Dishonored

 PC
User Score
8.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 5383 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4,457 out of 5383
  2. Mixed: 696 out of 5383
  3. Negative: 230 out of 5383
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  1. ccjacobs
    Nov 4, 2012
    9
    Dishonored is an incredibly original game which brings up the fight or flight instinct that you have. I would have given this amazing title a 10 but the ending felt a little sudden.
  2. StaticSpine
    Nov 4, 2012
    8
    The main plus and the best thing in this game is the atmosphere/setting, this is what keeps you thrilled during your journey to Dunwall. Great visual style and locations/characters/machines design. As for the gameplay: I preferred do make it through in a stealthy way (because I wanted to have a nice ending!!), so I crawled at first but when I was bored I used the tranquilizer bolts toThe main plus and the best thing in this game is the atmosphere/setting, this is what keeps you thrilled during your journey to Dunwall. Great visual style and locations/characters/machines design. As for the gameplay: I preferred do make it through in a stealthy way (because I wanted to have a nice ending!!), so I crawled at first but when I was bored I used the tranquilizer bolts to neutralize the enemies or just used the "cheating" teleport to run away. At the beginning of the game it was all a bit chaotic. but later I got used to it and even got some fun. About the "Chaos system", which affects the ending - I don't like it, because it causes you not to use creative killings, bombs, mines, grenades, guns, rats, electricity...you name it! to get rid of the enemies because you just should not kill them if you want a good ending, and thats why you lose a lot of fun. In total the game is nice, and I'll repeat myself, mostly because of the Atmosphere.… Expand
  3. Pier
    Nov 4, 2012
    9
    Dishonored lives in between many games (Half Life 2, Deux Ex HR, Hitman, Assassin's Creed, etc) but manages to create it's own identity with unique mechanics and an immersive world. It is not a shooter nor a pure technical stealth game in the classic Metal Gear way. First it is a game about choices, and in that aspect it is pure genius. Second it is a handcrafted world inspired by theDishonored lives in between many games (Half Life 2, Deux Ex HR, Hitman, Assassin's Creed, etc) but manages to create it's own identity with unique mechanics and an immersive world. It is not a shooter nor a pure technical stealth game in the classic Metal Gear way. First it is a game about choices, and in that aspect it is pure genius. Second it is a handcrafted world inspired by the industrial revolution era, but with some fantasy and sci fi aspects that is simply amazing to explore. Characters are at their worst completely believable plot devices, and at their best mesmerizing performances and dialogues. Third it is a game about refined art. Yes you read well. For example the music was written by Dexter's composer Daniel Licht. If you know Dexter, you know what I mean. Graphics are extremely refined, even in the brutal bloody executions. Clearly this game is targeted at an adult audience. Sadly I don't think that most people will be able to appreciate how good this game is. It is simply a masterpiece that will be remembered for the years to come.… Expand
  4. ZigZagZach
    Nov 3, 2012
    9
    Absolutely amazing game overall. AI patterns can be kind of annoying, the graphics probably aren't as good as they should be, but those are the only faults I can come up with. I love how this game plays out, and It should be a definite buy for you
  5. RealMuthaF
    Nov 3, 2012
    9
    Varying situations, non-linear levels with more than two options, loads of ways to eliminate your targets - all of this basically makes Dishonored an exemplary stealth-action game. When I saw the trailers, I expected it to be some kind of a first-person Assassin's Creed, but I was wrong - the game itself is closer to the Hitman series - it's not open-world, but each level is a sandboxVarying situations, non-linear levels with more than two options, loads of ways to eliminate your targets - all of this basically makes Dishonored an exemplary stealth-action game. When I saw the trailers, I expected it to be some kind of a first-person Assassin's Creed, but I was wrong - the game itself is closer to the Hitman series - it's not open-world, but each level is a sandbox where you are free to do whatever you wish. The tools of the trade are pretty damn impressive - you'll have a lot of fun combining the teleportation, time stopping and possession. Dishonored's only flaws are its shortness and the main plot. First one is neglected by the game's replay value - you'll definitely want to use all the gadgets and adopt the aggressive playstyle after you beat the game in a semi-nonlethal way. The quite lame plot is a bigger problem - the twists (the only one, actually) is predictable, and the whole story is too cliche and serves merely as a connection between the missions themselves. Which is a shame, because Dishonored is set in a very well-detailed world with its own mythology. Arkane Studios 's Dishonored is probably the only original (not a sequel, not licenced, not a reboot) AAA title this year, it delivers a refreshing experience, doesn't put the player in any limits and is overall a great game. Don't miss this out.… Expand
  6. 21exp
    Nov 3, 2012
    8
    First, thank god I didn't pay anything for this game, the 50
  7. obscurus166
    Nov 3, 2012
    6
    The most frustrating thing about this game is how close it comes to greatness. Although I genuinely enjoyed it, I couldn't help but think that Dishonoured could have been so much more. In gameplay terms, Dishonoured could crudely be called a steampunk Deus Ex: Human Revolution. You can kill enemies or knock them out. You can drag their bodies around and create a big old heap o' menThe most frustrating thing about this game is how close it comes to greatness. Although I genuinely enjoyed it, I couldn't help but think that Dishonoured could have been so much more. In gameplay terms, Dishonoured could crudely be called a steampunk Deus Ex: Human Revolution. You can kill enemies or knock them out. You can drag their bodies around and create a big old heap o' men (although bodies in Dishonoured have a habit of vanishing after a while). Each level offers a decent variety of ways to sneak, climb, charge or slay your way through. But Dishonoured lacks some of DE:HR's sophistication. The cover mechanic in Dishonoured, while straightforward, makes for the slightly ludicrous notion that an enemy cannot spot a player peeking out from behind a pillar. Corvo cannot talk his way around baddies. The plot is a good one for a computer game, but the efforts at character immersion are futile, given that Corvo is a blank canvas without character, and the dialogue sections contrast most unfavourably with DE:HR. Of course, it might be said that Corvo's personality reveals itself through actions rather than words, given that each mission's body count affects both the disposition of NPCs and the way that subsequent levels are played. This is a great idea in theory, but it also acts as a powerful disincentive to use one of the game's more interesting features: the combination of sword-and-pistol combat. Given that Dishonored has so few original features, discouraging the exploration of one of them in this fashion just feels perverse. Dishonored does have some interesting magical powers which stray pleasingly far from established RPG tropes, possession being the most obvious and delightful example. The downside is that such powers tend to make relatively easy missions even less challenging. And Dishonoured borrows one of Dragon Age II's most annoying attributes in converting collected loot instantly into cash, rather than offering the player the opportunity to do anything with it. If casks of whale oil can be made to explode, for example, could not a flask of refined whale oil make a jury-rigged grenade? Could not the medicinal herbs be sold to deserving (or undeserving) characters who might, in turn, offer some quid pro quo? While Dishonored is a fun and diverting 15 hours, is is not nearly so immersive or original as some reviewers would have you believe. But the really infuriating thing is that it could so easily have been great.… Expand
  8. GameReviews
    Nov 2, 2012
    9
    Dishonored's beautifully designed world makes an unforgettable experience to all gamers, and the bloody, fun ,mostly-stealth gameplay is extremely polished. Maybe the story is a bit dull, but still the game manages a great gameplay.
  9. Mouse
    Nov 1, 2012
    9
    Buy this game. In short, it's Thief + Bioshock in a steampunk City 17. The stealth and world navigation is sufficiently challenging and rewarding. The combat flows well, even in large melees, with the omnipresent option to go non-lethal. The highly explorable areas are excellently done, with only a few sharp edges left unpolished in the later levels. There aren't points at which you'reBuy this game. In short, it's Thief + Bioshock in a steampunk City 17. The stealth and world navigation is sufficiently challenging and rewarding. The combat flows well, even in large melees, with the omnipresent option to go non-lethal. The highly explorable areas are excellently done, with only a few sharp edges left unpolished in the later levels. There aren't points at which you're forced to stop and take a look at the beautiful place you're sneaking/slashing through, but dang there should be! I only ever encountered one major visual glitch, which was my held weapon staying in view when I used the mask's zoom on one level. The story is original with some generic features that are masterfully implemented so as not to draw attention to themselves, thus keeping it all cohesive. On the downside there, I felt the Outsider was a weak plot device used as a writer's convenience, which is closely connected to my feelings about the ending which didn't meet the expectations set up by the rest of the game, dropping my rating by one measly point (well, half a point, all things considered). Beyond that, the only pet peeve I had with the game was the fact that doors must finish opening to be closed again. And if that's all I had to complain about while progressing through this magnificently constructed world described in Deus Ex fashion, this game is truly one of the greats. Again, buy it.… Expand
  10. Nile3
    Nov 1, 2012
    6
    This game had a rather poor storyline. Quite uninteresting. The gameplay does redeem the game over time, but it also has some flaws unfortunatly. It's pretty much a blend of thief 1-2 with a more action type of roleplay like bioshock. They try to convince you that your actions have consequences but the different paths you can take a truly dim, you won't find Deus Ex 1 or Baldur's gateThis game had a rather poor storyline. Quite uninteresting. The gameplay does redeem the game over time, but it also has some flaws unfortunatly. It's pretty much a blend of thief 1-2 with a more action type of roleplay like bioshock. They try to convince you that your actions have consequences but the different paths you can take a truly dim, you won't find Deus Ex 1 or Baldur's gate type of choices in this one.… Expand
  11. lifexux
    Oct 31, 2012
    8
    Gameplay is very good with a mix of stealth and action. The ability to choose how missions play out is deserving of a high score itself. On the technical side however, graphics may look slightly disappointing as it has adopted a much more art style than photo realism. This is just a personal preference as if they went for realism it might have set a darker and more mysterious kind of tone.Gameplay is very good with a mix of stealth and action. The ability to choose how missions play out is deserving of a high score itself. On the technical side however, graphics may look slightly disappointing as it has adopted a much more art style than photo realism. This is just a personal preference as if they went for realism it might have set a darker and more mysterious kind of tone. However, this sets the tone for the game well enough. Lighting effects look great as it's powered by unreal engine 3 and overall is an impressive pc game.… Expand
  12. ScottyAblandi
    Oct 31, 2012
    8
    Wonderful, creative game mechanics and visuals based on stretching the Unreal engine. A joy to play and while ending wasn't incredible, the story was nice as a whole! Would recommend to anyone.
  13. SittinginBasket
    Oct 31, 2012
    9
    An amazing game, marred by some TINY flaws. First of all, the game's video and audio are fantastic. Although the graphics leave something to be desired, the art style makes up for it and makes the world feel alive and unique. The sound effects are great, and the music is extremely immersible and sets the mood of many locations and levels extremely well.

    The gameplay is absolutely    An amazing game, marred by some TINY flaws. First of all, the game's video and audio are fantastic. Although the graphics leave something to be desired, the art style makes up for it and makes the world feel alive and unique. The sound effects are great, and the music is extremely immersible and sets the mood of many locations and levels extremely well.

    The gameplay is absolutely brilliant. Controls are responsive and won't make you feel sluggish. The abilities and weapons in the game, although relatively lacking in variety, are just enough to make you feel powerful. On the "parkour" side of the game, the mechanics are extremely well made, and also fairly simple, although blinking onto ledges is sometimes strangely annoying. Exploring the various routes to an objective and exploring the levels to find hidden items is fun and rewarding. Combat and stealth is extremely satisfying, with weapons that feel like they have weight and power, and stealth mechanics that, although quite simple, is still extremely fun. The world is filled with books and "audiograph" machines, which helps bring the immersion to another level. NPCs will continuously talk to each and often reveal information about the game-world and also about your objectives.

    On the story-side of things, although the game is fairly lean on story-telling, the story still comes from very well. The characters also gain much more depth when you talk to them directly, and also when you use the heart to discover more about them. Although I'd rather have had a longer ending instead of just a short cinematic, at the end of it all, you feel like you've truly accomplished something. The game also doesn't explain some of the other questions raised as well. What exactly was the heart? Who, or what, was the Outsider. Why the hell is Granny Rags so strange? What happens to many of the characters and targets that aren't shown in the ending? The ending, although satisfying, feels rushed.

    Overall, it was a extremely satisfying and immersible experience. The only flaws were some of the things that I mentioned, and also the fact that the levels are relatively linear, but they still feel open with lots space to play your way. If you want a quality game with great immersion and gameplay, this is it.    … Expand
  14. Ascanio
    Oct 30, 2012
    10
    Imagine if everyone from every succesful game studio on the planet came together and said "right, let's make a game." The concoction they would create would look a bit like Dishonored. The story, albeit not brilliant and quite predictable, is interesting and occasionally grabs your attention. However it isn't the story you'll want to sink your teeth into, but the setting. TheImagine if everyone from every succesful game studio on the planet came together and said "right, let's make a game." The concoction they would create would look a bit like Dishonored. The story, albeit not brilliant and quite predictable, is interesting and occasionally grabs your attention. However it isn't the story you'll want to sink your teeth into, but the setting. The steampunk-esque world Corvo inhabits is brilliantly put together and constantly demands your attention. Books fill you in on quite substantial amounts of genuinely interesting background story, while conversations pertaining to the world around you are quite often overheard.

    Moving on, Dishonored's art style is incredible. The art director for the game won a BAFTA for outstanding art direction, and it shows. It looks as if Bioshock Infinite met Deus Ex and decided to have a baby, and then that baby then copulated with Half Life's City 17. It's superb.

    I liked the graphics. A lot of people are saying that the graphics look "outdated" - first of all, that is untrue. The graphics are reasonably good for a 2012 title - the game uses the Unreal engine - but the fact that the graphics aren't outstandingly good is countered by the extraordinary artistic design. The game looks like an oil painting. (Practically every texture is hand painted) The lighting is sublime, and the fact that every location, from the grimy corpse ridden streets to the massive steel fortresses to the insides of the regal Victorian era houses, looks so beautifully hand crafted is enough to make this game one of the best looking games of the year. But what really shines above all is the level design. If you've heard that finding alternate pathways in this game is a bit like DX:HR then you'd be completely incorrect. The game doesn't just provide you with a series of vents; it provides you with practically endless alternatives. Every one of the 9 levels is basically a sandbox, so exploring them is fun and rewarding.

    The problem with games nowadays is that developers want gamers to see everything they've made, providing you with few, if any, alternate pathways to completing a mission. With Dishonored, it's as if the developers didn't really care about you seeing anything they'd made - every time I went through a mission I'd find a completely different path, even if I was certain I'd found every nook and cranny there was to be found in my first play through.

    The gameplay is phenomenal. Corvo moves in a remarkably smooth manner, and every action, from stabbing someone through the throat to jumping down from a rooftop, sliding underneath a table and climbing a building feel almost real. The combat is superlative. Crossing swords (haha), slashing someone's leg off, and countering a guard with a quick stab to the face feels not only incredibly rewarding, but very realistic as well. I think the diversity in the gameplay - you can go through the entire game without killing anyone - a true and much needed breath of fresh air.

