As someone who did not really play many stealth games before, this game was a big change of pace for me. I really appreciate all of the work that went into designing the levels for this game, with the many different ways each mission can be completed both silently or loud. While the story was fairly simplistic, it was executed masterfully and presented so many memorable characters, some were allies that I wanted to make sure would make it to the end unharmed, and some were enemies that I felt really deserved their comeuppance. Player choice is the key to this entire franchise, sort of like the decision system in Bioshock on steroids, where each person you kill or spare has weight on the story and the very world around you. The art style of this game is gorgeous and very unique no matter where you are in the world, whether it be a sewer system crawling with rats or a mansion full of wealthy elites. The combat in this game also hinges on player choice, with far more tempting lethal options available to you compared to nonlethal. Restraint, creativity, and a keen eye are needed to maneuver the game nonlethally and silently, which made this path more rewarding. My one complaint is that the AI was a little funky at times, but it did not make much of a difference. The Knife of Dunwall and Brigmore Witches DLCs were great additions that actually contributed to the story. Dunwall City Trials were kind of annoying to play through.

Dishonored is one of my so-called comfort games, which I know since its release.

When I was younger I absolutely loved this game and there was no cons in it. Anyone who was talking shit about this game automatically became a douchebag in my eyes, but this years are far away now, and I've become way more experienced in games and mature in general.

So, what can I say now?

Well, I do still love this game, but after playing it this time, I discovered how much I don't like the chaos system...

I mean, it works fine and it's actually an interesting mechanic, but why should I forbid myself to use the features the game provides me in order to get the good ending? Shouldn't an immersive sim let me use everything what I want to achieve my goals and doesn't punish me for my «bad» deeds using the bad ending? Don't you find it kind of a frustrating thing?

The next thing I'd like to complain about is the actual low variety of your methods in achieving the goal. Part two resolved this problem, but it stays actual in the first game. Dishonored becomes fully examined after a couple of walktroughs, and its replayability keeps strong more because of the amazing atmosphere, worldbuilding, lore, curious, but simple plot, and achievements than gameplay. It's just not as replayable as the other immersive sims, and now I feel disappointed 'cause of this...

However, as I said, I still love this game. My current experience with Dishonored is somewhat comparable to that moment, when your blind feelings for your lover are gone, and all of the problems of that lover of yours pops up suddenly, but even so they don't prevent you from loving them (lover, I mean)...

...Yeah, it could've been way less poetic... But it is what it is.

I've decided to re-review this game after giving it some more time.

The game really shines when you make full use of its mechanics. It's also very immersive when you read all the books and try to get your head around the lore of the world of Dishonored. I do have certain annoyances with the game, such as non-lethal tools being a lot less than lethal ones, but you can make do with what you have. Go through rooftops, use tunnels, or just knockdown everyone and enter through the front door. The choice is yours to make.

Funny thing is, at this time of writing, I have 18 hours of playtime and all of it is the Campbell mission. I replayed it up to that point three times. Started with low chaos non-lethal, tried high chaos lethal after that and now I'm back to low chaos non-lethal. Only after three replays while experimenting with different things that I started to enjoy this game.

Reading some Beginner's Guides for new players is also something I would recommend, as some stuff are left vague, such as if guards wake up after being knocked down, or what affects the Ghost status, or do killing animals count towards the kill count. I also really like Corvo's design (love the concept art!) so when I imagine him while I'm in first person, it makes the experience a lot cooler. I do wonder how a third-person perspective would've worked in a game like Dishonored.

_____________________________

Old negative review:
I am fully aware that this is an unpopular opinion, but I think this game is boring. Why, you might ask. The reason is as simple as the gameplay loop not being fun enough for me. You have tons of lethal ways to approach stuff but when you want to play non-lethal, you're stuck to the same cycle of sneaking, choking guards, using sleep darts or just using rat tunnels/rooftops. I get bored very easily. And even playing lethal isn't very fun as guards die very easily and it's just as easy to stay hidden.

The voice acting is bad. The characters don't sound interested in anything they talk about.

I love stealth games. Especially Metal Gear Solid. This game just isn't for me.

Esse jogo é o melhor imersive sim que eu já joguei!!!!

