Dishonored Review
Game Emblems
The Good
Dishonored's engrossing world and intoxicating interplay of supernatural powers make it a game you'll want to play more than once.
In addition to these superhuman movement abilities, you can choose the power of possession. Slipping into the skin of a rat or the scales of a fish allows you to navigate small tunnels and reach new areas, and when leveled up, you can even possess other humans for a short while. Acquiring and improving your supernatural powers requires runes, though, and there aren't enough for you to max out every power. There are no bad choices, thankfully, though some clearly favor lethal or nonlethal approaches. Pacifists will appreciate the ability to stop time, for example, while assassins might favor the power that instantly turns corpses to ash.
Powers are equipped in your left hand and are accessed with a radial menu. This menu also contains your pistol and your crossbow, each of which has a few different ammo types. Sleep darts are the only nonlethal munition in the bunch, and they are invaluable to players who try to play the entire game without killing anyone (yes, it's possible). The rest of your options are decidedly deadly, including grenades and razor-flinging proximity mines.
With such nasty weaponry and formidable powers at your disposal, you have a startling array of ways to deal with hostiles. Simply sneaking by them is often effective, as is creeping up from behind, applying a sleeper hold, and dragging the bodies to a dark corner. Killing can be quiet too. A deadly drop from above makes no noise, and a properly timed windblast can blow an enemy off a high ledge, never to be seen again. If you prefer to see the whites of their eyes, your sword is always in your right hand, ever ready to duel. You are a formidable swordsman, able to block and counterattack against most blows, but clanging swords bring more guards or thugs, and they won't wait until their allies are out of the way to take a shot at you.
Enemies are prone to fatal dips in intelligence from time to time, but they are generally tenacious and alert enough to put up a decent fight. Once you start experimenting with powers, weapons, and environmental elements, Dishonored's amazing flexibility shows its stuff. Summon a swarm of rats to devour an enemy, and then possess one of the rats to sneak up behind those foes who come running. Blow enemy projectiles back in their faces, killing them instantly. Freeze time, enter a room with hostiles, drop a live grenade, exit and close the door, and then watch the explosion through the keyhole.
Sure, you didn't really have to watch, but taking a playful approach can result in even more supernatural fun. Blow bottles off a shelf from a hidden perch to terrify the maids. Snatch a painting while a guard is looking at it instead of waiting for him to walk away. Throw a corpse off a balcony onto a guard, but freeze time before it hits, so you can watch his reaction when you appear in front of him as he gets clobbered from above. Dishonored has multiple save slots available, and taking advantage of the ability to tear things up and then reload a fresh start encourages you to engage in some absolutely delightful mayhem.
Yet even though it allows you to wipe the recent slate clean, Dishonored still begs to be replayed from the beginning. Unlocking different powers, finishing missions in different ways, striving to be more or less murderous, and seeing a different endgame all offer appealing incentives to give it another go. It's a rare game that feels so compulsively replayable, but Dishonored is such a game. The compelling abilities, the bold artistic design, the colorful characters, and above all, the freedom of choice--these are the things that mark Dishonored as one of the truly remarkable games of this year.
By
Chris Watters, Editor
With his Apple IIGS as the spark and his neighbor's NES the fuel, Chris Watters' passion for gaming caught fire early. Years later, you can find him aiming down virtual sights, traipsing through fantastical lands, and striving to be grossly incandescent while desperately avoiding sunburns.
97 comments
1 Like Bought it for about $25 and love the game, with that said it is way to short and simple to be worth $65
Love this game. I'm on hard and probably 50% way through the story. Art work is fantastic. Game play is both rewarding and succinct. Story is good (not great, but not bad). The options one can use to get from point a to point b is the key. Gaming (like movies, music, etc) is very subjective. I could not stand Dark Souls and returned it the same week I got it. Others think it's the best thing since sliced bread. If my options were Buy, Wait or Pass, I would definitely go with Buy.
This game immediately reminded me of Splinter Cell with the bottle throwing to distract enemies, the sneaking up from behind, and the hiding bodies just in an old age atmosphere. After playing a few levels as some had mentioned it got boring, and repetitive. There is some creativity in having 3, or 4 different options in how to go about an event. You can run and gun the entire game, but the feeling of excitement is more rewarding from the stealthy tactics offered. I personally was glad I rented.
One of the best games I have played in a long time.
Fantastic, styalised environments with a rich atmosphere that is hard to describe. Brilliantly creative gameplay, meaning you can approach a level in almost any way you choose, simply demanding that you try it again and again, just to see what the outcome will be.
Brilliant movement, even from the basic swings and dips whilst you are walking and jumping.
If you check out everything, and don't try to blast through the levels, the play time is more than enough. I don't know why people are saying its too short? I mean, yes, id have liked more... but isn't that just testament to the quality of the game?
It wont be for everyone, but if like me, you are getting bored of identikit FPS, RPGs and sandbox games; you want a bit of challenge and you can appreciate quality level design and artwork... then you WILL enjoy this game.
