Dishonored - Brave New World

The title from Arkane Studio, really revealed itself during E3 and immediately drawn a lot of attention, while its unique set and look steps into the territory of the unchallenged Bioshock, the stealth gameplay and open approach to the objectives draws into the loved and unequalled thief series.

The first thing that impress in Dishonored is its environment, from the beginning the story takes advantages of the stunning visuals and design of the game and takes you into a different, yet familiar world where technology is slowly taking over mysticism and superstition.

The game rests on an open world, leaving you the decision to approach a problem the way you want and while the enemies have a fairly good ability to detect you, the powers put at your disposal will certainly make things far easier.

From seeing through walls, short-range teleporting and more, Dishonored made the choice of removing most of the physical work on stealth, which keeps the game at a steady pace and prevents the action from getting boring. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stop from finding the game too easy because of it, even if a well-crafted and defining mechanic is in question.

The action remains enjoyable however and the violent takedowns are brilliantly utilised by the first person camera.

The story of the game relies on the feelings Corvo, the main character, had toward the murdered empress and her kidnapped daughter. The levels of aggressivity you display on assignment will impact on the overall chaos in the city, which manifest concretely by bringing you additional challenges should you adopt an overly aggressive approach, this chaos will also impact the game’s outcome, which is an appreciable feature. However, the main plot resting on betrayal and further betrayal seasoned with greed are fairly expected and lack originality.

A good work of characterisation was perform however, Emily, the Empress daughter is the most interesting character, as Corvo’s action will shape her attitude differently for the best or for the worth.

The game could have used more characterisation on its main character, sadly Corvo was approached as a silent protagonist, while the rest of the characters are speaking, he express himself through lines only. Corvo could have used a voice of his own bringing more weight and meaning to the overall plot.

Dishonored does not disappoint and brings sorely needed originality through its set and gameplay. The solid game mechanics are smooth and enjoyable and while the main plot remains too light, the great environments and the stakes kept me firmly hooked until closure. However, this universe could have gained from an actual characterisation of the main character, he’s origin and personality.