The citizens of Dunwall - home to the events of Dishonored - are subject to terrible restrictions on their personal freedom. There's a compulsory dusk-'till-dawn curfew for starters, which is vigorously applied by the city's guards. At sundown, doors and windows are bolted shut by industrial-sized clamps, and anyone who does somehow manage to wiggle past them is shot on sight.
Things don't get much better come the break of dawn. Electrified 'Wall of Light' barriers have been erected around Dunwall to control people-flow and to quarantine poverty-stricken areas from their affluent neighbours. Anyone who stumbles into the barriers is vapourised.
While the population is kettled like cattle, loudspeakers boom government-fed propaganda into their lugholes and anyone who shows the merest hint of disease is immolated in plain sight by 'Tallboys' - looming guards on mechanical stilts who tower over the quivering proletariat.
Dunwall's civil liberties have been curtailed in an attempt to contain a devastating rat plague that has derailed the once-charming maritime city's recent industrial expansion and left half the population dead.
The city's survivors - largely members of the aristocracy who can afford the immunity elixir - cling desperately to a vestige of respectability, but that's all it is - a veneer. Dishonored's world is a grim one of routine, oppression and restriction. Except for you, of course. In Dunwall, you can do anything you damn well please.
You are Covano Attano, Royal Protector to the Empress of Dunwall. Or at least you used to be before the Empress is slain before your eyes by assassins. The Empress' consort then frame you for the murder, before kidnapping the Empress' daughter and seize power in a meticulously prepared coup.
But you're no normal man, and that's why a group known as The Loyalists go to great lengths to help you break out of Coldridge Prison in what is in effect a tutorial level.
Dishonored's powers exist in a world designed to give you room to explore them to their full potential
The Loyalists are an eclectic group of activists led by the imperious Admiral Havelock. Their members span the full range of society - from aristocrats to paupers - but they're all united by a common goal; to overthrow the rogue government and reinstate the missing princess.
None of the Loyalists seem particularly trustworthy. But they seem to be your only allies in a city where loudspeakers remind everyone on the hour every hour that you're public enemy number one - so Corvo goes along with their plans for the time being.
Initially, each level sees Corvo travelling to a different district of Dunwall to incapacitate an influential member of the makeshift government. The Loyalists openly squabble over how Corvo should go about doing this, and their differences in opinion foreshadow the incredible freedom Dishonored affords you in choosing how to complete each objective.
On top of that, you can augment Corvo's natural abilities by seeking out magical runes dotted around Dunwall. To help you locate them, you're equipped with this gross sentient heart thing, which offers hints and tips when you squeeze it with the left trigger. Except sometimes, it'll just say something eerie like 'Why am I so cold?' - and you'll want to drop the controller to the floor in horror.
The runes allow you to harness magic (which is outlawed in Dunwall, naturally). Depending on how you branch out your skill tree, you'll be able to teach Corvo to warp from rooftop to rooftop, or control swarms of carnivorous rat, or observe enemy movements through walls, or slow down time, or even possess any living creature in the game - from lowly fish and rats to your assassination targets themselves. If you put the hours in you can learn the entire lot, and then you've got the toolset to make Dunwall your own personal playground.
Corvo's supernatural endowments bring to mind BioShock's plasmids (which can't be a coincidence - Arkane Studios helped with design and art on BioShock 2), but unlike Irrational Games' creaky Rapture (which is beginning to show its age in design terms), Dishonored's powers exist in a world designed to give you room to explore them to their full potential.
It isn't the size of the levels that gives Dishonored scale; in fact in some areas it's relatively linear. Rather, it's how densely packed each square inch is with opportunities to problem-solve with creativity, verve and experimentation.
If these avenues aren't yet open to you, you could instead sneak into an adjacent back alley and eavesdrop on a couple of guards, who might drop details of an alternative entrance into the conversation. If not, you can pickpocket the master key from their belts while they natter, or just wash your hands of the whole thing, return to the door and bust it down with a whirlwind.
Comments
57 comments so far...
BenThomasFoster on 8 Oct '12 said:
I saw this score from your leaked youtube review... but you didn't answer my question there. the forums are butt-hurt over it's supposed length how long is the game?
TheAmazingDaler on 8 Oct '12 said:
Hey.
It's difficult to give you a definitive time because when you're reviewing a game you play it slightly different than you would recreationally - juggling quicksave slots and trying out different things so you're sure you haven't missed out important details.
I would say it took me around 15-18 hours? Even then, I felt like I was rushing through it faster than I would have liked.