    To conclude, not only do I think this work of unbelievable genius is the best game of the year, I think it's one of the best games of the decade. Aside from everything I've written above, the one thing that Dishonored has that makes it a step up from any other competition is the fact that it is an absolute joy to play. If you're looking for a game that is incredible amounts of fun, as well as interesting and prodigiously well made, look no further than Dishonored.    … Expand
  15. bsmaff
    Oct 30, 2012
    4
    The different ways to complete the missions is quite good, and the world is pretty good but the massive downside is the AI is bad, and the stealth mechanics need alot of work, the problem is it just seems completly luck and not skill if someone sees you or not as sometimes you get seen walking up near them other times you can walk about 20 metres right in front of them and they don't seeThe different ways to complete the missions is quite good, and the world is pretty good but the massive downside is the AI is bad, and the stealth mechanics need alot of work, the problem is it just seems completly luck and not skill if someone sees you or not as sometimes you get seen walking up near them other times you can walk about 20 metres right in front of them and they don't see you.
    Also playing it on PC can't help to say the graphics are poor, low res console textures, character models that makes Skyrim look good. The PC has been well optimised control wise, but massively let down in regards to graphical improvments.    … Expand
  16. karoollo
    Oct 30, 2012
    10
    Dishonored has its drawback, but they still do not mean anything because disappear in the vast sea of advantages.Almost every level gives you several ways to solve the problem + unconventional use of Corvo's power = Dishonored is a very individual and great game.
  17. rakshasha_raja
    Oct 29, 2012
    9
    Dishonored = "Thief" remade, and I am so glad to see it back in this way. It has that same "Steampunk" look and feel, the sneaking around everywhere, the various arrow types for the crossbow, eye zoom, pickpocket and item-theft, place-able mines, silent kill/knockouts, even the sounds and music - it's all there. Certain guard NPC types even remind me of the "Hammerites". This is a veryDishonored = "Thief" remade, and I am so glad to see it back in this way. It has that same "Steampunk" look and feel, the sneaking around everywhere, the various arrow types for the crossbow, eye zoom, pickpocket and item-theft, place-able mines, silent kill/knockouts, even the sounds and music - it's all there. Certain guard NPC types even remind me of the "Hammerites". This is a very well-executed game. I noticed zero technical issues. The game gives the player a sense of being on his own with few boundaries to contend with. Linear play is noticeable, to a degree, but not so much so that it detracts from the fun and interest. When I'm in game, I am consumed with the experience and I cannot say that about many games. What a splendid break from all the run-n-gun, bust-in-and-blow-everyone's-face-off type games. There is some thinking to do here if you want to get past that guard point unnoticed. You'll need to move that body out of the way, and quickly, unless you'd like to attract more heat than you can handle. Very good. One man shouldn't be able to take on more than two others, and yet even Dishonored will forgive you, to an extent, if you try. I'm glad I bought this game. But, ah, I will say this: I'm giving it a 9 instead of 10 because I don't like to be penalized for killing. In Dishonored, if you choose to kill your way through, you'll have to deal with more of the carnivorous rats, than if you had chosen to merely knock people unconscious (and by choking???.... that takes more than 2 seconds). Minor annoyance I suppose. The game is still a fabulous work, to me anyway. I'd definitely buy a Part II.… Expand
  18. Blizzma
    Oct 29, 2012
    10
    Probably one of the best stealth games, if not best overall RPG game I have played. It wasn't very long, but I think more devs need to make games shorter to enable more time to be allocated to increasing the quality overall. So much attention was focused on the detail, and if you're the kind of person who pays attention to the little things, you will appreciate this work of art.
  19. grimunforgiven
    Oct 29, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Pretty decent game with some minor things to hate on and some things to like. MILD SPOILERS

    its not open world and its not super linear perfect for a story driven game in this regard, but there is no real negative consequence for failing at sneaking as the combat is super easy and you can gun down the entire base if you wanted/had to and since you know how the game is going to end from the beginning there is no real deep storyline so i just ended up running through it murdering everyone with the ending justifying my actions anyways and not really having any negative consequence to murdering civilians or countless guards.

    as for the artstyle it looks pretty nice and i like it a lot, and as the art director is the same as half life 2, i found myself looking at the bosses bases and the same blue steel look on all the bad guys stuff going... hey wait a minute i have seen this before. but even while not exactly original it is still different enough to be good and enjoyable.

    finally there is very few weapon choices, i only needed to use 2 of the magic skills and the sword/pistol. the storyline was very very predictable but not bad or corny, but overall i still enjoyed the setting, the characters and some of the missions themselves were very enjoyable.

    -dont believe the hype decent game but not worth buying, though it is the PERFECT rental game.    … Expand
  20. kofelovr
    Oct 28, 2012
    9
    Just completed first playthrough and was entertained. It certainly is no 'Thief', but I enjoyed it for what it is and not what it is not. Will definitely replay again soon. Congratulations to Arkane!
  21. noob622
    Oct 28, 2012
    9
    Despite my rig being below the minimum specs of the game, I nonetheless bought it on steam, and loaded it up. After tweaking the graphics so it could run on my PC with a good FPS, I jumped right into the campaign, and was so involved in it that I beat it in one sitting. The story was creative, with different twists and turns. But the most impressive feature was how in-control you felt theDespite my rig being below the minimum specs of the game, I nonetheless bought it on steam, and loaded it up. After tweaking the graphics so it could run on my PC with a good FPS, I jumped right into the campaign, and was so involved in it that I beat it in one sitting. The story was creative, with different twists and turns. But the most impressive feature was how in-control you felt the entire time. You could take down that guard however you wanted. Want to rush in and engage him? Go ahead. Want to silently sneak and assassinate him? No problem. Want to hit him with a sleep dart from afar? The game won't stop you. Want to freeze time and just walk right past him? Yep, you can do it. And unlike other stealth games, it feels balanced. So you are not completely underpowered and can only take a sword swing before dying, instead, you could hold your own easily against a number of opponents. Every choice you make affects how characters react to you, and affect the total outcome. After beating the game with an evil ending, I truly felt as if I HAD to go back and complete it with a non-lethal ending. I'm a long-time fan of Bioshock, so had no problem jumping into the radial-wheel, dual weapons formula. The controls are easy to grasp, and by the first level you are already killing like a true assassin. I have no idea where the negative reviews are coming from. Dishonored reached my expectations and more. My only regret is the length of the Campaign. I'm not personally into the "bone or rune" hunting aspect of the game, so after I beat the campaign on all endings in about a day, there was nothing to do. Hopefully the new DLC will fix that. Overall, Dishonored is a great, innovative game and is like a well needed breath of fresh air before the big names come out to play later in November. If you are looking for a game to play till Halo 4/Assassin's Creed 3, this is it.… Expand
  22. leeway1
    Oct 27, 2012
    1
    This game was amusing, but not enjoyable. You can beat this game with only the cross bow, blink power, and sword. You gain those really early, leaving the player to teleport through a rundown world, sniping at close range (because there is no sniper weapon), as you march though a predictable plot.
  23. yogibbear
    Oct 27, 2012
    9
    Amazing game. If this was made in a shinier engine, the stealth was a little more challenging, and the game had a couple more missions to it... it would be my GOTY for 2012 hands down. Sadly I can only give it a 9 as despite having an amazing art design, brilliant gameplay, high replayability (of at least 2x required to see mostly everything), intriguing story/characters, and a niceAmazing game. If this was made in a shinier engine, the stealth was a little more challenging, and the game had a couple more missions to it... it would be my GOTY for 2012 hands down. Sadly I can only give it a 9 as despite having an amazing art design, brilliant gameplay, high replayability (of at least 2x required to see mostly everything), intriguing story/characters, and a nice atmosphere/sound effects/music, the problem with this game is just that it isn't challenging enough... you start the game and the first few levels feel awe-inspiring, but once you realise the terrible limits of the vision of the AI you really are too overpowered for any mission without getting a single upgrade. (And the upgrades are lots of fun, but they make the game become a theme park rather than the gruesome travesty that the story seems to think you are in). Still I highly recommend it. I don't know what my GOTY for 2012 is going to be, so this could still be it, but Dishonored 2 on UE4 or some other engine would just about blow my socks off. Please make it happen Arkane :)… Expand
  24. Neu-ro-man-cer
    Oct 27, 2012
    9
    Beautiful, bizarre game. Just finished it (on normal difficulty). ...was shivering at the end. ...it was a very good experience (for me, who plays for ~30 years already). I reached the best possible ending I think (with Low chaos-level), and it was good. The game was good. The levels were immersive. ...was sneaking all the time, hiding, stealthy non-lethal, etc., and that was challenging.Beautiful, bizarre game. Just finished it (on normal difficulty). ...was shivering at the end. ...it was a very good experience (for me, who plays for ~30 years already). I reached the best possible ending I think (with Low chaos-level), and it was good. The game was good. The levels were immersive. ...was sneaking all the time, hiding, stealthy non-lethal, etc., and that was challenging. Had to reload a lot of times to get it perfect, but it was worth it. ...many creative / unique moments. Recommended for everybody, who loves stealthy FPS games, utopistic / apocalyptic fantasy worlds and losing him/herself into another world. :) 9/10… Expand
  25. greenpLayer
    Oct 27, 2012
    8
    The entire game brings much more than just impressive atmosphere and graphics. The game style is really good, the interface is superb, nice although really easy maps.

    I would definitively recommend this game to anyone if it wasnt so damn short. Its just a few hours of gameplay. I would expect at least twice the number of missions.
  26. Yllelder
    Oct 27, 2012
    2
    Para ser un juego de Bethesda deja bastante que desear, sobre todo después de ver títulos como Fallout o Skyrim.

    Un juego lineal a más no poder con un absurdo sistema de lucha.

    Una trama que no engancha para nada.

    Muy mal Bethesda, muy mal =(
  27. JaydgJay
    Oct 27, 2012
    3
    Concentration is all on creating a certain type of atmosphere and a 'cool' way of killing someone. Game play is completely forgotten and it soon gets very tedious which is quite a feat considering how short the game is!It makes me wonder whether the critics writing these reviews are spotty teenagers who frankly don't know what they are talking about.
  28. JesusHKriest
    Oct 26, 2012
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I was not impressed. If you are going to emulate a game like Deus Ex or Thief, you have to be willing to put forth the time and money to make it high quality. The AI is bad, and the stealth mechanics needed a lot of work. Even on the hardest difficulty, stealth was just a game of luck. Sometimes, enemies would ignore you when you were in plain sight in a normal human beings field of view. Sometimes, enemies would literally notice you (and start talking to you) through multiple layers of walls.
    The powers were completely shallow, with an extremely small amount of powers and an extremely small amount of upgrades for them. There were also like five times as many combat oriented powers as non-combat ones, which encouraged combat oriented play. But then, you get punished for being combat-oriented with a high-chaos ending. On top of that, some powers were insanely overpowered to the point where they made the game too easy, even on very hard. In Dishonored, you can blink all the way to your goal in like 30 seconds if you have a mind to. In Deus Ex, even if you activate the enhanced movespeed/jump height augmentation, it's going to take you a long time to find and reach your objective. Plus, you have to actually sacrifice bioenergy in Deus Ex to do what little you can with that augmentation, but in Dishonored you have infinite mana as long as you wait for it to regenerate. The story was also very shallow, as it seemed to be pretty much a direct copy of Deus Ex's storyline. But, in that same aspect, it seems like the storyline of Dishonored was finished before it even began. In Deus Ex, you learn that the Gray Death was man-made, you learn who made it, you learned there was a cure, you get betrayed by your faction, and old friends stay by your side instead of siding with the clear enemies. All of that happens in probably the first half of the game. In Dishonored, you learn the rat plague was man-made and all of your superiors betray you, and some people stay by your side, but that's the end of the game. You do all the same things as Deus Ex, but then it ends with you defeating your betrayers. It makes me feel as though there was much more planned for this game, but due to budget or time issues they were forced to cut it short. Actually, that applies to everything, not just the story. I feel as though this entire game was a half-finished game, and if they could have done more work on the game it could have truly been a game as powerful as Deus Ex.    … Expand
  29. mor0n_soldier
    Oct 26, 2012
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Being a big fan of stealth, hide-n-sneek, strategic type of games I was personally looking forward to this game. So rather not waste time and let's start the review(I'll try to keep spoilers to the absolute minimum).
    +Game art, graphics, style are genuine and awesome!
    +Weapons are a handful, ranging from sneak up behind and slid-a-throat type knifes to take-out-on-range types crossbows and pistol! Couple of grenades, and deployables come in handy as well!
    +Smart improvisation of magical powers, will make you _want_ to use them at your advantage as much as possible, and it's super-fun!
    +Almost as high as 12-15 different ways of killing/assassinating a single enemy, which will make you replay a mission uniquely every time.
    +Story-wise, I won't comment so you'll _HAVE TO_ play it!
    +Decent bit of unlockable items such as runes for powers, whale bones, upgrades to your knife, mask etc! Books, etc etc etc. decent amount of replayability and fun right there, again!
    -Uses a tremendous amount of CPU resources, so if your PC isn't moderately powerful, forget about it!
    -More than 5-6 hours of continuous playing will make the story a bit more predictable and missions a bit repetitive, kinda like Assassin's Creed/Splinter Cell-ish, but that's that. I mean it's a stealth game and it's not the 1st one out there, so you can't go out and draw comparisons between Dishonored and Assassin's Creed or any other game for that matter.

    Over-all, the game is great, it's fun and it's fairly replayable, so forget the haters(lol) and buy it and play it and get on assassinating them bad boys ;) !!!    … Expand
  30. Axeman3D
    Oct 26, 2012
    8
    I'm more a shooty FPS guy, but I was intrigued by the high scoring reviews and memories of playing Thief all those years ago. Dishonored isn't vastly different from its ancestor 'Thief', you are given a goal to accomplish, some tools and a map populated by guards and zombies. You're then left alone to figure out your own way in and out and in your own time.

    The graphics aren't    I'm more a shooty FPS guy, but I was intrigued by the high scoring reviews and memories of playing Thief all those years ago. Dishonored isn't vastly different from its ancestor 'Thief', you are given a goal to accomplish, some tools and a map populated by guards and zombies. You're then left alone to figure out your own way in and out and in your own time.

    The graphics aren't brilliant, its the relatively old Unreal engine reworked, but the gameplay can be fun as you try to get inventive getting past guards. You can hack your way in and out, but the levels get tougher security if you do so it rewards sneaking. You end up playing like a combination Thief and Batman, staying high on buildings and dropping down to knock out guards as chance permits.

