Dishonored 1 vs Dishonored 2. Which one is your favorite?

[Uhtred son of Uhtred]

Dishonored 1 for me. Better story,
I like the atmosphere more and the maps are more smaller.

[The Machine]

Dishonored 2 is literally double the size of the first, and three times the amount of detail. The new engine allows incredible amounts of objects to be rendered and interacted with, glass bottles, chairs, tables etc etc. The powers in Dishonored 2 are better, the plot IS a little worse and the atmosphere you mentioned is less dire and less doom and gloom. However the gameplay is 10x better than the first and the massive levels allow for so many points of entry that it puts the first to shame. However at the time of its release, Dishonored 1 was MUCH smoother of a launch.

[Nacery]

Dishonored 1 has bigger spaces with broarder streets but lacks a lot of detail and sometimes feels empty. This actually helps it feel more pure in terms of gameplay. Dishonored 2 also has huge maps and sometimes actually bigger than Dishonored 1 but Dishonored 2 maps are more narrow and convoluted with props and lots of NPC/Enemies making them incredibly more lively but also more difficilt to traverse, luckily the game offers a lot verticality in how to aproach missions.

I think it's a good desition as aesthetycally it makes both locations (Karnaca and Dunwall) to feel different on it's own. The thing is that Void Engine (heavily modified idTech 5) takes a huge toll on performance in Dishonored 2 but it's probably a logic result of development with things like Bethesda wanting all their studios to use in-home engines and the fact that when Dishonored 2 developement started idTech 6 was still being in development in conjuction to Doom 6 (a quite different kind of game with it's own technical needs), while idTech 5 probably had a lot of documentation and development behind making it easier to experiment with and since Dishonored 2 is a highly experimental game in terms of gameplay mechanics (ex. Jindosh Mansion and Aramis Stilton house) it was a no brainer choice.

Since that, Arkane has actually learnt a lot and Prey experimented with Cryengine (with incredible good results) and Dishonored 2 Mark of the Outsider had flawless performance with no signs of microstutter probably a result of Arkane maturity with the engine.

They are actually quite great developers and I'm counting the days for Wolfenstein Youngblood (wich is being co-developed with Arkane and marks the first time that Arkanes works with idTech 6)

[Machine Spirit]

The Prey DLC "Mooncrash" is awesome, one of the best DLCs I've played for a long time and I wish Dishonored 2 had that kind of DLC; a rogue like challenge with procedural and story elements.

[Uhtred son of Uhtred]

Originally posted by Machine Spirit:

The Prey DLC "Mooncrash" is awesome, one of the best DLCs I've played for a long time and I wish Dishonored 2 had that kind of DLC; a rogue like challenge with procedural and story elements.

I love Prey!
I was hesitant to buy Monncrash because I understand that it is something short and repetitive. But I see you recommend it, I'll surely give you a look.

[Machine Spirit]

Mooncrash is just so damn good and not enough people were talking about it when it released. I hope Arkane take what they did with Mooncrash and put it in more of their games.

Check out this review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuIgx0fD4Es

[EmptyMag]

I'm about halfway through the Dishonored 2, and I feel like while Dishonored 1 had smaller maps, dated graphics, and less gameplay options, it had a much better atmosphere.

Eavesdropping on civilians to hear about how the rat plague was affecting nearly every class, regardless of wealth, and then seeing it for yourself later, even in a low chaos run, the plague was a very real threat to the city, and that's ignoring the fact that Corvo has a price on his head during the entire course of the game. Then listening to the way guards went about their duties, the lengths they'd go to avoid getting the plague, paranoia about The Assassin, even to the disdain for their peers and commanding officers later in the game. Dunwall visibly gets worse the further you get in the game, and so far there hasn't really been any real threat in Dishonored 2 that struck me like that. Sure, you've got the Crown Killer, the one you hear about every five seconds through the first two missions, can either be killed or cured in like the third mission. The closest thing Karnaca has to a rat plague is an infestation of bloodflies.
Admittedly, I steered clear of them as much as I could in the first couple missions, but that fear was quickly gone as soon as I realized I could run up to their hive and swing wildly for at least 3 seconds before they'd aggro to me, which is basically all the time you'd ever need. Overall, I think Dishonored 1 holds up a lot better atmosphere and story wise.

Though I do like how you can just tell the Outsider to ♥♥♥♥ off with his weeb powers.

