Thoughts on Dishonored?

Dishonored is the game that I really enjoyed. It was a fun game with solid gameplay mechanics, OK level design and great art direction. The game gave you plenty of gadgets and abilities to overcome any challenge. It was fun to use different combinations of character abilities, tools and weapons.

However, sometimes I think that people praise it way too much. It was a very good game,,, may be great even but I've seen plenty of people calling it a masterpiece. I have also seen them praising its level design and its rewarding experience. I don't think level design was anything brilliant.

Sure it was a step up from rest of the modern linear games but I don't think it's that good. The game was also too easy for my taste and failed to create tension, which means no satisfaction after overcoming a "challenge".

At the end of the day, it is a very good game, just not excellent or a masterpiece. That's just my opinion of course. Currently, Dishonored 2 is one of my most anticipated games. I don't think that's because I think Dishonored was a masterpiece but because after playing the first game, I was excited about the possibilities in the sequel.

The good base is already there. I am really looking forward to seeing how they improve upon the first game. If they really did then this could be one of the best games in a long time. But if they copied the exact same formula then I'll be disappointed and if they took even a single step backward then I think it'll be a bit underwhelming.

What are your thoughts on Dishonored? Are you excited for the sequel? Tell us what you want to see in the upcoming game and what you missed, liked or didn't like in the first game.

i got stuck half way and gave up so wasnt that easy lol.

My opinions are divided, before that point i agree it was pretty easy. It had good options in the environment but i felt the feel of the game was a bit old behind its time. I think ill need to go back to and give another try but my motivation is low as i have so many games inc ac syndicate very similar setting though diff game

I got bored mid way and stopped playing not really sure why it was ok.

I think Dishonored caught the imagination of people who either hadn't experienced older games like Thief or those who have felt a growing malaise over how linear modern level design often is. I loved Dishonored, but it was very much a game that could have been better. From a stealth perspective, there are too many easy ways out. Yes yes, "it gives you choice!" and all that, but it detracts from the experience. On the other hand, in combat it was also easy to be overpowered. So by straddling the two play styles it lost a little something from both. I also think the level design was generally very good, and a breath of fresh air in how truly 3D the usable space was; but I found some areas to be much more restricted than others, and sometimes in immersion-breaking ways. I liked the art style - there was something a bit jarring, though, about how the cartoonified/watercolored styling mixed with some of the graphical flaws (low poly counts and meh AA sometimes). Rounder and smoother edges all around would have really gone well with the art direction; the game was insanely optimized - ran at 1080p EASILY on old hardware - and so I think they had a lot of wiggle room there to improve some of these rough visual edges to make the art style they went with "pop" while preserving solid performance.

I really enjoyed it. I would agree that it's not a masterpiece because honestly, the story felt pretty half baked. But that was okay because the gameplay was well refined and levels were fun, especially the one where you're a party guest. It's pretty much the closest thing we have to a true Thief game these days, and it was really enjoyable.

I loved it... and I actually enjoyed it more the second play-through for some reason. Can't wait for 2!

I agree. I've also noticed that pretty much everyone who've called it a "masterpiece" haven't played old games much. But as you said level design compared to other linear modern games was decent (not outstanding,,, not bad).

Overall, very good game. Looking forward to seeing how they'll improve the sequel. Very excited.

masterpiece isn't a word i'd use to describe it but it wasn't a million miles away.

good stuff: the dystopian-like dunwall with a nice fusion of magic and technology was brilliantly done and atmospheric, and it was no surprise (to me) to find the city (and much of the game) was created by former deus ex and half life 2 developers / designers. and like in half life 2 the silent protagonist worked really well. blink was a brilliant stealth mechanic and opened the door for all kinds of inventive approaches to situations. i love games that reward creativity and invention. there was some excellent level design and set pieces and the pacing was great in terms of powers and increasing challenge of the levels. the dlc was enjoyable too.

not so good stuff: the story was predictable (but not convoluted, at least). the outsider, particularly the voice actor, weren't very convincing. some of the powers didn't hold much interest to me. revisiting the same parts of the city in separate missions made it feel a little repetitive but nothing too hard to stomach (like the jba compound levels on splinter cell double agent for example). and the definitive edition on the ps4 was disappointingly unoptimised. the pc goty version for me remains the definitive edition.

all in all a solid 8.5 - 9 from me. got a bad feeling the sequel won't live up to the first game though

As I said in the system wars thread...Dishonored is a good game in its own right, but it is heavily overshadowed by earlier (better) games.