    The maps are not large, but they are stiched together to make long levels with loads at certain doors. With the multiple routes and tactics available to you, plus the time it takes to clamber around, you get a lot of gameplay time and high replay value. Its a diverting and quite challenging game, if not inventive or good looking.    … Expand
  31. Gil8ert
    Oct 26, 2012
    6
    New and innovative is something I reserve for games like Portal - which brought a whole new dimension to FPS strategy, or From Dust which built on the Populas idea with a refreshing new twist. Generally speaking the new and innovative these days comes from the same place it's always come - Indie gaming. The thing about Dishonored is that it mixes ideas already in use, and not to aNew and innovative is something I reserve for games like Portal - which brought a whole new dimension to FPS strategy, or From Dust which built on the Populas idea with a refreshing new twist. Generally speaking the new and innovative these days comes from the same place it's always come - Indie gaming. The thing about Dishonored is that it mixes ideas already in use, and not to a remarkably new extreme. First I'll mention the graphics. From the reviews I read I was expecting something special and the artistic style is actually a very nice blend of steam/cyber punk and ye olde world toffery. But the graphics themselves leave a lot to be desired as they feel incredibly flat, and they actually aren't too atmospheric. The feeling of a living breathing world is also somewhat absent due to the linear nature of the levels. True there might be a side alley to lead you to your objective by a hidden route, but it is literally one purpose built alley and built for that very purpose. The premise for the game play is not a million miles away from Hitman or Splinter Cell - only you have a few magic tricks to help you on your way. The difference is that a game like Hitman will provide you with many different options for completing a mission - you might steal a key card, steal and wear a uniform, assassinate from afar with a sniper gun, poison a meal, etc etc. With dishonored you might steal a key - but that's the only option you really have in terms of open play because you are given no others. And so few civilians too. Even dark shady enterprises have civilians working for them. The story is also not the best. The setup is fantastic, the setting is great but the story itself was only vaguely interesting to me - and the more supernatural elements to the story I just found boring. In terms of what I was expect/hoping for I was disappointed. I put it on hard level and completed the game in less than 15 hours. I don't have any real yearning to go back either. When Bioshock came out and got rave reviews - the game I played surpassed my expectations (yes it's amazing!), I can say the same about Arkham City and Skyrim. The latter 2 games I have poured hours and hours, days of my life into - and which have rewarded me immensely! But I payed an equal price for all of these games. All at approximately £30. Had this game come in at half that price then I would probably mark it higher. But there is simply nothing in the game mechanics that struck me as 'wow I can do that!?' like the Gravity gun in HL2, or the Portal gun. Possession is only a new idea if you discount any of the sci-fi games which allow you to take control of robots. Teleporting is not a new idea. Sneaking around to get to an object is not a new idea. I wanted to like this game, I really did. But I was left rather hollow by it. However, I have played at least 70 hours of Skyrim and have loads left to do, so if I add the two games together and split the cost (same developer) then that's currently 42.5 hours per game and £30 a game, so it's not all bad.
    I feel a bit like a marketing genius has mind freaked all the critics into believing red is yellow, and they all went 'Oh yeah!' It's not a bad game, but it's not as exceptional as one might have hoped.....or been lead to believe!    … Expand
  32. SadN3rd
    Oct 26, 2012
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Wise and fascinating story, I loved it. Only thing that bothers me is that I have to use Dark Vision all the time.
    Still, it have found a place in my heart    … Expand
  33. Jintoss
    Oct 26, 2012
    5
    Story-wise, the characters are bland and uninteresting, the narrative is cliche and there is 0 attachment to the player or his allies. Gameplay wise, this is a boring game with a few interesting stretches that pique your interest but never deliver. The visual design is cartoonish but not lacking in inspiration, and unfortunately only adds to the distance one feels with the game. A gameStory-wise, the characters are bland and uninteresting, the narrative is cliche and there is 0 attachment to the player or his allies. Gameplay wise, this is a boring game with a few interesting stretches that pique your interest but never deliver. The visual design is cartoonish but not lacking in inspiration, and unfortunately only adds to the distance one feels with the game. A game you will not bother to finish unless you are amused by either of the two play styles. You can either blast through the game, slaying enemies and summoning rats to eat them - which is ultimately unchallenging and repetitive - or you can go through the tedious frustration of blinking to and taking down each enemy in a non-lethal fashion and abusing the quick save feature to its fullest (while being limited to not using 95% of your arsenal because of the pacifist requirement) . That is, if you even manage to care what happens in the first place.… Expand
  34. Kovil
    Oct 26, 2012
    10
    When I first heard about Zeni Max consuming the Arcane Studio,I really wasnt sure that they can provide something interesting to gamers because ZM is famous for its RPG's not for assasin's creed style games.But eventually,after playing Dishonored,I realised that this game is far more involving and interesting than even hitman ot assasin's creed.A good mix of action and rpg,unique andWhen I first heard about Zeni Max consuming the Arcane Studio,I really wasnt sure that they can provide something interesting to gamers because ZM is famous for its RPG's not for assasin's creed style games.But eventually,after playing Dishonored,I realised that this game is far more involving and interesting than even hitman ot assasin's creed.A good mix of action and rpg,unique and interesting atmosphere,different possibilities of ending the game-is not the complete list of all advantages of the game.So I really enjoed playing this game for 20-30 hours and I reccommend it to anyone that is interested in stealth-action games.… Expand
  35. davoid15
    Oct 25, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Sadly, I can't in good conscience give this game a score higher than 6. It was fun, to be sure, but it suffered from some major flaws.

    1. The stealth is incredibly encouraged, to the point where the game practically forces some levels to be done in stealth. HOWEVER, there are only 2 powers that are used to encourage the stealth style- the sleep dart and the blink ability. After a certain point, these begin to run dry.

    2. Length. I was shocked when the game ended when it did, and the final level was disappointing. I choked out the final boss from behind with no trouble AT ALL, and then it was game over.

    3. Textures. I understand the graphical style the game was going for but some of the textures are plain ugly.

    Good game overall, but please rent it, it's not worth $60.    … Expand
  36. Keevin93
    Oct 25, 2012
    7
    Decent game. The art style is great and the gameplay can be lots of fun in later parts of the game as you get more powers. But the story is lacking and the characters are hard to care about. In the end, nothing memorable or particulary exciting.
  37. LopsterPopster
    Oct 24, 2012
    9
    I was so excited for this game when it was announced, I couldn't wait. And I was not disappointed with the game. At first I thought it was a little too short, but then realized I wasn't at the end yet. There are so many different ways into your target areas, multiple ways to accomplish a mission, and numerous ways to combine your powers into great combos. The scenery is beautiful, althoughI was so excited for this game when it was announced, I couldn't wait. And I was not disappointed with the game. At first I thought it was a little too short, but then realized I wasn't at the end yet. There are so many different ways into your target areas, multiple ways to accomplish a mission, and numerous ways to combine your powers into great combos. The scenery is beautiful, although a little washed out looking. But when they tell you you will not be seen while leaning, it's a lie. Because I did so many times. Of course it has its kinks and its bugs, but what game doesn't? Whether Bethesda decides to make a sequel to this or leave it as a stand-alone game, I will be happy either way. I can't wait for the DLC!… Expand
  38. LiquidGamer
    Oct 24, 2012
    5
    I personally think we have all been tricked. The hype and amount of awards this game came out with is undeserving. I am a HUGE Bethesda fanboy, so I pre-ordered this title months ago, and I am more than a little upset. The more you play the better it gets but it is a sad version of what could be a great game. If you are playing on PC then you have a leg up, if you were unfortunate enoughI personally think we have all been tricked. The hype and amount of awards this game came out with is undeserving. I am a HUGE Bethesda fanboy, so I pre-ordered this title months ago, and I am more than a little upset. The more you play the better it gets but it is a sad version of what could be a great game. If you are playing on PC then you have a leg up, if you were unfortunate enough to get it on console--I'm sorry for your loss. Graphics---Week, Storyline---Seen it before, Concept---Truly awesome... Basically it is Bethesda's answer to BioShock fans. As a reviewer of games as a hobby (Liquid Gamer Podcast), I get to play a lot of games, and this was disappointing. Although the idea is outstanding, the execution is lacking. Hear my full review on the show, http://liquidgamer.podbean.com… Expand
  39. AwesomeDave
    Oct 24, 2012
    5
    It was an ok game, the combat and stealth were decent, but the controls are so clunky, the same button does 3 or 4 things (using the same button to both grab a chain and drop to your death from the top of it was a ridiculous oversight imo), and maybe its just my game was bugged, but my saves were constantly dsappearing, and none of them had the actual time in them, it just saidIt was an ok game, the combat and stealth were decent, but the controls are so clunky, the same button does 3 or 4 things (using the same button to both grab a chain and drop to your death from the top of it was a ridiculous oversight imo), and maybe its just my game was bugged, but my saves were constantly dsappearing, and none of them had the actual time in them, it just said day/month/year hour:minute:second, so when you try to find the save you're on i have to load each until i find the right one (if its even still there)... its good, but it could have been better, and i would recommend waiting for a GotY or collectors bundle if you want more than 20 hrs of play time.

    Oh, and don't try shooting between bars, even hand rails with 2 foot by 4 foot openings, apparently dishonored was programmed back in the day when everything had to be a solid wall. I thought game programmers had evolved past bulls**t like this, but I guess I was wrong.    … Expand
  40. Rognik
    Oct 21, 2012
    9
    Before I start, let me just say Dishonored may very well be my vote for Game of the Year. First of all, the game is quite simply beautiful, even though texture resolution may be a bit low in places. The art style is just that good. Furthermore, the levels are all beautifully fleshed out and almost flawlessly convey the game's rather horrifying mood. The levels are also wonderful from aBefore I start, let me just say Dishonored may very well be my vote for Game of the Year. First of all, the game is quite simply beautiful, even though texture resolution may be a bit low in places. The art style is just that good. Furthermore, the levels are all beautifully fleshed out and almost flawlessly convey the game's rather horrifying mood. The levels are also wonderful from a gameplay perspective: there are multiple ways to accomplish all objectives, and almost all of them feel natural and balanced. The game world will also react in many ways to your actions; this can range from changes in each character's story arc to simple changes in notes and wanted posters. I'd like a little more of the former and less of the latter, but that's something a lot of games struggle with and Dishonored does it better than most. A couple of the levels also drag on a bit, and as a whole you can blow through the game in a handful of hours if you want to. But if you do, you're really doing yourself a disservice. And like most stealth games, the AI can seem blind, stupid, and melodramatic at times, even on the maximum difficulty. But all in all, I really wish there were more games that were trying to do what Dishonored tries. It's not quite perfect in many respects, but the developers deserve huge success for making such a beautiful and multi-faceted game, and getting the majority of it right.… Expand
  41. SuRathanil
    Oct 21, 2012
    3
    The game is lacking, its just a scripted play-through story basically. There is no real depth, the character doesn't feel like your own, and everything you do feels scripted. I played for a few hours, but couldn't get into it, I have tried to open the game twice since and can't play for longer than 15mins. I love some of the companies other games, but this was a let down. If I had toThe game is lacking, its just a scripted play-through story basically. There is no real depth, the character doesn't feel like your own, and everything you do feels scripted. I played for a few hours, but couldn't get into it, I have tried to open the game twice since and can't play for longer than 15mins. I love some of the companies other games, but this was a let down. If I had to describe dishonored in a phrase? Sub-par! Its just not what I was expecting. The game gives you the feeling like they were trying to copy Assassins Creeds success, but they failed. The new Assassins Creed kicks dishonors butt. If you really want to get this game, and you're unsure wait until its $25 on steam for sale! I am interested strong in this title, and because of the company and the hype I fell into the trap of another mainstream sub-par video game.

    Pros - A nice environment, nifty story, interesting gameplay mechanics, polished, crossbows and muskets are interesting feature.

    Cons - Limited gameplay overall, no sandbox feel, no kind of character development, narrow path gameplay, way to scripted, swordplay is arcade, and just not as fun as its counterparts.    … Expand
  42. aznassassin
    Oct 21, 2012
    9
    DIshonored is a curious game. It promotes itself as an open world FP-action-stealth-RPG with a deep plot but at the end of the day after the 20 or so hours it took me to complete the game, I was impressed by it for other reasons. Firstly, the stealth element is mediocre at best, mimicking stealth mechanics of modern action titles such as Deus Ex and the Elder Scrolls. The climbing mechanicDIshonored is a curious game. It promotes itself as an open world FP-action-stealth-RPG with a deep plot but at the end of the day after the 20 or so hours it took me to complete the game, I was impressed by it for other reasons. Firstly, the stealth element is mediocre at best, mimicking stealth mechanics of modern action titles such as Deus Ex and the Elder Scrolls. The climbing mechanic is definitely one of the best Ive seen in recently years with EVERY obstacle able to be climbed over/ascend onto in first-person. No more of the **** 'Oh this ledge is too high, my character cant reach it coz they jump liek they're toddlers' or 'Oh noes I cant get overt this barrier coz my character cant jump high enough'. Its called using your bloody hands and body. And finally, Dishonored showed us that. I am crying with happiness.
    Oh yes, they managed to make both the stealth and all-guns-blazing approach satisfying, which is a plus as most modern games of such manner would only reward players who chose the stealth path. The excellent plotline, the world, NPCs and superb voiceacting are also highlights. The ending to the game is nothing sort of heartwarming (though this depends on your choices in the game) and this does not mean its a happy ending (depends on you interpret it - I say its a happy ending despite what happens). The cons? Its not open world. Thats right. They lied to us. Essentially there are NINE missions, each with a large area to complete objectives. Its not an open world sense like Deus Ex. There are no hubs to visit, no cities to explore or locations to be discovered. You're essentially handed the area for each mission and through their open yet linear multiple pathways, you proceed, overcome and complete your objectives. Oh and did I mention its pretty short? I finished this game in a little bit over 20 hours and that's only because I actually did every single side-quest as well as found almost every collectable in every mission as well as listened/engages in every dialogue possible. If you rush, you can finish the game under 10 hours (a player on steam forums completed the game in 7 hours). Dishonored is an experience. You play it. You finish it. You probably will play it again just to see how things will pan out differently. And then you probably wont touch it again. But you'll still think it was worth it, the money well spent. An excellent, well-rounded title that deserves your attention.    … Expand
  43. lucidanarchy
    Oct 21, 2012
    8
    It has been quite some time since a game really caught my attention. The number of options available to meet an objective is amazing but unfortunately I felt that the game was too short. Overall its well worth the time and money.
  44. MadMarty
    Oct 20, 2012
    6
    Having a big problem with this game. It IS fun to play. It IS fun to explore. There ARE various ways to deal with missions, but they all are about stealth. Walking in gun blazing isn't really an option here. If You choose to play this game on high difficulty without killing innocent people the replayability doesnt exist, cause there is nothing that could amuse You anymore. The biggestHaving a big problem with this game. It IS fun to play. It IS fun to explore. There ARE various ways to deal with missions, but they all are about stealth. Walking in gun blazing isn't really an option here. If You choose to play this game on high difficulty without killing innocent people the replayability doesnt exist, cause there is nothing that could amuse You anymore. The biggest disadvantage is the plot. I was really, really hoping (based on the interesting world, interesting protagonist and the hype) that the story would be deep. It isn't. The narration is very poor and no twist will really suprise You. When You get the mission that should end the game in 3rd hour of game You know it'll fail, don't You?… Expand
  45. Hatred
    Oct 20, 2012
    7
    i enjoyed this game alot, its not something i usually play but it looked interesting after finishing the game which i just have, i wanted to share my review

