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. Jagdpanther
    Jun 20, 2013
    0
    I always love stealth-action games but i cannot play this. Stealth mechanic is not work, enemies uses nightvision and you are so weak. But this game is great. Because made by Bethesda. Bethesda is great developer and everyone likes their games. Anyway save your money for hitman or human revolution. Or you can wait new Thief. :P
  2. Corwin86
    Nov 2, 2013
    0
    Sadly, I can only join the detractors and critics of this game, and maybe also go further...

    I have rarely seen such a wasted opportunity, a great setting, many charming ideas, all finished in such disappointing performance, so poor and fragile. The game is flat, boring, loses in almost every point of view with the best of the actual adventure/stealth market. Playing it after    Sadly, I can only join the detractors and critics of this game, and maybe also go further...

    I have rarely seen such a wasted opportunity, a great setting, many charming ideas, all finished in such disappointing performance, so poor and fragile.

    The game is flat, boring, loses in almost every point of view with the best of the actual adventure/stealth market.

    Playing it after finishing "Bioshock Infinite" is a sort of pain, and quite a shock...

    And this is not the worst part!

    I give 0, because in one of the first missions, a serious bug (found and reported by the community several months ago) has still not been resolved!
    I've lost 5 hours of play on it!

    I will try to get a refund, because have been years, since something of this has happen to me, and frankly I feel cheated.

    There are not other words...    … Expand
  3. earlyman56
    Sep 5, 2018
    0
    The gameplay betrays the advertising and premise. For a supposed assassin your character is more likely to run straight into a situation guns blazing with overpowered tools and abilities. For a gamer that actually want's to play an assassin which minimizes collateral damage, Hitman is a much better game.
  4. Ephemeriis
    Dec 3, 2012
    7
    Definitely not what I expected. I'm not quite sure what, exactly, I was expecting... Certainly more of an open-world approach, coming from Bethesda. Maybe something more like Fallout 3 or Skyrim, but in a whalepunk setting.

    That's not what I got. But the game is still fun. The game is very strongly mission-based and very linear. No roaming the countryside, taking up random    Definitely not what I expected. I'm not quite sure what, exactly, I was expecting... Certainly more of an open-world approach, coming from Bethesda. Maybe something more like Fallout 3 or Skyrim, but in a whalepunk setting.

    That's not what I got. But the game is still fun.

    The game is very strongly mission-based and very linear. No roaming the countryside, taking up random quests, discovering interesting new locations. This game is focused on a single storyline, a single goal.

    You may have different paths through any given mission... Able to choose between slaughtering everyone or stealthily sneaking through an area... But you can't complete the missions out of order. And after you've finished with a mission area, you're done with it. Even if a later mission sends you to the same area - it's actually a new location that just looks the same.

    It also feels like stealth isn't given nearly as much focus as the gameplay trailers led me to believe. None of the magical abilities you can earn do anything to improve your stealthiness. No invisibility or cloud of shadows or anything like that. Lots of fast-travel stuff... Lots of combat-oriented stuff... But stealth is limited to simply hiding behind boxes and remaining out of sight.

    The whalepunk setting, for lack of a better term, is absolutely terrific. The architecture, characters, costuming, ambient sounds... All mesh to create a downright haunting experience. I found myself, on a number of occasions, just hanging out on a rooftop and listening to civilians complain about the plague... Or listening to a guard whistle as he went about his patrol.

    The controls were solid, responsive, behaved basically as I expected they should.

    The graphics were decent. Looked nice. No obvious issues or corners-cut.

    I find myself wishing there was more to the game... A more expansive storyline, a more open world. It's fun, but it just isn't as epic in scale as most of Bethesda's games. And I wish it was. I want to see more of the world.

    Hopefully there'll be a sequel, or some DLC, or something like that.    … Expand
  5. jeanphilt
    Dec 23, 2012
    2
    I know that this game has been acclaimed by reviewers ...
    I see many reviewers giving good ratings for this game while being quite negative in their review.
    I guess it's because this game has some really nice features but at the same time, a lot of improvements could be done. My opinion : it's not a bad game but it's not really worth playing. My advice to players : play with the    I know that this game has been acclaimed by reviewers ...
    I see many reviewers giving good ratings for this game while being quite negative in their review.
    I guess it's because this game has some really nice features but at the same time, a lot of improvements could be done.

    My opinion : it's not a bad game but it's not really worth playing.

    My advice to players : play with the supernatural powers and check videos on youtube, it might help you to enjoy the game

    Here are the things I would change to make it better :

    0- Improve stealth killing mechanism
    How many times, I was behind an opponent, but because I was not perfectly aligned or at perfect distance, I could not "stealth kill" and got detected instead.
    By stealth kill, I mean non-lethal : choke-out holds

    1- Improve "see through walls"
    It's working fine BUT what's the point of making a good looking game, if players use X-RAY vision (aka Dark Vision) which makes everything looks yellow ...

