Article by Gianluca “DottorKillex” Arena
Like it or not, this generation of consoles will long be remembered as the one that massively and definitively cleared the use of remasters, collections and various collections in high definition.
Although the announcement of the backward compatibility of Xbox One leads us to think that in the future the phenomenon could be reduced, at the moment the libraries of the flagships Microsoft and Sony are teeming with titles already seen and already played, embellished so as not to disfigure in the face of a substantial increase in resolution.
Unfortunately not even Dishonored, one of the most popular new IPs of recent years, has managed to escape this habit.
Murderers in the shadows
For those who haven't played Dishonored when it was released in 2012, this is a first-person stealth game, where great emphasis is placed on level design, scenario navigation and the best way to pursue your own. objectives, not necessarily passing from the usual killing of anything that moves. On the contrary. One of the strengths of the title developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda lay precisely in the great freedom of approach left to the player, who could possess small animals to sneak unseen, teleport for short distances, summon hordes of rats to get rid of enemies or also, simply, slipping behind the latter and stabbing them at the level of the lumbar.
Each approach had different consequences not only on the outcome of the individual missions, but also on the end, given the presence of multiple concluding sequences: if we add to this well-tested gameplay we add an extremely fascinating setting, with a filthy and dying city in the background, all steampunk and whale oil, this explains the well-deserved success of Dishonored, such as to announce, a few months ago, a direct follow-up.
In this Definitive Edition, lacking from other points of view that we will analyze, the playful mechanics have remained unchanged, and, as such, still offer the player a fun, sometimes challenging title, definitely above average both from an artistic and an artistic point of view. that of pure and simple fun.
And if you please.
Bitter in the mouth
What is it, then, that doesn't raise the grade of this Definitive Edition (don't make that face, I know you've already peeked at the grade)?
A series of factors, mostly summarized in the opportunity of this operation and in the real convenience, for gamers: first of all the price.
Taken by itself, considering that the package also includes all the DLCs released so far (including those for the pre-order of the game) and is offered for about forty euros, it would not be bad: however, it must be considered that the contents included are exactly the same as the Goty Edition of the title, already available for months for Xbox 360, PC and PS3, and traceable, both digitally and in physical version, at just over half of this figure.
Of course, it could be argued that an Xbox One (the version I tested) or PS4 owner is not required to also own an old gen console or a gaming PC, but the odds are high and what's more, the extra work that this Definitive Edition should have guaranteed, in fact, it was much lighter than expected.
The resolution has been raised to 1080p, which, however, highlights even more lackluster textures (the title wasn't a visual prodigy even when it came out), dull colors and an animation set that oscillates eerily between the acceptable and the tremendously woody.
The choice of blocking the framerate at 30 frames per second is inconceivable, when instead the above Goty, on PC not too advanced, runs without delay at double the speed.
Here then arises the doubt of a commercial operation a little pulled away, which does not do justice to a surprising title, of which, personally, I can't wait to play the sequel.
To analyze only the contents, however, there would be little to complain: Dunwall City Trials, dlc containing special challenges, did not leave its mark, but the other two downloadable contents, both strongly story driven, "The Dagger of Dunwall" and "The Witches Brigmore's, ”deserve to be played at least as much as the base title, and tell an equally fascinating story.
How to behave?
The difficulty in reviewing a reissue of this type by the specialized press is reflected in that of the player, undecided in front of the shelf (even digital) whether or not to proceed with the purchase.
The cases are numerous, and it might be worth analyzing them one by one, although this is not what we usually do in the review phase: if you have a sufficiently powerful PC (now even a mid-range one should be enough), the advice is to find the Goty edition, which offers the same playful offer at a currently more competitive price, and the same applies if you still have one of the two last generation consoles attached to the TV in the living room, even if obviously, in the latter case, you will have to do without of the stable 60 fps of the personal computer version.
If, however, Xbox One or PS4 are the first consoles with which you enter the world of video games, then, despite the laziness that characterizes this Definitive Edition, the purchase remains essential, in my opinion, because, as explained, we are facing one of the most original and best realized titles of the last five years.
The purchase is also recommended for owners of the vanilla version of the game, given the quality of the two narrative DLCs, both deserving.
If the attention paid to detail, the optimization of the code and the framerate had been at the same level as the source material, we would have found ourselves faced with a practically obligatory purchase.
Final comment
With such a playful starting material, the development team could do much more with this Definitive Edition, which, looking at the framerate, optimization and asking price, appears more like a wasted opportunity than a tribute to one of the best titles of the last generation of consoles.
The intrinsic quality of the title (and of two of the contents included in the package) represents the only reason to proceed with the purchase, provided that you do not have a PC prepared for video games.
To you the choice.