    pros great story,voices/actors makes you want to carry on playing strategic cons graphics feel dated, sometimes you can stand right next to someone look them in the face and yet your still not seen, game felt like it went    i enjoyed this game alot, its not something i usually play but it looked interesting after finishing the game which i just have, i wanted to share my review

    pros
    great story,voices/actors
    makes you want to carry on playing
    strategic

    cons
    graphics feel dated,
    sometimes you can stand right next to someone look them in the face and yet your still not seen,
    game felt like it went on far too long,

    i liked the game alot and it was hard to criticize it on its faults
    although it had its faults the gameplay felt purposeful and fun
    until i got towards the end,then it just seemed as though it went on way longer then the game should have and nothing seemed original to what i had already seen prior, just same old same old.
    great game none the less, would and have reccomend(ed)    … Expand
  46. zotune
    Oct 20, 2012
    8
    Dishonored is a game that excels in many aspects, and although the plot is nothing more complicated than Mario games, it is still able to involve you with its rich and intriguing narrative. The gameplay, albeit too easy at times, is always fun and truly emphasizes the idea of playing a game in any way you want. The art direction is one of the most gritty and original since Half-Life 2,Dishonored is a game that excels in many aspects, and although the plot is nothing more complicated than Mario games, it is still able to involve you with its rich and intriguing narrative. The gameplay, albeit too easy at times, is always fun and truly emphasizes the idea of playing a game in any way you want. The art direction is one of the most gritty and original since Half-Life 2, and certain areas in the game look like true works of art. The gameplay adds and improves upon everything that was present in games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, such as looting, swordplay and enemy AI. Unlike what some people may say, Dishonored doesn't necessarily punish you for assassinating people, as long as you make a couple of humane choices and refrain from going out of your way to kill every enemy you come across. The cast of characters are all interesting, and all interact with you in unique and different ways, allowing you to interpret their intentions and get involved in the story as it plays out. The only drawbacks for me was that I felt a bit overpowered at times, and I didn't feel that certain abilities and upgrades were made in such a way that they were a necessity - an experienced player would likely be able to finish the game without any. I also felt the ending could have provided more closure after countless hours of expectations as you involve yourself in the story - depending on what decisions you make throughout. Then again, this is a game set in a world that is yours to play with and approach in your own way, so its up to you to make the most out of it by focusing on the journey, not the destination.… Expand
  47. Baenlynn
    Oct 19, 2012
    7
    I read a few reviews before I even started playing Dishonored, and I wished I hadn't. I was expecting some top-shelf title that once again is touted to produce ecstatic experiences in the media blitz, but only manages to produce nausea once released. While Dishonored is not carved wholesale from diamonds rent from the earth by Vestal Virgins, it is not a bad game. I didn't get what II read a few reviews before I even started playing Dishonored, and I wished I hadn't. I was expecting some top-shelf title that once again is touted to produce ecstatic experiences in the media blitz, but only manages to produce nausea once released. While Dishonored is not carved wholesale from diamonds rent from the earth by Vestal Virgins, it is not a bad game. I didn't get what I expected going in, but after a steady diet of Assassin's Creed titles for the last four years my view of 'stealth FPS' had been greatly skewed. Dishonored has much more in common with titles like Hitman or Thief, where one is much better off staying hidden, picking off guards one at a time, than leaping from the shadows in a flurry of steel a-la Ezio Auditore. The more I played the more I found myself enjoying this Predacious style of gameplay. It is both challenging and fun. Not in the human blender style of Assassin's Creed but more the patient planning and observation of Hitman or Thief. Sadly, where the game falls down, hard, is in the writing. The setting and set-up have the makings of an excellent novel but the execution is quite basic. Without preamble, without the chance to get into the skin of your character (Say with an introductory mission) you are told that you are the Empress' personal bodyguard, that you are a formidable swordsman, and it is hinted that you are secretly (or not so secretly) in love with the empress. My first gripe here is that the swordplay is incredibly basic, it is shot through with some glorious animations, but none of them are within your control. The second is, that I am being TOLD what to think and feel. Before I even have a chance to meet the empress I am being told how to feel towards her, a few extra minutes of dialogue, an extra scene or two could suck me right in here, but alas I am left wanting. If you liked Thief, Hitman, or Deus Ex Dishonored is a welcome addition to the genre, but go in for fun, not world-changing ideas.… Expand
  48. Xanthinx
    Oct 19, 2012
    7
    Graphics : - 1

    Plot : - 1 Music : - 0.5 (They didnt really put that much effort into music) Game play : - 1.5 (Stealth with FPS is just lame, it should've had RPG option too / The game was not that challenging though / I didnt have the chance to try all the powers of the character !!! ) Experience : + 1 (It was fun for me after all with the plague/rats theme, early 90's is a    Graphics : - 1

    Plot : - 1

    Music : - 0.5 (They didnt really put that much effort into music)

    Game play : - 1.5 (Stealth with FPS is just lame, it should've had RPG option too / The game was not that challenging though / I didnt have the chance
    to try all the powers of the character !!! )

    Experience : + 1 (It was fun for me after all with the plague/rats theme, early 90's is a good era to be video gamed)

    " Revenge doesnt solve everything BTW "    … Expand
  49. 2clueless
    Oct 19, 2012
    8
    I enjoyed the game. Gameplay is a combination of Might and Magic: Dark Messiah and Bioshock, with a Bioshock and Half-Life 2 environmental aesthetic. A couple of the characters were a little weak due to bad voice acting and/or just falling flat. A lot of them were well done and rounded out, though, interesting to talk and listen to. Also, The Heart.. that was an excellent and immersiveI enjoyed the game. Gameplay is a combination of Might and Magic: Dark Messiah and Bioshock, with a Bioshock and Half-Life 2 environmental aesthetic. A couple of the characters were a little weak due to bad voice acting and/or just falling flat. A lot of them were well done and rounded out, though, interesting to talk and listen to. Also, The Heart.. that was an excellent and immersive mechanic to add, spent quite a bit of the game just listening to it. More then willing to play it a couple more times for the different endings. It isn't an industry changer, it probably won't stand the test of time, but it was more than worth the money, and I would love to visit the world again in the future.… Expand
  50. FatRob
    Oct 19, 2012
    10
    I am IN LOVE with this game. Best one i played in a long time and the first 10/10 for as long as i can remember. It seems to be very diverse opinions bout it, and maybe its one of those you either love or hate. I simply love every inch of it. Its like a combination of fables atmosphere,assasins creeds sneaking, hitmans variation and Halflife 2´s surroundings. the gameplay isI am IN LOVE with this game. Best one i played in a long time and the first 10/10 for as long as i can remember. It seems to be very diverse opinions bout it, and maybe its one of those you either love or hate. I simply love every inch of it. Its like a combination of fables atmosphere,assasins creeds sneaking, hitmans variation and Halflife 2´s surroundings. the gameplay is perfect, its fun all the time, really varied where you can go your own way pretty much everywhere. there is this great atmosphere where i really feel im there. Theres i so much to discover that i would just dont care about in any other game, but here i can spend hours on going to small secret rooms and passages cause they all feel so alive and intresting. The controls are supersmooth and i almost get irritated cause there is nothing to be irritated on. loading times are super quick, the graphics are fabulous on many places. the sound is really perfect. Or, yeah there is one thing that could be better, there is almost no music, which actually suits the game good, but i would prefer a good soundtrack.… Expand
  51. McGarnagle
    Oct 19, 2012
    7
    This is a good game. Yet that is where I will stop. I know lots of people are giving this game rave reviews, but I simply cannot.

    First, the art style is intriguing and much of that is a personal taste. I normally like steampunk, or in this case whaleoilpunk. Yet the characters are downright ugly. If that was their choice so be it. I know there is a bleak aspect to the game    This is a good game. Yet that is where I will stop. I know lots of people are giving this game rave reviews, but I simply cannot.

    First, the art style is intriguing and much of that is a personal taste. I normally like steampunk, or in this case whaleoilpunk. Yet the characters are downright ugly. If that was their choice so be it. I know there is a bleak aspect to the game considering they are in the middle of a plague. Yet being constantly surrounded by ugly characters is not enjoyable. There is also the texture issues, and the fact they some things are just poorly done. I am not lowering this game much for the graphics (no game should be), yet this does have graphical issues.

    Second, there just is not a lot of character development. There is world development if you choose by reading the books scattered throughout the world. Yet the character development is fairly poor. I wanted to more about all these people I was working with and also the ones I was killing. Yet other than a few conversations and the random really brief letter/diary you can pick up it's really sparse.

    Third, the gameplay can be fun at times and tedious at others. I cannot count how many times I went to choke a player and instead went into the defensive stance which alerted them to my presence. The computer AI sometimes seems real good, and at other times seems braindead. Yet it can still be fun flying all over the place and avoiding detection or simply going in and wiping the floor with everyone (although the hand to hand combat can be a chore at times).

    Fourth, once you pick a style of play it really starts to feel repetitive. They do introduce some new stuff here and there, but for the most part you will be doing the same thing. They even repeated a level, which ticked me off.

    Overall, the game can be a fun experience for a little while, and it can be fun finding all the different ways around things. Yet I did not find this game as special at others. Perhaps it's the simple lack of good stealth type games on the market anymore, but in the end I found this worthy of only a 7 (which means to me worth a playthrough by renting it, but certainly not a buy).    … Expand
  52. aeroplasma
    Oct 18, 2012
    10
    I am a person that almost never finishes a game. All games lose my interest halfway into them. I've even lost interest in Skyrim but I do go back and play once in a while Other games that have kept my interest are Mass Effect. Anyway, I loved this game and it kept my interest throughout. I finished it today. Awesome game!
  53. v00d00m4n
    Oct 18, 2012
    6
    Once i saw CGI trailer of game, i was cheated to think and hope Dishonored would be finally 1st true stealth game of last 5 years, since SC3, HBM, T3 and Crysis that does it right, unfortunately it didn't.
    I expected stealth mechanics to be just like in Chronicles of Riddick of Thief 3 (in FPS mode) or Splinter Cell 3 or at least like in Dark Messiah - i wanted to hide in shadows and have    Once i saw CGI trailer of game, i was cheated to think and hope Dishonored would be finally 1st true stealth game of last 5 years, since SC3, HBM, T3 and Crysis that does it right, unfortunately it didn't.
    I expected stealth mechanics to be just like in Chronicles of Riddick of Thief 3 (in FPS mode) or Splinter Cell 3 or at least like in Dark Messiah - i wanted to hide in shadows and have advanced AI and be aware of full body with legs. Unfortunately stealth gameplay in this game is frustrating and broken, even worse than latest DXHR was (where you also cant hide in shadows and where AI is pretty dumb and when most of stealth features locked for about half of game), it even worse than it was in Dark Messiah. AI is dumb, deaf and blind to compensate lack of hiding in shadows. Yes you heard me right, thats another pseudo-stealth game that ignores lighting, also when you sneaking you do not even produce footsteps sounds.
    I expected hand to hand combat to be just like in dark messiah or even better, but instead it became worse, i cant even punch anyone and send him flying into death trap, because i have no legs, animation is no that smooth as i expected, sometime it shifts from one phase to another quite jerky, and combat is just a bit random, combo of magic and sword is not that effective as it was in Dark Messiah.
    I expected parkour part of game to be just like in Mirror's edge, realistic, fluid, with full body awareness. And yet again there is nothing like this, everything done simply by cheating and moving magic pointer in right place.
    And shooting... well there is no shooting in this game, pistol is useless and darts - part of primitive stealth gameplay.
    I also expected pc version to have dynamic shadows and lighting and high res textures, but everything is pretty much static and lighting of arm is delayed, body of any NPC can disappear randomly (in stealth game where you need to drag them? seriously?), and textures just awful, super low res. Strange, but Splinter Cell 1 on PS2 was far more advanced that this so its not really a hardware limitation.

    I expected character to be part of game world, a person with voice that merged into world, but instead i have yet another unrealistic silent character and npc that doest care about his silence (Half Life anyone? Crysis 2?).

    These things really disappointed me, this game had great potential, but it was wasted, and instead of having best of all games, we only get bits of other games, and these bits doesn't work well together, game feels and plays like some alpha version where most of necessary features not implemented and have placeholder like "we will add ability to hide in shadows in next build, now just play with almost blind AI instead".

    I really hope that just like Skyrim, this game will have patches that will not only fix some minor bugs, but will add gameplay features as well, and 1st thing Arkane must improve - is stealth, they must add hiding in shadow, enhance AI, and make them blind only in dark places; second thing - they add fully animated body. It shame that in 2012 some first person games still have no body awareness. Just look at riddick and syndicate or mirror's edge - that how it should be done. Third thing they must add - voice acting for Carvo and bidirectional interaction between him and other characters.

    But despite those flaws setting, art direction and story are very good (together, story itself, separate from setting is not that good), and only they keeps me from giving this game low score, without them i would give it like a 5 of 10, with them its 7.5 of 10, but stealth, body and voice improvements could make it a solid 10 of 10 i mean real 10, not over-hyped 10 like most of magazines and blind fanboys gave this game.

    P.S. - its really sad to see how stealth genre was dumbed down and downgraded in last 5 years... most of current stealth games outdated comparing to old good Riddick, Splinter Cell 3 and Thief 2 or 3 or Crysis 1, most of current gen "stealth" games, including Deus EX Human Revolution and Dishonored, returned to state of 199X era, with very simple and primitive stealth features and AI.
    Please keep that in mind Arkane and any other Stealth devs and do a proper stealth action or don't do it at all.