    2- Improve graphics
    Yeah sometimes it looked great, but for example, faces/visages were not that great

    3- Make it easier to have the "good ending"
    At least, make it more obvious, at the start of the game, that it's important to kill as less opponents as possible.
    Let the player knows how many kills (or some kind of indication) he needs to move to the dark side or to get back to the bright side

    4- Make a less dark atmosphere
    Is it life not enough dark already ?
    Personal preference.

    5- Improve load/save time

    6- Make it easier to fight with opponents standing near

    7- More original
    Yeah, I felt like playing a mix of Bioshock, Batman and AC.

    8- Put less items to "loot"
    As much as I liked to find where were the Runes, I disliked to spend so much time taking money/items everywhere.
    Well, I could have just let the money there, which I did often but when you start a game, you never know if you gonna need all that money, etc.

    9- Improve "lifetime"
    I know many will disagree but multiplayer gives you one reason to not rent or resell the game

    10- Let us see/hear the hero !!!
    Maybe the biggest flaw

    11- Improve translation (french)
    Ok I should have played it in English.
    But for people who can't, the voice of Horatio Caine from CSI Miami for all the guards, seriously ?

    12- Let us kill instead of playing stealth and still have the good end
    By playing stealth all the time (or almost), you're missing out on interesting techniques/abilities/strategy. 13- Improve the Blink power Too hard to tell if the distance is too far to be reached via Blink 14- Give the powers earlier in the game    … Expand
  6. Griaule
    Mar 10, 2013
    9
    The story is thin, short. The skills are good, but the game is boring after a time. The combat is so buggy, often you get hit by a swordsman from 1 kilometre. The graphics are not the best, and the sounds should be better. Gameplay 2/3; Warranty 2/3; Graphics 1/2; Sounds 1/2; Bugs -1; Overall 5/10
  7. 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.
  8. X-fushion
    Jan 1, 2013
    7
    Is a good game and I true what it states, you can play it like you want either as an accion game killing everyone or using stealth aproach, the problem in this game is the stealth is Ok but It could be much better Corvo only has one non leathal take down and it only can be used when you are facing a enemy in the back in frontal assault your only option are sleep darts but you can onlyIs a good game and I true what it states, you can play it like you want either as an accion game killing everyone or using stealth aproach, the problem in this game is the stealth is Ok but It could be much better Corvo only has one non leathal take down and it only can be used when you are facing a enemy in the back in frontal assault your only option are sleep darts but you can only carry 10 and you cant increase the sleep dart capacity so if you run out the only alternative is escaping asuming you don´t want to kill anybody in the game. Don´t take me wrong is a good accion game an a decent stealth game that could be better in the sneaking aspect… Expand
  9. RaidenHitsu
    Jan 2, 2013
    7
    It's not a bad game, it certainly shows a lot of potential, but falls short in some aspects. The story is a little cliche' and a little short, I finished it in 17 hours on hard without killing anyone or being spotted, getting the low chaos ending, I couldn't pull myself trough another gameplay to see the high chaos ending, maybe someday. Usually you get multiple ways of infiltrating andIt's not a bad game, it certainly shows a lot of potential, but falls short in some aspects. The story is a little cliche' and a little short, I finished it in 17 hours on hard without killing anyone or being spotted, getting the low chaos ending, I couldn't pull myself trough another gameplay to see the high chaos ending, maybe someday. Usually you get multiple ways of infiltrating and disposing of your target, but when you aim for perfection the game becomes quite linear, especially in the non lethal part, but there is still some fair choice involved, especially in the infiltration, with you being able to blink almost where you want, possess an animal, a person, stop time, etc. The powers are nice and original, as I said the possess ability can open new paths, you can pass check points as guards or get inside some small holes as a rat. I like the setting, which is trying to give you the steam punk vibe but not always succeeds, and sometimes it's more post apocalyptic, yes the general "lore" is definitely nice and interesting, like the weepers. I say this is a nice game, but nowhere near the best of the year or the best assassination one. In short, good fun for the first playthrough, but definitely overrated.… Expand
  10. Rumboom
    Jan 10, 2013
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I found this game experience to be a lot like LA Noire, where at first I was impressed and then half way through found everything to be redundant (gameplay and mission wise). I like the setting, characters, and some gameplay aspects of this title. On the downside, it was incredibly predictable. It doesn't help that the characters look about as evil as the men that they were asking you to assassinate. Graphics were not jaw dropping but not too different from the quality of a lot of other Unreal engine games. If I had to sum it all up, I would say it is a mixed between Hitman and Assassin's Creed (Makes sense since it is the same genre), but in Elder Scrolls: Oblivion experience of first person view. Then minus some points for predictability, and redundant gamplay and mission experience.… Expand
  11. Jacer200
    Jan 8, 2013
    7
    If you have a high end gaming pc and want a high end experience do not get this game. The water color textures are terrible. Just to get this game to look good takes build prop edits and a course in Nvidia Inspector. But other than the terrible visuals the game play by itself is really fun and the sound is awesome. I got 10hrs into the game before I uninstalled it.
  12. SeriousView
    Dec 1, 2012
    7
    its not the bomb as the gamesites/mags say and it doesnt suck as bad as the spoiled CoD kids say it is i dont wanna make a big write up because a)none pays me ^^ b)see for yourself
    The game is solid yet still a mixed bag , Visuals are cool (unless youre a spoiled CoD kid with a 4k PC) Game is very stable , i havent encountered any bugs ,glitches yet.
    Gameplay is a mixed bag .
  13. trabe
    Dec 27, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. forgive my strange english, i'm a chinese.