The bandied figure of four hours is, in a word, laughable.
BenThomasFoster on 8 Oct '12 said:
Ha I knew it was just trolls and drones! Saying that portal 2 was 5 hours long for me and I had a blast of a time regardless! Perhaps I was just concerned I wouldn't spend enough time in a unqiue world like dishonered
budge on 8 Oct '12 said:
This is a definite purchase for me but not a day 1 one.
StonecoldMC on 8 Oct '12 said:
What with Borderlands still to play through and Halo 4 looming on the horizon I thought I would pick this up next year.
That isn't going to happen now, I best get cracking on with Borderlands 2, post haste!
eastldn on 8 Oct '12 said:
fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffyyyyyyyyyyessssssssssssss
Imaduck on 8 Oct '12 said:
SUCH high hopes for this. Wish I could've afforded to preorder it but I WILL buy it asap
gayrath on 8 Oct '12 said:
This month's gaming purchase was going to be AC3. But that is going to have to wait for my Christmas list. I HAVE to play Dishonoured!
Megatrons_Fury on 8 Oct '12 said:
I'm very happy everyone is giving this game a big score, its nice to see new IP getting some love, now here's hoping it translates into sales.
Personally i probably wont get this until its much cheaper as i'm not the biggest fan of stealth sneaking around games like MGS, Deus Ex, Thief etc etc, i find them very boring after the 10th time of doing the same hide and seek move but i see why so many folk love them.
I think thats why i loved Skyrim so much, if you powered up properly you never had to worry about ducking down behind a table lol lol
Still as i said, happy to see another new game score so well.
Robcarroll93 on 8 Oct '12 said:
I can't wait to play this! I'll be amazed if its not GOTY. Roll on Friday!
toaplan on 8 Oct '12 said:
I'll wait for Bioshock Infinite, which looks much more beautiful and focused than this eclectic game. I also prefer the setting and stylish visuals of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, which I bought on the cheap two or three months after it was released. Dishonoured should be available for a heavily Discounted price fairly soon.
I read the entire review, but was there any mention about the quality of the combat mechanics? The relatively weak gunplay and bosses were among the things I didn't like about Deus Ex: HR. Maybe this is a game that emphasizes stealth gameplay even more, since little was said about the combat mechanics.
I'm not a huge fan stealth games and sneaking your way through - with the singular exception of MGS, which is irresistible due to the fantastic characters and convoluted storylines. But I appreciate that the devs have striven for a certain amount of originality (despite borrowing heavily from aforementioned games) and non-linearity as well, so I'm willing to look past the visual style which I personally find slightly off-putting, and maybe give this a try in a few months or so.
TheCrimsonFenix on 8 Oct '12 said:
This is one of those games I just don't "get". I've watched quite a few gameplay videos on it and the choices involved don't seem to do anything new that a dozen other stealth games haven't before. That and the art design doesn't appeal to me.
El Mag on 8 Oct '12 said:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TIGcP_4f-_8/Tj1uqxydEgI/AAAAAAAAAtI/YIn_e75_Vqk/s1600/NewJackCity4.jpg
havoc33 on 8 Oct '12 said:
Have I been living underneath a rock? I seriously didn't know about it's existence until today, when high praise reviews started hitting the web all over the place. If I did read a preview of it, it certainly didn't stick with me, so I'm kinda shocked that this big of a title took me totally by surprise. Now that's a AAA stealth game! lol
Sleepaphobic on 8 Oct '12 said:
Friday is gonna be awesome with this and X-COM.
billysastard on 8 Oct '12 said:
its bethesda so i wonder just how buggy this game is going to be.
does anyone still trust reviews of bethesda games? it sounds great but i just cant believe all the gushing reviews its getting since the same things were said about skyrim before we all found out what a bug infested mess it was when we bought it.
ensabahnur on 8 Oct '12 said:
Sold! Pre-ordered about 3 months ago.
Two Pennys Worth on 8 Oct '12 said:
Hopefully will have time to complete this before Halo 4 comes out. I'm not a massive fan of stealth but i did play deus ex remake that way and really enjoyed it.
I hope it sells well because the devs should be rewarded but it's really up against some big hitters in the coming weeks. I think it would have sold much better in the summer. Did plan on picking it up after christmas but it's a day one now.
appyday on 8 Oct '12 said:
My only issue will be if I can take Borderlands 2 out of my PS3 to play it....
FishyGinger on 8 Oct '12 said:
Do you not think that's a little over the top?