    Despite i stated its a 7.5 of 10, when i wrote last part of review i started to remember how many stealth features of true stealth games missing in action these days, and since game was pushed mainly as stealth game i changed my mind... i was generous too much for ART and Settings, so my final score is 6 of 10. And one more thing that frustrates me - standards became so low these days, people overhyped about mediocre games and gives them 10 of 10, but clunky games would not have a chance to get more than 5-7 of 10 in 2000-2005 era.
    Also i must note that i agree with what people, which gave this game a 0, wrote, but i disagree about giving it a Zero, 5 is minimum it deserves.    … Expand
  54. djini76
    Oct 18, 2012
    8
    I have to say i'm underwhelmed given all the great reviews. Those who said before me that the stealth mechanics are rubbish are absolutely spot on. They had better stealth mechanics in the 'Riddick' games. I have never been a big fan of FPS stealth games, I feel stealth is best served in the third person where you get to see your character hiding behind objects and get a feel forI have to say i'm underwhelmed given all the great reviews. Those who said before me that the stealth mechanics are rubbish are absolutely spot on. They had better stealth mechanics in the 'Riddick' games. I have never been a big fan of FPS stealth games, I feel stealth is best served in the third person where you get to see your character hiding behind objects and get a feel for exactly where they are in the environment. Deus Ex HR was quite good where it was First person but switched into 3rd so you could see the character and the enemies in relation to each other. The gameplay is fluid however and there is fun to be had with the different ways you can take people out or indeed avoid them completely. In that aspect it is a little too easy but I have yet to play it on the hardest setting. The games tour de force is Dunwall itself and the art direction which is very nicely done. With the plague and dead bodies dumped everywhere the game still makes it a rather nice experience to be in that environment. Its quirky and sinister at the same time, an air of unpleasantness always hanging yet never imposing. In general though it feels like there could have been a lot more to the game especially in its narrative. I'd give it an 8 because I think they could have done a lot more with it. No doubt there will be a sequel of some description.… Expand
  55. SpaceNinja
    Oct 18, 2012
    7
    This game is not anything special but in comparison to other games released this year this is a masterpiece. It reminds me on oldschool games and i enjoyed playing it. I hope they will make more games like that in the future.
  56. hootis
    Oct 17, 2012
    0
    So reading some reviews while I have not finished the game yet; the intro story wise falls completely flat. Its kinda just like this is a city and if you want to care about it you have to read 30 text journals hidden everywhere. Oh and were the good guys because we said so. Anyway story failure aside, I cannot possibly justify the cost of this game. 60$ is fine for a full game single andSo reading some reviews while I have not finished the game yet; the intro story wise falls completely flat. Its kinda just like this is a city and if you want to care about it you have to read 30 text journals hidden everywhere. Oh and were the good guys because we said so. Anyway story failure aside, I cannot possibly justify the cost of this game. 60$ is fine for a full game single and multilayer with more than likely a custom game engine. This is sadly not the case when I hear people beating the single player in only 7 hours and a bad implementation of the unreal engine(by bad I mean the graphics are absolutely atrocious not to mention there aren't any settings to change anything other than bloody rat shadows I mean really you've got to be kidding me). I'l give this game a 3 and hope it improves but I can't even force myself to play through more of this without giving myself a headache from crappy visuals… Expand
  57. DecisiveSauce
    Oct 17, 2012
    10
    Everything about this game was well designed. I loved the story and the quality of voice acting and characterization in this game was incredible. The characters had very good detailed models and the art style, although it can easily make you perceive the game to be bad graphics, was actually very good quality.

    I didn't find the story short, however it was also not too long such that it    Everything about this game was well designed. I loved the story and the quality of voice acting and characterization in this game was incredible. The characters had very good detailed models and the art style, although it can easily make you perceive the game to be bad graphics, was actually very good quality.

    I didn't find the story short, however it was also not too long such that it felt as though it dragged on. I honestly think it was pretty much the perfect length. My only complaint is that one part of the game seemed unnecessarily boring and slow, a part in the sewers.
    Asides from that the story was well paced and enjoyably long, lasting a full week of quite high playtime. In my opinion, well worth the money

    The mechanics were fluid and you could easily just spam off abilities and murder everyone crazily and the game will still be fun. I personally went for the stealth approach and still found the game incredibly enjoyable.

    In terms of good design, the fact that steam achievements that pertained to the story were hidden to prevent spoiling the story blew my mind because it was the first time I had come across a developer taking such a simple step to keep the player experience from being spoiled.

    Another example of good design I experienced was (to prevent spoilers I'll stay vague) when there was an escort type mission (there only was one) to protect a group of people, my initial reaction was eye-roll as my experiences with these types of missions tend to be me running around frantically diving in front of bullets secret service style in order to protect the mindlessly running NPC's.
    However what I actually found was that the NPC's would wait patiently and intuitively hide in their initial building beside an alley way until I stepped out into full view in the alley way, thereafter taking that as their cue to run across.

    The levels were filled with lots of incredibly nice looking environments and lots of cool little side missions that you could stumble across if you were paying attention (saving a civilian from a bad situation involving guards that you can just stumble across, for example).

    The characters were VERY thoroughly developed, with each character having a heap of voice lines to pull from at each stage of the game. On top of that there were audio logs and diaries that they kept. All three of these aspects would change as you progressed with the story.

    I have to say, this game was the single most enjoyable game I've played in a long time.

    Looking at other reviews I can see that people are making stupid comparisons with other games. People need to realise that not every game ever being made is trying to copy the same set of old games (either Half Life 2, Deus Ex or Bioshock), and stop being pretentious **** They made sequels to all those games and people are still not happy.

    Also "Deus Ex" is NOT a GENRE of game.

    Honestly, 10/10 would buy again.    … Expand
  58. ZootMan
    Oct 17, 2012
    9
    This game has so many moving parts, I am amazed it came together as well as it did. Arkane's pedigree didn't exactly leave me high in expectation. They delivered with some beautiful, understated art, characters and setting I remember after putting the mouse down hours later, and greatest off all, a set of abilities and options that are all handled with a fine degree of precision. In theThis game has so many moving parts, I am amazed it came together as well as it did. Arkane's pedigree didn't exactly leave me high in expectation. They delivered with some beautiful, understated art, characters and setting I remember after putting the mouse down hours later, and greatest off all, a set of abilities and options that are all handled with a fine degree of precision. In the span of 4 seconds, I can teleport to the top of a fire escape, leap down and silently snuff the life out of one poor soul, then subdue his partner, while maybe alerting three other soldiers. You can then decide to stop time, assassinating all three with your blade/pistol/crossbow, create a gust of wind to knock them all back, or simply cook a grenade to explode in their faces. The moment to moment action is an interlocking chain of checks and balances. My only possible gripe with the encounters is that later on (After 'the twist') the player is forced by sheer design of some of the foes into a more deliberate and brutal (and less creative) form of interactive expression. On the whole, a fantastic new IP, one I hope to see more of.… Expand
  59. Zudeare
    Oct 17, 2012
    9
    A very strong title, Lots possibilities to complete your missions, But i have one major complaint, IT'S TOO SHORT! Seriously, I took my time doing a lot of exploring and doing side objectives through the missions and i squeezed 13 hours out of it, But considering the fact that the replay value is pretty high in this game because of the Low/High Chaos system i can't really complain thatA very strong title, Lots possibilities to complete your missions, But i have one major complaint, IT'S TOO SHORT! Seriously, I took my time doing a lot of exploring and doing side objectives through the missions and i squeezed 13 hours out of it, But considering the fact that the replay value is pretty high in this game because of the Low/High Chaos system i can't really complain that much. And i think that this game is kind of easy as well, I played on Very Hard the first time and i had to Quick load and Quick save pretty often because i wanted to experiment with some ways to approach an objective. But other than that the enemies are not that tough and usually you can blink your way out of combat if you so desire. Despite all that, This game rocks!… Expand
  60. Singularity
    Oct 17, 2012
    8
    Very good game overall, one of the better ones to be released this year. It's held back from true greatness by some minor flaws however. The good: choice. There are so many different ways to play this game it's ridiculous. You can be stealthy and go through the game without killing a single soul, or you can be an instrument of chaos, slaughtering innocents and hostiles alike. ThisVery good game overall, one of the better ones to be released this year. It's held back from true greatness by some minor flaws however. The good: choice. There are so many different ways to play this game it's ridiculous. You can be stealthy and go through the game without killing a single soul, or you can be an instrument of chaos, slaughtering innocents and hostiles alike. This difference in play styles can influence the ending that you receive, similar to Bioshock. The powers and equipment that you receive throughout are fun to use and make you feel like a badass. The art style and art direction are phenomenal, also similar to Bioshock. It's a mesmerizing world. Most of the voice acting is decent, and the replay value is through the roof. Combat is visceral and strategic, with an emphasis on parrying and countering. The bad: the story isn't as great as I would like it to be. I felt that I just didn't' care enough the about the characters, and the empress' assassination at the beginning just didn't hit home. I personally would have rather seen a lengthier introduction to give us a feel for the characters, which would allow for a more emotional investment in the story. Also, the graphics, from a technological aspect, aren't really up to snuff, even on PC. Textures are murky and blurry up close, and the animations are a bit stiff. The art direction previously mentioned makes the game still look decent though, Overall, a good contribution to my gaming library. If you want a blend of Assassin's Creed and Bioshock, look no further.… Expand
  61. Phi11ysPhinest
    Oct 17, 2012
    5
    Mediocre game at best. With all the hype, I expected better game play and graphics. It seems like this game struggles to find its own personality. AI is clumsy and weak, even on hardest setting. The "stealth" is waste of time as there is really no stealth actions, and you get "punished" for just killing everyone. The graphic art is interesting at first but I found it to get annoyingMediocre game at best. With all the hype, I expected better game play and graphics. It seems like this game struggles to find its own personality. AI is clumsy and weak, even on hardest setting. The "stealth" is waste of time as there is really no stealth actions, and you get "punished" for just killing everyone. The graphic art is interesting at first but I found it to get annoying really fast. I found myself only playing for about 45-60 minutes at a shot because the motion blur / camera design made me sick. Maybe worth a rent, but not $60.… Expand
  62. Q8eZy
    Oct 17, 2012
    5
    For a mid-teir game, the mechanics and gameplay are serviceable. But it is only a mid-teir game, so don't expect greatness there. For this to be a worthwhile game, the art design and story have to be very good. The art design, albeit very low rez, is excellent. Moody and distinctive, it had the potential to really suck me in.
    The story and dialog, however, are terrible. Cliche, piled    For a mid-teir game, the mechanics and gameplay are serviceable. But it is only a mid-teir game, so don't expect greatness there. For this to be a worthwhile game, the art design and story have to be very good. The art design, albeit very low rez, is excellent. Moody and distinctive, it had the potential to really suck me in.
    The story and dialog, however, are terrible. Cliche, piled on top of trope, pilied on top of cardboard character. Then there is the fact that it treats the player like he/she is an idiot mongoloid. Do we really need to be told half a dozen times "you are brave and our only hope, you must save the empresses daughter from Darth Bowser." There is nothing to discover, because the game is afraid that you will miss something if it isn't spelled out in CAPITAL BOLD LETTERS twenty times. And can we please quit with the constant monologuing (see The Incredibles movie). Oh, and lest I forget, there is Zelda level holdhanding with the constant 'helpful' popups.    … Expand
  63. ReaIistiC
    Oct 17, 2012
    8
    This game is simply amazing! everything about this game is deadly. Its skyrim, bioshock and thief all mxed in one game. similar skyrim combat system, bioshock similar powers, and theif similar to sneaking around castles etc. This game will really have you sitting on the edge of your chair!
  64. bigboned
    Oct 16, 2012
    6
    It's one of those games that you start playing with your "positive" glasses on because of the hype from critics, reviews and a respectable studio name. As you play, you slowly start picking up on negatives and after a while all you can see are the negatives and you find yourself wondering if any of these critics played the whole game before giving it a 100. The atmosphere and the settingIt's one of those games that you start playing with your "positive" glasses on because of the hype from critics, reviews and a respectable studio name. As you play, you slowly start picking up on negatives and after a while all you can see are the negatives and you find yourself wondering if any of these critics played the whole game before giving it a 100. The atmosphere and the setting is impressive and it gives you a good start, but once you get accustomed to these factors you start looking for more. That… Expand
  65. MadclownJack
    Oct 16, 2012
    6
    It's mediocre fun, as i knew it would be. In all honesty i prefer the old Thief over this thing any day. It has a lot of good ideas, albeit sometimes poorly executed. It demands a very high suspension of disbelief, even with menial things. The AI is surprisingly dumb. It seemingly boasts with open world and lots of choices, but that's a lie. There's only one large area and a dozen doorsIt's mediocre fun, as i knew it would be. In all honesty i prefer the old Thief over this thing any day. It has a lot of good ideas, albeit sometimes poorly executed. It demands a very high suspension of disbelief, even with menial things. The AI is surprisingly dumb. It seemingly boasts with open world and lots of choices, but that's a lie. There's only one large area and a dozen doors leading to a handful of other, smaller areas. It tries very hard to be the Thief of this generation but humbly fails, in my opinion. I read somewhere that Dishonored's stealth system that was supposed to be based on Thief's but was discarded because it was too "unrealistic". Instead they put a system where the only direction an enemy faces is straight, so even in broad daylight you can stand above an enemy's line of sight and they'll be none the wiser. There's also the superpower that lets you see through walls. I really don't get if they were being sarcastic, or just plain old stupid, but there it is. The story is a cliche mish-mash, set in a fantastic but very unbelievable world. All in All, i liked playing it for a short while, but when i stopped there was no real craving for another run. After Thief 2 I was left with a void for a good sneaker installment (Thief 3 was ridiculous, aside from the Asylum mission). This comes close, but i don't think this is IT. Rent before buy is my advice. It might not be your 50$ cup of tea.… Expand
  66. gimmedatsammich
    Oct 16, 2012
    4
    I have learned my lesson. Never again will I trust the word of a video game "journalist." It's quite obvious these guys are being paid for favorable reviews. My fault for ever believing them, I guess. Dishonored is a shallow, boring, tedious game. The stealth mechanic- so highly touted in previews and trailers- is utterly lacking in complexity and challenge. "Blink" behind a guy, choke himI have learned my lesson. Never again will I trust the word of a video game "journalist." It's quite obvious these guys are being paid for favorable reviews. My fault for ever believing them, I guess. Dishonored is a shallow, boring, tedious game. The stealth mechanic- so highly touted in previews and trailers- is utterly lacking in complexity and challenge. "Blink" behind a guy, choke him to sleep, stash his body in a dumpster, rinse, repeat. That's the whole game right there. It gets old very quickly, as do the sword fighting and gunslinging. Playing with all the toys in your arsenal is fun at first, but the charm quickly wears off and descends into boredom. The story is thin as matzo. The setting is cool, sure, but no effort is put into characterization, especially with Corvo- yet another dull, silent protagonist- and the game suffers for it. You don't care about the heroes, and you don't hate the villains. The big twist isn't shocking in the least, and the ending feels rushed and incomplete. The writing is passable, but nothing special. This dreck would barely earn a C in an entry level creative writing course. The graphics and art design are Dishonored's saving grace. Dunwall is gorgeously realized, and the game runs beautifully on the PC. The world Arkane has created is truly a work of art. If only they had harnessed its full potential. In the hands of a better developer, this game could have reached its full potential.… Expand
  67. dan2600
    Oct 16, 2012
    5
    I beat this game on the hardest level in under 15 hours on my first go, killing almost no-one. I wanted to go for the "ghost" achievement as well (as I normally do) but it is impossible to tell if an NPC has spotted you or not. As, is my first complaint, there is no meaningful indication to if you are hidden or not or if you have been 'spotted'/ Peeking over corners and sides always putsI beat this game on the hardest level in under 15 hours on my first go, killing almost no-one. I wanted to go for the "ghost" achievement as well (as I normally do) but it is impossible to tell if an NPC has spotted you or not. As, is my first complaint, there is no meaningful indication to if you are hidden or not or if you have been 'spotted'/ Peeking over corners and sides always puts you in line of sight, and it's basically luck if they see you or not (reminiscent of FPS mode in Metal Gear Solid 2). NPCs will start looking for you on one side of the map if you throw an empty bottle on the other. The entire hide and seek system is wonky and unnatural feeling.

