Why did I wait so long to play this masterpiece? (Just hit 100% / 80 achievements in Dishonored 1)
I fucking love this game. I bought it back in 2020, but didn't get around to playing it until late 2025. And boy, I'm glad I did. I just hit the 100% completion (80/80 achievements) and I feel like I've just finished a religious experience. This game is honestly just in a league of its own when it comes to level design, and letting the player actually mess around with the world.
Every single mission in Dunwall is a playground for the mind. The sheer amount of detail Arkane packed into these semi-open-world levels is nuts! I've clocked 185 hours in this world and I'm still finding new ways to approach missions. It's the kind of game where you think "I wonder if I can..." and 99% of the time, the game says "Yes, and it'll look cool as hell."
My first playthrough of this game was actually the most underwhelming. I wasn't a bloodthirsty psycho; I was just trying to get from A to B somehow. If something was in the way, I'd choke them, blink past or get a quick kill, but I never touched the "fun" stuff. I played it like a standard, rigid stealth game, and while it's great at that, I realized I was ignoring 70% of the sandbox. Not using the vast majority of your loadout just because you're afraid of a "Bad Ending" or a High Chaos rating feels like buying a Ferrari and never taking it out of second gear. Why would you baby it? It's meant to be pushed to the limit.
Right after finishing the main story, I dove into the Dunwall City Trials DLC to hunt the achievements. That was pure hell. If you know, you know. Some of these trials are genuinely cursed to get 3 stars on (looking at you, By Any Means and Daredevil). But honestly? It was secretly the best training arc. It forced me to learn the absolute intricacies of the movement and combat mechanics. Getting those achievements essentially turned me into a mini-speedrunner haha.
Then I hit the Daud Story DLCs (The Knife of Dunwall and The Brigmore Witches). These are genuinely some of the best game expansions I've ever played; I actually prefer them over the base game in a lot of ways. Daud's version of Blink and actually having a yapping protagonist makes such a difference. Plus, seeing the world through the eyes of the man who actually kicked off the whole tragedy gives the story so much more weight. The way they recycled assets and concepts is omega smart, making everything feel fresh without dragging it out. I did make the mistake of playing them like a semi-pacifist again on my 1st playthrough because I felt the same concerns I had while playing the main game.
I actually stepped away for a few weeks after that, thinking I'd seen everything. Then those videos popped up in my YouTube feed. You know which ones; StealthGamerBR, clockner, Volound, ekarD, etc. Watching them absolutely slaughter entire levels while making it look like a choreographed dance completely broke my brain. I realized I was playing Corvo like a fragile old man when the mechanics actually let you be a total force of nature if you're creative enough. Hydrogen Bomb vs. Corvo, who'd win? I knew I had to go back and mess around in the sandbox some more, since those videos are too badass to ignore. I started a new run with the sole goal of causing absolute havoc using some of the tricks I'd seen. It was a total blast. Most of you already know you can stick a springrazor to a crossbow bolt while time is frozen, but when I actually pulled it off for the first time and killed a whole group of enemies with it? I was literally doing the pogchamp face at my monitor. This whole "whalepunk" aesthetic combined with that level of creative violence is peak gaming.
Also, can we talk about how "Low Chaos" isn't even necessarily the "moral" way to play? It's actually kind of messed up. Like, sure, you aren't killing anyone, but >!sending the Pendletons to work in their own slave mines or handing Lady Boyle over to a stalker is arguably way darker than a blade through the skull.!< This game's writing is so unapologetically grim and I love it!
I'm sitting here at 80/80 achievements feeling like I've peaked, but I've got Dishonored 2 and Prey (2017) all installed and ready to go. If they're even half as good as this first journey, I'm not going to be seeing sunlight for a long while. I also have to mention the soundtrack. Honor for All (the credits theme) still gives me genuine goosebumps every single time. It fits the mood so beautifully. RIP Daniel Licht, the man was a genius and his music gave this world its soul.
Shall we gather for whiskey and cigars tonight?