Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 31 minutes ago
The first Dishonored game is the kind of game that comes as close to perfect as a game can. It has fundamentally zero flaws in the ideation and execution of its intended form. It is sharp. It is concise. It is mechanically satisfying. It is narratively engaging. The art direction is unique in the sort of way that all but ensures its visuals will age as gracefully as any fine wine. And most importantly, for a story in this interactive medium, it gives genuine weight and presence to the consequences of the actions you perform during your time in the story — via the chaos system, a mechanic that operates in the background and assigns you a different ending based on your choices throughout.
It's the kind of game that leaves absolutely nothing unnecessary in its final cut. That leaves no darlings unslain. That still finds new ways to surprise even on an eighth, ninth, or tenth playthrough. And what matters most to me about Dishonored is that no matter what you do, no matter the flavor of your ending, the game insists on wrapping itself up neat and tidy — with a bow and all — thanks to a short spoken montage by the game's in-universe narrator dictating what the next ten, twenty, or one hundred years look like as the nation of Dunwall and the world surrounding it is influenced and changed by your actions. It is a story that fundamentally leaves no mysteries behind. A game that intrinsically, by function of its existence, does not need a sequel. A game that cannot be followed.
Of course, I did just call it the first Dishonored game. Let's talk about that...
The first Dishonored game is the kind of game that comes as close to perfect as a game can. It has fundamentally zero flaws in the ideation and execution of its intended form. It is sharp. It is concise. It is mechanically satisfying. It is narratively engaging. The art direction is unique in the sort of way that all but ensures its visuals will age as gracefully as any fine wine. And most importantly, for a story in this interactive medium, it gives genuine weight and presence to the consequences of the actions you perform during your time in the story — via the chaos system, a mechanic that operates in the background and assigns you a different ending based on your choices throughout.
It's the kind of game that leaves absolutely nothing unnecessary in its final cut. That leaves no darlings unslain. That still finds new ways to surprise even on an eighth, ninth, or tenth playthrough. And what matters most to me about Dishonored is that no matter what you do, no matter the flavor of your ending, the game insists on wrapping itself up neat and tidy — with a bow and all — thanks to a short spoken montage by the game's in-universe narrator dictating what the next ten, twenty, or one hundred years look like as the nation of Dunwall and the world surrounding it is influenced and changed by your actions. It is a story that fundamentally leaves no mysteries behind. A game that intrinsically, by function of its existence, does not need a sequel. A game that cannot be followed.
Of course, I did just call it the first Dishonored game. Let's talk about that...
