"I wanted to like The Knife of Dunwall. I really did. But there simply wasn’t enough there for me to like. It’s like an insipid plain Ritz cracker. Quite edible, but crying out for more substance, like a nice slice of brie. Dishonored fans might be interested, if only for the additional lore and story elements, but gameplay was too short to be satisfying." - Logan Hollinger
Dishonored: The Knife of Dunwall is a damn good piece of DLC but it can be a bit of a hard sell. Not only is it a bit on the short side, clocking in at only about two or three hours, but the story is clearly only a portion of the whole. Since we know that the third, and final, piece of DLC is also story related Daud’s story will almost certainly be resolved there. So it almost boils down to it being like an episodic game in the form of DLC.
Dishonored is not known for its length as much as its gameplay, which makes the newest DLC, The Knife of Dunwall, a welcome addition to an otherwise short experience. Not only does it add a few more levels to the game, but lets players take the role of Daud, leader of the group of assassins who go after Corvo, who is seeking redemption for what he has done to the Empress.
[slight spoilers] Loved seeing how even in the DLC, there were the subtle responses to how you played the game. For instance, depending on whether you did a ghost run or a violent playthrough of the first level, it would affect the actions of your partner at the beginning of the 2nd mission (whether she killed the guard or knocked him out).[end slight spoilers] Really fun seeing those changes playing through the game multiple times.
Anyways, great DLC package and I hope we get some news on the release date of the Brigmore Witches soon.
Baden of WGB writes: "Any excuse to step back into the wonderful world of Dishonored is good, not that you ever really need an excuse to go back and play a game you love. The Knife of Dunwall is the first of two story-based add-ons planned for Dishonored designed to tempt us back into the shadows, to tempt us to sharpen our skills and hone our blades once again. So, the simple question: is it actually any good? Yup."
The tone of this review and the actual score awarded feel so utterly at odds with each other!
Still, the DLC seems to be much as I suspected in terms of it not really altering the core gameplay, except in a few small ways, which is a bit of a shame. With a new character introduced they had plenty of room to play. My guess is, though, that they chose to keep things similiar for ease of design, and also possibly to help link these characters to the Outsider.