Yes, I know this has become the Dishonored blog. I’ve pretty much played myself out on it though, so this should be the last post I make to get it out of my system.
Sometimes in games, it’s not always the big things like set pieces, or the overarching plot, that “make” the game. Sometimes it’s the little touches that give it a boost and make it something far more interesting and special. And yes, there will be spoilers.
One thing I’ve already mentioned is the callback to Thief in the Assassin’s base. That really made me happy, and even on the third playthrough I still just let that section play out so I could enjoy it.
In another section you have to traverse a large bridge from one end to the other to reach your target. This is the kind of bridge that has become a town area unto itself, lined with houses, warehouses and the like. Samuel wants to meet you at the other end of the bridge (so you don’t have to bring your target all the way back across) but will be spotted because there are huge floodlights around the area. If you want him to meet you, you need to take out those lights. Once you do knock them out, if you’re in the right position, you’ll actually notice Samuel start his journey, and can watch him until he docks where he’s going to meet you. It’s a small thing, really, and could easily have been done ‘off camera’ – but instead they chose to show this, even though you might never notice!
There’s one other “little thing” I want to mention. If you choose not to kill the High Overseer, and instead brand him with the “heretic”s mark’, you’ll actually find him, as a weeper, in one of the later areas. Again, something you might not notice, and a rather nice touch which highlights that “non-lethal” is not always a “good” choice.
In fact, while I’m on that topic, I do want to talk about the “non-lethal” choices. In almost every case, the end result of not killing your target can lead to something that might be seen as much worse than death. Let’s go through two of them.
The Pendleton brothers: if you decide to let Slackjaw take care of them, instead of killing them, they will end up working in a salt mine. With their heads shaved. And tongues cut out. For the rest of their (now presumably) short lives.
Lady Boyle: If you choose to deliver her to her “paramour” instead of killing her, the creepy bastard will keep her with him for the rest of her life, sure that she’ll one day love him.
I must admit, the Boyle one really creeped me out once I realised how it was going to end up. When her paramour approaches you, it really seems like one of those “forbidden love” type things, where perhaps she hasn’t been “allowed” to be with him. However, once you deliver her to him, the tone very quickly changes to “obsessed stalker”, and you realise that perhaps she might have preferred death …
All of these things, while somewhat small in the grand scheme of things, add up to making the game world richer, and more interesting.