IbanezLewis on 8 Oct '12 said:
Bethesda are the publishers of this game, unlike Skyrim.
StonecoldMC on 8 Oct '12 said:
Don't let something like the truth get in the way of a good bit of controversy though
.
Funkymonk on 8 Oct '12 said:
"Have I been living underneath a rock? I seriously didn't know about it's existence until today, when high praise reviews started hitting the web all over the place. If I did read a preview of it, it certainly didn't stick with me, so I'm kinda shocked that this big of a title took me totally by surprise. Now that's a AAA stealth game! lol"
Like this guy i was totally apathethic about this game until i read this review. Strange because this sounds exactly like the type of game i love.
TheRandyNinja on 8 Oct '12 said:
Same here ,too many games not enough time !
KK-Headcharge78 on 8 Oct '12 said:
2nd hand buy for me, too much else out to get it new. Good to see a new IP getting good scores.
jacksaddiction on 8 Oct '12 said:
This, Xcom and Pokemon all out on the same day in the UK ?
Its times like this Im happy to be a gamer.
Shame its only going to be Xcom I play for quite some time (Ive been waiting too damn long for a decent follow up to the originals).
TheLastDodo on 8 Oct '12 said:
billysastard has good cause for concern.
Brink, published by Bethesda, on PS3 was pretty much a disaster, I'd know because I was one of the mugs that bought it day one. Atrocious texture pop in, bugs with AI, clipping, dodgy framerate, screen tearing, freezing when trying to play online, a truly awful experience.
From my experience, if a PS3 game has a Bethesda logo on the box then you're playing chicken with your money and you're probably going to lose most of the time.
Which is why I pre-ordered it for 360
Megatrons_Fury on 8 Oct '12 said:
Oh yeah i forgot you bought BRINK the day it came out, oh man that kept me laughing for weeks!!! I rented it from my local library to see if it was really as bad as you made out and you were not wrong.
Its going to hit 20 quid very quickly which is both awesome and a shame because of all the same old same old triple A blockbusters like HALO, AC, COD etc etc etc that are due out in the next 4 weeks. As i said i will get it for sure and definately on the 360 as PS3 games of this nature are always a mess.... SKYRIM,FALLOUT etc etc.
Was there a reason you sent me a picture of borderlands on the ps3 and 360 by the way DODO, weirdest ps3 message i ever recieved......... And thats saying something
JD_Method on 8 Oct '12 said:
I got this on pre-order for a tenner!
Now I wait and see if the site I pre-ordered from is actually legit...
TheLastDodo on 8 Oct '12 said:
Yeah you hadn't received your copies at the time so I was rubbing it in
But that's clearly not true as I'm not into winding folk up.....that's me saying I'll play it on either system if you fancy co-op sometime.
HelloLadies on 8 Oct '12 said:
Can't wait to play this! There was a few months for a while there I felt starved of new games to play now im in overload and don't know where to begin.
gmcb007 on 8 Oct '12 said:
I'm the same as you Mag. I actually intend to play it without the supernatural lark because frankly it doesn't appeal to me all that much.
Megatrons_Fury on 8 Oct '12 said:
well ive done the story now so yeah some co-op at some point sounds sexy Mr DODO.
Multiplayer is actually a bit of fun so count me in!!!
dwhlufc on 8 Oct '12 said:
I have to laugh at some of the regular posters in the article sections. They moan about people buying yearly franchise updates (which they have no right to) instead of supporting new ip's, yet here's a new ip and the same people aren't supporting it!
Personally, it's a day one purchase. I watched a stealth video the other day and was amazed at the amount of options that were available.
Let's prove EA wrong and show that new ip's can sell this late in the generation, if their good.........obviously.
voodoo341 on 8 Oct '12 said:
Day 1 here as well. To be fair OPM and some other sites have been raving on about how good this game is for some time now.
JustOneMoreGo on 8 Oct '12 said:
Only 1.5 better than Resident Evil 6?
I'll pass.
Only kidding. It sounds great.
mogwatch on 8 Oct '12 said:
Bethesda is the publisher, it is developed by Arkane Studios. Skyrim and the Elder Scrolls games are internally produced.
illage2 on 8 Oct '12 said:
You know what, watching that review changed my mind about the game. I might pick it up, as you said at the end of the review the game works well as a Stealth or Action game, so it caters to us running & gunning type of players.
StonecoldMC on 8 Oct '12 said:
You dont come into the Article Sections anymore, do you mate
?