I don't know how to put this but I feel that we hardcore stealth gamers are not going to enjoy modern stealth games unless we change our mentality. The thing is on my first play through of dishonoured I went for the ghost play style, trying to slip by enemies without disturbing them and only doing so if necessary and it wasn't bad, but I didn't exactly have as much fun as the reviews told me. Then on my second play through I decided to get creative and not be so "hardcore". Used all the tools I had, possessed enemies, knocked them out in funny ways even though it would've been easier to just slip past. And that's when I really started to enjoy it a lot. Imo you won't get what you're looking for in Dishonored 2 unless you change your mindset.

Honestly the same can be said about MGSV. The reviews said you have tons of ways to get through any situation and throughout the beginning part of the game I was getting through every encounter with just the tranq gun lol and I was getting bored. People like Angry Joe seemed to be having a blast with the game and I noticed they would use stuff like helicopter strikes, bombs, etc. So I decided to vary my play style and use as much of the tools that I had in my arsenal. Doing stuff like ledge takedowns, corner takedowns, using sleep mines, stun decoys, rocket punch, etc. The key point here is that in fact the easier way would've just been to slip past and/or use the tranq gun. In fact no stealth game I've encountered so far has ever been so hard that you absolutely "have to" use the tools at your disposal. And the hardcore stealth games like Thief and Chaos Theory were hard because you didn't have the necessary tools to deal with those situations in the first place. You would always have to use your bread and butter stick to the shadows, slip past, stealth takedown. The AI was balanced around that being your only option. I guess modern games haven't been able to balance this aspect where you have so many tools but you don't even need them.

Thief games had plenty of gadgets; Arrows, Water Arrows, Fire Arrows, Rope Arrows, Moss Arrows, Noisemaker Arrows, Gas Arrows, Mines, Gas Mines, Flash Bombs, Slow Fall Potions, Speed Potions, Invisibility Potions, Black Jack, Sword/Dagger, Scouting Orb and so on.

If you don't steal enough gold in the previous mission then you can't buy enough gadgets/tools for the next mission and that makes those missions very difficult, due to lack of enough tools. Then you are forced to be extra careful. The reason why those games were difficult was the combat, which was always your last resort. Two hits on expert difficulty, and you are dead. And that makes sense as a Stealth game.

And yeah you are right that sometimes you just stick to one tool/weapon and use it throughout the game in new titles. There is no need to use other gadgets in a lot of these games. That's something that should be fixed. You must use everything you have to survive.

Dishonored was a great game but by no means a masterpiece but i cant wait for the sequel

Yeah I thought it was a great game, I loved how it did not hold your hand; it gave you the tools and was like "Here, go have some fun!" and you go about your way.

While I agree with you on the level design (nothing amazing, but still good), I loved the art direction; I believe they hired the art director (or whatever title they give them) from Half-Life 2 to do a lot of the designs and overall aesthetics of the game, and it paid off because it is a very memorable universe.

Still haven't played the expansion/s, maybe I need to give it another try.

That's how I felt about Bioshock; once you found a combo that worked (i.e. freezing someone then smashing them), it was all you need 90% of the time. I felt absolutely no need to use some of the other weapons or abilities. Worse, and unlike other games that don't hold your hand, they did not really encourage you to experiment imo. A fun, good game, but disappointing in many respects.

Concerning Dishonored, I felt it was more of an assassination-stealth game than a true-stealth game; enemy contact was inevitable, not something you could or should always avoid, but doing it quietly was ideal.

I only played it twice; once as stealth, once as non-lethal (didn't work so great...). I should try it again with guns blazing lol, see how it is.

I am a big fan of Dishonored. What impressed me the most was the non lethal option that was available throughout the game. I don't like stealth games that have mandatory confrontation. It negates the stealth gameplay. I looking forward to Dishonored 2 this year. I can't remember the cons of the game but the good elements fat outweigh the cons for me. If there was one con I can think of the top of my head was that the non-stealth route was too easy and boring.

I enjoyed it from start to finish, a rare and very different game, very enjoyable.

Played it on PC.

Cool game, very re-playable. Hope they expand on it in the sequel.

I did not play it for long but I can say I'm sure it's a very good game. Very well made.

I love games like Dishonored, where the game's mechanics are open enough for the player to come up with their own ideas and for the game to respond to them. Stealth and non-lethality were extremely interesting in Dishonored. For straight combat, and a lethal playthrough made the game so much easier. Therefore, when attempting a full stealth/non-lethal playthrough, there was always a lingering temptation to break your own self imposed rules, and you are all the more satisfied when you manage to make your way out of a sticky situation without breaking those rules.

It was a pretty good game. It was nice to have a modern stealth game.

