Daniel Licht - Dishonored (2012, GOTY 1st Place)
Composer: Daniel Licht
Console: PS3, Modern PC, Xbox 360
Game Release Date: 2012-10-09
Soundtrack Release Date: 2012-10-09
Ripper: n/a
Runtime: 33:04, 13 Tracks
Console: PS3, Modern PC, Xbox 360
Game Release Date: 2012-10-09
Soundtrack Release Date: 2012-10-09
Ripper: n/a
Runtime: 33:04, 13 Tracks
When the year started I did not expect this game to win. Hell, I only played this because I figured it was like Bioshock 1. Knew almost nothing about it other than it was a random triple A game that existed. I believe I got it for the Xbox 360 years ago in a used game bin along with a bunch of other titles. In about 2018-2019 I tried playing this on the Xbox but gave up citing that it would play better on PC but that it was interesting. I pretty much forgot about it until looking for some games that were similar to the Bioshock series. This was recommended. After beating the OG Bioshock in 2019 plus covid hitting the year after I had put the series on hold for a bit. In my order of the games I decided that I would do Dishonored before I did Bioshock II. Then, early this year I gave it a try, thinking it wouldn't top Bioshock 1 and lo and behold here we are now. I believe I bought it whilst it was on sale in the 2020 Christmas sale. Then, almost randomly I decided, screw it and gave the game a shot while bored at home one day.
Dishonored is a first-person stealth game by Arkane Studios, the guys behind the Thief series. I probably should write optionally stealth because it is possible to just play the entire thing guns blazing. It's just much harder. In the game you play as Corvo Attano, bodyguard of the Empress. You are falsely accused of killing empress and kidnapping her daughter (your daughter) on your return trip from another country. The country is being destroyed by a rat-based plague and the royal spymaster assumes the throne and installs and totalitarian dictatorship. They set you up!
While in prison, set to be executed you are freed by some resistance movement and escape prison. From there the resistance puts you on missions to "assassinate" the various high ranking political members to install the resistance movement and put your daughter on the throne. The actual assassination part is optional as every mission gives you the ability to take out the target without harming them. Between playing their confessions, branding them as heretics and more you can really "save" every target you have.
Now my rationale going into this was Corvo was accused of murder, he never actually killed anyone (you can just hit the assassins at the start with sleep darts iirc). So why would he prove his accusers right but killing people then? Thus I decided early on that I would play the entire game without killing anyone for whatever reason. I was successful in this, never killing anyone in any mission including targets. It was kind of varied but I also kept plants alive as well, just ignoring them. Knocked out enemies that could have been killed by the terrain were moved to safety (such as when swarms of rats appeared). I don't know if those deaths counted but I'm assuming nobody died, at least, the game didn't count those. Cutscenes wherein characters were jumped or would get killed I knocked the necessary people out. I also skipped some side quests as a result (such as the Lord Shaw duel) but w/e. The Granny Rags part I also didn't kill. Though technically I really did but the game didn't count it. Probably the most annoying part was dealing with weepers the few times I had to. Even if you hit them with a sleep dart there was still a high chance they would die. It led to either using chokehold, using a sleep dart and having them survive (rare) or just outright avoiding them.
Oh, and there is also some eldritch/trickster-like deity called The Outsider who grants you magical abilities. From there you get an arsenal of weapons ranging from pistols to the ability to stop time. Of course, playing as a pacifist you don't really need most weapons and at most I used them for making noise. Grenades and the pistol were my favourite. There were many times I just randomly shot off the gun and hid to see everyone come running.
The only hiccup I had was in the Burrows level. While in the Dunwall Tower, perched upon the ceiling lights I threw a bunch of grenades around, watching guards run to them. At some point some guard must have been killed by a grenade and I didn't notice. I was too high up. When I beat the level it said 1 person killed. Decided then and there to re-do the entire level. I ended up doing it again over because someone else died. Not sure that time. Regardless, I was having too much fun that re-doing a level twice was perfectly fine for me.
