The Dishonored series has been one of the more interesting things to have come out of gaming in recent years. The games offer more choices that do affect how the game progresses, which give the games a lot of replayability. That said, there are some who feel the games have been becoming formulaic. For those who feel that way though, Dishonored: Death of The Outsider offers some changes to what you might expect.
Death of the Outsider follows Billie Lurk as she aids Doud in his revenge against the Outsider. From there however, things get strange. Billie gains abilities like one would expect in a Dishonored game, but not in the usual way. In fact, Death of the Outsider does a lot different, such as removing the chaos system altogether. This does affect the replayability of the game, but the tradeoff is a more innovative experience. Billie’s powers are fun to use, and offer multiple ways to go about things. Without giving spoilers, there are certain parts of the game that you just want to replay over and over, because there are so many different ways to complete an objective, and each way is extremely satisfying.
The gameplay in general is handled well, but I do feel that with the removal of the chaos system, the game is lacking something. Even with the chaos system removed, something equal could have been there, but what is in place just does not feel up to par with the previous games. That being said, I do appreciate the game moving away and trying something new.
Another thing to address is the fact that this is essentially DLC being sold separately. I have seen many complain about that, but I don’t know why. This is not a new concept, such as seen with Infamous: First Light, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, and even Bethesda themselves with Wolfenstein: The Old Blood. I actually like the idea of DLC being sold as standalone games, especially in this case, since as mentioned, Death of the Outsider does a lot of new things.
The game is rather short ( although considering it is an expansion, that is fine), but satisfying. You still feel awesome using the abilities, and there is the right mix of stealth and action along with a detailed story. The game works to resolve many of the overarching questions of the series, but manages to leave many things open for a possible sequel.
After playing Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, I felt Arkane Studios and Bethesda truly managed to take the series in a new direction. While some may not like this, I felt it may have been needed as it keeps things fresh. Playing this was an awesome experience, and I feel this is one that more people should play. Obviously this is not a good place to start with the series, especially as it spoils the events of Dishonored 2, and gives it a canonical series of events. But for fans of the series, this is a great game. I fully recommend it.
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Disclaimer: Bethesda provided a review key
Reviewed on PS4