What is... Dishonored

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Imagine Assassin's Creed and Bioshock had a baby, then you would get Dishonored. Dishonored is a stealth action adventure FPS game with a dash of RPG element in it which was released back in 2012 on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. The game offers a non-linear gameplay and provides multiple choices for players to accomplish their missions while eventually affecting the games ending. As a result, multiple endings would occur depending on the player's choice when approaching each level, it would either be a good ending, a bad one, or a neutral one. The story tells us about a royal protector (bodyguard) named Corvo Attano who was framed for the murder of the empress and would now take the quest to bring either justice or revenge. The game features incredibly vast approaches for players to discover and to experiment as far as their creativity could take them. It has been one of my favorite stealth games I ever played due to the freedom of choice and unique supernatural powers we can use to approach our enemies.

As the old saying goes 'All Roads Lead to Rome'.

I wouldn't say Dishonored is an open world game but I'd rather describe it as a sandbox game where each mission will put you in different settings and you are free to explore every nook and cranny for hidden secrets. The sandbox design is not as big as Assassin's Creed but it is filled with various interesting items for players to discover. Players can traverse the city of Dunwall either from the lower ground or the upper ground for bird's eye view, and in certain areas, you can swim to sneak your way pass through enemies. 

Man-eating rats have plagued the city.

Dishonored offers a uniquely crafted world where each chapter will surely be memorable enough for you and make you want to replay a certain mission again and again. The once prosperous city of Dunwall is now blanket with contagious rat plague. The city is now falling apart from the spreading disease and it has been politically corrupted by the power hungry Lord Regent, the antagonist of the game. Inspired by the Victorian era, Dunwall city has its own aesthetic and the distinct use of whale oil as a source of electricity. It gives us the visual image of a fictitious steampunk world and Dishonored does stand out visually. Traversal throughout the city is highly open-ended just like how the overall gameplay is. Corvo can run and utilize parkour to climb buildings or just take a walk on the ground while slaughtering anyone who gets in his way. It all depends on how you prefer your playstyle.

It's recommended to survey your surroundings before infiltrating.

Corvo as seen in the difficulty option.

Corvo is our silent protagonist, he doesn't speak except making noises such as grunting, gasping, or any expressions he makes that we can hear, very similar to Dead Space's protagonist, Isaac Clarke. Being a royal protector, Corvo is a highly skilled swordsman and possesses incredible acrobatic skills which makes him an already dangerous man to be played. His existing skills are then augmented when he is bestowed a magical power by a mysterious dark entity called The Outsider.

I played this game not long after I played Bioshock and this game reminds me of how Bioshock combat mechanics work, but instead of using range weapons, Dishonored focuses primarily on melee weapons which are Corvo's blade. His left hand however is where his supernatural powers are emitted from, really, if Bioshock mingles with science, Dishonored embraces dark magic. The gift from The Outsider turns Corvo into a supernatural assassin, a rather terrifying mask is given to him to hide his identity when he's out on quest.

Corvo's powers are gifts from the Outsider.

Personally, I like the fact that we play as an assassin with supernatural power. It is just very very cool. To make matters more interesting, Dishonored puts you in the first person point of view where you are the mind and the eyes of Corvo. Combat in the game is one thing that we are supposed to encounter, and that isn’t a problem for Corvo at all. Being a royal protector means already possessing necessary survival skills, Corvo is an exceptional fighter, but of course it reflects back on the person sitting behind the keyboard and mouse. Melee combat is the primary way to dispose enemy, Corvo’s retractable sword is his signature weapon, depending on the circumstances, Corvo can instantly kill an enemy by slitting the throat in a stealth approach, or engaged in a prolonged yet very fun swordplay with the guards while craving for the brutal killing blow. 

Dishonored portrays maturity through its gory combat.

Supernatural Assassin

Corvo's arsenal showcase.

