10/10
Feb 2, 2018·✓ Recommended
Beat·Xbox One
One of the surprise hits of its generation. Set in the plague-ridden steampunk-esque city of Dunwall, Royal Protector Corvo arrives home just in time to watch his Empress' murder and find himself framed. On the run, he allies himself with a covert group of Royalists who task him with murdering the conspirators who framed him and recovering the rightful heir to the throne, the young girl Emily. Corvo also garners the attention of the Outsider, a strange and chaotic god who gives him eerie powers to aid in his quest.
While I'm not usually into stealth games, Dishonored just did everything right. The levels are both expansive and absolutely stuffed with things to find, so exploration is worth taking your time to do; even better, some of your powers aid in traversal so you can comb even the highest reaches of the spires and homes of Dunwall. Stealth is simple and smooth, and while combat is tiny bit clunky you can often fight your way out of most scrapes, especially if you pick the deadly powers available to you. There is a slightly oddly-implemented morality system called "Chaos" here that feels a tiny bit under-cooked, and disincentivizes players from deadly force, but it's a small mark against an otherwise fantastic game.
Check out my full review! The Almighty Backlog, review #6:
https://thealmightybacklog.wordpress.com/2018/02/05/off-the-backlog-dishonored/
2
