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| https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/65/Dishonored_box_art_Bethesda.jpg |
What makes it?
Gameplay is the main selling point for this game. With the massive amount of games with forced hybrid stealth elements (CoD if I recall correctly), it is refreshing to see a game where stealth is mostly mandatory. In the harder difficulties, not being stealthy is very difficult as your sword-fighting skills (which is effective though simplistic) is not good enough to handle every single enemy who is able to swarm around you. As a result, the stealth gamer will be able to have fun in this age where slow stealth is given less priority for quick cinematic takedowns(though the AI's predictability at times will ruin it). Helping this along are the powers which I will discuss later.
The environment is quite nice to look at with its steam-punk motif and Victorian era style. It looks like, as said in Zero Punctuation, Victorian London if it had been taken over by the Combine (and the PA lady was let go for an equally dull man). The books scattered around make for some decent world-building with the mechanisms and structure of the world in Dishonored explained with sufficient detail to clarify questions but leaving enough queries for speculation (though recent interviews with the creators have shed some light on additional aspects that the wiki has noted)
The powers are part of gameplay, but I would dedicate a section to describe how much they enhance the gameplay. As part of the story, Corvo receives a set of supernatural abilities from the resident trickster god, the Outsider which adds a collecting mechanic as runes used to level up said abilities are scattered throughout the levels. For the homicidal (and those who forced themselves to be pacifists), the game offers abilities such as summoning swarms of rats and wind-blasts whereas the pacifist can use blink (short range teleportation), dark vision (enhanced vision to see NPC vision cones and through walls), bend time and possession. The fun starts when using these powers as part of a combination such as summoning a swarm of rats, stop time, place a mine on a rat, possess an enemy NPC, position NPC into swarm, release NPC from possession, find a nice vantage spot and revel in the agony of said NPC (bonus points if the NPC was a particularly annoying guard). For a stealthy player, the possession power already opens up new options to the player when dealing with a group of guards that stand still along with bend time whereas blink allows for quick getaways for almost all given situations. Exploration is made easier using these powers with special mention to blink. I personally only used possession, bend time and blink in my playthroughs (along with agility, a non-active supernatural ability that includes vitality, shadow kill and blood thirsty)
Freedom of choice is present in a limited sense. When it comes to eliminating the main targets of the story, the game offers two paths. The first is the normal assassination path where you are given a target and a sandbox to plan out your unannounced execution. The second is the non-lethal elimination whereby an additional option is presented to the player that allows for the target to be removed from the game's events without spilling a drop of blood and dealing poetic justice to most of the targets. The second path is usually hidden and requires some exploration to discover. I quite liked this option as I usually got my assassination kicks from playing Hitman: Blood Money, so giving me an option to inflict cruel mercy on the morally depraved targets was rather fun (one in particular was quite cathartic due to the level being rather difficult). It should be noted however that this freedom only appears for eliminations whereas its effects happen to hamper it. This will be discussed later
What breaks it?
Balancing issues do crop up as a result of the powers and tools at your disposal. With possession or bend time along with the right bone charms to augment your character, entire patrols can be eliminated by walking and this is not considering the use of blink or lethal playthroughs. A lethal predator playthrough would probably be quite easy (especially with shadow kill which disintegrates corpses upon a stealth kill) and make the game less challenging. I haven't tried it but from my rare experimentation with the game, it is possible to eliminate most enemies with stealth and the right abilities. With the tension lessened, some players could lose the thrill of playing the game or would enjoy being an empowered individual due to player input (once again opinions will vary).
Moral choice is implemented in the game via the choice to be lethal or non-lethal. Being lethal creates high chaos that worsens the conditions of the in-game places, adds difficulty and makes all the characters far more critical and aggressive to each other whereas being non-lethal improves the conditions of said places, maintains the usual difficulty and makes the characters amicable towards each other. As a result, the player that wishes to mix up their play styles would be forced to pick one route and stick with it (unless they go for the middle route but it's the equivalent of being full lethal). It winds up being tedious when something goes wrong and the body you hid on the rafters fell into water or onto the pavement, necessitating reloads of previous saves. The endings are also influenced by chaos so the moral choice is forced onto players seeking out specific endings. For me, this was rather restrictive as I restricted myself from fully exploring the levels as I could not disable enough guards to grant me the freedom to explore and loot. I could sneak around but that was half the fun.
Story was not amazing or grand as it felt like a typical story about an individual being framed for a crime and goes off to clear his name or seek revenge. It was not helped by the predictability of certain twists and the uninteresting characters of the game, which mainly consists of your allies which fit some clichés and tropes too well. It is not helped by the main character being a silent protagonist as it makes Corvo feel like an outsider to the world even though the characters treat him with friendly familiarity. While in-game events depict Corvo as having a character that in-game people have seen, the fact that he is a silent protagonist diminishes this as Corvo is never able to portray whatever character he is said to have. I never felt engaged by the story once and most of my fun was a result of the voyeuristic thrill that decent stealth games give me like Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and Hitman: Blood Money.
Personal views
I had a good time with this game despite my criticisms. With solid gameplay and the fun that only a stealth game could provide, Dishonored is an acceptable game to have. I would recommend other titles but for what it has, along with the DLC that adds onto the game (and gives a protagonist that has a voice and character), Dishonored is good enough for a purchase (during a sale and buying the GOTY version). While some aspects left me disappointed (since I was hyped for the game), it was never awful or left a bad taste after playing it unlike certain games(i.e Final Fantasy XIII). It was able to deliver on most points and for me, this was enough. I still go back to Blood Money though for my assassination fun. I recommend getting Dishonored GOTY during a sale. Just remember that this recommendation is subjectively biased. Your own opinion may vary.
Summary
What makes it
Gameplay, environment, powers, freedom of choice
What breaks it
Balancing issues, Moral choice, Story
P.S: While I am talking about Dishonored, I will provide my opinion on Dishonored 2. Feel free to disagree. I think it is an unnecessary sequel. The way Dishonored end seemed conclusive to me or at least felt like the end of a story. I get that there is a whole world to see in the Dishonored universe so a game would have pop up somewhere though I was thinking along the lines of a spin-off rather than a direct sequel.
(SPOILERS PRESENT) I guess having Emily and Corvo being the protagonists is fine though my first issue is giving Corvo a voice seeing as he was a silent protagonist in the first game and as a result, his character does not really shine through. This means that Dishonored 2 has to establish Corvo's behaviour (and whether it is influenced by the events of Dishonored via save file transfer) and establish adult Emily's character. Judging by how characters were handled in Dishonored, this may backfire. (SPOILERS OVER)
The hype created from the CGI trailer is rather odd in my opinion seeing as all we saw in a nutshell was a fancy looking cutscene with hints of in-game powers that may not act the same way in actual gameplay. I'm not eagerly anticipating this game but I am willing to give it a chance.
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