“Black-eyed Bastard”

The Outsider Character in the Dishonored Series

Abstract

Dishonored is not only one of the most popular and original game series on the market, but from a religious point of view it has one of the most complex and original fictional belief systems. A character that particularly stands out is the Outsider, a mysterious divine-like entity that interacts with all main playable characters, giving them supernatural abilities and commenting on their choices. He inhabits a mysterious otherworld called Void, containing everything supernatural, chaotic, magical and irrational. The Outsider also indirectly affects the ‘human world’ by figuring in underground cults and their opponents, creating an interesting mosaic of religious teachings and struggles. In this article, we would like to examine the Outsider both in the context of the game lore and comparative religion studies, with emphasis on the analysis of his character and its parallels in world mythologies.