    I cost $30+5 buying this game and its DLC and i have spent 60h playing it so I think it worth my money. First, Dishonored has a comfortable control with keyboard and mouse, unlike other first person game this game's "jump" is awesome, at least you find you have arms and hands when climbing, seems not so cool in first person game before i played it, but when i fall from the light house and perform my leap of faith on an enemy i feel so cool!!! I can perform this simple move for 100 times. But the most wonderful thing in this game is its artistic designing, beautiful machinary and complex environment make Dunwall a interesting place for my jouney.

    So i felt very disappointed when i reach the ending and I need more chapters. unlike other bethesda's game, dishonored is not so free as I thought, even it is free to complete your mission on different ways, but for a beautiful world its not enough. But maybe we ask to much because it's published by Bethesda. Just play dishonored as a linear game make me feel better but it should me more difficult as a linear game.

    I played four rounds and try different ways to play this game. Yes its interesting, at the final round I play under hardest and no super power upgrade, no choke except 1 or 2 enemy, no kill and ghost (no detection) but it's still not so difficult to stealth, enemy's move is simple, not good. The story is somehow old-fashioned and easy to predict. But maybe I was overboard, I don't feel too bad about its story. My first round is low chaos and I feel nothing. My second round is high chaos and many details are different. not just environment, characters' dialogue and fates are changed. Emily's "how many people you kill tonight" and "I was going to have them killed anyway" in cold voice really make me feel bad. Samuel the boatman's final words also make me feel be utterly isolated. So I played the third round in low chaos to hear them.

