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The Dishonored series is very good at evoking an unsettling moral environment. When the game starts you are a straight-up hero, fighting to clear your name and

The Dishonored series is very good at evoking an unsettling moral environment. When the game starts you are a straight-up hero, fighting to clear your name and restore a "responsible" monarchy that has been overthrown by a dictator. As you make your way around the game world you start to connect the dots and realise what a horrific place Dunwall is. Arrogant untouchable aristocrats preside over a plague-ridden hell of inequality, exploitation, animal cruelty and human experimentation, alongside a fanatical religious police whose godless faith seems to be based only on fear of the unknown. And that was the state of affairs before the dictator took over. Apart from the plague, that is the world you are trying to restore. The characters you play have their own moral conflicts within the world, but are still creatures of that society, place and time. I find it fascinating how Dishonored drops you into this familiar yet uncanny world where people think very differently from us. This worldbuilding, along with the wonderful art direction, stealth gameplay and masterful level design make the Dishonored series my favourite games of the past 20 years. Get the whole series, and make sure you get the DLC for the first game :)

bitL 7y ago
I can't force myself to finish Dishonored 2; compared to 1 I just found it too "unatmospheric" and couldn't care less about the plotline (meh). Does it get better? Steam forum is full of people complaining about it being boring.
- richardjdare 7y ago
  While I prefer the atmosphere of the first game, Dishonored 2 has some of the best level design and environment architecture I've ever seen. Have you been to Jindosh's clockwork mansion, or paid a visit to Aramis Stilton? I loved those levels. Also I really wanted to know what happened to Daud, so I scoured the whole game looking for clues about him. :) Then again, I am a huge Dishonored fanboy. There aren't many games that make me feel like that these days, so I embrace it.
shantly 7y ago
IMO both games are best played at max difficulty with most of the HUD junk turned off, and no save-scumming. You're a friggin' superhero, and even at top difficulty the only thing keeping you from shredding your way through the levels (past perhaps the first one) is whatever sense of ethics you bring to the game. Max difficulty just means if you screw up, people die. Not you, probably. But other people. That's an uncommon experience in games, where you have enough power to accomplish goals while keeping kills low and it doesn't require a ton of trial & error and "gamey" playing to do it (think, the Thief series or something like Deus Ex at the higher difficulties) so it all feels relatively natural. But there's real challenge and tension in trying to get through when a miss-step means killing that guy you're trying to avoid. Your goals are well enough motivated and important enough that it's not plainly unjustified to fight your way through, and these folks are trying to kill you, but they're also people with their own lives, and you've got some serious great power / great responsibility things going on. It's an interesting & fun perspective.

bitL 7y ago

I can't force myself to finish Dishonored 2; compared to 1 I just found it too "unatmospheric" and couldn't care less about the plotline (meh). Does it get better? Steam forum is full of people complaining about it being boring.

richardjdare 7y ago
While I prefer the atmosphere of the first game, Dishonored 2 has some of the best level design and environment architecture I've ever seen. Have you been to Jindosh's clockwork mansion, or paid a visit to Aramis Stilton? I loved those levels. Also I really wanted to know what happened to Daud, so I scoured the whole game looking for clues about him. :) Then again, I am a huge Dishonored fanboy. There aren't many games that make me feel like that these days, so I embrace it.

shantly 7y ago

IMO both games are best played at max difficulty with most of the HUD junk turned off, and no save-scumming. You're a friggin' superhero, and even at top difficulty the only thing keeping you from shredding your way through the levels (past perhaps the first one) is whatever sense of ethics you bring to the game. Max difficulty just means if you screw up, people die. Not you, probably. But other people. That's an uncommon experience in games, where you have enough power to accomplish goals while keeping kills low and it doesn't require a ton of trial & error and "gamey" playing to do it (think, the Thief series or something like Deus Ex at the higher difficulties) so it all feels relatively natural. But there's real challenge and tension in trying to get through when a miss-step means killing that guy you're trying to avoid. Your goals are well enough motivated and important enough that it's not plainly unjustified to fight your way through, and these folks are trying to kill you, but they're also people with their own lives, and you've got some serious great power / great responsibility things going on. It's an interesting & fun perspective.