many lists across the internet come year’s end.
With so much hype leading up to this year’s release, it’s inevitable that many new fans will be discovering the franchise in 2016, so let’s take a look back at the groundwork the original Dishonored laid and towards the future of the sequel to help prepare you for the epic gaming experience in store for you later this year.
Here's 16 Things You Need To Know About Dishonored.
16. What is Dishonored?
With high scores across the internet from both critics and players alike, Dishonored took a step away from competitors such as the most recent Thief game to sit atop the world of first-person action-stealth games.
Dishonored takes place in the city of Dunwall, the capital city of the Imperial government. The city has been ravaged by the rat plague, a circumstance which has left Empress Jessamine’s position of power vulnerable. During the game’s opening sequence, the Empress is assassinated and her daughter, Emily, is taken captive by a then unknown group of assassins.
The player takes on the role of Corvo Attano, the royal protector, and the man who is framed for Jessamine’s death. Corvo is granted powerful abilities by a being known as The Outsider in order to assist in rescuing Emily and bringing those responsible for Jessamine’s death to justice.
Throughout Dishonored, players are given alternative choices in how to complete their goals, using either stealth to quietly complete tasks undetected, or by the using a large variety of gadgets and powers at their control in order to destroy those who have committed this great evil.
15. How choice does (and doesn’t) matter in Dishonored
As players work to take out those responsible for the assassination of the Empress and kidnapping of her daughter, they are given the freedom to go about each mission as they please. Players can choose to use stealthy rogue tactics and sneak past enemies, non-lethally incapacitating those who can not be circumvented, or they can choose to take out enemies with various gadgets such as shock traps or the tried and true method of sneaking up behind a target and putting a knife in their back.
Besides choice in tactics, each mission in Dishonored takes place in a large, open map, and provides players with a multitude of ways in which to get behind enemy lines to reach their objective. Whether you choose to sneak in through the sewer system or descend from the rooftops, the choice is yours, and you have plenty of options on how to approach each mission.
As players complete missions, other characters in the world will react to you differently depending on the choices you make. If you’re going through slaughtering every enemy that gets in your way, some characters who have been friendly and loyal to you will begin to act cold, and possibly even turn on you. Choosing a pacifist playthrough will influence how characters will react to you as well, as some of your collaborators just want everyone dead.
There are different endings depending on your play style throughout the game, but it mostly influences the narrative of the ending and what your “legacy” is. Fear not, regardless of how you approach Dishonored, the end goal is only determined by whether or not you succeed, not how you did so, or what others think of those actions.
14. The World Of Dishonored
The first Dishonored game takes place in the city of Dunwall, capital of the large island of Gristol. Dunwall was once a hub for whaling and fishing, but technological advances thanks to the power of whale oil processing has seen the city take part in a large technological revolution. Whale oil powers many of the machines and inventions throughout Dunwall, providing an almost steampunk feel to the world -- with whale oil substituting for steam power, of course.
During the events of Dishonored, the city has been overrun with the rat plague, a terrible disease which seems to originate from the slums of Dunwall. The rat plague plays a key role in the game’s events.
For the sequel, Dishonored 2, the action is moving primarily to the city of Karnaca, the capital city of the southern most island in the Empire. Karnaca hasn’t suffered the effects of the rat plague, and thus has benefitted from the misfortune of other such cities. A favored tourist destination for the rich and powerful, Karnaca has seen an influx of wealth as trade companies move away from undesirable locales such as the plague-ridden Dunwall.
13. Who is Corvo Attano?
Corvo Attano is the silent protagonist of the original Dishonored game, and one of two characters can choose to play as in the sequel Dishonored 2.
Corvo was born to a lower class family, but quickly rose through the military ranks thanks to his skill. Corvo was eventually made royal protector to Empress Jessamine Kaldwin, a position which raised his social standing, although he still remained reserved, and a mystery to the social butterflies of Dunwall.
Throughout Dishonored, it is made clear that Corvo and Jessamine were in a relationship which they kept private, but this, of course, did not prevent others from noticing. Several characters throughout the game bring up the relationship to Corvo, proving that secrets are hard to keep.
It is also implied during the course of the original game that Corvo may be the father to the captured princess Emily Kaldwin, a fact that has since been verified in the trailers and gameplay we’ve seen so far for Dishonored 2.
12. Who is Emily Kaldwin?
Emily Kaldwin is the daughter of Empress Jessamine Kaldwin and the rightful heir to the throne of the Isles. As we mentioned, it is strongly hinted throughout Dishonored that she could be the daughter of Corvo Attano, which has since been confirmed in the promos for Dishonored 2.
In the original game, young Emily is present (along with Corvo) during the assassination of her mother. She is then kidnapped by the assassins, leading Corvo on a mission to rescue her and return her to her rightful place on the throne of the Empire.
In the Dishonored 2, Emily has grown up, now in her mid-twenties, and is the Empress. Along with Corvo, she will be the second of two characters players can choose to play. We have seen examples of Emily’s own powers granted from The Outsider, and her abilities will be fairly unique from those of Corvo.
