Dishonored - A stealth adventure which no gamer or fan of action adventure games should miss out on
Dishonored is a great game of epic and dramatic proportions if you're willing to invest in the story and look at the game from a non linear perspective. Do I take the choice of running along the rooftops? Do I use my blink ability alongside the slow time ability to travel in plain sight without the guards noticing? Or do I kill everyone in sight?
You play as Corvo a bodyguard of the Empress and her young daughter Emily. The Empress is murdered and her young daughter abducted and you're framed for her murder set to rot in the prisons of Dunwall for the crime of Regicide. Within a day of your execution you receive a letter and a key letting you escape from your prison cell and allowing you to redeem yourself. Later you receive magical abilities from an all powerful being who brands you with his mark and with the help of loyalists of the Empire you're set on a quest to find out who really murdered the Empress and more importantly to find and rescue Emily from her abductors.
These kind of decisions engross you in the story and heavily influence your decisions within the world of Dishonored and will affect the city of Dunwall forever.
You can either kill those who wronged you or punish them through bloodless intrigue this in essence is where your journey begins. These are the choices you as Corvo the silent protagonist face and depending on the route you choose the game will either reward you for taking the stealthy non lethal approach or make life harder for taking the violent non stealthy approach. These decisions can be taken lightly or for the player with a 'gamers' conscious these decisions can weigh heavily on the player requiring the player to either forgive his former enemies or go for an eye for an eye these kind of decisions engross you in the story and heavily influence your decisions within the world of Dishonored and will affect the city of Dunwall forever.
Dishonored brings with it's abilities which adds a new element to the already fun and interesting stealth gameplay incorporated.
Does the gameplay match? Simply yes it does...for the most part the gameplay is fluid and fun but at times it faces some clunkiness which ruins the feel of combat but thankfully these moments aren't commonplace however in saying that non stealth based combat while fun does feel underdeveloped and basic it could be argued that it is a stealth game and non stealth combat shouldn't be a concern but it is in the game so it is a concern as the combat can feel repetitive and unrewarding. However in turn stealth gameplay most of the time feels very enjoyable and never lacks excitement it'll be guaranteed to engross you during every multilayer mostly non linear level. Another great feature of stealth is it's balanced! You'll never feel overpowered and you'll have to use your wit on a multitude of occasions as your sleeping poison tipped crossbow bolts run out and you have to rely on knocking out your enemies rather than picking them off quietly at a distance this is where the game becomes superb, you HAVE to choose the right moment to knock out a guard to make sure their fellow guards won't notice and you have to make sure you have a place to dump the body if not everything goes out the window and it's guaranteed you'll be constantly saving and reloading. On top of the great stealth gameplay is the new layer that Dishonored brings with it's abilities which adds a new element to the already fun and interesting stealth gameplay incorporated and for the most part its well balanced with the mana system ensuring you don’t abuse your new powers.
Visually the game is great if you enjoy the slightly cartoonish art style Dishonored and the city of Dunwall is a beautiful world and perfectly fits what I imagine a depressing steampunk world to look like everything is suitable to the art style from the water to the architecture and clothing visually its great and fortunately the audio quality goes hand in hand with its great voice acting which never sounds poor in anyway and the talented voice actors in this game will really help incorporate you into this intriguing world full of political backstabbing and totalitarianism never once did I feel a voice actor did not portray their role poorly or without suitability.
Pros
- Great stealth gameplay
- Wonderful voice acting
- An interesting and visually appealing art direction
- An intriguing story (if slightly cliche at times)
- Dynamic level design
- A location with character
Cons
- Repetitive and sometimes frustrating combat gameplay
- Limited to a good or evil story ending
If you’re looking for a great stealth game you've hit the gold mine it might not be perfect with its sometimes frustrating combat gameplay but the stealth gameplay, voice acting, art direction, story and dynamic level design easily makes up for that single flaw and makes this a must own game for anyone who loves action adventure games or stealth based gameplay. You are the master of your destiny and Corvo is who you want him to be this is a purchase you will not regret.
9/10