Confesso que tinha muito preconceito com esse jogo por inúmeros motivos... Mas decidi jogar meu orgulho no lixo pra jogar essa pérola e puta que pariu! Eu tava perdendo muita coisa.
Dishoroned conta a história de Corvo, um assassino/soldado imperial que tem o dever de proteger a imperatriz Jessamine e a herdeira da realeza Emily... Durante esse prólogo, armam uma emboscada para a imperatriz, sequestram a Emily e jogam a culpa para você. O jogo então se baseia em VINGANÇA.

Eu particularmente sou fã de jogos Stealth (apesar de eu ser horroroso neles kkkk), então esse jogo foi um pratão cheio para mim. Por ser um Imersive sim, você pode jogar da forma que quiser (mas adianto que terá consequências).

O mundo de Dishonored é uma mistura de futurismo com medieval. Ao mesmo tempo que usamos muito de lâminas, utilizamos também pistolas, granadas e, acredite se quiser, Magias!!!! Esse mundo está sendo assolado por uma peste, com ratos em todos os cantos e muitos infectados para que você tenha que lidar durante suas passagens no jogo.

O protagonista é curioso... Por que ele "se adapta" ao jogador... Se o jogador é um maníaco frenético que sai arregaçando geral, o Corvo vai ser cada vez mais retratado como um monstro... se o jogador não matar ninguém ou poucas pessoas, você vai passar despercebido pela "mídia" e bem visto pelos aliados.

A parada da magia é uma parte muito boa e divertida do jogo. Você é como se fosse um super-soldado em meio a pessoas comuns...

A gameplay é majestosa e muito gostosa... Foi uma das melhores experiências de stealth que eu aproveitei na minha vida.

Existem certos itens espalhados por cada missão que dão upgrade no seu personagem e é muito divertido de ir atrás, te da um sentimento muito bom.

Os inimigos humanos comuns são mais vítimas do que de fato cuzões... Eles estão servindo a um império por necessidade... Também temos os Weepers, uma espécie de zumbis infectados pela peste dos ratos.

SESSÃO SPOILER:

A trajetória de Corvo atrás de vingança pode ser violenta ou tranquila (dependendo das vontades do jogador). Quanto mais você mata, pior o universo do jogo fica... Mais soldados aparecem, mais corpos aparecem na rua, mais ratos e mais Weepers. O final do jogo depende exclusivamente do impacto do jogador nas missões...

Recomendo a todos que querem ter uma experiência completa e imersiva em um mundo muito foda... Espetáculo de jogo!

11/52

[Main game review]
10 • This is a hallmark in game design that refuses to age. It is truly a timeless piece of interactive art. This game absolutely nails everything it strives for and then some. It is the immersive sim of the 2010s. The path to victory is completely open to the player: you can be a silent pacifist choosing only alternative ways (often more gruesome ones) of neutralising your main targets while leaving everyone else untouched; you can be a shadow assassin, killing everyone in your way without them ever noticing your presence; or you can just be an all out genocidal maniac murder machine that destroys everything in its path. The game merely puts the tools in the player's hands and the world as a sandbox, how you use them and interact with it is up to you, and the gloomy atmospheric streets of Dunwall shall respond in accordance. I usually dislike replaying videogames, as I find there's too much stuff I want to play and too little time to do so to bother with replaying the same thing, but this game is a clear exception. It is a game I've beaten multiple times in various different ways, and one I still pick up every once in a while for a quick speedrun playthrough. A marvel of game design that everyone should play.

[The Knife of Dunwall and The Brigmore Witches DLC review]
8 • While the DLC campaigns aren't quite up to par with the main game, they still manage to hold their own and contribute a ton to the franchise's world-building, to the point where the sequel's antagonist's first appearance is as a target in the second part of the DLC's story. The DLC also has some interesting ideas on their own, with Daud's gameplay varying significantly from Corvo's due to their different abilities, and with each mission having a new mechanic called «favours», consisting of some Hitman-esque purchasable drop-offs, important codes, mission-changing opportunities, escape methods and other fluff.

[Dunwall City Trials DLC review]
1 • Meanwhile this DLC is a useless, un-fun piece of utter crap. The concept in itself isn't bad: you take some of the game's core mechanics, and you design some challenges around them. But the design of the trials themselves is awful, butchering said mechanics and turning a very entertaining gameplay formula into a stupid grindfest for near-impossible to obtain achievements. Would recommend every player boot it up, try each trial once, laugh at how terrible they are, and forget they ever existed.