Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, Billie Lurk’s standalone adventure that concludes the story that started with the release of the original Dishonored back in 2012, has been out for a few days and we now have a bunch of reviews to peruse. The general impressions seem to be positive with a lot of 8s and 9s out of 10 across the board, so without further ado let’s jump right in:
IGN 8.4/10:
It was wonderfully satisfying to have more Dishonored to play, even if Death of the Outsider doesn’t quite meet the high bar Dishonored 2 set in story or mission design. Even though it’s a shorter and slightly shallower game, there are some exciting new abilities and interesting changes to the energy system, and the freedom from consequences of Chaos further encourage experimentation and freedom. All in all, it’s a worthy end to the story that began five years ago.
Polygon 8/10:
Death of the Outsider offers a standard take on the Dishonored formula, tracking closely to its admirable ethos of freedom and choice in a world of subtleties and illusions. It’s a decent finale with a solid central character. But it makes little attempt to try anything new, a sign that all the best ideas are likely going into whatever comes next.
If and when Dishonored returns, it will be in a different era and with new characters. I hope Arkane is as bold with its next work, as it was with the original game.
PCGamesN 9/10:
Dishonored: Death of the Outsider captures everything that’s great about Arkane’s assassination series, while also showing that it can still surprise. Smart tweaks improve the core gameplay and, if you’re worried about having fewer powers to play with, you can always go back through it with Corvo’s moveset when you’re done. As far as mission quality goes, it peaks in the middle – the fourth mission has us revisit a location from Dishonored 2, albeit slightly reworked, and the final mission feels much more linear than what’s come before. Still, it all leads to a satisfying conclusion that neatly ties up every plot strand that’s been hanging since that political assassination, whoever you decide is responsible.
GameSpot 8/10:
Surprisingly, Death Of The Outsider channels much more of the spirit of classic stealth-action games like the original Thief. Giving room to experiment and prod aspects of the environment to see what works, without too many distractions from the story. Along with a custom game mode, allowing you to tune the game’s AI, fail-states, and add in other odd and challenging options like Ironman Mode–Death of the Outsider gives you a number of ways to define the type of stealth-action game you want to play. In a lot of ways, this stand-alone release’s more relaxed style does more to compliment the series’ immersive sim design compared to its predecessors.
Dishonored: Death Of The Outsider is a solid, inventive, yet somewhat subdued capper to the stories from the previous Dishonored games. While the smaller scope can be felt throughout, the approach to allowing players to express themselves as a master assassin is just as strong as ever. It’s uncertain where the series can go from here, but this stand-alone release proves that Dishonored is still a remarkably designed stealth-action game with much potential, that offers players the chance to be creative in ways they’d least expect.
GameInformer 8.5/10:
The biggest strike against Death of the Outsider is while its levels are fun and open-ended in the way series fans have come to expect, none of them are particularly memorable enough on their own. Don’t get me wrong, I had fun pulling off a heist with minimal casualties and navigating The Void while being pursued by giant monsters, but there is no level that comes to matching the enigmatic wonders of Jindosh’s Clockwork Mansion or the time-bending puzzles of Artemis Silton’s house.
The storytelling also occasionally leaves something to be desired. On paper, having a game centered around killing The Outsider is a fantastic concept worth ending the series on, but the game has trouble rising to the occasion. For example, The Outsider himself has a habit of showing up and giving Lurk special powers or presenting her with frustratingly dull philosophy 101 questions about people and the choices they make. My reading was these scenes were intended to be mystifying, playing into The Outsider’s reputation as an enigmatic figure who just does whatever he wants, but in the end, they mostly annoyed me as they felt like scenes that existed to strike a wobbly balance between fan service and pushing the plot forward at breakneck speed.
Some of Daud and Billie’s character development feels rushed as well, with limited conversations between the two failing to capitalize on the dramatic history between them. Luckily, everything comes together in the end in a predictable but satisfying way, making these occasional weak points bumps in the road on a journey worth taking.
Death of the Outsider ultimately emerges as a strong chapter in one of the best modern action/RPG series thanks to gameplay refinements and dedication to its dark fiction. This standalone expansion doesn’t revolutionize the series but instead does something more important, navigating the familiar to bring everything to a satisfying conclusion.
The Sixth Axis 9/10:
Death of the Outsider might be smaller in scope (and launch price) than the first two games, yet Arkane has crafted a game that meets the quality of design found in those games. It takes the best bits of the series and improves them, putting together a story that feels personal despite its huge ambition and featuring what may be the best Dishonored protagonist yet. If Death of the Outsider ends up being the closing chapter for the Dishonored series, then it is a truly fitting conclusion.
Trusted Reviews 4.5/5:
Death of the Outsider is a fantastic addition to the Dishonored universe that once again brings the broken city of Karnaca to life.
Exploring Arkane Studios’ beautifully realised world feels fresh once again thanks to Billie Lurk, a morally ambiguous heroine with a flexible repertoire of skills that are a joy to experiment with.
Death of the Outsider achieves more in terms of content and narrative than many games strive for, which is a fascinating achievement considering its meagre price tag.
GamesRadar+ 4/5:
If there are any faults it’s that a few bits of trimming feel a little too blunt. A major and necessary story beat is both clumsily and illogically executed, and never really explained. The ability to listen to rats, which replaces the secret-revealing Heart, is cute but adds little of use. They very occasionally reveal the odd clue but in weird sing song way that means dipping into the menu to find out what it actually means. The final level also feels like it takes the reductive concentration that makes most of the game so much fun a little too far. It drops in a new and difficult to deal with enemy into an environment that should be really interesting but ends up sparse with options. All too easily the climax degenerates into a mad sprint to an objective marker.
Overall though, it’s both a rewarding journey, and a definitive punctuation mark for the universe to date. It’s exactly what you want from a Dishonored game, but with a minimalist approach that makes it more immediately accessible. With some memorable moments and an interesting lead character, it’s a worthy end to the story (so far).