Now let’s talk about how supernatural abilities give access to innovative gameplay approaches. Corvo has several powers for him to equip, those are the ability to teleport in a short distance which is called ‘blink’, the ability to summon a swarm of man-eating rats, the ability to see through walls and monitor your enemies’ movement, and much more. All these can be acquired by collecting runes which are scattered on the level that you are playing. The only way to detect runes is by using the ‘heart’. This artifact is very interesting because not only it helps you to find runes but it also whispers facts and lore of the city and its people, its chilling yet captivating at the same time. Simply equip the heart and it will show you the location of the runes.

Blink can be a surprise attack to unaware enemy.

Runes are used to upgrade Corvo’s supernatural powers and physical abilities, however there are limited runes scattered on each level and you cannot simply replay a level just to fully upgrade every powers and abilities in your arsenal. The game does not work that way, instead it urges you to focus on which powers and abilities you are going to utilize.

 

Always remember to equip The Heart to locate Runes and Bonecharms.

Apart from runes, bonecharms are also scattered across every level. These charms offer several boosts such as increased health, increased mana, or enhancing your combat abilities such as choking your enemy faster, or sprinting faster. Bonecharms are also detectable when the heart is equipped.

Corvo’s weapons and tools include his signature retractable sword, a pistol, a small yet lethal crossbow, a grenade, and a unique springrazor. The combat is naturally melee-driven, sword fight is presence throughout the entire combat, although stealth option is available, it is always nice to see the aftermath of a bloody carnage where severed limbs are scattered everywhere. Upgrades are available for weapons and tools by using coins. These upgrades are rather simple and straightforward for example upgrading your pistol and crossbow for more capacity. Blueprints must also be found to unlock those upgrades. 

 

Being a supernatural assassin gives you the power to eliminate your enemies ingeniously.

Unique Narrative

Dishonored presents players with its innovative chaos system whereby your choices will determine your playthrough and the outcome of the story. The chaos system in Dishonored is more than just a good or a bad ending, it is a feature that will affect each level that you are in. Since Dunwall is plagued by the disease carried by rats, the infected citizens are turned into a zombielike humans that will attack when alerted. The more you kill on every mission you set out for, the more corpses there are in Dunwall, leading to more rats and tolling infection. This is how the developers design how the chaos system works to deliver a whole new gameplay experience for players.

 

More weepers is the result of higher chaos.

 

The royal protector Corvo Attano as seen on the event of Dishonored.

Canonically, Dishonored is very compelling. With an amazing narrative approach the game has, it has successfully captivated me during my first playthrough. There are more that we can focus on apart from the main story, there are other crucial side stories which I found almost equally important as how the main plot goes. Ironically, perhaps because of the fact that Corvo is a silent protagonist, I failed to capture the emotional connection that Corvo has with the revenge quest that he is assigning himself on. Despite this, I still love Corvo and how he is designed with the game’s story. There is however an outstanding character which I strongly feel that he is one of the best character ever written in a story, he is Daud, the assassin who was hired to murder the empress. Something in Daud’s life principle amazed me, he is playable in the DLC Knife of Dunwall, and The Brigmore Witches which expands the already excellent lore this game has.

Daud the leader of the Whaler assassin, also the murderer of Dunwall's empress.

Summary 

Spying is one of the essential gameplay in Dishonored and it takes patience to do so.

Dishonored is that kind of game that will want you to replay each chapter it provides you just to try out different unique approaches. It will definitely make you think of how you are going to assassinate your target and how you are going to do it again when you replay it. You will want to utilize gadgets, go full stealth, go full non lethal, exploiting your supernatural powers, murder your ways brutally, or sliting everyone's throat, all these and of course the game's consequences element which greatly affects gameplay experience. It is a game for both patient players and thrill seeking players, it welcomes everyone to embrace revenge or to serve justice. Overall, I highly recommend this game, beautifully crafted storywise, gameplay wise and visual aesthetics, get ready to experience many memorable events and immersive story writing, one of the best single-player games you could ever wish for.

An end-chapter summary to show the result of your gameplay.