I thought it would be nice to be positive today. I mean, my doctor says I need that to decrease my stress for future references, so I have to listen. So, I had to choose my favorite game in the world, Dishonored. Not the sequel, which was also great, I want to talk about the game that changed my life. Hello and welcome to the only positive thought blog.
Now to start, let's talk about the story. It's a typical one that involves a lot of revenge plot, but it's a good one. The character you play as, Corvo Attano, is blamed for an assassination you tried to prevent. They tell they hired the assassins and don't mind losing a life from the royal branch, especially an immigrant. Yes, you nerds, Corvo is an Immigrant. Anyways, with as much reason with either one: You can kill them for their sins and corruption of government or humiliate them in front of their people and have the people kill them and restore government for what it use to be. A nice little summary, but I think it doesn't explain the whole game well.
Most critics might be able to call the story a meaningful concept that relates to the world we have or say it has so few to show off to the player and doesn't give enough character to Corvo or the people around them. Well, I believe the story has a lot to show. It give the player a representation of corrupt government and the effects it gives off on the people. The guards' personalities are in place along with the government they follow and the gang's that are in between the whole ordeal show that the government have too much in their hands to even take care of them. You can see that everyone is affected by this wave of greedy takeover and even the main character is struck by it along with the people, giving him as much character as the people around him that suffer the same deeds of the corrupt government that is the Lord Regent.
It's a whole history lesson if you ask me. I mean, do you remember in 9th Grade History when Colonist rebelled against King George? How about when when the King of England refused to follow parliament? What about when French Revolution that took place? Everyone was affected by this wave of corrupt government that the people of Dunwall are facing. I know these are fictional characters, but there is a lot to relate to with this story and actual historical events. There is a lot of meaning to this and so many things to relate to real life. And my dad says History isn't important.
Each ending you achieve have a different feeling to it. If you got a high chaos playthrough, you see that you made a largely corrupted society after taking each target out lethally. It even shows before you meet the end. The sky is covered in clouds, dark, raining and you only friend leaves you and is swept in the sea as he leads every guard to where you are. If on low chaos, the sky is blue and your only friend left alive and without betrayal is telling you were the only hope he had in this world. It's a cool end and, if you got high chaos, a horrible end. They both have an effect from what you caused in the game.
And a little FYI, there is a book that follows the true storyline called The Corroded Man. If you wish to read it, you can if you want. I will leave a link to the book on Amazon.
To move on, the gameplay is very fluid. You have the choice to go all out rampage on the guards or sneak your way out with a few unconscious guards left in your trail. Although, you don't have your powers in the beginning, the game still feels fast paced and fluid. There are playthroughs on Youtube where the player doesn't use their abilities and still finish in 3 hours.
Critics can say the powers are a bit overused for it's easy access and overpowered ability, but it's not like you have unlimited power. You can't Blink your way off the map, you have your limits. The meter really adds to the gameplay and really limits your use of your powers. The most powerful abilities are even limited with a large mana use. You can't just blindlessly use Blink over and over to get to where you want, you have to observe the area and make up a scenario of which you won't get caught or to kill every man and guard within 5 seconds.
And I love how, and I might have said this already, the enemies in the game have their own personality to them and actually give you guilt to kill them. They would have a letter in their pocket that was suppose to be sent to his wife and family that this is his last day on duty. Guilt is what actually powers this game. You can kill this guy, but he can have a family. You can kill this guy about to maim a hobo, but he might be forced into this to help his sick brother. That one letter you find off of this one man's body will change your perspective on killing any of the guards or gangsters. You really imagine what the life of this one grunt is before you kill them. It's powerful and something not many games do.
To change the subject to the DLC, they actually put you in the shoes of the assassin that killed the empress, having the player see what he thinks of the world in the game. You can go to your old ways and kill everyone and feel no remorse for those whom you killed or you can change and be mindful of who your actions. It really reuses the formula of the base game, but it changes the perspective around completely, to the man that killed your wife and only good empress of Dunwall, all for some coin.
Although, the DLC changes the story's core around to the antagonist, but it gives us the real threat of the game, Delilah Copperspoon. A witch that wishes to rip the soul out of the future princess and take her place, leading to the dirty empress known as Emily, the Merciless. There is a lot that really relates to the core story and a lot to the lore of the world.
Anyways, this is what makes the game so good. I know not every game is perfect - I mean, the abilities don't correlate with the low chaos gameplay - but I can still say the game is pretty good. If I spoiled this for you, I'm sorry, but I hope I intrigued you to buy it! Anyways, if any of you want to counter this, I wouldn't mind seeing it! Actually send me a link in the comments, but 'til then...
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