11. Who is The Outsider?
A thousand years before the events of Dishonored, the area which became the city of Dunwall was inhabited by an ancient civilization -- which disappeared for reasons unknown. That ancient civilization worshiped a being known as the Outsider. The inscribed whale bone relics and artifacts players collect while playing Dishonored are remnants of that civilization.
Worship of the Outsider is banned in the modern Dunwall, but the supernatural being still makes his presence felt by marking those he deems worthy, thereby granting them magical powers and abilities beyond that of mere men.
The Outsider appears to be neither good nor evil, and simply chooses those he marks because he finds them interesting. The Outsider appears to be the source of all magic in the Dishonored universe, and according to his remarks in The Knife of Dunwall DLC, he has only bestowed his mark upon eight people in the world, some of which players encounter during the game.
It is known that the Outsider was born a mortal man four-thousand years before Dishonored. At the age of 15, the orphaned boy was unwillingly subjected to an occult ritual, which led to his becoming one with The Void -- a magical alternate dimension of small floating islands which “hungers for a representational, godlike entity”.
10. Notable Voice Actors In Dishonored
Both Dishonored and Dishonored 2 decided not to skimp when it came to voice acting talent, and both games feature several names you’ll recognize, but may not have realize lent their voice to the characters and world of Dishonored.
The original game featured talents such as Susan Sarandon as the infamous Granny Rags, a character any Dishonored player will vividly. Game of Thrones star Lena Headey also made an appearance as Callista Curnow, and Michael Madsen voiced the assassin Daud, whom players filled the shoes of in both story DLCs.
Dishonored 2 is also busting out some big names for the voice talent of their game, with Gotham, Robin Lord Taylor, will be replacing Billy Lush as the voice of the Outsider in Dishonored 2.
9. Other Games From Dishonored Developers
Dishonored wasn’t the first game from developer Arkane Studios, although the franchise has definitely become the company’s biggest. Prior to Bethesda parent company Zenimax’s 2010 purchase of the studio, Arkane produced two RPGs, 2002’s Arx Fatalis, and 2006’s Dark Messiah of Might and Magic.
Aside from their own games, Arkane Studios also provided development for Call of Duty: World at War and BioShock 2.
Deus Ex developer Harry Smith served as co-creative director for Dishonored, and Viktor Antonov, the man responsible for the design of City 17 in Half-Life 2, was in charge of visual design for the game.
While many players compare the first-person action and use of weapons, gadgets, and magical powers to the BioShock series, Arkane developers typically site Deus Ex as one of their major influences when creating Dishonored. The original Thief game also served as an early inspiration for the stealth in Dishonored, but developers eventually took a step back from that game’s systems in favor of the line-of-sight stealth mechanics that made the final cut.
8. Critical And Commercial Response For Dishonored
Although the excitement level for Dishonored was high prior to release, the game exceeded all expectations when it finally hit shelves on October 9, 2012.
In the week leading up to release, Dishonored held the third spot on Steam’s pre-sale list. During the game’s first week of release, it snagged the number 4 spot in North America, and the number 2 spot in the UK. By the time Steam’s Thanksgiving holiday sale rolled around in November, Dishonored had climbed to the top of the charts during the three day sales event.
Dishonored ended 2012 either on -- or on top of -- virtually everyone’s Top 10 lists for the year. The game was nominated for dozens of awards, taking home Best Action Adventure Game at the Spike Video Game Awards, and PlayStation Official Magazine gave it their top honors for Game of the Year.
To this day, Dishonored maintains a high 89 overall score for the PS3 over on Metacritic, an 88 for Xbox 360, and a 91 for the PC version (#PCMasterrace).
7. DLCs Showed Promise For The Future Of Dishonored
With critics and players alike falling in love with Dishonored following its release in 2012, there was very little negative being said about Arkane’s arrival to the big leagues of mainstream video games. That didn’t stop them from taking some pretty substantial steps forward during the releases of their two major story-content DLCs, The Knife of Dunwall, and The Brigmore Witches.
The most notable lesson learned from the development and release of the base game was found in the tweaks and improvements made to many of the abilities in the DLCs. Daud, Empress Jessamine’s assassin, and the character players played as in the two DLCs, had his own set of powers gifted by the Outsider. Some were similar to those of Corvo Attano’s, and some were unique to Daud. Abilities such as Dark Vision and Blink, which had been the primary tools of Corvo, were improved and refined in the DLCs, showing just how forward-thinking Arkane was with the feel and gameplay of their world.
Also seeing an improvement was the overall storytelling. The pacing and presentation of the story was refined in the DLCs, and having Daud actually be voiced helped set the tone of events surrounding the game, something the silent protagonist Corvo fell short of in the base game.
Those lessons and improvements made in the DLCs are truly shining through in Dishonored 2 from what we’ve seen so far. Both Emily and Corvo will be fully voiced, each with their own abilities -- which have looked fantastic in the trailers and gameplay we’ve seen thus far.