I also went for all bone charms and runes though after a point it's kind of pointless because there are only so many upgrades you can get while still staying pacifist. I never upgraded the wind sweep ability because level 2 has the ability to kill and that is a no-no. Depending on how violent you are in the game determines the setup of the levels. The more people you kill the more "weepers" (read: zombies) that spawn and the more wastelandish the levels look. Since I never killed anyone it meant every level was in pristine condition with the max amount of guards and there weren't many rats around. Story-wise this also makes sense because why would Corvo ruin his city by killing guards just trying to do their jobs and keep the plague under control? Killing nobody in the run nets you an achievement called "Clean Hands". At the time of writing only 5.3% of Dishonored steam players actually got the achievement.
That said, I had no interest in doing missions as a ghost (undetected). I had way too much fun running from guards and making noise. I guess you could say I played the game chaotic good. I also had the game on hard difficulty but eventually changed it to very hard. When you just have guards and the levels are pristine it becomes too easy. Ended up also doing one of the DLCs on very hard too.
I found the controls a little awkward at first but gradually got used to them. I would have initially preferred to have the sword as a main weapon then you cycle across but eventually grew into the left-click/left-hand + right-click/right-hand setup. Interestingly I tried playing Bioshock 2 around the same time but gave up because I couldn't get used to that setup in that game. I guess it just mainly works with Dishonored.
The best levels in the game were the Boyle party and the Flooded District. The Boyle party had so many things you could do in it and screw around. The mystery was exquisite and allowed for lots of opportunities. The Flooded District was absolutely gorgeous looking almost post-apocalyptic. I loved dealing with Daud's assassins. Having an enemy with the same abilities as you proved an excellent challenge. Even getting my equipment back was a task.
I played a lot this year but no game even came close to beating this one for GOTY. Frogger and Reshef were extremely good at what they did but Dishonored was in another league entirely. This year I got covid-19 as well. Specifically, I got the original SA strain (I think called Beta). It was pretty funny having covid and playing a game that dealt heavily with a plague. Needless to say but during my recovery I did play a ton of Dishonored. A little bit after I was fully recovered I beat the game.
Dishonored also has three DLCs but to date I have only played one. The Knife of Dunwall. I ended up starting it and completing it in December of last year. I will do the other 2 at a later point, whenever I feel like it. Supposedly Dunwall City Trials is almost kaizo level. There's also Dishonored 2 and its expansion but due to how Dishonored 1 ended I have zero interest in playing it. Like, Dishonored ends with every loose end wrapped up (except DLC stuff) and ends with noting that nothing else major happened during Emily's reign. It seems like Dishonored 2 retcons that completely by having another big conspiracy to overthrow the empress happen some years later. Yeah, it could be a good game but after this game plus the DLCs I think I will let the story rest. I probably won't ever play the sequel. May play the Thief games because I do know they are similar. Additionally for FP-stealth games I am following development of Gloomwood, a similar kind of game to Dishonored (far more indie though).
My sister ended up doing a run on my computer shortly after I beat it. It ended up being her GOTY as well (just behind Mario Sunshine and Borderlands 1 GOTY Edition).
As for the game's music it is barely there. Music is almost exclusively used for cutscenes and fights.
The games music blended so well with the games ambiance that I barely noticed it was there. It just fit so well. It's possible that on high chaos runs you could get more music but idk. The music I heard the most was chase scene music (Survival). That said, it wasn't bad. Just didn't affect my judgement of the game in any way. The whole thing is on iTunes and 7Digital and I will link it below. The game's atmosphere did not require very engaging music and Daniel Licht did it perfectly. I don't think I will listen to this one outside of the games context because of how closely it works. Rest in peace, Daniel Licht.
And now, without further ado I will be putting this blog on hiatus. I write that but knowing me I will probably make another post soon. Cheers!
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