// PC GAMER — GAMING
Dishonored review (2012)
A gorgeous, complex and slick assassination sim, with fascinating systems to play with and huge open levels to explore.
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Special commentary on this classic PC Gamer review provided by:
I learned about immersive sims by reading PC Gamer's coverage of Thief and Deus Ex. At the time, they felt like a natural extension of where videogames were going. Highly simulated 3D worlds with physics interactions out the wazoo, of course you'd use those for games where players have the freedom to approach problems in multiple ways. Videogame sandboxes as canvases we painted our own personality on? Obviously they were the future.
Until they weren't. In the late 2000s, immersive sims had been thin on the ground. So when Deus Ex: Human Revolution hit in 2011, it wasn't just seen as a revival of the Deus Ex series, but a chance for immersive sims to return in general. Dishonored following a year later was further proof of this, and that's the context in which Tom Francis wrote his review.
We know now that didn't happen. The second summer of the immersive sim was as short-lived as the first. But while the genre may have retreated underground, finding a new home as a lower-budget indie niche, Tom's praise for Dishonored's freeform infiltration and painterly art remains spot-on. For further homework, see Chris Thursten's Three Extreme Approaches video, in which he demonstrates just how differently Dishonored can be played.
From the archives: The review below appears as originally written, with only minor changes in formatting and presentation. By Tom Francis
I think I can jump onto another light fitting from here. I’m wrong. I slip, fall, and land inches behind a gold-masked Overseer looking out of the fifth-story window. I only have a split second headstart in getting over our mutual surprise at the situation, and I use it to stab him in the neck.
A second after his body hits the ground, I hear carpet-softened footsteps coming down the hall. Panic. After mentally rejecting three even crazier ideas, I hoist the Overseer’s body over my shoulder and jump out of the window.
Release date October 9, 2012Expect to pay £30 (in 2012)Developer Arkane StudiosPublisher Bethesda SoftworksRecommended 3GHz dual core CPU or better, 4GB RAM, GeForce GTX 460 / Radeon HD 5850Steam Deck VerifiedLink Steam