    I give it 8 because it can be better, its still far away from those true great game like skyrim and dark souls even bioshock if you agree it's a great game, the story need to be deeper and its system needs improvement to find a balance between difficulty and superpower. despite its story, the control and game system is worth playing. but if you just want to seek excitement, borrow it from your friends or get it when has a 50% discount    … Expand
  14. aBeachedWhale
    Dec 29, 2012
    7
    Casts you into a world full of ugly yet beautiful chaos. Combat is engaging and fun. Graphics are spot on, the hands are amazing. Seriously, the hands are so well done. The lack of diversity is what sort of turned me off though. I found myself blinking to a roof top and falling onto my opponent for a stealth kill. If no one was around I would choke them. Repetitive stealth moves andCasts you into a world full of ugly yet beautiful chaos. Combat is engaging and fun. Graphics are spot on, the hands are amazing. Seriously, the hands are so well done. The lack of diversity is what sort of turned me off though. I found myself blinking to a roof top and falling onto my opponent for a stealth kill. If no one was around I would choke them. Repetitive stealth moves and little satisfaction for assassinations makes this game hard to pick up after you leave off.… Expand
  15. Jackal1994
    Jan 18, 2013
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. To be quite honest, I wasn't really expecting much from a port game, but i was quite surprised after seeing this game through to its core. Despite being a port game it was actually quite fun and it was most definitely a whole new experience for me. Firstly, what I liked the most about this game is that it wasn't just a stealth/action game their was also a huge element of puzzle-solving in it as well. The puzzle's are not easy which I like because I hate it when games give you the answer so the puzzles are not just fun, but also challenging. The game itself is also challenging just like its puzzles which I love as well because you barely see games nowadays that make you think critically about your next move. Secondly, the graphics were pretty decent even for a port, the only thing the game needed personally was a texture adjustment and everything would've been excellent. The story-line in the game was somewhat disappointing because you don't know really much about the dishonored universe even though you read books throughout the game telling about the isles near Dunwall City. Despite that issue though the main story-line and the plot was pretty decent for a beginning of a series which I hope Arkane Studios does. The environment of the game was extremely unique, but sadly original. The game's environment looked like to me a mixture of both Assassin's Creed 2's and Half-Life 2 therefore it kind of made me feel too familiar and made me feel like I was playing a hybrid game with both Assassin's Creed and Half-Life 2 elements in it. Overall it was a decent game but I found one major yet troubling flaw that might affect on a gamer's performance. The problem was that all the keys were in very awkward places like the blocking key for example was ALT and when you want to select a power or a second weapon u have to push down your middle-mouse button. Despite the the key layout, the game is quite decent but I would only recommend this game to gamers between the ranges of intermediate and expert due to its critical thinking and the annoying key layout if you are that type of gamer that doesn't change the keys… Expand
  16. DoctorSpud
    Jul 2, 2013
    9
    I had previously written a rather middling review for Dishonored, giving it a '6' and calling it barebones with potential. However, since that point, I have come to realize that it is truly one of the most important and artistically driven games in the current state of the industry. Thus, I have returned to revoke my previous statement in exchange for a more positive, enlightened view onI had previously written a rather middling review for Dishonored, giving it a '6' and calling it barebones with potential. However, since that point, I have come to realize that it is truly one of the most important and artistically driven games in the current state of the industry. Thus, I have returned to revoke my previous statement in exchange for a more positive, enlightened view on the game.
    To begin, I would like to state that while Dishonored's core story is still, in my opinion, lacking, its lore and ambiguous backstory is absolutely fascinating, and the setting is rich in history and intrigue. Learning about Dunwall isn't as easy as picking up audio diaries or listening to conversations- you will really need to piece things together and listen to the Heart to build your own impression of what this place truly represents. The main plot remains uninteresting and somewhat half-hearted, but at least enough to keep you going along with each of your little stealthy capers.
    The gameplay- oh, the glorious, glorious gameplay. Dishonored provides so many different organic choices to how you approach its levels that you feel the only way you can do the developers justice is to replay it as many times as possible. Whether it be crawling beneath tables, gunning your way through rooms, or climbing to the highest vantage point, Arkane's gem plays almost unlike any other game this generation. Your actions are performed swiftly and accurately, and for once first-person platforming is executed very well. Violent players will find a number of delightful tools to their exposure, while hardcore stealth veterans will really delve into its Thief-esque non-lethal side.
    Of course, the non-lethal portion of the game is still rather bare in features- I stand by the ideas of being able to shoot sleep darts through keyholes and the ability to tackle enemies in order to knock them out, as well as shadow-based visibility and water arrows. Other sneak-based spells would be highly-appreciated, but it becomes clear the further you play that Arkane clearly intended you to discover stealthy options available with otherwise-violent powers. But even as it stands, I've come to really enjoy the option of knocking out my enemies one by one, stacking them all up in a high perch with the knowledge that they'll all eventually wake up and look around at one another, feeling awkward and terrified.
    Dishonored's visual and level design are also excellent. It does indeed take time to appreciate all of the nuances, but they are there, and you will be happily awarded for relishing in them. The game does an excellent job of providing you with an environment that's a blast to explore but never dives into confusing, labyrinth territories, such as many adventure games with frequent loading screens. Its hub-like areas really help the overall package, as its easy to get the lay of the land and work out your strategies from there. Plenty of nooks and crannies can be exploited for the treasure-hunters out there, which really adds to the game's borderline love-letter degree of inspiration taken from Thief.
    Voice acting is middling to top notch, with Piero being absolutely maddening to listen to, but deep, engaging characters such as Lord Pendleton having real, tangible soul. The sound effects are high-quality work, especially the change in the pitch of sounds when transitioning from Blink or Stop Time. Two major complaints that I originally had with the game do persist, however: the ending is very sudden and unsatisfying, and the lack of a New Game Plus feature is insult to injury. In a game that focuses on collecting upgrades and powers, it seems odd that this was not a no-brainer for Arkane. The already high replay value could have been made limitless if they had continued to stack the levels of bone charms and spells. Of course, these are two of only a handful of blemishes on an otherwise sparkling game. Dishonored should be recognized and praised for being one of the few truly niche games around, aiming for the audience it knows is interested in its concepts and polishing all of those concepts to a fine sheen. Hopefully, for the sequel, Arkane will up the intrigue, go open-world, and further increase the arsenal of powers, weapons, and sneaking moves at your hands.    … Expand
  17. Theraton
    Feb 4, 2013
    9
    Completed the game and enjoyed most of it. Its totally up to the player how he wants to complete the game. Playing e.g. bad (killing guards and innocents) will result in rat plagues and other stuff :X The graphic is not thaaat good but the game has its own style. The leveldesign and atmosphere is very good. Some powers are overpowered or not useful. There are more ways to kill rather toCompleted the game and enjoyed most of it. Its totally up to the player how he wants to complete the game. Playing e.g. bad (killing guards and innocents) will result in rat plagues and other stuff :X The graphic is not thaaat good but the game has its own style. The leveldesign and atmosphere is very good. Some powers are overpowered or not useful. There are more ways to kill rather to make your enemies unconscious(STRG all the time ^^). But still i liked the game.… Expand
  18. EyesofWrath
    Feb 10, 2013
    6
    Look, I want to love this game. I really really do. The effort to create a believable and enchanting world is evident, and the attention to detail is everywhere you turn, but there are some basic elements that just destroy the experience for me so much so that I registered for Metacritic after years of using it just to write this review. The context of this review is that I finished theLook, I want to love this game. I really really do. The effort to create a believable and enchanting world is evident, and the attention to detail is everywhere you turn, but there are some basic elements that just destroy the experience for me so much so that I registered for Metacritic after years of using it just to write this review. The context of this review is that I finished the game once quite soon after release, immediately deleted it from my hard drive, and then attempted to give it a second go from scratch this week.