Mostly enjoyed the game, loved the concept and world, but I thought it was bullshit they discouraged you from using your powers by giving you the "bad" ending if you kill too many people. The most fun you can have with the game is when you are using all of your powers in unison to quickly, efficiently take out all the enemies. This is where the game's brilliance shines through, not when it forces you to stealth completely, which is what you have to do if you want the "good" ending. I understand it in the context of the story, but that doesn't really excuse it in my eyes. Hopefully the next game does away with the "good/bad" ending shit. Otherwise I'm looking forward to see how they can expand on the concept in the sequel.

It's not even an open world game, but it's still the most open SP game I've played maybe ever. That's huge for me because most open world games are still pretty linear in terms of what they allow you to do. When you watch videos of how people play Dishonored you really see how flexible the game is and how deep you can go. There are also more subtle aspects to the narrative like how Emily changes based on your actions within the game. What she draws literally changes based on what you do.

It's just a game that can be very rewarding based on your creativity. It can be easy, but it can be VERY difficult also based on your creativity.

Having just replayed Dishonored (twice, one kill all and one almost no kill), plus the DLC for the first time, I have a new appreciation for it. In fact, my only serious criticism (as others have pointed out) is how you are punished for killing, which is definitely odd for a stealth assassination game.

The art direction is fantastic, you definitely see Viktor Antonov's hand in the overall design, feeling, and environments of Dunwall. While powered by the Unreal Engine (3?) and not all that technically impressive, it has a certain color palette that really makes the game look like a living oil painting to some extent. Add in the exaggerated, borderline-caricature appearance of anything organic (human, rats, dogs) and you not only have an industrial age city with sharp edges, but creatures that inhabit it with sharp edges as well.

And then there's the whole whale thing going on. I Know it's not a main theme of the game, but it is constantly in the background, especially in Knife of Dunwall DLC. It really creates this somber undertone, where you almost feel guilty for "living" in this world that has built it's foundation on the hunting, and near-extinction, of noble beasts. Various books and notes around the game indicate that the whales are almost sentient, and are tortured alive to extract more oil.

All the powers in the game are incredibly useful and, more importantly, fun to use; there is something amazing about possessing a rat, sneaking through a grate, coming up behind a guard, then blasting him off a balcony with a gust of wind. Or teleporting behind a guard and sinking a blade into his neck. Or stopping time in the middle of a duel, plucking ammo out of the air after being shot at, throwing a grenade, and then shooting the grenade mid-air in the middle of a group of guys. You really are encouraged to use them all as well, which is something neglected in most games of this nature.

The controls are smooth and comfortable as well, which is especially impressive given the amount of mobility you are given in the game.

The story is pretty damn good for an FPS, I'd argue it is actually one of the better plots to have accompanied one of the better games in recent years. Voice acting ranges from acceptable to good, nothing amazing, but there are some good actors in there as well: Susan Sarandon as Granny Rags, Chloe Grace-Moretz as Emily, Michael Madsen as Daud (god I love that gravel in his voice!)...even Lena Heady (yes, from Game of Thrones) voice acted in it.

I think you can tell they put a lot of effort into the game, and imo it paid off big time. Not sure how well it sold, but it must have done OK to warrant a sequel. Can't wait for Dishonored 2...get to play as Emily!!!

I thought it was ingenious and a great antidote to anyone suffering from Elder Scrolls or Hitman fatigue.

It's a very good game but also very flawed. My main gripe with it is that almost every tool you get is designed to kill. Playing the game with no kills and no alerts felt like you were getting less of an experience, when typically in these games that should be the ideal play style.

My second playthrough where I went for stealthy but lots of kills was a lot more fun.

I loved the game. Granted, it wasn't the greatest game I've played. It wasn't spectacular. But I loved the setting, and loved the game overall.

Oh god this game. I just traded it in, looked impressive at the start but got bored quickly. The enemies you encounter are to simple just a few shots and there down, if there swarming you just teleport and engage again. I got around halfway through but couldn't be bothered finishing it

@mickyassassin94: I know you've already rid yourself of the game, but maybe try going through the game stealthy. It seems to be a bit more interesting that way.

Some people can't be bothered to play around in a game for the sake of it; they're going to play any FPS like they do any other FPS (i.e., they're going to play Dishonored like they play Halo).

Can't fault people for being efficient, but it's a shame to see brilliant game design wasted because someone want's to build a sand shanty instead of a sand castle in their sandbox. I mean, why bother; shanty or castle they're both used to house people right? :(

you'd expect more from a guy with assassin in his user name

I played some of the game but I didn't like it at all.