Arkane Anniversary Collection

Arkane Anniversary Collection is a collection of action games created by Arkane Studios team. The set was released by Bethesda Softworks to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the studio activity, and is made of Dishonored: Definitive Edition, Dishonored 2, Dishonored: Death of the Outsider and Prey.

Plot

The games from the Dishonored series take us on a journey to a fictional universe reminiscent of 19th century Europe, enriched with elements taken from steampunk. In the first part of the cycle, we go to the town of Dunwall and play Corvo Attano, who, after being accused of murdering the Empress, must regain his lost honour and avenge the death of the ruler. The hero masters weapons and uses a number of fancy gadgets; in addition, he has been endowed with supernatural abilities by the mysterious Outsider, which makes him a perfect warrior, covert killer, and a shadow sneaking behind the backs of unaware enemies. The second part of the series takes place fifteen years later, in the town of Karnaka, where the daughter of the murdered ruler, Emily, sits on the imperial throne. After the witch Delilah makes a coup, Emily or Corvo (before we start playing, we choose the character we want to play) have to act in hiding in order to thwart the conspirators' plans and restore the young empress to her lost power. Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, on the other hand, allows us to play the role of Billie Lurk, who is hunting the Outsider, trying to eliminate him once and for all.

Prey, in turn, takes us to an alternative science fiction universe, to 2032. The action of this game takes place on the space station Talos 1, where TranStar corporation conducts mysterious experiments on aliens called Typhoons. In the course of the game, we play the role of a woman or a man named Morgan Yu, and our job is to survive in a facility controlled by dangerous aliens, to repair the damage caused by them and to prevent them from getting to Earth.

In each of the mentioned games, we make choices that affect both the course of the storylines and gameplay as well as which of the endings we will see.

Mechanics

In the games included in the Arkane Anniversary Collection, the action is observed from the first person perspective (FPP). While the Dishonored series productions are divided into missions taking place on separate levels (although they have an open structure and there are usually several roads leading to the target), Prey gives us the whole space station, where we can move around freely (as long as we have the right tools or items, such as access cards). In addition to the main tasks pushing the plot forward, there are a lot of side missions to perform. They are often hindered by enemies, whom we can eliminate both in open combat and quietly, making use of a wide range of different abilities of the characters and gadgets. As we make progress, the combat potential of the protagonists is increasing - we are unlocking skills, as well as gaining a new arsenal and improving the existing one. Additionally, Prey contains an extensive crafting system - the resources and schemes we obtain along the way are used to produce ammunition or useful items and tools for murder.

Technical aspects

The games from the Dishonored series have an original, slightly caricatured design. Prey, on the other hand, offers a slightly more realistic presentation, although the appearance of the characters, and especially their faces, may also seem a bit exaggerated.