wipe them out, and both games require you to restrict your powers to very basic stuff in order to not OP them.

Dishonoured 2 felt like it went far too much down the normie path. "Twice as many powers!" whoopie. It needed less, not more.

Except, per my post:

• Less is not more you weird faggot: more powers, more gadgets, more combat maneuvers like kicking, more enemy types, etc.
• Dishonored 2 has a far more deliberate and detailed/granular art design. Even besides the increased texture resolution, new shading techniques, improved lighting, etc. I noticed small details like how literally all the apartments had restrooms and kitchens.
• Improved audio in literally every single way.
• Significantly more inspired mission designs like the Clockwork Mansion, time-travel level, actually being able to pit fractions against each other, etc.

 

[Falksi]

Dishonoured 1 is great. Really nice blend of stealth, action, exploration and linearity.yos

Dishonoured 2 did the trend thing of bloating all that up so it became boring. It was still OK, but I could never be arsed to finish it because it felt so padded out and samey.

Both games suffer from having easily exploitable guard patterns, which draws all guards to one area when you kill someone, so you can then wipe them out, and both games require you to restrict your powers to very basic stuff in order to not OP them.

Dishonoured 2 felt like it went far too much down the normie path. "Twice as many powers!" whoopie. It needed less, not more.

Except, per my post:

• Less is not more you weird faggot: more powers, more gadgets, more combat maneuvers like kicking, more enemy types, etc.
• Dishonored 2 has a far more deliberate and detailed/granular art design. Even besides the increased texture resolution, new shading techniques, improved lighting, etc. I noticed small details like how literally all the apartments had restrooms and kitchens.
• Improved audio in literally every single way.
• Significantly more inspired mission designs like the Clockwork Mansion, time-travel level, actually being able to pit fractions against each other, etc.

Clockwork mansion was cool, but the overall game was just too padded out. It didn't have the enemy variety especially, which left it feeling stale towards the end.

Less is definitely more in Stealth driven games. They're all about doing as much as possible with as little as possible. More powers totally killed Dishonoured 2 for my first playthrough attempt, everything became a breeze mid-game. That's just normie gaming in a one-er.

 

[Jason Bright]

58 posts in one day is concerning.

 

[Morgoth]

We are all fans here.

 

[JarlFrank]

Dishonored 2 is one of the best games of the 2010s. The level design is top tier. Huge levels with multiple angles of approach for your goal, and perfectly playable (and indeed intended to be played) without retard markers.
Every level is a joy to explore, and some do incredibly creative things like Stilton's Manor with its time travel gimmick or the Clockwork Mansion with its reassembling rooms.

I'm an explorefag first and foremost, level design is the most important thing in a game, and Dishonored 2 excels at it.

Also, the vibe is just great

 

[Atlet]

Dishonored 2 is one of the best games of the 2010s. The level design is top tier. Huge levels with multiple angles of approach for your goal, and perfectly playable (and indeed intended to be played) without retard markers.
Every level is a joy to explore, and some do incredibly creative things like Stilton's Manor with its time travel gimmick or the Clockwork Mansion with its reassembling rooms.

I'm an explorefag first and foremost, level design is the most important thing in a game, and Dishonored 2 excels at it.

Also, the vibe is just great

Which games do you recommend that have fun exploration mechanics/cool level design?

Sorry to be a bit off-topic.

 

[JarlFrank]

Which games do you recommend that have fun exploration mechanics/cool level design?

Thief 1 & 2 and especially their fan missions (check this: https://www.thiefguild.com/ )

If you like the Dark Souls approach to exploration/level design, play Fire in the Beastlands.

If you want something more open world, I highly enjoyed The End of Dyeus.

Those are the definition of hidden gems, little-known solo dev projects with great creativity.

 

[YourMomsHouse]

Dishonored 2 is one of the best games of the 2010s. The level design is top tier. Huge levels with multiple angles of approach for your goal, and perfectly playable (and indeed intended to be played) without retard markers.
Every level is a joy to explore, and some do incredibly creative things like Stilton's Manor with its time travel gimmick or the Clockwork Mansion with its reassembling rooms.