    I've been told this game is a sandbox and I'm playing it wrong. But how can you have a sandbox game with linear objectives (even the "alternative methods" present themselves linearly) and static environments. You can't blow up walls, knock over things, or put anything to use in the environment. The extent of environment interaction is turning off a barricade, disabling a turret, throwing empty bottles or throwing explosive barrels, take your pick. Oh also, this is a level based game    … Expand
  68. JesterNoNamer
    Oct 16, 2012
    10
    Dishonored is a very good game despite what some overly-expectant clods are proclaiming (thankfully there are not that many of them!). The game has interesting gameplay with quite an intriguing, if rather short, story. The game is not so challenging if you play on the easier difficulty levels (duh) and if you decide to fight every enemy you see (which also results in a darker ending). TheDishonored is a very good game despite what some overly-expectant clods are proclaiming (thankfully there are not that many of them!). The game has interesting gameplay with quite an intriguing, if rather short, story. The game is not so challenging if you play on the easier difficulty levels (duh) and if you decide to fight every enemy you see (which also results in a darker ending). The game is designed to be a stealth game, not a shoot em up. So, if the player is searching for a challenge (and a better ending), stealth and staying thy blade&bow will present such a challenge. Overall Dishonored is definitely one of the better games of recent times and is definitely worth checking out.

    Jester's Rating: 9.5/10 (Limited by metacritic's rating system)    … Expand
  69. CBZ
    Oct 16, 2012
    9
    Great game, probably Game of the year so far.
    Its fun to go through the maps in different ways and find all the different paths to achieve the objectives.
    The environment is very original and maps have many options despite the linear structure. Graphics are not top notch but it kind of goes well with the cartoony style of the game. Im playing in normal difficulty and so far the AI is    Great game, probably Game of the year so far.
    Its fun to go through the maps in different ways and find all the different paths to achieve the objectives.
    The environment is very original and maps have many options despite the linear structure.
    Graphics are not top notch but it kind of goes well with the cartoony style of the game. Im playing in normal difficulty and so far the AI is average at most but I expect the hard setting to be better.
    Some people are being too harsh, probably because they had such high expectations.    … Expand
  70. Nihey
    Oct 16, 2012
    9
    Definitely a great game. The most fun part of this game is the number of choices you can make to proceed through a mission, mostly because of the variety of ways you have to do your kills.
    Their main soundtrack (Drunken Whaler) fits the game perfectly, users usually love when guards whistles it.
  71. Havok
    Oct 16, 2012
    9
    If you played Dark Messiah and liked it, you'll love this.
    If you played Thief and liked it, you'll love this.
    If you played Deus Ex and liked it, you'll love this. If you played BioShock and liked it, you'll love this. This is, quite simply put, the best game to release this year. The first original IPO to blow me away like this in quite some time, Dishonored takes the best parts of    If you played Dark Messiah and liked it, you'll love this.
    If you played Thief and liked it, you'll love this.
    If you played Deus Ex and liked it, you'll love this.
    If you played BioShock and liked it, you'll love this.
    This is, quite simply put, the best game to release this year. The first original IPO to blow me away like this in quite some time, Dishonored takes the best parts of melee combat, magic abilities, stealth and player choice and sets it in a beautifully imagined world rich with background story and fascinating characters. The storyline isn't something to write home about, but against the rest of this game one can almost forget there is a storyline and just immerse yourself in the beauty that is Dishonored.

    Definite candidate for Game of the Year    … Expand
  72. Shep
    Oct 15, 2012
    9
    It doesn't have the best stealth (the Blink ability is a mixed bag; it opens up for some interesting tactics, but can make sneaking a bit TOO simple in some environments) or the best action ever (only three weapons not including your powers, some of which are impractical in combat) but it makes up for it by offering a breadth of freedom and choice to the player while still beingIt doesn't have the best stealth (the Blink ability is a mixed bag; it opens up for some interesting tactics, but can make sneaking a bit TOO simple in some environments) or the best action ever (only three weapons not including your powers, some of which are impractical in combat) but it makes up for it by offering a breadth of freedom and choice to the player while still being approachable to players who are more used to simply following a linear path. There's an "obvious" solution to your missions, but there's also less obvious solutions that are often more satisfying than the former, encouraging you to really explore and weigh your options. Some people still say it's too linear. To these people I have to ask... how open do you really expect this sort of game to be? Even Deus Ex and Hitman have a finite amount of ways to approach objectives, and this game is still pretty open.

    I's not a perfect game but coming from a fan of Deux Ex and Thief it's a heck of a lot of fun and does more things right than it does wrong. I can only imagine most of the people who are actually rating this game as a 5 or lower are nostalgia-goggled, disillusioned old gamers who won't be satisfied with anything other than the games they played as kids.    … Expand
  73. KhorneFlakes
    Oct 15, 2012
    9
    I'll just keep this brief, everything about this game is awesome, except the story, which is in no way interesting, it has no climax, and has an abrupt ending. What this game really has, is options, for every obstacle their can be 2-7 different ways to defeat or bypass it, while also offering an adequate stealth aspect to the game, its not shadow stealth like the older Splinter Cell games,I'll just keep this brief, everything about this game is awesome, except the story, which is in no way interesting, it has no climax, and has an abrupt ending. What this game really has, is options, for every obstacle their can be 2-7 different ways to defeat or bypass it, while also offering an adequate stealth aspect to the game, its not shadow stealth like the older Splinter Cell games, but Line of sight stealth, its decent, what more could be said. The game also provides you with many different weapons, gadgets and powers to sneak or kill with, its just plain fun, while having a moderate amount of replay-ability.… Expand
  74. partyintheback
    Oct 15, 2012
    10
    Dishonored is a thinking man's game, period. Each level in Dishonored gives you a sandbox to toy around in and lets the player run wild with their imagination as to how they will get through each situation. Gone are the overly scripted scenarios you're used to in games that funnel you down a certain path that the designers carved out for you. Dishonored is a game that asks the player toDishonored is a thinking man's game, period. Each level in Dishonored gives you a sandbox to toy around in and lets the player run wild with their imagination as to how they will get through each situation. Gone are the overly scripted scenarios you're used to in games that funnel you down a certain path that the designers carved out for you. Dishonored is a game that asks the player to think, to use their noggin, to overcome the obstacles, and while you have many tools at your disposal, it's your choice to decide how you use them and how you make your way through each environment. Do you prefer to kill every enemy in your path with weapons? Do you prefer to take them out through silent means? Or, another possibility and the most gratifying of all, is to make your way through the game without killing a single enemy. Everything's up to you, which is the true beauty of Dishonored. Dishonored's a true "water cooler" game where no two people will play the same and it's fun to talk to others and see how they played through the game. It's a deep game that only asks the player to think for once. Sometimes thinking for yourself can be fun. Dishonored's art direction is beyond amazing. It's important to note that one of the minds behind the art is Viktor Antonov, who was also the mind behind Half Life 2's City 17. Harvey Smith, Co-creative Director at Arkane Studios, has said that they went for a "water color" look with the game's graphics, which is an apt description. While you won't be blown away by the textures or anything, it's still one of the most beautiful games out there because of its unique aesthetic. Dishonored is one of those games we rarely see in this day and age. Harvey Smith, known for his work on Deus Ex and Thief, brings his experience from past games to make a new intellectual property that carries the same gameplay principals but puts it in a new and interesting world. This is a game that deserves to be supported. It's a rare and unique experience that no one should miss out on.… Expand
  75. giappone
    Oct 15, 2012
    10
    After the flop of ME3, for me this is the game of the year. Usually I trust more the users reviews than the paid ones, but here, I thing 8.5 is not correct. This is one of the best games of all time. I love it as I loved Deus ex 1.
    When I first saw its trailer I knew that if it comes out like that and if it isn't vaporware, it's my game. And it did come out like that. And better. So what    After the flop of ME3, for me this is the game of the year. Usually I trust more the users reviews than the paid ones, but here, I thing 8.5 is not correct. This is one of the best games of all time. I love it as I loved Deus ex 1.
    When I first saw its trailer I knew that if it comes out like that and if it isn't vaporware, it's my game. And it did come out like that. And better. So what I like about it: 1. the design. The looks are amazing, it has a french touch. Look at the painted textures, the hands of the models, their anatomy, the drawings on the walls, the backgrounds. I'm in the field of graphic design and this game is visually stunning, it has character and THAT'S RARE, I can tell you. 2. the gameplay - draws me in. I'm free to do what I want. Deus ex HR should have been like this (there I always felt walking in a tube). I usually don't like sneak only games, but here I enjoy that part, too. 3 NO BOSSES - at last. We're not 4 year olds to swallow the same game system on and on again - fight - boss - new level - fight - boss - new level - fight - boss - new level... I don't feel the console here, this isn't a console port for god sake. 4. Atmosphere - If you run through the game you miss the game - wait, eavesdrop, sneak, read, listen, collect, look around and a new world opens up, this game has a distinct atmosphere like the biggest games of all times - HL2, Skyrim, ME 1-2, Fallout 3 and so on. 5. The engine - Crysis was one of the best looking games of all times, but even now, 5 years after it's release, you need a bumped up machine to max it out - as programming it was a joke. I can make a game look like Avatar only it would take 2 month for a single frame... Not here. My fps never dropped below 25, and I mean never... Usually between 35-50 - and I play it on my laptop (!).
    Arkane Studios is now one of my favourite developers - french touch FTW :). I liked Arx Fatalis, but never finished, same with Dark Messiah. But this is their masterpiece. If they don't get too greedy (a thing that plagues the gaming industry nowadays - ME3, Diablo3, etc), I'll be waiting for any new games they release.
    I wanted to give this game a 9 (it has minor, minor annoyances), but that wouldn't be correct, this is a 10 game, if you don't know why you miss something. I would give it 11 if I could (+1 for no bosses :) )    … Expand
  76. HerebeKrich
    Oct 15, 2012
    8
    Whether or not you will like Dishonored depends on what you expect from it. Despite being a Bethesda title, it is not the "steam-punk Skyrim" many had come to expect. Dishonored goes to the same school as Bioshock and Half Life 2 in that it is a first person shooter with an interesting toolbox of abilities to help you out. The biggest complaint I keep seeing about Dishonored is thatWhether or not you will like Dishonored depends on what you expect from it. Despite being a Bethesda title, it is not the "steam-punk Skyrim" many had come to expect. Dishonored goes to the same school as Bioshock and Half Life 2 in that it is a first person shooter with an interesting toolbox of abilities to help you out. The biggest complaint I keep seeing about Dishonored is that people flew through it in under 5 hours. While this is certainly possible, this actually demonstrates one of the greatest qualities of this game; it plays however you want it to. At the start of each area, you are given an objective, a large area, and your trusty toolbox of supernatural abilities. The game then leaves you to determine the best way to approach your target, and believe me, there are a lot of different ways you can get it done. In addition, your decision on how to approach each level (especially in terms of body count) has a very tangible effect on how the rest of the game plays out. If you make a point to run as fast as you can from objective to objective, never stopping to do side quests, explore, or talk to the characters, then I can see how you would come out disappointed at the end. This is a game the encourages you to stop and think, and the results of a little creativity can leave you feeling like a real badass. Dishonored is not without it's flaws of course. The controls take some getting used to, the designers went a little crazy with the head bob (thank god you can turn it down), and some of the later enemies can see you from what seems like a mile away, but these are small problems overall. I have yet to finish my first playthrough so I can't comment on how the story rounds out, but I'm already looking forward to playing it again just as soon as I am done. Ultimately, Dishonored is whatever you make of it. If you take the time to let it show you everything it has to offer, I don't see any way you can walk away unhappy. Buy or rent, this is definitely one you don't want to miss… Expand
  77. DrostKai
    Oct 15, 2012
    8
    The word to describe this game would be creative. The developers forces you to be smart and create criative ways to complete your object. The action of the game is unique and inspiring, there are many possibilites and really funny ways to play. The graphics are not the best and not even great, maybe they can be considered as good, but it won't interfier your gameplay, besides, theThe word to describe this game would be creative. The developers forces you to be smart and create criative ways to complete your object. The action of the game is unique and inspiring, there are many possibilites and really funny ways to play. The graphics are not the best and not even great, maybe they can be considered as good, but it won't interfier your gameplay, besides, the enviroment is magnific.. I would like to give it an 8.5 but I don't have this option and a 9 sounds too much. The worst thing about the game is that it's not that big, I would consider it as a medium size game, bigger that many, but small compared to what could have been.… Expand
  78. LilBangarang
    Oct 15, 2012
    10
    Just started this game yesterday and I LOVE IT! I've always been a big fan of stealth games like Thief, but was missing the action factor. Bethesda really took the best stealth elements from Thief and augmented them with powers and awesome weapons. I highly recommend this to any fans of stealth and action alike.
  79. goapolice
    Oct 15, 2012
    9
    Поздравляю всех любителей stealth с выходом достойного проекта, чтоПоздравляю всех любителей stealth с выходом достойного проекта, что бывает довольно редко в нашем жанре. Любители гранат(тм) могут смело проходить мимо.… Expand
  80. hwarming
    Oct 15, 2012
    8
    Fun game, the gameplay is pretty similar to Deus Ex: Human Revolution, stealth is required, but the levels you play in feel open, and have a lot of opportunities for exploration and finding hidden stuff. I was kind of hoping this game would be like an RPG, while it does have some RPG elements, like upgrading your weapons, there's no level up system as I hoped it would. The game is VERYFun game, the gameplay is pretty similar to Deus Ex: Human Revolution, stealth is required, but the levels you play in feel open, and have a lot of opportunities for exploration and finding hidden stuff. I was kind of hoping this game would be like an RPG, while it does have some RPG elements, like upgrading your weapons, there's no level up system as I hoped it would. The game is VERY immersive, with good voice acting, very well mixed sounds of ambiance, the music is more subtle, but gets stronger when your character is in danger, like when a swarm of rats is chasing after you. The combat can feel a bit clunky at first, but you will get used to it. It's similar to Skyrim's combat, you have a weapon in your right, and one for the left, the right weapon controlled by the Left click, and left weapon for right click. You can use a dagger, a crossbow with multiple kinds of darts, a pistol, and all sorts of magical abilities. I recommend this game for anyone who enjoys the stealthy games, like Human Revolution, probably not a good choice for anybody who enjoys charging out and fighting, as you will get killed.… Expand
  81. Varjag31
    Oct 14, 2012
    10
    One of the best games I've played in years. It has beautiful graphics, atmosphere so thick you can cut it with a knife and mechanics that really makes you feel powerful and in charge of the situation. You are a hunter. Story is built in layers and it is up to the player how deep he wants to uncover it, unfortunately that means that players who like to be pointed into a direction with a bigOne of the best games I've played in years. It has beautiful graphics, atmosphere so thick you can cut it with a knife and mechanics that really makes you feel powerful and in charge of the situation. You are a hunter. Story is built in layers and it is up to the player how deep he wants to uncover it, unfortunately that means that players who like to be pointed into a direction with a big red sign "important thing here" will miss most of it, and end up finishing the game in a short time. This is an adult game, with serious themes and it will scratch that special Thief spot in your heart that you didn't feel for a while. It is riddled with thief references ... the sound of coins when you pick them up, the mumbling of the guards on watch duty. The city itself has that weighty, heavy feeling leaning on your shoulders. Art style is beautiful semi-realistic, with slightly over-exaggerated features like limbs and necks. It works perfectly. My advice is just let yourself go in this game, turn off the quest markers and learn about the human misery in the beautiful, fallen Dunwall. Let yourself be immersed and play cat and mouse with your goals and you will have one of the best gaming experiences in years.… Expand
  82. Eddie_Izzard
    Oct 14, 2012
    5
    It's a Bethesda-published game, which means that it does the same thing every single other Bethesda-published games does: Completely fail to live up to expectations. I went in to this game expecting a nice mix of Thief, Bioshock, and a little Assassin's Creed, and I got a heap of average gameplay mixed in with a below average story. Let me start with the thing that bothered me the most:It's a Bethesda-published game, which means that it does the same thing every single other Bethesda-published games does: Completely fail to live up to expectations. I went in to this game expecting a nice mix of Thief, Bioshock, and a little Assassin's Creed, and I got a heap of average gameplay mixed in with a below average story. Let me start with the thing that bothered me the most: The story. In short, there's hardly a story in the first place, let alone a compelling one. The story is a cliche-ridden mess without an interesting beginning or a satisfying ending. I cannot care for any of these characters because I don't know them, nor can I connect with any of them. I cannot care for what happens to the city or the world around me because the game fails to immerse you beyond some supposed good gameplay. My second main complaint is the gameplay itself. It's average in its best parts, and completely vanilla in the rest of it. Swordplay is a joke, number one. It's completely uninteresting because of so few mechanics in play. Simple complexity is what a game should strive for, not plain simple. The stealth mechanics are DATED. There are many things that some be intertwined with the stealth side of the game that simply don't exist. The main problem of this is that the AI is dumb as a rock. I'm not expecting geniuses everywhere, but I AM expecting the enemy to wake up an unconscious comrade, run to a superior to call reinforcements, and to overall be much more aware after spotting me, or a fallen ally. The AI is the most simple you can get in a game like this: Once they lose sight of you, they lose all memory of you. They ignore dead bodies after 10 seconds, and they don't attempt to help each other. This makes the game WAY too easy. The only way to get any real difficulty is to remove the UI completely, never use your powers, and attempt to get the no-kill and the ghost bonuses, as well as collecting everything. And even then, it would just be time consuming, not truly hard. The animations and graphics, while secondary, are also pretty average. Animation is stiff, the graphics are standard and unimpressive. This is a shame, because the art style and the art direction appear to be pretty good; but they're held back by these things.
    Even the game's good points are marred by either laziness or lack of explanation. The world is interesting, and I love the setting, but after the end of the game, I understand very little of it because it simply was not explained, and barely even touched upon. The setting allowed for some interesting elements to happen, but they simply didn't because of the simplistic gameplay, the lack of proper story-telling, and the apparently lack of simple EFFORT. My favorite thing about this game is both the setting and the sounds as a whole. I love both of them, but neither of them can carry this game to a better rating.
    And finally; the biggest failure of this game is that it seems like the devs got all the basic stuff covered and simply didn't continue from there. This is a basic, BASIC game, and these days that simply doesn't cut it. It's a painfully average experience.

