Dishonored - The Knife of Dunwall Review Roundup

Here are threee reviews for the Dishonored DLC The Knife of Dunwall.

IGN, 7.5

Regardless of your approach, each mission is cleverly designed to accommodate it, with multiple entry points to every location and countless routes within. The mission design in The Knife of Dunwall is more functional than inspired: there is no Lady Boyle’s Last Party-style mission here, or a trek across a towering bridge, but the freedom in gameplay is still as refreshing now as it was when Dishonored was first released. Players who are content to take their time will get a huge amount out of it too: there are many, many secrets ferreted about this world. That exploration might also uncover an odd bug or two – particularly around mission markers that, well, aren’t quite sure what they’re meant to be doing.

Gamebanshee

The Chaos mechanic makes a return as well, with your choice in how to complete missions and your body count influencing whether you send the world into a High Chaos or Low Chaos state. The influence of Chaos does not seem to be as big as in the original game; I didn't notice any different objectives or more difficult enemies present playing on High Chaos. However, some dialogue sequences and cutscenes do change a little bit, so there is still some reason to play through the story twice. As The Knife of Dunwall's story ends in a cliffhanger, to be continued in an upcoming add-on, perhaps it's Arkane's intent to have Chaos make more of a difference in the next chapter. Unfortunately, this also means the sudden ending to The Knife of Dunwall leaves you with more questions than answers, but not necessarily wanting more thanks to the drab, one-dimensional characters and lack of interesting stakes.

Eurogamer, 8

The Rothwild Slaughterhouse is a fine creation, and one that's as worthy as The Golden Cat or any of Dishonored's other highlights. Cast in orange early evening light, it's an impossibly tall warehouse that's been caught in the throes of a heavy-handed industrial dispute, allowing you to pick through the debris as some of Dunwall's extremes clash together.

As a play space it's thrillingly wide, a courtyard coursed with clumsy pipework and littered with ribbed corpses funneling into a central building that can be explored through high walkways or through sticky sewers. There's a centrepiece that's worth discovering for yourself, and all around it are a handful of little stories playing out that you're free to lend your hand to or to just casually observe.