I'm an explorefag first and foremost, level design is the most important thing in a game, and Dishonored 2 excels at it.

Also, the vibe is just great

Which games do you recommend that have fun exploration mechanics/cool level design?

Sorry to be a bit off-topic.

Soulsborne, Prey, Half-Life 2, Metal Gear Solid 1-3, Metro Exodus, Titanfall 2 (not so much exploration but just cool level design and unique, level-specific mechanics), Thief, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines; Bioshock, Hitman and Deus Ex franchise.

 

[Old Hans]

Dishonored 1 is one of my all time favorite games. I tried playing dishonored 2 on my xbox, but it felt like complete shit

 

[YourMomsHouse]

Dishonored 1 is one of my all time favorite games. I tried playing dishonored 2 on my xbox, but it felt like complete shit

Playing these kind of games on a console is like getting a blowjob with a condom...AFTER your dick is cut off. Oh, and you're also immobilized by tranquilizers and the entire act is being described to you over a podcast.

 

[__scribbles__]

Dishonored 1 is an alright stealth/action game. I finished it once and enjoyed it, but found it boring on a second playthrough.

Dishonored 2 is better mechanically and has more varied and complex level design so I found it significantly better in the gameplay department. The story was basically the same as the first game but worse, and the setting and atmosphere just aren't interesting. As Falksi mentioned the enemy variety was also lacking and basically doesn't exist if you're playing stealth since their abilities only matter in combat.

Overall you should play them, they're competently crafted and fairly short and straightforward so even if you like them they don't take up that much of your time.

Also, you should play Arx Fatalis and Ultima Underworld, they're fucking excellent games and do shit practically no other RPG or immsim does in terms of structure and puzzles.

 

[Orange Clock]

Enjoyed the first one, couldn’t get myself behind the second. It was boring. Don’t exactly know why, maybe it really was too much, I always had a feeling like I’m missing something.
Tried to replay it after a while, without a powers this time and trying to explore as much as possible, got bored even faster, too many guards with stupid AI.

Agree that artstyle, music/ambiance, visuals and even story (lore&characters) are great and better in Dishonored2. Still, don’t care about it as much.

 

[Vlajdermen]

Is Deathloop any good?

 

[Spukrian]

Something that is often overlooked in Dishonored 2 is the extra nonlethal options it adds. Dishonored 1 only had choke and tranqdarts, the DLCs added stunmines and dustgrenades. Dishonored 2 has tranqdarts, choke, drop knockout, stinging bolt, howling bolt, howler dust and chloroform bottles.

 

[YourMomsHouse]

Is Deathloop any good?

I recommend it if you like Arkane games. It falls short of its premise because there is only specific way to kill all the Visionaries and achieve the Golden Loop. However, it is fun and definitely worth at least one playthrough. The multiplayer is kinda like a Souls invasion, and it is similarly unbalanced (but fun).

 

[Morgoth]

Deathloop is terrible.

 

[Vic]

58 posts in one day is concerning.

He's at 100 after 2 days already.

 

[orcinator]

Less is definitely more in Stealth driven games. They're all about doing as much as possible with as little as possible. More powers totally killed Dishonoured 2 for my first playthrough attempt, everything became a breeze mid-game. That's just normie gaming in a one-er.

The problem with Dishonored isn't too many powers, it's that there aren't any challenging enemies or obstacles. Part of that is intentional since they want the No Powers cheevo to be a legitimate playstyle but that just leads to designing your game to never pressure the player to master using all of the game mechanics outside of making epic kill montages for youtube.

Wrote this about Prey:

It has the same problem as Dishonored and the other Arkane games (probably) where you have so many ways to solve each problem you don't have to think about what to do because nearly everything you choose to do is bound to work.

 

[ind33d]

Dark Forces 2 had better good/evil mechanics than Dishonored. Making a game have loads of weapons and explosives and then giving you the bad ending for using them is retarded. I choked out every person in Dishonored 1 and never even shot a crossbow. What was the fucking point of half the gameplay mechanics?

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

disgustingly overrated. 10 minutes into the game you finally realize how the game is "blink sized", like in ass creep the world is absolutely artificial, there's no freedom, everything is exactly as far as your skill let you. no creativity needed.