Note: This review covers the base game only. The DLC is recommended in order to further extend the play time of the title, but will not be covered in this review.

Some games force the player to be careful. Some other games force players to make difficult moral choices. Games that do both can be very interesting if done well. Dishonored effectively combines these two ideas, doing so very well indeed.

A bit of background first. Starting in 1998, the Thief series was born. Focusing heavily on both stealth gameplay and a diverse and immersive world, it pioneered most modern games where stealth is a major gameplay element. The Dishonored series was made by many of the same parties who made Thief, and it continues the same style of play, just with more modern controls and a much higher degree of polish than what could be achieved in the late 90s.

The story places you in the role of Corvo Attano, Lord Protector to the Empress of Dunwall. After failing to prevent the assassination of his Empress, Corvo is framed for her murder. After being given assistance to escape a death sentence by a group calling itself the "Loyalists", Corvo is given a chance to take down the conspirators who slew his Empress.

The game is set around a series of missions. In these missions, Corvo must make use of a sprawling world with various buildings, passageways, and other set pieces in order to achieve his goals. In his way are various guards, security systems, and other impediments to complicate things. Using stealth and various abilities, Corvo must usually either kill a certain target or find some other means of dealing with them. In between missions is a hub area where he can rest, restock supplies, upgrade equipment, and then choose his next mission when ready.

Dishonored has two unique things that set it apart from the Thief franchise, which it is a spiritual successor to. Corvo gains magical powers from a being called The Outsider. These powers can provide supernatural aid to help Corvo with his mission. The Blink power, for example, allows for traveling short distances instantly. The other system is the Chaos system. The more Corvo kills people and otherwise causes a disturbance, the more one will attain a state of High Chaos. Conversely, a merciful Corvo who stays quiet, at most renders foes unconscious, and tries to avoid being detected will result in a state of Low Chaos. The game world will react to Corvo in both the short and long term and adapt to his Chaos level, and certain story events will differ as a result.

It's worth noting that while the game provides numerous methods of dealing lethal damage, you can also choose to only use sleep darts (which are hard to restock), sleeper holds (which take several seconds), or simply avoiding contact with enemies under any circumstance. This does not mean the game discourages stealth and non-lethal play, but it is more difficult to sustain. That said, given that lethal and non-lethal play can make the game harder or easier in the long term, respectively, the player is encouraged to commit to one or the other early on.

Graphically, this game is set in a dreary world that greatly resembles 19th-century Victorian London as interpreted through a Steampunk setting. Combined with an in-universe plague that leaves lots of dead bodies and decay, the overall mood is very bleak. As mentioned, the game world will react to your Chaos level, and the bleakness will be reflected in more dead bodies, decaying infrastructure, and other set pieces to hammer home the grim mood. Character models and animation are generally excellent.

Sounds and music tend toward the ambient. Given this is intended as a stealth game, it only helps the bleak tone of the world. The voice acting is competent for the most part. The guards have some canned dialogue that can get repetitive.

Keyboard and mouse control or any Steam-supported controller are equally supported. Keys can be remapped, though the default control scheme is more than acceptable. There are adequate in-game tutorials as well.

Dishonored is a fairly stable game. It runs natively on Microsoft Windows and will run on Linux via Steam Proton. This title is Verified for the Steam Deck. There are some fan patches for this title to fix some minor bugs, but since this title works mostly fine without them, I'd only recommend such fixes if they fix any annoyances you may have.

Morally, this is a game with a lot of mature subject matter.

Violence can be rather graphic. Players can maim and murder enemies with blades, projectiles, and supernatural abilities. Even if the player takes pains to avoid any violence, there are displays of gore, like watching a horde of carnivorous rats strip a corpse to their bloody bones and entrails. The player can also choose to kill anyone, innocents included.

Language can be very harsh. Profanities like f**k, s**t, and b**t**d can be heard. There are also several crude sexual comments and references to rape and bestiality. There is a brothel with all the sexual connotations that implies, complete with women in revealing outfits. There are also several gay/bisexual/lesbian characters.

The occult and supernatural have a pronounced presence. The player obtains supernatural powers that can be used for good or evil. The in-game religion is roughly similar to Christianity, complete with a Seven Deadly Sins equivalent. Curiously, there is no concept of God in this faith. The being known as The Outsider is considered evil by the in-game religion (though in reality, it is more of a neutral entity). The Outsider has granted you and various other characters supernatural abilities, though it tends to approve of their use for good or at least non-malicious applications. Usable items called bonecharms can provide gameplay benefits, and their use as religious artifacts is similar to many pagan traditions in real life. One item usable for giving the player hints is a human heart kept alive with both technology and magic. Due to the heavy implication it contains a human soul, it can be seen as necromantic in nature.

Morally, Dishonored hinges many things on how bloodthirsty or peaceful Corvo is. That said, many of the more "non-lethal" methods of dealing with certain people can be incredibly sadistic, such as condemning some corrupt nobles to a life of brutal slavery. It is an inarguable fact Corvo is rebelling against an illegal and corrupt government that seized power after a rightful ruler was murdered. Regardless, getting the High Chaos endings can lead to something even worse taking its place. Finally, there are depictions of both smoking and drinking.

Overall, Dishonored is a pretty dark but entertaining stealth game. Technically, it's fairly solid. Morally, it has content not fit for anyone who is not a mature adult at the very least. If you want a decent stealth game and can handle the mature themes, then Dishonored comes with my high recommendation.