2016’s Dishonored 2 (as well as 2017’s Death of the Outsider) may be the current stopping point for the stealth franchise, but that doesn’t mean Arkane Studios has abandoned the games quite yet. A new update for both titles provides a little bonus for fans who want to stealth their way through a steampunk city one more time.
The most splashy of these new additions is a Black and White mode. This layers the entire game in a noir atmosphere, with the only color coming from the crimson blood of your enemies. Considering the bleak atmosphere that exudes from Dishonored in general, this is a fitting change. It will also produce some stunning screenshots, especially on the PC. If you want to just see the effect in certain scenes, the color filter can be turned on and off from the menu at any time.
Secondly, while Dishonored 2 already had a New Game Plus option, they’re now also offering a “Mission+” mode. This lets you replay a single mission during your game, letting you experiment with new toys without forcing a complete restart. This reminds me of the way LEGO games handle replayability, and more games could stand to learn from those lovable minifigs.
Less exciting to veteran players but still nice is the integration of the pre-order exclusive Imperial Assassin’s Pack to Dishonored 2. This nets you a pair of bone charms, an interact-able guitar, an additional in-game book, and 500 bonus coins. Not the most exciting thing in the world, but it’s important to ensure that bonuses like these are eventually added into the main game by default, lest they stay trapped in the digital ether for all time.
If you’re a PC player, you’ll also notice that both Dishonored 2 and Death of the Outsider have stripped out their implementation of the Denuvo DRM scheme. We’re long past launch, which is when most games actually need this type of high security, but it’s a good move nonetheless. Some players insist that Denuvo causes problems on machines, and it’s another failure point for future preservation.
All these updates have been added to the appropriate games on all platforms as of today. In order to get the bonus content, you do need to register your game with a Bethesda.net account. In that sense, the bonus content is 100% free, but you’ll have to decide if Noir Corvo is worth some marketing in your inbox.
