Dishonored reviews started skulking in last night at midnight, like a thief in the shadows, stalking his unaware prey. Sorry about that first sentence. Reading so many Dishonored reviews is clearly having an influence on me. Which isn’t exactly surprising given how glowing the reviews have been thus far. With the embargo lifted, we can finally find out what this exciting new IP has to offer.
The first one I read was IGN’s 9.2 review, which read:
Each mission is built as an elaborate network of choices for players to explore, and the same can be said for Corvo himself. Each player’s selection of powers, perks and other upgrades will inform how they see and interact with this world, and no two play-throughs will be exactly the same.
Receiving a score of 9 or higher at IGN isn’t exactly impossible to do these days, but from the text, the score sounds justified.
Patrick Klepek of Giant Bomb also enjoyed the game, likening it to Deus Ex, but with better combat and giving it 4 out of 5 stars. Regarding the skills you obtain in the game, he said:
Other powers allow you to take control of people and animals, another one stops time and can eventually be used to have someone kill themselves with their own bullet. How? Pause time when the shot is fired, possess them, and place them in front of where you just were. Combined with a proper combat system, Dishonored encourages rampant experimentation.
Ben Kuchera of Penny Arcade was taken with the game’s choices, stating:
It’s fun to share your solutions to the game’s puzzles with your friends and other players. “You can do that?” I found myself saying to people sharing their stories about a clever use of weapons or abilities, before scrambling back to the game to try it myself.
When we watched the Dishonored trailer, we made a point to joke about all the obvious influences the game clearly has. Mitch and I even Shunned the game in a recent feature. But it appears that Dishonored managed to live up to the high expectations set by both the developers and the marketing team. I was wary of the game for many reasons, but it seems my worries were unfounded. I know there has been some concern about game length, but I don’t think that is an issue as it sounds like someone did a speed-run. I plan on purchasing (Or receiving on Christmas) Dishonored in the future. Do the Dishonored reviews change your mind or confirm what you already suspected? Hit the comments!