[b]Dishonored – Review[/b]
After finishing [i]Dishonored[/i], I can confidently say this is one of the most imaginative and engrossing games I have played in a long time. The first two missions had me slightly worried because they were slow, restrictive, and honestly a little boring despite the fantastic atmosphere. Then I reached High Overseer Campbell, the game finally opened up, and everything changed.
The biggest strength is Dunwall itself. This plague-ridden industrial city is filthy, Gothic, oppressive, beautiful, and incredibly detailed. Whale-oil technology, rats, the Outsider, the Abbey, corrupt aristocrats, plague victims, assassins, and bizarre supernatural elements all come together to create a world that feels completely unique.
Visually, the game looks almost like a watercolor or oil painting brought to life. It doesn't chase photorealism, which is probably why it has aged so well. The exaggerated faces, crooked architecture, painted skies, dark colors, and Daniel Licht's eerie soundtrack give [i]Dishonored[/i] an atmosphere that few games can match.
The gameplay is where it truly becomes special.
Once Corvo receives the Outsider's Mark, the game basically hands you a target and says, "Figure it out." You can Blink across rooftops, crawl through windows, possess animals, stop time, disable security systems, use sleep darts, choke guards unconscious, or simply start killing people. The vertical level design constantly rewards looking up instead of following the obvious path.
I decided early on that ordinary guards and civilians would survive whenever possible, while the major assassination targets would die. Campbell was poisoned, the Pendleton twins were killed with crossbow shots, Lady Boyle was reluctantly shot in the cellar, Burrows was ambushed in his bedroom, and Havelock eventually got shot twice before I threw his body off the lighthouse.
The major exception was Daud. Despite being the man who murdered Jessamine, I couldn't bring myself to kill him. Instead, I silently stole his key without him ever realizing Corvo was there and simply left.
The mission design becomes outstanding once the game gets moving. Lady Boyle's Last Party is incredibly creative because Corvo can openly walk around a masquerade wearing his actual assassin mask. I even signed "Corvo Attano" in the guest book, which was ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ badass. The Royal Physician has some of the best pure infiltration and vertical level design in the game.
But my favorite was easily The Flooded District. It is enormous, atmospheric, varied, and feels almost like several missions combined into one. Losing Corvo's equipment, recovering it, navigating the flooded ruins, dealing with Daud, and eventually running into Granny Rags and Slackjaw made it the highlight of the entire game.
Not every mission reaches that level. Returning Home barely feels like a mission, Dishonored itself mostly functions as an extended tutorial, The Loyalists is too short and reuses the Hound Pits after I had already explored the entire place, and the final mission was good rather than spectacular.
The ending itself was also just alright.
But none of those flaws came close to ruining the experience.
[b]PROS[/b]
• Incredible world and atmosphere
• Gorgeous watercolor/oil-painting art direction
• Dunwall is one of the best settings I've explored in a game
• Fantastic supernatural abilities
• Blink is incredibly satisfying
• Excellent vertical level design
• Huge freedom in approaching objectives
• Strong environmental storytelling
• Creative assassination missions
• Great soundtrack and sound design
• Choices and Chaos system affect the world
• Excellent replay value
• Corvo's mask is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ terrifying
• The Flooded District is phenomenal
[b]CONS[/b]
• First two missions are slow
• Some late-game locations reuse familiar areas
• The Loyalists is too short
• Final mission isn't as ambitious as the game's best levels
• Ending could have been stronger
• Guard dialogue becomes extremely repetitive
• Chaos system can discourage using some of the coolest lethal abilities
• River Krusts can ♥♥♥♥ right off
[b]FINAL SCORE: 10/10[/b]
[i]Dishonored[/i] isn't flawless, but it doesn't need to be. Once the game opened up, I became completely absorbed in Dunwall, Corvo's abilities, the incredible level design, and the freedom to approach situations however I wanted.
The first two missions made me wonder when the game was going to get good.
High Overseer Campbell answered that question.
By the time I reached The Flooded District, I was completely sold.
[i]Dishonored[/i] didn't just make me want to finish Corvo's story.
It made me want to experience the entire Dishonored/Deathloop universe.
[b]10/10. Masterpiece.[/b]