[DivineLion]

i like dishonored 2 better with corvo's daughter. with her different skills

[Nacery]

Originally posted by EmptyMag:

I'm about halfway through the Dishonored 2, and I feel like while Dishonored 1 had smaller maps, dated graphics, and less gameplay options, it had a much better atmosphere.

Eavesdropping on civilians to hear about how the rat plague was affecting nearly every class, regardless of wealth, and then seeing it for yourself later, even in a low chaos run, the plague was a very real threat to the city, and that's ignoring the fact that Corvo has a price on his head during the entire course of the game. Then listening to the way guards went about their duties, the lengths they'd go to avoid getting the plague, paranoia about The Assassin, even to the disdain for their peers and commanding officers later in the game. Dunwall visibly gets worse the further you get in the game, and so far there hasn't really been any real threat in Dishonored 2 that struck me like that. Sure, you've got the Crown Killer, the one you hear about every five seconds through the first two missions, can either be killed or cured in like the third mission. The closest thing Karnaca has to a rat plague is an infestation of bloodflies.
Admittedly, I steered clear of them as much as I could in the first couple missions, but that fear was quickly gone as soon as I realized I could run up to their hive and swing wildly for at least 3 seconds before they'd aggro to me, which is basically all the time you'd ever need. Overall, I think Dishonored 1 holds up a lot better atmosphere and story wise.

Though I do like how you can just tell the Outsider to ♥♥♥♥ off with his weeb powers.

I didn't meant that Dishonored maps were bigger but that they had less thight areas. Yeah bloodflies deosn't make a real threat but neither rats in Dishonored 1 were regarding dunwall decay with high chaos yeah that was an interesting mechanic but Karnaca doesn't seem to be in the same crappy status that Dunwall was in Dishonored 1.

I think the obvious comparson here is Thief series. While Thief 2 the Metal Age was a superior game regarding mechanics and map design for a lot of people Thief 1 is still the best game because the ambience and feel.

[Obsidian Gryphon]

Dishonored 2. Story is ok. Gameplay is enoyable, I like the different ways of traversing the maps. Also like that there's an option to refuse the Outsider's offer of power, changing gameplay experience from that of a power run.

[Sanic]

Storywise was Dishonored 1 my favorite because i think the storytelling of D2 ins't that good, might just be the German version of the game because i heard the voices are not that good there.

Gameplay wise was D2 the better one because of the Engine the detail in the maps and the ovrall feeling of the game.

[belchingTiger]

Rekindling an old thread because I have yet to play D2. As for D1, I initially liked it but started getting bored of it half way through. The missions got kind of same-ish, just in a different setting. Maybe all the sneaking around was getting too slow for me. Near the end I had to force myself to finish it.

I notice that people who liked D2 also liked D1. I'm wondering if there's a good chance that I won't like D2 because I didn't like D1. Or is gameplay so much better in D2 that I'll probably like it? I'm not terribly concerned about the story as long as it's not asinine.

[Dethlane]

Probably the second one. We get to play as grown up Emily, MC is voiced, better take on low/high chaos (including change in MC's comments and narrations and "judgement" system with heart)

[Xengre]

I enjoyed the map design of Dishonored 1 and opportunities for stealth/play routes more. Dishonored 2 tries to feel more complex and larger/open but ends up actually being significantly more bland and doesn't have a lot of the types of stealth routes the first game offers, especially indoors. Dishonored 2 has two characters and bone charms which can spice up replayability a bit tho for those interested in that. Dishonored 2 also looks prettier (and is optimized about as well as a train wreck, but still playable). Overall, I don't feel they are too far apart and honestly were an overall disappointment because it shows promise for something much greater regarding gameplay but never succeeds, imo. Story/character wise both are utter trash I'd say.

If you enjoy this series I recommend Prey, not the one involving portals but the one on Steam, Deus Ex series (especially Human Revolution), and possibly the System Shock series. None of them are flawless but they may interest some of you as well. Human Revolution is probably the best of the lot tho clearly its age is showing some now days.

[anaphylactic god]

dishonored 2 probably have worst story in gaming history.
its freaking how everyone bash TLOU2 now and dishonored 2 have 20k positive revievs.

[Halcyform]

Originally posted by Zaratustra:

Dishonored 1 vs Dishonored 2. Which one is your favorite?

Yes.