2 Like Looking at some comments here, I have to ask. Was I the only one that actually liked this game? I know it's not fantastic, but it sure as hell is a breath of fresh air.
1 Like I dont understand why ppl complain about short story. Not all games have to be 100+ hours content. Some games are played because they have other qualifications such as graphics
It's only a short story if you go plowing through it and killing everyone. Playing on total stealth made the game quite long for me.
@Lord_Tigger @jediclub agreed, my first play through of it i just used time bend and killed basically everything, or either ran past everything. one of the strengths of this game is that you can approach however you want to.
1 Like Those of you that have not played it, yet dish out dirt - shame on you. Dishonored is an absolutely fantastic game (yes, it may be short for the casual gamer). You can kill enemies creatively, voice acting is excellent and graphics and gameplay are brilliant. Completion Is hard (trophy wise) and the best thing is that you cannot upgrade EVERYTHING! Meaning you'll have to play it again, and try new tactics. So many ways to go round and pretty hard if you play it on the most difficultest level. I agree, there is not many bad things apart from the shortness of the game (mission times vary, to complete a mission fully - regardless if you want clean hand achievement - they do get long). To sum up in a couple of words: extremely fun and creative.
1 Like This game looks fun (I like that you can choose whether to kill or not), but I think I'll wait till the price goes down to buy it. Seems a little too overhyped, and this review seems anything but objective.
3 Like This game sounds good, but isn't this review in a way slightly bias stating how there's no "bad" section towards this review...
I mean it has a 9.0, a very good score, but what is the thing that it is lacking from being that one outstanding game and the last 1 point?
This game sucks ballz, too short and the AI is stupid. GS really dropped the ball with this review.
2 Like really? this game has nothing under THE BAD... lol, i really hope is some weird glitch
The game is amazing but it still has a flaw. Even with exploring and mapping out areas. Its too short. It goes by really quickly and yes it has a whole ton of replay value but that doesn't mean new missions or story line.
This game looks awesome! the powers, the gameplay ,the options, the enviroment... definetly a must buy.
finally a good game appear and a good editor review it in nice way ....... am going for this one after RE 6 for sure ;)
Seriously, no 'bad' aspect of the game?
Well, considering the same developers of Skyrim V, a game so big, complex and open ended that I'm STILL PLAYING 100++ hours to date, the graphics and first-person gameplay looks very familiar. Are they using skyrim v template for this game and adapt it to a more modern rendition?
The game looks great and I;m a fan of Bethesda's recent games :-D
@Dudelove276 Bethesda did NOT MAKE this game!!! They only published it - and it shows.
Is this available on the psn.... Seems to be the only way I buy stuff these days, impulse buys online when I got nothin getter to do... But this, AC3, and Hitman are my top three this season... Glad to hear it lives up to the hype!
3 Like I just hope this is not a Bioshock of sorts. I've really had a hard time liking Bioshock.
@franzito Bioshock WAS over-rated, I too did NOT enjoy it's gameplay as much as it was hyped to be. I even gave up near the end as it wound me up, poor gunplay, stupid splicer enemies. However what I can say is I would GLADLY play bioshock through 10 times rather than play Dishononored through even for an hour again! If you did not like Bioshock you will absolutely detest this game. It has none of the charm or inventiveness of Bioshock, at least that game made a decent stab at immersing you, this game is flat and dull and a rip off of elements of Bioshock, Half life 2, Deus Ex, Undying and many more much worse games. It wins 2012's 'most crappy overhyped game' award :)
Resident Evil 6
Dark Souls
Final Fantasy XIII & XIII-2
Uncharted 1-2-3
Dead Island
Heavy Rain
@EbeneezerGoode Thanks for telling me that, I've sold my Bioshock copy recently, just couldn't get through the game.
3 Like @franzito I thought I was the only one! I can really appreciate Bioshock and the world they built etc... I just didn't enjoy it.
@Ronaldo27 Its not developed by Bethesda, only produced. So it likely wont be plagued with fallout/elderscrolls style bugs.
@AshenSkies91 @Ronaldo27 it is also sadly not plagued by any decent game-play or longevity
@skornedwarrior No you won't HAVE to buy it and I'd advise you do not. Take these reviews with a pinch of salt. Save your money or buy almost any other decent game from the past 5 years - you'll have more fun.
@EbeneezerGoode @skornedwarrior
If someone has trouble deciding if this game is good or not, it's simple, go to Metacritic and read the USER's reviews as you can do it here too. And you can ask the user or check what other titles he reviewed to compare if you have the same tastes. Example: I love Skyrim, but I hated Dragon's Dogma, so, if I read a review from a user that thinks the opposite, it will not matter how bad he says about the game, I can't take his opinions as valid ones, am I right?
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Dishonored
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- Publisher(s): Bethesda Softworks
- Developer(s): Arkane Studios
- Genre: Action
- Release:
- ESRB: M
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