    If you've already purchased the game; I'm sorry.
    If you plan to; Don't. Rent it and see if you feel the same.
    If you somehow think this game is still amazing; Well, good for you. I wish I could think the same.    … Expand
  83. truthmonger
    Oct 14, 2012
    0
    It should have been called "Dishonest" - this game delivers NOTHING it promises

    Stealth gameplay? Sure, if you consider teleportation and basic "attack-from-behind or only at extreme distance" stealth. Light and shadow have NO impact whatsoever..enemies all have night vision, which YOU have to buy with a precious upgrade. There's also NO way to knock out enemies once they spot you    It should have been called "Dishonest" - this game delivers NOTHING it promises

    Stealth gameplay? Sure, if you consider teleportation and basic "attack-from-behind or only at extreme distance" stealth. Light and shadow have NO impact whatsoever..enemies all have night vision, which YOU have to buy with a precious upgrade. There's also NO way to knock out enemies once they spot you except for a crossbow with sleep darts. Mind you that killing people makes the game get uglier, more rats and zombies and an even MORE terrible ending. Its like the devs were just laughing as they made this game thinking of how mad the Thief and Deus Ex fans would get when they realized they'd been f*#ked. 90% of everything in this game is stolen from Bioshock, Half Life II and other games - they don't even try to hide it. Anyone who says this is an "open world" is LYING. An "open world" is what you get with TES or FO..this is nothing like that. Its just levels with invisible walls like 99% of the games you've played before. Duke Nukem 3D was more "open world" than this!! The game is a cakewalk if you just kill everything which seems to be what the designers wanted. You're so overpowered by the second mission that you can clear a level in under 10 minutes if you want to..everything is handed to you on a platter, there's no real "searching" for anything. You even have a stupid BEATING HEART you carry around that points you to everything of interest, maybe the biggest joke I've EVER seen in a game. I bet the designers thought that was really edgy, LOL! There's a million empty bottles with nothing in them - well except for a few that explode a little (not enough to hurt anything but YOU). Low-quality graphics, stupid and useless abilities..I could go on but why bother? Name any game of this kind made in the last 10 years - its better than Dishonest-errr, DisHONORED.    … Expand
  84. SmileyFrank
    Oct 14, 2012
    9
    It's a good game, while it lasts. The game is pretty short (took about 10 hours to finish). The length wouldn't be as much of a problem if you could restart with all of your powers, upgrades, etc. Maybe they will add that feature eventually. Going through the game without killing is insanely hard especially when you get to the later levels, with the only way to knock someone out is toIt's a good game, while it lasts. The game is pretty short (took about 10 hours to finish). The length wouldn't be as much of a problem if you could restart with all of your powers, upgrades, etc. Maybe they will add that feature eventually. Going through the game without killing is insanely hard especially when you get to the later levels, with the only way to knock someone out is to choke (Not do-able in combat) use sleep dart( which is almost ineffective in combat). There needs to be more ways to knock people out, and make people be able do it in combat. Combat is great, so are graphics.… Expand
  85. gameslayer
    Oct 14, 2012
    0
    Providing some balance to all the paid reviews :) If I was being totally honest, I'd give Dishonored a 3 (4 at most) for being unoriginal, lying about the stealth gameplay and other inexcusable design flaws. Sooo obvious it wasn't finished when they released it..tons of stuff they reference that ends up being placeholders. DO NOT BUY. If this gets GOTY from *anyone* it will only be dueProviding some balance to all the paid reviews :) If I was being totally honest, I'd give Dishonored a 3 (4 at most) for being unoriginal, lying about the stealth gameplay and other inexcusable design flaws. Sooo obvious it wasn't finished when they released it..tons of stuff they reference that ends up being placeholders. DO NOT BUY. If this gets GOTY from *anyone* it will only be due to bribery.… Expand
  86. psycros
    Oct 14, 2012
    4
    Here's what right with this game:

    * It doesn't crash. * Most of the voice acting is OK, but not without issues (see below). * It runs pretty well with everything maxed on a system that was considered high-end two years ago. Here's what's wrong with this game: * Everything from plot to mechanical design to you-name-it is a derivative mish-mash of Half-Life II and Bioshock, with a    Here's what right with this game:

    * It doesn't crash.
    * Most of the voice acting is OK, but not without issues (see below).
    * It runs pretty well with everything maxed on a system that was considered high-end two years ago.

    Here's what's wrong with this game:

    * Everything from plot to mechanical design to you-name-it is a derivative mish-mash of Half-Life II and Bioshock, with a dash of FEAR, Assassin's Creed and even Oblivion tossed in for bad measure. Its painfully hacked together and non-cohesive, like the devs were fighting over which game world they most wanted to copy. Ironically, there are a few legitimately creative strokes tossed in, but their mostly lost in the noise. The backstory is almost painfully contorted to explain the bizarre mix. NOTE: I have only gotten through (I believe) about half of the game so maybe - just maybe - it makes a little more sense later on..but I doubt it.
    * The graphics are about four years out of date. The male faces are hideous, hopefully due to a limitation of the Unreal engine and not artistic intent. Tim Burton wouldn't make men this unattractive, or women this identical. Even the dogs are ugly.
    * Music, visual design, most of the characterization and plot elements make for a brooding, dark and depressing atmosphere. Seriously, does every game need to go down this road? I know its supposed to be a region gripped by plague, dark mysticism and a totalitarian conspiracy, but..sheesh, enough already! Not every setting needs to be an Orwellian zombie apocalypse. (Yes, Dishonored has zombies. Sigh.)
    * The voice acting is decent and better than most Bethesda titles, but the R-rated swearing seems out of place in this steampunk world. It definitely hurts immersion.
    * If you're going to sell a game as having multiple playstyles, then by the Nine you best deliver. Dishonored fails utterly in this regard. Killing is supposed to be optional, but good luck with that effort. First off, there is no way to disable an opponent in combat except by using sleep bolts in your crossbow. Once you've lost the element of surprise you can't choke out a person or dog (yes, I did this to a dog one time but it never gave me the option again). You play the royal bodyguard, one of the best fighters in the land, and you don't know how to knock a guy out? Hell, you've got a flintlock with a huge club-like butt - that's what it was designed for. You can carry ten sleep bolts and there are only a handful scattered through the missions I've played - and some are fairly hard to reach if you didn't put everything into movement powers. You can buy sleep bolts between missions and some missions have vendors who will sell them at an exorbitant fee, but if you rely on them for non-lethal takedowns you will run out eventually. BTW, you can upgrade your carrying capacity for normal bolts to 20. Normal bolts do damage and are an easy button for killing at range, superior to your useless pistol in nearly every situation. In fact, on the hardest difficulty the game presents no real challenge if you simply kill everything you see. But that's the real kicker with Dishonored: the game makes murder a cinch and then punishes you for killing. The city gets nastier and the game ending will get "darker" as your body count grows. I might add that anyone who dies during combat with you, be it from falling off a bridge or friendly fire from other NPCS, counts as one of your kills. I'm pretty certain even the dogs count as your kills.
    * You only see your progress stats when a mission ends (i.e. body count, runes found, etc).
    * There are some technical problems, at least on my system. The savegame routine is horribly botched and provides no way to identify saves other than which mission and level their from. Worse, it seems that old autosaves are never really deleted and pollute the list when you're trying to load a game. Trying to figure out which save is the one you need is a horrible sort of mini-game and hearkens back to the worst of Bethesda's sloppy programming (although Bethsoft may have nothing to do with the actual game design or coding). Sometimes character voices sound like their coming from the environment Corvo is in rather than the one they actually occupy. You'll be standing just outside the door to a tunnel and the NPC's voice will have no echo, as if he were right beside you. This makes for some confusing positional audio, making the bogus stealth gameplay even more of a joke.

    To sum it up, this is a game that promises beauty, originality and multiple playstyles and delivers none of those things. Its a pretty stable console port of a mediocre game with confused, misleading design. I'd skip it or at least wait for some serious patches before giving it a go. And another thing: its very obvious there's paid reviewing going on with Dishonored. Don't think we don't notice, Bethesda.    … Expand
  87. Bulaba0
    Oct 14, 2012
    3
    The gameplay is excellent. Stealth and combat are exciting and unique. The story, however, is reaaaaaalllllyyy bad. The ending gets even worse. Most of the character dialogue is forced and there aren't really any dynamic characters in the game. The dramatic shift in the story is WONDERFUL, but that's the only time (for only like 10 minutes) that any of the characters become interesting. IThe gameplay is excellent. Stealth and combat are exciting and unique. The story, however, is reaaaaaalllllyyy bad. The ending gets even worse. Most of the character dialogue is forced and there aren't really any dynamic characters in the game. The dramatic shift in the story is WONDERFUL, but that's the only time (for only like 10 minutes) that any of the characters become interesting. I was really hoping you'd get that feel of a huge expansive city like Assasin's Creed, but you end up playing on only a handful of really small, limited maps, with some replays of previous areas. This really hurts when you hit the invisible walls at the top or sides of the map, or just look in the distance to find cardboard cutout buildings instead of real models. There's a horrible contrast between interior detail and exterior. Building interiors are AMAZING, detail is great, and each has a unique feel. Exteriors are bland, with repeating textures EVERYWHERE, low-poly distance models, and many reused item models and textures.

    Graphically, you have almost no options at your disposal, there's almost no customization in the game menus. You can force many options to modern standards through .ini modification, but to even have decent antialiasing you have to downsample or use Nvidia Inspector. Shadow detail is capped at a depressing level, but can be forced much higher without much of a performance hit.

    Many levels have really clear A, B, or C type choices for pathways, so where you would like to be creative and find new solutions, you kinda get kicked into the mold. This hurts especially in the end, with your typical Evil/Neutral/Good endings. The game is SHORT. 9 hours on my assasination/clearing playthrough. It feels like the areas could have been doubled, a much better introduction to the story (through some theatrical expose to the plague and its history) would have actually given you some attachment to the characters. Because of how compressed everything is, you never build up an attachment to any of the characters. They're all flat and boring, and you're thrown onto them like you've known them all your life.

