“Corvo Attano’s Theme” is similarly simple with a bit more percussion and electricity in the guitar. “Emily Kaldwin’s Theme” uses a soft, three-note guitar motif that never really develops, but is quite beautiful. The melodies of that main theme are rivaled by the melodies of the character themes. The “Streets of Karnaca” and “Aristocrats of Karnaca” tracks (in their various iterations) are much less eventful, although the combat track – while very short – does include a fast-paced iteration of the main theme. The second half introduces another very short melody that shows up several times across the score. The first track, “Dishonored 2 Main Theme” plays an eerie melody on what sounds like a bouzouki against distorted rhythmic beats. I preferred the sounds of the Dishonored 2 partially because it also incorporated a series of Mediterranean instruments, which ended up making the atmospheric tracks more accessible. Aside from scattered moments in the score – a main theme, and a couple fantastic credits songs – the tracks are there to create an atmosphere rather than a separate piece of music.

Dishonored 2, like its predecessor, leans heavily towards the ambient. Those who enjoyed the first will probably enjoy the second, and those who found the first soundtrack lacking thematic content would probably have the same complaint for the second score. It’s worth noting first that the two Dishonored soundtracks are very similar.

The Dishonored franchise has made a name for itself for its trademark grim, twisted worlds and innovative stealth mechanics. For the most recent installment, composer Daniel Licht returned to craft another one of his dark scores, this time filled with southern European sounds to reflect the sunnier setting of the game – at least, compared to its predecessor.

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