Dishonored
Review

Dishonored (2012) is an adventure game series set in the fictional, plague-ridden industrial city of Dunwall. You play Corvo Attano, bodyguard to the Empress of the Isles. But you are framed for her murder and forced to become an assassin.

Played in the first-person perspective, you take on a series of missions that can be completed in various ways: stealth, combat, or using powers to circumvent obstacles. You must explore each level well to discover the full range of options available. While many games allude to choice, Dishonored is unusual because you can complete all missions in a non-lethal manner. An example of a mission attempted in different ways can be seen in this Outside Xbox video.

Between missions, you can explore a central city area to find allies and new objectives. Here you find role-playing elements. You can upgrade powers and approach progression in different ways. The powers include "Dark Vision" to see through walls, "Blink" to teleport, "Possession" to take over another, "Devouring Swarm" to attack with rats, "Bend Time" to slow or stop time, "Wind Blast" to summon a gust of wind and "Shadow Kill" that turns dead enemies to ash. Each of these can be used in strategic ways and as they are acquired open up new routes to complete missions.

Your violent or non-violent actions are tracked by a "chaos" system that then changes the game world and narrative. You can win support from sympathetic characters in the game if you have not done a lot of killing. Or if you have chosen violent, you can complete missions more quickly and gain more resources.

• Dishonored (2012) on PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
• Dishonored 2 (2016) on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
• Dishonored: Death of the Outsider (2017) on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Dishonored 3 years ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 2 weeks ago.