Dishonored 2 – Thief: The Dark Age
Another FPS/RPG hybrid, and another game from the creative directors that worked on Deus Ex and System Shock, Thief: The Dark ages was a sneak em’ up that was well ahead of its time. Hiding in the shadows, moving dead bodies out of sight, and ghosting levels without killing a single NPC, these are the stealth attributes that Thief innovated and have since become commonplace for all titles of the genre. Indeed, the 1998 original Thief was a masterpiece of sandbox gameplay, and steampunk aesthetic that would later serve as inspiration for a host of titles including Hitman, Tom Clancy’s: Splinter Cell, and a series that is due for a 2016 sequel, Dishonored.
Despite the fact that Dishonored replaces thievery with assassination, much its gameplay revolves around the same principles pioneered by the original Thief. Where Thief relied on the ammo variety of Garret’s bow and arrow to grant stealth abilities and facilitate traversal, Dishonored introduces special powers that afford attributes to the player such as teleportation, time manipulation, and telepathic control. Dishonored certainly has its own unique aesthetic flavor, though, with a far more cohesive narrative than the original Thief, and some of the best level design ever seen in video gaming.
The sequel, Dishonored 2, is due to launch November 11th, and moves the series forward with a new playable character, locale, and a more narrative heavy emphasis.