I came back to Dishonored 2 (D2) to get the one achievement that I was missing but decided to stay and replay the entire game (although I've already done that three times). Somehow, after all this time, the game manages to be even better than I remember it.


Pros:

• Amazing stealth/action hybrid gameplay.
  
• Creative ways to dispose of or completely evade enemies.
  
• Fantastic level design with clever puzzles fun and rewarding exploration.
  
• Insane replayability.
  
• Freedom to create your own difficulty.
  
• Option to disable every HUD element separately.

Cons:

• Occasional framerate drops.
  
• No info about the characters we're supposed to choose from.
  
• Objective markers ruin the experience. They should be an accessibility option, not enabled by default.

D2 takes place 15 years after the events of the first game. The game opens up with a coup, where Delilah Copperspoon takes the throne from the young empress, Emily Caldwin. Delilah gets stabbed in the heart by Corvo but decides to casually walk it off, remove the blade and instead of dying, she and her goons murder everyone in the Dunwall tower, except for Emily and Corvo. At this moment, you’re to choose who you’ll be playing as, but other than the character you haven’t chosen being petrified, the rest of the game will play pretty much the same, regardless of your choice.

With overwhelming odds being thrown against you, and if you play as Corvo, his mark of the Outsider being erased by Delilah, the only option is to flee. And this is exactly what you need to do in the first mission, by escaping the room you’re being held in and head for the ship that appeared on the pier.

Upon reaching it, you’ll meet Meagan Foster, a mysterious, one-eyed, and one-armed captain, who is a friend of an old friend, Anton Sokolov, and quickly becomes your ally who helps you on your quest to get back what was stolen from you. She takes you to Karnaca, Serkonos by her boat, and that’s where your adventure truly begins.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2726332312

Being an immersive sim, D2 allows for a wide variety of approaches to any situation. Before you even begin, you're presented with a choice between two playable characters, Emily and Corvo. Unfortunately, the game doesn't really tell you what skills they have, but if you've played the original, Corvo is pretty much the same, with a somewhat expanded arsenal. Regardless of your choice, both of them can achieve the same goals, can use the same weapons and gadgets, and will play through the same story. The only thing that is different regarding game mechanics is their roster of supernatural abilities which I won't go into, and you can check the Wiki[dishonored.fandom.com] instead, as it's not a spoiler. Also, these supernatural abilities are completely optional, and my most interesting playthrough was probably the one where I've rejected them, but I don't recommend doing that on your first playthrough.

However, the choice of a character does not define how you play. The beauty of D2 lies in the plethora of options, being either the path you chose or the tools and skills that you rely on to reach and complete your objectives.

If I'm not mistaken, pretty much every encounter in this game is completely optional, and you'll always be presented with at least two ways to deal with your primary targets. As for the rest of the enemies, you may kill or knock them out in various ways, and if you don't want any sort of interaction, with or without the combat engagement, that's fine because, as far as the game is concerned, they're 100% "optional content".

There's somewhat hidden, although clearly telegraphed "chaos system" in the game, which will react to what you do. Killing humans will increase it, resulting in more vermin — rats and bloodflies — throughout the game. Depending on your playstyle and character build, high chaos can even be used to your advantage — if only to an extent.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2727244776

As detailed as the gameplay itself while directly complimenting and enriching it at the same time, is the phenomenal level design of Karnaca’s many locations! Just mention the Clockwork Mansion or the "Timepiece" mission to anyone who played them, and watch as they get worked up from simply recalling playing through those.

But it's not just those missions. The complete work done on all of the game’s levels is just fantastic. They practically beg to be explored, and if you're anything like myself, you’ll have a hard time containing that urge.

Not only is the exploration very rewarding from a gameplay perspective, and finding a secret sends jolts of dopamine to your brain, but the zones themselves are full of little details that tell the story of the world around you.
You can piece together so much and understand the world simply by observing. Taking your time to look around, reading the newspaper articles or notes left by the people, eavesdropping on conversations and monologues, are all ways of obtaining the information and getting to know Karnaca better, while also usually hinting at objects and places of interest.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2726332053

Possibly the worst thing that you can do in a game like this on your first playthrough is to put some sort of restrictions on yourself and attempt to, for example, ghost through it without killing a single enemy. To play that way is to do a huge disadvantage to yourself and probably have a very frustrating experience, just as I've initially had.

D2 is at its very best when you play it on a moment-to-moment basis, without thinking ahead too much, but going for the "small victories" instead. So, for example, if you've found a path that took you where you needed to be — unless you're not satisfied with the outcome — don't go back trying to find another way. Even though there are numerous other roads to reach your destination, the only reason that you haven't found them is that you've initially done something or chosen a specific route that led you to where you are now.

Striving for the perfect "score", I tried to ghost the initial level while picking up all of the loot that I can find. I got caught, failed, reloaded, and retried again and again while slowly reaching my boiling point. The game was not fun, I was not having a good time, and I had no one to blame for that but myself.

Eventually, I've had enough and decided to make my way through the streets by any means necessary, using everything I collected up to that point. After taking my enemies out and finally reaching the destination, I realized how much fun I've had.

Of course, the challenge runs where you are never seen or you don't kill a single enemy are great, but those are better left for one of the subsequent playthroughs. Restricting yourself to never use some of the game's tools simply because they will ruin some score is to miss out on how they enrich the gameplay.

So, don't be afraid to "fail" and lose control over the situation. Let the mistakes happen and work your way through the less-than-a-favorable scenario that you've created.

For those of you who appreciate a good immersive sim as well as those who've enjoyed the original Dishonored, if you don't already own it, this should be your next purchase.
I'd honestly recommend it to pretty much anyone at this point, as the game is simply great, and I can't really imagine anyone not having a good time playing it.

Dishonored 2 is well worth its full asking price in my honest opinion, and if what you've just read sounds fun, wait until you actually try the game itself.