So. 128 hours in Steam, but I assure you, it's more.
Let's just say I had this game in my younger years through... other means.. than Steam. So I've already had this game before, but I purchased it through Steam to support the developers. The game holds a very special place in my heart and in my childhood so much, that I decided to tattoo the Mark of the Outsider on my left hand irl. Every friend of mine knows I have this tattoo and I cherish and treasure it for what it means.
When I purchased this game not only I played it again, but I perfected it, even 5 minutes prior to writing this review I finally got the last achievement.

The game is a story of how you, playing as Corvo Attano, a bodyguard of the Empress of the Isles fail to protect her dear Empress and her daughter Emily. Emily gets kidnapped and the Empress dies seemingly from people wielding some sort of black magic. You get framed for it and locked in a prison, while the political landscape changes that the untrustworthy Spymaster becomes Lord Regent, promising he will restore the Empire by finding Emily. All while the Isles are under quarantine from a deathly plague that turns humans to "weepers" which is Dishonored's way of saying zombie-like creatures.

You can choose to be aggressive and kill everyone in your path from escaping the prison you're in, to rescuing Emily, to killing the Lord Regent, or you can go through a stealthier approach, where instead of killing, you find non-lethal means to neutralize the people around you. Spoiler alert - the good ending(s) are when you are stealthy. Well, no need to be stealthy, really, but being on low chaos, which means killing as few as possible (weepers, albeit not entirely humans anymore, are still counted as kills). If you do choose the bloodier approach, the game, both storyline and gameplay-wise will be darker and harder.

I highly recommend it to get it with the DLCs too. The first DLC, the Dunwall City Trials, are challenges, but the other 2 DLCs, The Knife of Dunwall and The Brigmore Witches are important in the story if you wish to have Dishonored 2, as you will understand better the storyline for the next game, as well as characters like Billie Lurk and Delilah. As for the Void Walker Arsenal - it's expanding the pool of bone charms you find along the way, so the Definitive Edition is the one I cannot recommend enough.

As for current year, 2024, the game might look and feel janky at times. It's normal, the game is 12 years old by now, so if you overlook the a bit dated graphics and some bugs that occasionally occur, this is quite literally one of the best storytelling games of all time.

So. 128 hours in Steam, but I assure you, it's more. Let's just say I had this game in my younger years through... other means.. than Steam. So I've already had this game before, but I purchased it through Steam to support the developers. The game holds a very special place in my heart and in my childhood so much, that I decided to tattoo the Mark of the Outsider on my left hand irl. Every friend of mine knows I have this tattoo and I cherish and treasure it for what it means. When I purchased this game not only I played it again, but I perfected it, even 5 minutes prior to writing this review I finally got the last achievement. The game is a story of how you, playing as Corvo Attano, a bodyguard of the Empress of the Isles fail to protect her dear Empress and her daughter Emily. Emily gets kidnapped and the Empress dies seemingly from people wielding some sort of black magic. You get framed for it and locked in a prison, while the political landscape changes that the untrustworthy Spymaster becomes Lord Regent, promising he will restore the Empire by finding Emily. All while the Isles are under quarantine from a deathly plague that turns humans to "weepers" which is Dishonored's way of saying zombie-like creatures. You can choose to be aggressive and kill everyone in your path from escaping the prison you're in, to rescuing Emily, to killing the Lord Regent, or you can go through a stealthier approach, where instead of killing, you find non-lethal means to neutralize the people around you. Spoiler alert - the good ending(s) are when you are stealthy. Well, no need to be stealthy, really, but being on low chaos, which means killing as few as possible (weepers, albeit not entirely humans anymore, are still counted as kills). If you do choose the bloodier approach, the game, both storyline and gameplay-wise will be darker and harder. I highly recommend it to get it with the DLCs too. The first DLC, the Dunwall City Trials, are challenges, but the other 2 DLCs, The Knife of Dunwall and The Brigmore Witches are important in the story if you wish to have Dishonored 2, as you will understand better the storyline for the next game, as well as characters like Billie Lurk and Delilah. As for the Void Walker Arsenal - it's expanding the pool of bone charms you find along the way, so the Definitive Edition is the one I cannot recommend enough. As for current year, 2024, the game might look and feel janky at times. It's normal, the game is 12 years old by now, so if you overlook the a bit dated graphics and some bugs that occasionally occur, this is quite literally one of the best storytelling games of all time.