Dishonored Review

A Knife in the Dark

Ryan Gilliam

To be asked to describe Dishonored, is similar to being asked to describe a priceless

painting. It is beautiful, and is almost unanimously praised, yet everyone experiences it

so differently. When one person looks at a painting, they may feel very differently than

the last person who viewed the exact same painting. This is a very similar experience to

Dishonored.

Just like many paintings, Dishonored creates a fresh, new world for the player to learn

about and explore. The quality of Dishonored’s fiction is something gamers have not

experienced since 2007 when Bioshock was first released. Dunwall, the city the game

takes place in, is a whaling city, and the hunting of whales brings the fuel for most

technology in the world. The setting and universe feel unique and unexperienced. It

gives the player an erie sense of unease while still exciting them enough to explore both

the the darkest alley and the highest castle.

The city of Dunwall is ruled by the Empress and her young daughter Lady Emily. The

player experiences the game through the eyes of Corvo Attano, The Empress's

personal body guard and Lord Protector of Dunwall. Within the first ten minutes of the

game, after one of the best tutorials I have ever experienced, the player is treated to a

cutscene in which the Empress is murdered, Lady Emily is kidnapped, and Corvo is

blamed for everything. Corvo wakes up in the Dunwall Jail, merely hours away from his

set execution. This readies the player excellently, giving them a firm motivation for the

missions ahead.

Dishonored is, to some, a stealth game, and to others, a first person action title. Imagine

a game with the first person free-running of Mirrors Edge, the plasmids from Bioshock,

and the mission structure of Deus Ex. Armed with a sword in one hand and a secondary

weapon/power in the other, Corvo is capable of inflicting lethal force upon his enemies;

the choice of whether or not to use that power lays neatly in the hands of the player.

Corvo is given unique abilities by The Outsider, Dishonored’s “god” figure, early on in the quest. While there are many different powers, with many different uses, Blink is by

far, the most important ability given to the player. It allows Corvo to teleport a short

distance in any direction. This makes for an excellent way to climb buildings and

traverse the city. Having the option to walk in the front door and start slaughtering, or

climb in through a third story window and silently make your way through the mission, is

part of what makes this game so special and repayable.

The games environments are absolutely beautiful and a ton of fun to play around in.

With many entrances and exits, you will find yourself running all over the place just to

see how you could have gotten to same the goal in a completely different way. Most

impressive, is the consistency. While you will visit many of the maps multiple times, they will be different depending on the outcome of your last mission. This all boils down to the system of “The more people you kill, the more carnivorous rats appear in the area. The more carnivorous rats in the area, the more weepers (Dishonored’s zombie

equivalent enemy) you will have to deal with.” It is an excellent system that really

immerses the player deep into the world of Dunwall.

In Dishonored, players will use pistols, crossbows, and Stop Time in perfect tandem

with their blade to cut down specially selected men and women of Dunwall city. The

variety of options available even extend to a completely pure playthrough, where the

player can dispose of everyone, including their targets, in a non-lethal way

The combat, should you choose to engage in it, plays excellently. Whether you are

silently eliminating people with the sniper like crossbow, or blowing people apart with

the shotgun like pistol, you always feel rewarded after a fight. The sword is the primary tool at Corvo’s disposal and is always equipped in his right hand. In active, open combat, the sword can occasionally feel cumbersome, clashing endlessly against the swords of your opposers. However, when using the sword stealthily, or once you have mastered the timing of blocking and countering mid-combat, the blade will begin to feel more like an extension of Corvo’s arm than a clumsy tool.

For all of Dishonored brilliance, it does have one fatal flaw, its third and final act. When

the player reaches this point, they will be forced to play through several missions worth

of content that is little to no fun. The missions break away from the excellent

assassination formula, and move into a point A to B mission structure that just doesn't

seem to fit. More importantly, this is the only time in Dishonored that I was bored by the

environment. The game redeems itself in its final mission, but the end cutscene is short

and makes the game feel like it just ends with no real sense of closure.

Conclusion:

Dishonored is an excellent game, with a disappointing ending. It finds its own voice in a

sea of seemingly similar titles. Dishonored is one of, if not the best game of 2012 and a

must play for this generation of consoles. If you are looking for a game to fulfill your need for justice, look no farther than the rat infested streets of Dunwall.