3. Dark, Moody and Brutal, Like A Good Ale
Dishonored is every bit as moody as I am when my caffeine kick is wearing off, I have played many games with a feeling of hopelessness which is personified in the art direction and feel of the game but Dishonored feels different. In Bioshock for example you truly feel alone and lost amongst the insane, drugged up inhabitants of Rapture, but I really cant look around at this forgotten submarine city and really see it as it once was - a living city full of the best and brightest of the world at the time. With Dunwall, the city Dishonored is set in, you really get the sense that it is a living breathing city where you move among the struggling, plague ridden citizens as well as the corrupt, insane fat cats sat on the shoulders of the less fortunate, and not everyone wants to slice you open. This hopeless reality set upon the beautifully cold backdrop of this industrial city, the gothic feel of this game is as apparent as the smoggy streets it throws you in, and depending on how you play, ultimately determines how dark this city becomes...