Only joking, you know I think you crazy cats are all . . . . . well . . . . . crazy
willbrowne81 on 10 Oct '12 said:
received a copy of dishonoured yesterday and i have to say i think the graphics (xbox) version are really rather terrible.
the character models are nice and cartoonish but the textures are so low resolution! i thought the unreal engine was doing its nasty streaming textures thing and i waited for some nice hi res images to pop in but it was not to be.
The gameplay is solid bust the graphics sit somewhere between halflife 2 and bioshock, with very low texture detail.
I can't believe no reviewer has mentioned this.
gmcb007 on 10 Oct '12 said:
I noticed that in a walkthrough on youtube. I didn't watch much but some of the textures were quite blurry and low res. Hopefully it gets patched.
willbrowne81 on 10 Oct '12 said:
Don't hold your breathe !
Some of the textures are embarrassing . Not better than the original half life .
It's seems to be s**t optimisation hid behind the idea of a water colour style . Which I think means poor quality textures and bi-linear filtering on full
wishface on 10 Oct '12 said:
20 hours is no better.
The argument that you have lots of options is meaningless since you will play thorugh the game using whatever choice you make. You don't get to make other choices unless you replay each scenario, bringing with it diminished returns.
Can't really endorse reviewer opinions as they don't pay £40 for their games.
illage2 on 12 Oct '12 said:
illage2 on 12 Oct '12 said:
Can't wait until I get home from work. I get to play Dishonored, looks like an amazing game despite it containing two things I hate in games. Steampunk and Stealth, I think I'm willing to try it out, the whole system of choice is what draws me in. I pre-ordered mine from Amazon the other day.
I just hope that we don't get too harshly punished for going in all guns blazing. In fact thats what I'm gonna do on my first playthrough.
illage2 on 12 Oct '12 said:
Did you try installing the game to the Xbox HDD?
illage2 on 12 Oct '12 said:
It's not just EA we have to prove wrong what about Activision, I mean Treyarch, and Infinity Ward. However you do make a good point, Dishonored seems like a really good game from what I've seen so far, even though I am not the biggest fan of stealth games I am willing to give it a try.
illage2 on 12 Oct '12 said:
LOL very true.
ensabahnur on 12 Oct '12 said:
I have noticed a high level of people stating that "they'll get it on the cheap or 2nd hand" with a lot of new IP's which certainly can't help the developers build a franchise or even get funding for further new IP's. Whilst no doubt a lot of them will go out and buy franchise updates day 1. They're getting it the wrong way round. How can dev's expect to create new stuff when people shun paying full price for their previous efforts because its not the safe option of a COD or Fifa.
Anyway my copy landed last night, installed it but never got a chance to play it yet. Gonna give it good blast over the weekend and hopefully get X-Com as well if the weathers decent enough for me to venture outside.
TheRandyNinja on 12 Oct '12 said:
it looks so good and i have the money for it right now the only thing stopping me is all the people complaining that it only has 9 missions and its over in 6-8 hours. i know people are saying if it only takes you 6 hours your not playing it right but isn't it the whole point of the game to let you play how you want. i'm not hating because it looks fantastic it just i can't justify spend £40 on a game the will be finished before monday. if anybody gets through it over the weekend let me know if you thought it was too short .
stealth20k on 12 Oct '12 said:
this is why i cant take the site seriously.
If everything is one of the greatest games of the generation than nothing is
StonecoldMC on 12 Oct '12 said:
Show me the reviews or articles where CVG call a Game one of the greatest games of the generation.
FishyGinger on 12 Oct '12 said:
It's fact
dwhlufc on 12 Oct '12 said:
Stealth, you seem to have logged into your alternate account by accident even after claiming you and this stealth20k were seperate individuals.
Riffxxx on 12 Oct '12 said:
Had to be rats didn't it, my greatest phobia
Excellent game though.
sonic_uk on 2 Nov '12 said:
I was on the fence about this, and don't ever take reviews as gospel or decide on a purchase strictly on a review, but the information provided here has really helped me make up my mind as this game sounds really decent and as a stealth genre fan I am glad to see a game which goes back to basics and gives me what I want from the genre. I'm also pleasantly surprised to see resources haven't been wasted on pointless Multiplayer modes no-one will play or is interested in and that the full game has gotton the development time and testing it deserves. Must buy.
gmcb007 on 2 Nov '12 said:
Surely hacking them to death is even more of a pleasure for you? Plus you get more for your money as you get a horror aspect to the game!