Dishonored (2012) - Review
With the upcoming release of Dishonored 2 in November 2016, I thought I would take a moment to review the original game which released back in 2012. It was one of my favorite games at the time, and was easily re-playable due to the freedom of choice it gave to the player. I've just finished replaying it for the umpteenth time, and it is still a great experience.
As Corvo Attano, you are plunged into the grimy, mechanical city of Dunwall. The city is being ravaged by rats, both literally and politically, and it is your job to help clean up the latter. After the assassination of the Empress, whom you are sworn to protect, things take a turn for the worst.
As you set out to avenge her death, you start to get a feel for the depth of Corvo's character. That Corvo is trained killer there is no question, but the option to avoid killing allows the player to mold his character to their style of play. Is Corvo a vicious murderer with a heart of stone, or is he a conscientious man with a mind for mercy? The entire game can be completed without having to kill a single person, with options to render your enemies unconscious, create distractions, or simply to avoid them entirely. There are even non-lethal methods of dispatching assassination targets.
The direction you take as Corvo's character alters game-play - that's right, there are consequences for being a mass murderer. The more people you kill, the more rats crawl out of the ocean and sewers to infest the city streets. You'll also see an increase in the amount of city guards, and ultimately experience a darker overall conclusion to the game.
I myself took a mixed approach in my first play-through. The mechanics were very accommodating towards however I wished to progress. For instance, your very first assassination target is a corrupt religious militant leader, but he can be dispatched without taking his life. You can find information on a ritual that will brand him as a heretic, and if patient, you can knock the target unconscious and place him in a chair in the interrogation room. The brand can then be located and used to sear the mark of the heretic onto his face. As a player I found this outcome far more satisfying as it had a sense of poetic justice. It's options like this that make Dishonored so compelling.
It's not just the major events that allow the player to approach from multiple angles either; the player can pick and choose how to tackle just about any encounter and obstacle in the game. This is partly determined by how the player has customized Corvo. For greater diversity in game-play the player can unlock the ten powers in any order (after Blink). Each power can then be upgraded to tailor to the player's desired build. Runes hidden throughout the world are used to unlock and upgrade powers. As someone who enjoys scouring games to find all the collectibles, finding the ruins was good fun in and of itself.
The powers generally lean one way or the other - cat burglar or wizard of death. Perks - via equipping hidden bone charms - can be activated to compliment play-styles. They provide a variety of enhancements such as improving the effects of elixirs and remedies, swimming speed, jumping ability, equipment, and strengthening supernatural powers. Further to this, the player can spend cash upgrading their equipment and weapons.
The missions in Dishonored are all very distinct, and those who love exploring are in for a treat. From a high society gala to flooded slums, and stalking across rooftops to traversing sewers beneath the city streets, the game features some amazing environments. As the player you'll make decisions on the fly shaping the story of Corvo, Dunwall, and it's citizens. The sandbox style of the game allows players to utilize whatever approach they want, whether that be going in sword swinging, or taking their time to get the lay of the land, searching for secrets, hidden treasure, and taking on optional objectives.
Those who take the time to locate the hidden runes, bone charms, and cash deposits will reap the benefit of a deadlier, more powerful Corvo. This was the exact approach I took during my initial play-through. However I noticed that as I progressed through the latter levels of the game, the enemies became less threatening to the point where I could easily overcome them. This wasn't much of a deal breaker for me however as I tend to enjoy playing as the unstoppable assassin; and besides I think Dishonored is just as much about exploration, experimentation, and discovery, as it is about combat and stealth. Changing the difficulty to hard or extra hard fixes this problem for anyone looking for more of a challenge. The varying enemy archetypes are effective in this regard as they force the player to adapt to given situations.
Apart from this, perhaps one of the only significantly noticeable shortcomings of the game is that all the unique elements don't ever really come to a head. The dark, pagan sorcery, and it's tense existence within the industrialized world for example, never really come to a climax or even a satisfying narrative driven convergence (at least for my taste). Nonetheless, the experience is still completely immersive.
Some minor issues with the controls were also noticeable. This bugged me most whenever I tried sneaking up on a guard only to block instead of grab resulting in my detection. I felt that climbing on ledges could also have been a little smoother, but perhaps that's just because I've been playing a bit of Assassin's Creed lately. None of these issues however successfully take away from the overall experience.
Ultimately Dishonored is a thoroughly enjoyable from a game-play perspective. Its story has some memorable moments, and each mission is a network of choices that allow the player to proceed according to how they wish to experience the game. This was easily my favorite aspect - that and having the freedom to select my own powers, perks, and other upgrades which allow me to interact with the world in different ways. Dishonored is the kind of game where no two play-throughs will be exactly the same. It's a game you'll want to play multiple times to explore all the optional paths and conquer all the available challenges. I can't wait to play the sequel.