    Out-dated graphics
    A misleading sense of free-will
    Little replay value With respect to the stylised intention of the game, the graphics are terribly outdated. While the visual style is imaginative and alternately colourful and cold where necessary, at its core it looks like I'm playing TF2 the textures are flat and lacking true detail, and the environments are often low-res. As stated, I understand that the intention is to create a more stylised, hand-drawn-style look, but you can do that and include detail at the same time. On a similar note, the character animations are ass the rigid and programmed nature of the facial and body movements take me out of the world and leave me feeling like I'm watching a game made before mo-cap existed.

    The game gives you a choice of play-style and then punishes you for doing anything other than stealth ease of progression, achievements, and a positive conclusion to the story all hinge on you taking a stealthy tact. Corvo is fast, deft with a sword, and, for the most part, outfitted for combat you're given grenades, a pistol, and the ability to perform sweet counter-attacks and surprise assaults. HOWEVER, if you choose to utilise these weapons you're forced to deal with attacks from many enemies, a 'negative' outcome at the end of the story, and less achievements. I understand that there are real-world repercussions for being so brazen, but why give me the choice if you're going structure the game in such a way that the only real reward comes from one way of playing?

    Finally, and in my mind, most heinously, is the fact that you can't replay earlier missions with the powers you've unlocked later you're forever stuck with the powers you had the first time you played the level, and are effectively, always handicapped. By the end of the game, Corvo is a super-soldier, and I don't see how you can overlook the fact that the single greatest part of RPG-style character building is reaching a point where you can cut through the enemies like warm butter. To allow me to craft my own super-soldier, to become familiar and efficient with him, and then shackle me to a certain diminishing skill level as I replay old missions just feels like a you'.

    There are positive elements, to be sure a beautifully realised world, intelligent enemies, exciting combat, and lovely sound design among others, but I feel that I can't rate it any higher than 6 because it accurately reflects my disappointment at the fundamental boundaries that the designers have imposed on the player.    … Expand
  19. Dark_half-Elf
    Apr 9, 2013
    8
    various methods of transmission and styles secrets it's all there in the game, but a little secret, the plot is weak, some failures of scripts, I passed the game without killing anyone, but did not get an achievement. And for stealth enemies are blunt and would like more ways to eliminate, the kind of 3 persons, more supernatural possibilities.
  20. ILikeBosch
    Mar 14, 2013
    6
    The game feels fresh and creative, but after one playthrough the replay value doesn't come around. The ending, at least the one I got, was abrupt and unrewarding. If you can play through very quickly as I did, you don't notice the repetition involved in achieving your objectives. I couldn't make it 2 hours through my second playthrough to get a different ending. Noting the achievementsThe game feels fresh and creative, but after one playthrough the replay value doesn't come around. The ending, at least the one I got, was abrupt and unrewarding. If you can play through very quickly as I did, you don't notice the repetition involved in achieving your objectives. I couldn't make it 2 hours through my second playthrough to get a different ending. Noting the achievements for not killing anyone or getting noticed, your player mechanics immediately go to waste. The swordplay is so intense and fun to use, but you feel chastised for using it due to certain story endings and passed-up achievements. I have the feeling they spent a bit too much on PR, and not enough on focus groups. It's worth a playthrough or two, but I wish I hadn't spent my hard-earned $60 on this one. Get it on steam sale, but other than that borrow it from a friend.… Expand
  21. Mordenkainen
    Jul 2, 2013
    6
    Its interesting how over time, gamers forgot about true stealth game mechanics, challenges and rewards it brings for effort player makes in moving unseen, lurking in shadows and taking enemies with a tactician mind instead of mindlessly going around and laying waste to deaf and blind AI that this game has. Dishonored is made to let players choose to either slaughter all enemies or goingIts interesting how over time, gamers forgot about true stealth game mechanics, challenges and rewards it brings for effort player makes in moving unseen, lurking in shadows and taking enemies with a tactician mind instead of mindlessly going around and laying waste to deaf and blind AI that this game has. Dishonored is made to let players choose to either slaughter all enemies or going with simple sneaking/teleporting and choking everyone around. Though it sounds like the player has a lot of choices, the developers did a poor job combining them. The maps seems big and free to explore but when you start exploring them you will soon hit the unreachable wall even if you have powers like double jump or teleportation (blink). There are a few safes with "riddles" you need to solve to get them open, but the riddles are like 2+2=?, and you get the answer from 5 different sources on the map so its just for show. Are we too stupid to solve anything more interesting?

