Dishonored

About Dishonored

Arkane Studios released Dishonored in October 2012 for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. You play as a former royal bodyguard framed for assassinating the Empress of Dunwall. This industrial whaling city suffers from plague and corrupt rule while strange steampunk tech hums in the background. A mysterious entity grants you supernatural powers to hunt down your enemies. The game blends adventure, role-playing, and puzzle elements into a single-player experience. You wield weapons, gadgets, and magic to navigate a world that reacts to your actions. Every choice shifts how the story unfolds and changes the fate of the city around you.

Gameplay

Sessions feel like planning heists in a first-person view. You patrol rooftops using Blink to teleport short distances or Possess animals to walk through locked doors undetected. Combat offers two distinct paths. You can shoot crossbows with non-lethal bolts to knock guards unconscious or use your bone charm abilities to rip them apart. The game tracks Chaos levels based on how many people you kill, which alters enemy behavior and city atmosphere later in the campaign. Missions are open-ended sandboxes where you choose entry points and methods. You might sneak through ventilation shafts, bribe a guard, or fight your way out with a sword. The controls feel tight, allowing precise aim and fluid movement even when juggling multiple powers simultaneously.

What Players Think

Critics loved this game immediately. Metacritic gave it 91 out of 100 while OpenCritic shows an 87 score with 88.65 percent of critics recommending it. IGDB lists a solid 87.6 based on 1,831 ratings. Reviewers from Eurogamer and VideoGamer both awarded perfect 100s, praising the layered design and open-ended freedom. The PlayPile community leans heavily toward story-driven experiences with that tag receiving four votes, though three users also marked it as cooperative despite it being single-player only. Average playtime hovers around 18 hours for a first run, but completionists spend nearly double that exploring every secret. Achievement data shows players unlock the "Clean Hands" trophy by finishing the game without killing a single soul, a feat most struggle to maintain.

PlayPile's Take

This title is worth your time if you want to solve problems with imagination rather than brute force. The $20 price point on Steam makes it a steal compared to modern AAA releases. You will earn achievements for speed runs and stealth-only playthroughs that test your mastery of the mechanics. Arkane Studios built a system where your failures teach you better strategies instead of resetting progress. Do not expect a traditional shooter with scripted set pieces. The ending changes based on your kill count, so plan accordingly. Play this if you enjoy games that respect your intelligence and let you dictate the pace of every mission without hand-holding.

Storyline

Dishonored is set in Dunwall, an industrial whaling city where strange steampunk-inspired technology and otherworldly forces coexist in the shadows. You are the once-trusted bodyguard of the beloved Empress. Framed for her murder, you become an infamous assassin, known only by the disturbing mask that has become your calling card. In a time of uncertainty, when the city is besieged by plague and ruled by a corrupt government armed with industrial technologies, dark forces conspire to bestow upon you abilities beyond those of any common man, but at what cost? The truth behind your betrayal is as murky as the waters surrounding the city, and the life you once had is gone forever.