    Overall a disappointment. Wait for it to go on sale.    … Expand
  88. Malleth
    Oct 14, 2012
    10
    Only few games live up to the hype that has been built around them and Dishonored is one them. Both stealth and combat mechanics are absolute blast to play with and level design makes great use of them. Its lot of fun to jump around the roofs or crawl through sewers as a rat whenever you fell like it, but biggest surprise for me was how incredibly the game looks. Art direction is amazing.Only few games live up to the hype that has been built around them and Dishonored is one them. Both stealth and combat mechanics are absolute blast to play with and level design makes great use of them. Its lot of fun to jump around the roofs or crawl through sewers as a rat whenever you fell like it, but biggest surprise for me was how incredibly the game looks. Art direction is amazing. Characters have memorable faces and stylish clothes. Weapons, buildings, vehicles, everything is extremely well designed and together with rich color pallet create Illusion of city which is dark and corrupt, but is joy to explore.… Expand
  89. casshern09
    Oct 14, 2012
    9
    This is a superb game. If you liked Deus Ex or the Thief games, there is a good chance you will love this. The graphical style will certainly set people appart but personally, I thought it looked great. The controls are smooth, combat is fluid, you are really only bound by your imagination when it comes to how you tackle the games. it is a little short, it took me 13 hours, which was notThis is a superb game. If you liked Deus Ex or the Thief games, there is a good chance you will love this. The graphical style will certainly set people appart but personally, I thought it looked great. The controls are smooth, combat is fluid, you are really only bound by your imagination when it comes to how you tackle the games. it is a little short, it took me 13 hours, which was not going through quickly by any means.
    But it really is a very good game. As always, pay no attention to the morons giving it 0.    … Expand
  90. danoholic86
    Oct 14, 2012
    4
    This game touts itself as a game that lets you play your way..... It is not..... Everything is spoon-fed to you. You cannot beat this game even on the easiest difficulty without using your crappy unbalanced magic... The mask that you wear is just that...... a mask..... Oh wait... It's got a completely worthless zoom function? That makes it all better.... The gunplay sucks, the swordplayThis game touts itself as a game that lets you play your way..... It is not..... Everything is spoon-fed to you. You cannot beat this game even on the easiest difficulty without using your crappy unbalanced magic... The mask that you wear is just that...... a mask..... Oh wait... It's got a completely worthless zoom function? That makes it all better.... The gunplay sucks, the swordplay sucks, the story is ok. The world is pretty cool...
    This game just failed to impress..... When this game hits the bargain bin, pick it up. At $60 it's not worth it...    … Expand
  91. Melopahn
    Oct 14, 2012
    2
    Just avoid this game. The hype was unjustified beyond reason. Started the game on the Very Hard difficulty (the hardest of 4 difficulties) within 11 hours of gameplay I was on the second to last mission (had to check due to problem that will occur further into the review). This gameplay flew by the whole time I was thinking this has to get harder Im trying for difficulty but no matter whatJust avoid this game. The hype was unjustified beyond reason. Started the game on the Very Hard difficulty (the hardest of 4 difficulties) within 11 hours of gameplay I was on the second to last mission (had to check due to problem that will occur further into the review). This gameplay flew by the whole time I was thinking this has to get harder Im trying for difficulty but no matter what my approach, stealth or combat I found that nothing was an issue. Walking into a square with 12 people took them all down with 1 skill didn't need a weapon or any of the other fancy things the game offered. The entire game came down to blink on them push attack cut their face off and repeat. Health and mana potions were beyond abundant. I always seemed to have all full potions full health full mana and an abudance of ammo and money. As I progressed getting ever more bored and distraught with the game, I reached a massively game breaking error. The 2nd to last level you do (a very specific thing) and are met with a cutscene this is followed by a loading screen, Every time the loading screen ended it would replay the same cutscene and go straight back into the loading screen after 14 hours of leaving it on to load and attempting to restart to try loading again I finally gave up. The games setting was nothing new and nothing else offered by the game made me even remotely interested in restarting in an attempt to get past that bug.

    The game is extremely dissatisfying and should be avoided. Gameplay 0 - The stealth mechanics are shotty, the AI is hilarious in its levels of bad, the originality is non-existent, Combat is laughable in its ease, Character development is non existent as well. Insanely short!
    Concept 1- The game offers nothing new just a mesh and swarm of everything that's been done before put into 1 game, the sad part is every game it is using as inspiration is longer and has much more depth to every aspect that was "stolen".
    Sound 0- Turned it off within 10 minutes, music was dull and never matched the pace of the game, sound quality during all game mechanics was the same... time always slows down, blink possess, opening menus, using any of your powers, blocking, swinging your sword... they all had the same sound effect of time slowing down.
    Play ability - 0 - Game glitched tot he point where beating it became a physical impossibility no game that does this will ever be awarded anything but an absolute 0 in this category. In addition to this massive bug there are little ones that I constantly noticed around the game. Things like getting shot by a guy holding nothing but a sword, or killing someone only to have their dead body kill you as well (death by cutscene into they somehow managed to shoot while you were ripping their face off).
    Replay -0- I dont think I would ever replay this game, I couldn't be bothered to replay it to see the ending of it and the only other 2 people I know agree that its so easy on the hardest difficulty that there is no reason to replay it.

    Overall .25 which will be rounded down because they lose 1 point for un playable game. If I could neg this game I would.    … Expand
  92. vanin
    Oct 14, 2012
    9
    A great game. I counted Deus Ex: Human Revolution as my favourite game of last year, and this is a better game in many ways. The story could have been better and less generic, because the setting is utterly amazing and I feel that they kinda dropped the ball on that but it serves its purpose well enough. The gameplay is great, it does stealth better than any first person game in years andA great game. I counted Deus Ex: Human Revolution as my favourite game of last year, and this is a better game in many ways. The story could have been better and less generic, because the setting is utterly amazing and I feel that they kinda dropped the ball on that but it serves its purpose well enough. The gameplay is great, it does stealth better than any first person game in years and I don't think the game is as linear as people purport it to be.

    So what stops the game from being a 10/10 for me? The story, which wasn't all that interesting, it gave me this Assassin's Creed 1 vibe in its simplicity. And then the length of the game. To make this game long you have to play it with the mindset of making it so yourself. The game doesn't present itself well in this regard, many players will undoubtedly rush through the game chasing objectives and then stand there with 6-10 hours played wondering where their money went. Me? My first playthrough clocked in at 22 hours. I'm working on my second "chaos" playthrough now which without doubt will go quicker but I still feel the game is worth the money.

    9/10, because what the game actually has you do is utterly delicious, though it falls short in the length and main story despite that it is set in a unique, dystopian victorianesque steampunk setting with lovecraftian tendencies which I find highly interesting and want more of.    … Expand
  93. SkalderSan
    Oct 14, 2012
    10
    Amazing! For me this is the best game in the last few years! I did not expect that it would delay me so much. But now I'm playing and I can not tear myself away from it.
  94. elgringo
    Oct 14, 2012
    8
    This game is simply great, and I say this before criticising it because a lot of people get hold of the wrong end of the stick. Compared to all other games of the same kind of genre, this game is the best one to be released this year. Still it's not the best of all time. I don't mind the graphics and the art style they chose, because you shouldn't be a graphics w***e and look at the wholeThis game is simply great, and I say this before criticising it because a lot of people get hold of the wrong end of the stick. Compared to all other games of the same kind of genre, this game is the best one to be released this year. Still it's not the best of all time. I don't mind the graphics and the art style they chose, because you shouldn't be a graphics w***e and look at the whole package the game delivers. To get down to the points that bother me the most: You will never use half of your abilities. Some are hilariously overpowered, like you can blink behind enemies and take them out silently. The AI will never bother and is suffering from amnesia, they had art directors from HL2 I think, because the perimeter walls in the city look exactly the same, a lot is copied from Bioshock 1, especially the ending they pulled (the good one). Other than that I like the characters, you can identify with lots of them and understand the cause they fight for, but what bothers me is that they just push you around and tell you what to do. As if I was some hired thug of some kind: "Yeah Corvo, do this, do that..." No way, lay off the attitude son, I'm no errand boy. Anyway, I give this game a rock solid 8/10, not perfect, yet nothing to complain about.… Expand
  95. Coeco
    Oct 14, 2012
    4
    Picked up this game without watching any trailers and the moment I got the controls, Skyrim and Thief: Deadly Shadows popped up in my head like a prostitute wearing a party hat out of a cake. While by no means lacking in quality, the graphics are great, (For PC) story is decent and the game offers new ways to explore the sneaking-around genre with various "magic" abilities. The lackingPicked up this game without watching any trailers and the moment I got the controls, Skyrim and Thief: Deadly Shadows popped up in my head like a prostitute wearing a party hat out of a cake. While by no means lacking in quality, the graphics are great, (For PC) story is decent and the game offers new ways to explore the sneaking-around genre with various "magic" abilities. The lacking parts however, are quite severe. The more people you kill, the worse ending you'll get and you cannot render enemies unconscious in combat by say, a club weapon or with the hilt of your sword but you must instead strangle them from behind (while undetected) or shoot expensive "Sleeping" bolts into their faces (In which you can only carry a maximum of 10 with upgrades). Challenge or not, you'll be extremely disappointed at the moments you simply must kill to progress in missions (Some allow a non-lethal approach but you'll still draw blood on some), leaving any kind of 100% perfect play-through impossible. I found myself just running through the entire game by repeatedly gulping down mana potions and stopping time because rendering enemies unconscious was an insane bother, like having to ride a unicycle up a mountain instead of taking the sky-lift. For sh!t and giggles, i went ahead and took Hardcore on my second play-through and wouldn't you know it, the game is still dirt-easy. Sadly a flaw that will forever appear in console-ports like this even if they do a good job with most of the stuff, the rest will be sticking out like a huge pimple.… Expand
  96. ByteMe69
    Oct 13, 2012
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Dishonored is a game that requires you to make your own fun almost. If you approach this game meaning just to finish it,don't buy it. You need to spend your time in each level, finding all the nooks and crannies, uncovering some of the lore reading those books that are scattered around the levels, it simply adds so much more to the experience. And that's what this game is, an experience. The stealth is a bit simple, the same can be said for the combat but together with the beautiful world that has been created, it is much more than the sum of its parts. I distinctly remember when in the second mission I was dealing with the High Overseer and I had knocked him out and the uncle of a girl that she had asked me to save. I was doing great when I went around the corner to find an overseer with this back turned. So I knock him out and then return to my plotting to get this uncle guy to a safe location and the High Overseer to the interrogation room. Then I ran in to another overseer, and another and another until I had basically knocked out every overseer on the floor that I was in. So I rushed away when I saw that I had missed a rune, already seeing the way that I could do it better next time. I can definitely see myself re-playing this game as a ruthless, kill everybody, kind of character, which is different from the, I will not kill my targets but if s**t goes down I will kill the guards type of character that I have been playing. I would also suggest at least playing on hard if you are going stealthy, as well as turning most of the user interface off. Finding bone charms and runes by remembering the direction the heart was beating and the how frequent it was, with a faint red glow indicating the object, is much more enjoyable than seeing a sign telling you what it was, where it was, even though you weren't putting your heart near the direction, and the amount of meters you need to travel to reach it, is way over simplified. So basically, in summary, if you are one to squeeze out every morsel of a game, then this is definitely a game for you, and will provide plenty of motivation to do so. If you simply were interested in this game because the some of the kill cams look cool then you will be disappointed and I recommend that you stay away from this game. So what if you are in the middle of the spectrum? Well, I was there too and I found that if play this game with an open mind, you will enjoy the game. I can also honestly say this is one of the only games that have actually motivated me to spend 2 hours on a level finding that last obscure rune or bone charm, the only rune that I missed was on the second mission and I am still kicking myself for letting it go.… Expand
  97. shadow_walker
    Oct 13, 2012
    4
    I was really looking forward to something fresh or new alternate to the fps and rpg genres. Despite all the good review, the game was not mind-blowing or freshly innovative as the hype claimed. The graphics and plot to the game are good but that seems to be the only thing that keeps this game afloat. Personally, I would rather save the cost and buy some good old game like Fallout 3 or waitI was really looking forward to something fresh or new alternate to the fps and rpg genres. Despite all the good review, the game was not mind-blowing or freshly innovative as the hype claimed. The graphics and plot to the game are good but that seems to be the only thing that keeps this game afloat. Personally, I would rather save the cost and buy some good old game like Fallout 3 or wait for the new release of Bioshock Infinite. After completing 3 missions the game was not thrilling enough to pull me back to play again-not better than something of Assassin's Creed stature.… Expand
  98. Human
    Oct 13, 2012
    10
    Dishonored is surprisingly good. Actually, surprisingly fantastic. Leading up to its release I had written off Dishonored as a wannabe Bioshock with Half-Life 2 elements; a game aping far more profound and successful games with the selling point being some inane gimmick which does close to nothing to altering gameplay in any meaningful way. But what I got was an incredibly fleshed outDishonored is surprisingly good. Actually, surprisingly fantastic. Leading up to its release I had written off Dishonored as a wannabe Bioshock with Half-Life 2 elements; a game aping far more profound and successful games with the selling point being some inane gimmick which does close to nothing to altering gameplay in any meaningful way. But what I got was an incredibly fleshed out world coupled with some of the most creative emergent gameplay I have seen in a long time. Most of the time when games offer you "choices that affect the outcome", it usually comes down to a handful of moments where you choose dialogue option A or B. With Dishonored, it's all about what you actually do, in every moment in the game. Wanted posters with your face only show up if you get caught, the stories different guards tell about your actions differ according to what you actually do. And the freedom the game gives you goes beyond the Gears of War style "choose the right or left path". In any given assassination mission there are countless ways of going about your goal, and you can go the whole game without killing anyone or kill everyone you see. The powers the game gives you are an absolute blast as well. As far as the world goes, characters are fleshed out and the plot, while simple in a way, is not so much a tale of the good guys versus the evil guys, but more a tale of the seductive nature of power. Issues are minor and I am shocked at how well stealth and combat complement each other. Get this game.… Expand
  99. mintlo
    Oct 13, 2012
    8
    I enjoyed the game...I like that you had a few options in how to resolve each mission whether it be lethal or non lethal...it took me about 14 hours to beat it although I did quite a bit of exploration trying to find all the stuff...it left me wanting more though and honestly felt too short, like there was way more in the way of missions that should have happened before taking on theI enjoyed the game...I like that you had a few options in how to resolve each mission whether it be lethal or non lethal...it took me about 14 hours to beat it although I did quite a bit of exploration trying to find all the stuff...it left me wanting more though and honestly felt too short, like there was way more in the way of missions that should have happened before taking on the final "boss'. I don't really want to go back and replay it either unlike deus ex: hr which I played through several times. All in all a very cool stealth action game...there is a dlc button on the main screen so I think we can expect that to come down the pipe soon.… Expand
  100. PerusTC
    Oct 13, 2012
    10
    Anyone who listens to the negative reviews for this game deserves what they get.....nothing.This is by far the BEST first person,stealth and story game I have ever played....period!I am a SENIOR gamer and have seen many games since 1982.(Atari)I personally own over 400 PC games,over 200 of which are on Steam.The game mechanics,graphics,and smothness of the game are second to none.ThoseAnyone who listens to the negative reviews for this game deserves what they get.....nothing.This is by far the BEST first person,stealth and story game I have ever played....period!I am a SENIOR gamer and have seen many games since 1982.(Atari)I personally own over 400 PC games,over 200 of which are on Steam.The game mechanics,graphics,and smothness of the game are second to none.Those complaining of choppy graphics have puter problems.My Q9650 is over 4 years old and the game runs OUTSTANDING with NO slowups anywhere.If you take the time to visit everywhere and do all the side quests you will get upwards of 30-40 hours of game play.Those who breeze through it in 12 hours are missing the point.I have not done ALL the quests and I am at about 20 hours and am at the start of the last chapter.Thsi THE benchmark for FPS,Stealth games in the future in my book.Do not miss this one kiddies.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best PC Game of 2012
7
#7 Most Discussed PC Game of 2012
2
#2 Most Shared PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
91

Universal acclaim - based on 29 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 29
  3. Negative: 0 out of 29
  1. PC Master (Greece)
    Feb 6, 2013
    90
    We can draw comparisons with other titles all day, but everything is based on something. Dishonored remains a unique gem in a beautiful, yet chaotic world, with flawless gameplay. [December 2012]
  2. Absolute Games
    Nov 9, 2012
    75
    Dishonored rarely challenges the players, but it doesn't take them for fools, either, so that's an achievement compared to other games in the genre. Just don't expect strokes of genius like the Shalebridge Cradle level from Thief: Deadly Shadows.
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  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Nov 4, 2012
    100
    Dishonored injects new life into stealth actions and their sophisticated worlds. Awesome work in every detail. [Nov 2012]
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