The Fate Of Dunwall Rests In Your Grabby, Stabby Hands

Of all the games I received for Christmas this year, Dishonored is easily my favorite. Which is impressive considering how much I liked Alice: Madness Returns. The story goes that the land/city of Dunwall is gripped by an awful plague, and Corvo (you) have returned from a fruitless journey to neighboring lands to see if they know of a solution. Shortly after you return, a super-powered assassin arrives, kills the Empress, and kidnaps her daughter Emily. Then the various honchos in power pin the whole thing on Corvo. He escapes with a little help from a band of people loyal to the late Empress, and sets out to rescue Emily, restore her to the throne, and deal with the traitors in the government as he sees fit.

The thing I enjoy most about Dishonored is the stealth elements. Perhaps not a surprise, given my love for Thief (and my disappointment with Velvet Assassin). I suppose you could play the game loudly. Corvo's weapons include firearms and explosives, but my preference is to sneak around. I stick to the sleep darts for the crossbow as much as possible, the sword failing that. I find that makes it easier to pick off enemies one at a time. I'd be more comfortable if it was 3rd-person, rather than 1st, but you can't have everything. I'd also like it if there was an easy way to tell if you were well hidden or not. Unless someone walks past and gets the "alert" symbol over their head (three tiers of little lightning bolts, with each tier lighting as they get more suspicious) you can't tell offhand. Generally, people in this game are a bit smarter than in some of the other stealth games I've played. They don't give up as readily if you find a hidey-hole. It's nice, if nerve-wracking, trying to decide whether to stay or bolt.

The other thing I enjoy about the game is the element of choice. If you sneak up behind an unsuspecting person, you could stab them, choke them into unconsciousness, rob them, or ignore them entirely. There are various security device. You could deactivate them, rewire them so you're the only person safe from them, or find a way around. Before or during most missions, someone will make a request of you. You can carry it out or not. It might make things easier, or it might simply keep your hands a little less bloody. Those decisions can have consequences down the line, good or bad.

I tried to go non-lethal, most of the time. The game convinced me to, because one of the load screens said killing more people made the plague worse, and led to a darker ending. I kept remembering I was supposed to be helping Emily reclaim the throne, and decided I really didn't want to hand her London during the Black Death. Also, sometimes it was easier to take the alternate choice, and sometimes, I just felt merciful. I'm still not sure why I spared the assassin. Maybe if bringing him to prison had been an option. . .

There was one guy I wanted very badly to kill, but because of the direction I'd taken, he was already dead by the time I reached him. So disappointing.

Along the lines of choices, Corvo gains powers shortly after his escape. He's approached by The Outsider, some sort of, I'd call him a trickster deity. There are charms and runes inscribed to him scattered throughout Dunwall, and gathering those lets you gain powers. He observes you through the story, pops in every once in awhile to critique, or discuss your options, but doesn't (so far as I know) interfere. He doesn't care what specifically you use his gift for, only that you use it. Does that make him the game designers?

Other than Blink (teleportation, very handy), you don't have to activate any powers, if you don't wish to. Some of them were a little flashy for me, or seemed likely to encourage more violence, so I tried to stick to things that would help with evasion or confusion. Possession, Dark Vision, Bend Time, Agility, things like that. Looking back, I think I'll try to upgrade Possession to Level 2 sooner the next time. Maybe don't activate Shadow Kill. I got a little loose with the covert stabbing after that.

I guess the graphics are good, I'm not knowledgeable enough to say, but everything looked good to me. Dunwall has a Victorian London (or what I picture that as) vibe in its nicer parts, though other areas remind me of bombed out, World War 2 London The designers do seem to have gone to the trouble of creating lots of levels to the city, which creates lots of different avenues to approach from. Try the sewers, try the rooftops, try the front door. Nose around in abandoned (or inhabited) apartments along the way. Attack City Watch or don't. Whatever suits you. There are times I felt I was butting up against the limits of an area. I'd feel certain I ought to be able to Blink up onto that building, but nope, can't make it. I guess they weren't prepared to do an entirely open-world, and I will admit if I could keep going out of Dunwall, one Blink at a time, I just might.

I'm sure I'll play the game through again in the future, probably more than once. The problem I'm facing is what approach to take. I'd like to see what results from a more high chaos approach. If nothing else, I might get a chance to kill that one character. However, it's going to require more killing across the board, and the other thing I wanted to do was try to be more stealthy. There were so many times where I ended up being spotted and having to fight my way out (or drug a bunch of people), only to realize later there was a way around. Also, I wasn't really happy with myself because even though I spared most of the real bad guys, I ended up killing a lot of their subordinates along the way. It hardly seems fair, although I would have let them live if they had stopped trying to kill me. Just move aside and let me deal with your boss, please.

I guess I'll see when I get around to playing it again. My track record for ruthlessness when given an option, is not great. Unless you value mercy, in which case I'm pretty good.