Dunwall Diaries

The final mission in Dishonored's first DLC expansion features a return to a familiar area, as Daud comes back to the Flooded District to find it has been assaulted by the Overseers and his assassins captured. This means infiltrating some familiar spaces but on different terms - you start with Daud's key, obviously, and it is the first thing you use. Almost as if the game is telling you that actually this is Daud on his home turf. I like this mission concept as firstly, going back over familiar territory in new contexts is pretty fun in these games - like in the return to the Hound Pits in the base game, and later in the series the trip to Karnaca's Royal Conservatory as Billie. Secondly I like the idea that from now on whenever I play The Flooded District in the base game I will have a much stronger association between it and Daud, how he would move around in it, and his approach to defending it. So you blink around the crumbling rooftops of Dunwall's former...

Eminent Domain is a very "more Dishonored" level in comparison to the visually and thematically striking A Captain of Industry . Daud is on the streets of Dunwall, in the Legal District this time hunting down a corrupt barrister. The watery daylight, boarded up tenements, walls of light and patrolling guards are all familiar.  However, the level is rich with optional narrative beats and worldbuilding. The familiarity also throws into relief how fine-tuned some things feel about this DLC in comparison to the base game. It supports a quick pace, but offers plenty of stealth and combat opportunities. The first map, the waterfront, is roughly a long tunnel that lets you take the rooftops or sneak along the streets, avoiding or engaging in fights with the guards. Being able to get back along it quickly is helpful, you'll most likely find yourself backtracking to find the key to the Legal District itself if you didn't explore on the way. Throughout the level you als...

With this mission I finally started my first run of Dishonored's talked about DLC story packs, The Knife of Dunwall and The Brigmore Witches. These are each packs of three story missions that were released in April and August of 2013 respectively, following Dishonored's release in October 2012 and Dunwall City Trials in December. I did play around with the latter last week, it features a series of self-contained challenges that get you more familiar with what the game engine can do - they are very fun. A Captain of Industry makes a pretty incredible first impression with the painterly visuals on show outside the slaughterhouse that functions as the main location. The other thing that makes an impression is Daud's version of Blink. You get a big advantage over Corvo's version, which is that if you are not moving time stops as you hold down the right-click looking for a place to Blink to. This recontextualises battle. Now, if someone spots you, you hold down the mouse...