    Every effort for player exploring the map, in hope of finding treasure that no one else of his friends found or looking for secrets that may be well hidden in those maps with multiple paths, is completely destroyed once you gain the power Night Vision (Level 2). Now this isn't the only game with "Eagle vision" overpowered "magical" view, as we all probably know that. The bad thing about those powers is that it ruins every need of player thinking for himself and spying on enemies from cover and learning their movement in order to work out a tactic for bringing them down without getting spotted. However this isn't the only problem we can see here. The AI is almost totally blind and deaf, making the game excellent for children to play, but the veteran gamers will be left completely without a challenge. You can jump behind them they will not hear you. You can drop bottles and objects 2 meters beside them and they wont hear it. You can run 10m in front of them they will not see you. Leaning from 1m from a corner in front of them, still they cant see you... There are many more unrealistic situations like these. Having set difficulty on Very Hard this is unforgivable. Another thing is that Corvo goes on almost every mission in broad daylight. The enemies react as if it isn't day but some foggy dark night. Blowing candles is just for show as the ambient lights are like 10 times more powerful then the actual light candle is emitting. This proves the so called "stealth" is made "just to be there" and doesn't have any touch with real situations, breaking any immersion you thought it had, especially for first person view. Very annoying thing is that enemies sometimes respawn after reloading a save and happen to mysteriously die and you won't get achievement at the end of the map you cleared by choking everyone. That much for stealth mechanics.

    The combat itself isn't anything special. The developer Arkane Studios which made Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, the game with best and most realistic combat system i've seen, could have done much better job. If you liked this combat you probably didn't play Dark Messiah, so i suggest you try it out.

    You can use any power at your disposal to destroy an army of enemies, battle with your only sword you have during entire game and just bash left click or block on right click, some sword crossing that you always win and that's it. Yes that's right you don't get any new weapon from the beginning to the end. Gathering coins is a waste of time, since i had everything possible upgraded by the 50% of the game. In the end still had about 15000 unspent coins i didn't had what to use on.

    The story is ok and the lore is interesting to read, there's not much to tell there. Multiple choices across whole campaign and the effects they have on the ending is always welcome. Ambient sounds are very good, as are the details of the areas.

    All in all, the game is enjoyable enough to finish even if you are hardcore player like me who notices all these things badly done. Anyway don't take any review for granted, take the game and try it yourself.    … Expand
  22. lake100
    Mar 26, 2013
    6
    This is a good game but not an excellent game.
    I ve played for couple of hours then i stoppped.
    Dont know why video games magazine (french) said it was the game of the decade.
    Its not in my point of view.
    If you dont have any other game to play with, u wil have pleasure but not as some bestsellers (Fallout 3, Skyrim,Bioshock Infinite)
  23. xTobyMc
    Apr 5, 2013
    7
    This is by far one of the best titles I have played this year, although it did have its downsides which is why I give it a 7/10. Dishonored serves as something 'different' for once, and its gameplay type can only really be compared with games such as Bioshock, but even that series is very different. It was nice to play a game where the storyline wasn't typical, and with the magical powersThis is by far one of the best titles I have played this year, although it did have its downsides which is why I give it a 7/10. Dishonored serves as something 'different' for once, and its gameplay type can only really be compared with games such as Bioshock, but even that series is very different. It was nice to play a game where the storyline wasn't typical, and with the magical powers aspect of the game, it made it feel like your character, Corvo, was special compared to those around him. I found much of the game, despite its cartoon style similar to Borderlands, very eery and creepy too. The sound effects often scared the hell out of me and made me quickly check over my shoulder, and the constant solo experience makes you play the game with full attention at all times. Lastly, the ending was very nice, and I particularly liked the style of it (although I won't go into any detail for obvious spoiler reasons).

    Now for the negatives...

    The game was very linear. Although it had many collectibles such as runes, bone charms, ammo and paintings, it was a very small world. I often found that searching for collectibles was too easy with the beating heart utility you're given which tells you where all runes and bone charms are. It was also very obvious which paths you were supposed to take to reach your destination, and although you were given a choice between going through sewers, fighting off each enemy or using the rooftops, the level of choice didn't seem overly great. Dishonored was also a very short game considering the price I paid for it. There's no real replay-ability with this game, and without multiplayer too. I felt like the game should have been £15 instead of £25+ at the time for what it's worth. One thing to note however is that I rushed this game, not collecting all the items that I could of, and pretty much just running into combat rather than stealth every time. The last negative was the auto-save feature. I have read online about this and many people agree. The auto-save wasn't the best, and you often found that when you reloaded a checkpoint after dying your were put back to a spot you were on about 10 minutes ago, and it took ages for you to get back to where you actually died. You have to manually save your game after every situation you go through in order to avoid this.

