Dishonoured: The Brigmore Witches

The Brigmore Witches, Dishonored's second expansion, might begin mere hours after The Knife of Dunwall ends, but it's a different beast. The horror that existed on the peripheries of the previous outings is now center stage, and with it comes greater challenges while peeling back the layers of Dunwall and the surrounding isles, revealing its darkest elements. This is Dishonored at its very best. 

Dishonored: The Brigmore Witches (PC [reviewed], PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

Developer: Arkane Studios

Publisher: Bethesda 

Release: August 13, 2013

MSRP: $9.99

Coldridge is on edge after Corvo's escape. The guards are meaner, more paranoid; the river has been drained, stopping anyone from leaping off the bridge; and those considered responsible for letting the Lord Protector slip through the grasp of the Lord Regent are about to be executed. It's the smallest of the three missions, but it does the best job of connecting the old with the new.

It is in Drapers Ward, the textile and seamstress district making up the second act, where most of Brigmore takes place. Canals, sewers, once glamorous streets now filled with detritus and crumbling buildings, factories, and a dock collide, making it by far the most diverse location. A savage gang war is tearing the place apart, with the dapper, top hat-wearing Hatters on one side, and the Dead Eel smugglers on the other..

Even while exploring a prison filled with mechanical security systems and the one-time heart of the textile industry, magic flows throughout The Brigmore Witches. Runes and bone charms return, of course, giving Daud new abilities or upgraded old ones, but with them comes corrupted charms. Made from broken bits and pieces of other charms or put together by amateurs, they do not work as intended. A charm designed to make its owner's attacks stronger also makes said attacks slower, while another gives the wearer preternatural speed at the cost of hardiness. 

Frankly, they are a bit crap. Daud's a pretty deadly fellow as it is, so they payoff isn't really worth the negative side effects. There are so many regular bone charms (especially if you're using a save from Knife of Dunwall, letting you keep all the ones you found in the earlier DLC) that there's simply no reason to cripple yourself unless you want a bit of extra challenge. 

It's a missed opportunity. There are a few books and accounts of these corrupted charms scattered throughout the maps, and there's a huge difference between those being described and those Daud finds.

Daud's final mission is undoubtedly his most challenging. I confess that I'm glad I was going for a high-chaos run, as staying hidden from this army of eldrich women and avoiding all conflict would be a tall order -- though it's one I will endeavour to attempt somewhere down the line.

All I really wanted was more Dishonored, but what I got was something that surpasses it. Intricate level design, nuanced worldbuilding, and gameplay that demands a thoughtful approach even when resulting in flashy, bloody violence -- The Brigmore Witches is setting the bar very high for future stealth romps.