    Overall a great game, just needs a lot of tweaking if they make a sequel.    … Expand
  24. JLee66
    Apr 2, 2013
    5
    I played this game after finishing Bioshock Infinite, and it was quite a step down. The weapons and special abilities aren't as much fun and the gameworld doesn't compare. I had expected a lot more from Bethesda, the company that brought us great games like Skyrim and Fallout. I found the controls to be unintuitive at best and maddeningly wonky at worst. CTL isn't crouch, E isn't theI played this game after finishing Bioshock Infinite, and it was quite a step down. The weapons and special abilities aren't as much fun and the gameworld doesn't compare. I had expected a lot more from Bethesda, the company that brought us great games like Skyrim and Fallout. I found the controls to be unintuitive at best and maddeningly wonky at worst. CTL isn't crouch, E isn't the USE key, and remapping the keyboard isn't a very good solution either.

    Overall, it's certainly not the worst game of the year, I just expected more from Bethesda. I really wanted to like it.    … Expand
  25. Ulissenemo
    May 21, 2013
    6
    Il grande mistero del giornalismo specializzato, grande da coinvolgere quasi tutte le testate a tutte le latitudini. Un gioco di assoluta evanescenza che si becca uno score del 9.2. Un mistero cosi profondo che metto in dubbio il mio senso critico, quasi colpevolizzandomi di non aver saputo apprezzare questo "capolavoro conclamato e osannato, ma poi ragiono sulla cosa... Storia scrittaIl grande mistero del giornalismo specializzato, grande da coinvolgere quasi tutte le testate a tutte le latitudini. Un gioco di assoluta evanescenza che si becca uno score del 9.2. Un mistero cosi profondo che metto in dubbio il mio senso critico, quasi colpevolizzandomi di non aver saputo apprezzare questo "capolavoro conclamato e osannato, ma poi ragiono sulla cosa... Storia scritta sulla carta igienica, giocabilità...si varia, con varianti fini a se stesse, grafica in stile ma brutto, o quantomeno poco originale, e finale da canna del gas. Mi fermo qui in osservanza alla vecchia saggezza popolare Mai troppe parole alla mediocrità.… Expand
  26. AHoneyBadger
    Jun 10, 2013
    6
    Dishonored fills the niche of what could be considered a sandbox stealth game. Very few game series try to fill this niche. It is hard for a company to make this kind of game right. The studio making this game knew what they were doing, but whoever was in charge of releasing the game did not. Dishored has a extremely atmospheric and rich game world, that is not easily forgotten. WhileDishonored fills the niche of what could be considered a sandbox stealth game. Very few game series try to fill this niche. It is hard for a company to make this kind of game right. The studio making this game knew what they were doing, but whoever was in charge of releasing the game did not. Dishored has a extremely atmospheric and rich game world, that is not easily forgotten. While playing the game, you are allowed to read many of the small notes and books that have been placed around the game world. These stories immerse you in the game world and make the world seem believable. On top of this, you can hide in the dark shadows and listen to the conversations of the characters in the world, each giving a small back story and even opening up more to the plot. Every level in the world has been carefully handcrafted to feel real and allow for the player to finish it however they please. The game however is marred by short length and repetitive game play. The game itself can be considered a cross between Bioshock (Plasmids) and Thief (The game world and sneaking) both extremely good games. Dishonored however, falters in its application of the game mechanics taken from these two. In Bioshock, you were given many different plasmids that could be upgraded to do multiple things. In Dishonored, an upgrade to one of your skills usually only results in it being "better," such as only teleporting farther or seeing more. Bioshock also had multiple weapons that could be picked up in the world, such as revolver, shotgun, machine gun etc. In Dishonored, you are limited to your sword and pistol, dulling the game. Along with this fault, Dishonored is not at all difficult or long. On my speed run going guns blazing, it only took me a few hours to see it through. In conclusion, the game is by no means bad. If you want the most out of your game, pick the game up on sale and play it through on the hardest difficulty, on a pacifist run, taking in as much of the game world as you possibly can. If the studio had more time to develop more levels and more game play mechanics, the game would be much higher rated for me.… Expand
  27. Erdrick27
    Sep 19, 2013
    7
    Since the 'sneak em up' genre rarely sees many new additions I was quite excited for the release of this game. While it's a welcome addition to the genre a new 'Thief' it is not. The story is rather predictable and the 'chaos' rating of the city is a strange way to go about implementing some sort of morality system. The player is generally overpowered even on higher difficulty settingsSince the 'sneak em up' genre rarely sees many new additions I was quite excited for the release of this game. While it's a welcome addition to the genre a new 'Thief' it is not. The story is rather predictable and the 'chaos' rating of the city is a strange way to go about implementing some sort of morality system. The player is generally overpowered even on higher difficulty settings and the range of available powers heavily favors players who want to chop their way through the game rather than relying on nonviolent methods. The atmosphere, while good does not rival that of the progenitor of the sneak em up genre 'Thief'. However there are many notes, books, and letters that flesh out the history of the world. The graphics which I don't consider to be that important are fine, but nothing to write home about given what can be done with modern graphics technology. The game contains only 10-15 hours of gameplay so I'd suggest getting it for 10-15 dollars to maximize the bang for your gaming buck.… Expand
  28. ProcrastinatorS
    Dec 6, 2013
    6
    Sadly, Dishonored feels like nothing but wasted opportunity to me. This is totally personified by the upgrade system or lack there of.

    This upgrade system leads into the next issue I have which is the "collectibles" aren't exactly optional, these come in the form of "Runes" and "Bone Charms" Runes being a currency for your upgrades, bone charms allowing you minor upgrades, these so    Sadly, Dishonored feels like nothing but wasted opportunity to me. This is totally personified by the upgrade system or lack there of.

    This upgrade system leads into the next issue I have which is the "collectibles" aren't exactly optional, these come in the form of "Runes" and "Bone Charms" Runes being a currency for your upgrades, bone charms allowing you minor upgrades, these so called collectibles are completely negated when you are given a utility known as the heart. This points out any one of these collectibles in the area no matter your proximity. I'll bet the designers who had to hide those collectibles were pissed when the gadget designers added the heart...

    The story is average although there's a twist you'll see a mile and a half away. Character development in this story is minimum which I've come to expect from most triple A games. You'll know who the main baddie's going to be before the word dastardly can slip through your lips.

    Gameplay has the usual stealth/stab-em up gameplay, get behind an enemy stab them. Dishonored DOES try to mix this up but falls at the first hurdle and knocks out it's teeth as it add's powers.(gifted by a mysterious being known as "The Outsider" who stirs some intrigue but then doesn't amount to anything but a narration/exposition vessel) These powers seem to completely break the stealthy pacing there should be in stealth games as the first power you're given allows you to warp up behind any enemy and stab them. A lot of the upgrades seem to be fairly useless as well, the only ones you really need is the aforementioned "Blink" warp spell, and the "Possession" spell which is self explanatory really. It allows you to possess an animal and at level two a human.

    The level design is strange as it tries to trick you into thinking that the level is larger than it actually is by giving you multiple routes, which are the usual stealth game cliches of vents, front door, rooftops.

    The game also decides to throw in a morality system which will completely up the way you play, making you load up a save because you accidentally killed someone and that might make you get the bad ending. This in turn ruins the gameplay feel that I think Arkane were going for, the type of gameplay that can jump from stealth to combat in an instant, this is definitely the case with some of the items and upgrades such as spring razors and clockwork grenades, as well as the "Blend time" spell which allows you to slow down or entirely stop time at the cost of a lot of mana. This morality system is also thrown in with "Special actions" which aren't so special at all really as they don't seem to affect the outcome of the ending, a character will mention it to you once right after you've done it and it will never haunt you again.

    Finally, the pacing of the game is what really kills it for me, as like many games at the moment, it sends you back to a hub area at the end of each mission to buy upgrades and items, this felt completely unneeded as there is actually some stores in the mission areas that can't upgrade anything.(Blatantly so you'll have to wait to go back the hub) I feel this may be to drag out run-time as it clocks in at a rather short 10-12 hours (WITH most collectibles as I began to rush near the end as I was getting bored.)

    Dishonored gains a 6/10 for me as it can clearly be seen the devs were trying, and under the stress of a new IP they could have possibly been rushed a bit. I feel if a sequel is made all issues will be ironed out and the devs might even try to innovate instead of play it safe.    … Expand
  29. ArcticChod
    Jun 23, 2014
    7
    This game is definitely up there. But it's not for everyone. I personally did not like the OP zapping and possessing abilities that the game so readily gives to you near the beginning. The story is also very shallow, and I couldn't keep my interest invested in it. It's still got good gameplay mechanics. And I still enjoyed zapping from the shadows to knock someone out then zap back. But IThis game is definitely up there. But it's not for everyone. I personally did not like the OP zapping and possessing abilities that the game so readily gives to you near the beginning. The story is also very shallow, and I couldn't keep my interest invested in it. It's still got good gameplay mechanics. And I still enjoyed zapping from the shadows to knock someone out then zap back. But I feel it was missing a few things. I wouldn't recommend a buy without some research on whether you'd truly like it or not first. If you see this game and you're not feeling it, chances are you shouldn't buy it.… Expand
  30. SH1
    Jul 24, 2016
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It was really good up until the end of the "Lady Boyle's Last Party" mission. The mission after that ("Return to the Tower") where you have to assassinate the Lord Regent was somewhat predictable, accept for the twist with the broadcast.

    From "The Flooded District" (the third last mission out of nine missions) the game degraded a lot in my opinion. I spent hours in the sewers and flooded district, wandering around levels that were so dark that I could not see where I was going, even with the gamma adjusted. The "enhanced eyes" spell did not help either. The story line also became very boring, and it seems pointless and tacked on at that point. That bit about you having to recover your weapons was completely unnecessary and a waste of time in my opinion.

    I think the first 6 missions were brilliant, and the game should have ended there. My prediction for Dishonored 2 is that it will be a lot like Deus Ex, where the first game was brilliant and the rest was just more of the same.    … 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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