Playing with a first-person perspective, your job is to scurry around committing murder as per your assassination missions. The way you kill your target is based on a series of choices you are forced to make. Usually, it comes down to blazing in and fighting your way to success, or taking a stealthier route.
The method by which you make your kill is not laid out in a simple manner; you may explore different levels to discover new ways of killing your target. Similar older games have had a habit of placing a path ahead of you that acts as the obvious choice, but Dishonored gives you numerous choices where one is no easier than the other.
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Games Similar To Dishonored
If you are a hardcore gamer, then Dishonored will last as long as a teenage boy in bed with a beautiful woman (brief but enjoyable). If you are yearning for something similar to Dishonored and you don’t fancy its sequel, then try a few of these games listed below.
Deus EX
Make decisions that change the plot, converse with others, and conduct missions where you get to choose how you play. Many people rightfully compare Deus Ex: Human Revolution with Dishonored, but instead of being plopped into missions, Deus Ex allows you to wander around and try side missions before you take on the main quests that progress the plot.
The RPG elements are far deeper with Deus Ex, there is more dialog to the plot, and there are plenty of branching conversation options. The inclusion of more NPC involvement means there are more options to take when completing missions. Just like Dishonored, Dues Ex gives you multiple paths to a solution.
Hitman Blood Money
Just like Dishonored, you are plonked into an environment and asked to complete a mission. You get to choose from a series of killing tools, and you may even pick up further tools as you progress. Hitman Blood Money takes rewarding you for taking a stealthier route further by altering the way that later levels are played depending upon how you play the game. For example, if you go on a killing spree during the earlier levels, then the guards in later levels are more alert to your tippy toeing around the compound.
Blood Money is one of the better Hitman games because it offers true variety and a genuine level of stealth where you will not be spotted by oddly aware NPC enemies. It was also one of the first Hitman games to start getting the controls right. Even though the controls were still dull when compared to the Thief games, the controls were comfortable enough to allow smooth and precise movements that do not accidentally set off the guards or run you into things.
Horizon Zero Dawn
The first similarity with Dishonored you may notice is the post-apocalyptic world. It is also an RPG game that allows you free movement to skip around non-linear levels. You can attack different areas on your enemy to create different results. For example, shoot at the robot’s leg components to lower its ability to lunge at you. Horizon Zero Dawn is a gorgeous game that combines Monster Hunter-style hunter-gatherer gameplay with a role-playing progression.
A huge part of the game involves using stealth to get through obstacles and is almost required to get through large mobs of killer robots. Every battle feels like a puzzle; If you charge in guns up like a scene from terminator, expect no mercy because one mistake in battle will lead to instant death. One cool feature is the robots have a wide variety of sounds and behavior patterns. Getting them upset will change their battle style for the worst.
Splinter Cell
Complete missions in your army gear while being armed to the teeth. Splinter Cell has a bigger focus on killing, and you are kitted out to be a murder machine. The stealth element gives you a more of an edge rather than a new way to complete the game.
Hovering in shadows will allow you to navigate the map in a way that requires fewer shots to be fired. Yet, the best way to use stealth is to give you a fighting advantage. Use the shadows to ensure you get the first shot off and remain hidden while other guards rush to the scene.
Fallout
The Fallout games give you a relatively open world in which you may shoot and loot your way to victory. Stealth is an option, but it is a very weak option. You are often better off blasting your way to glory than you are trying to hide around corners.
Fallout doesn’t have a lot in common with Dishonored. It has little in common with Dishonored’s environments, level design or overall play style. Yet, people who have played Dishonored sometimes feel as if the game’s fighting mechanic and movement mechanic was lifted from the third-person over-the-shoulder Fallout game, which is hardly surprising since the Fallout Games and Dishonored have the same developers.
Thief
The Thief games set the bar for stealth gameplay to extreme height that are still near the peak even by today’s standards. Choose between multiple paths and multiple killing styles to complete your missions. Thief did something that it took the Hitman series several tries to realize, Thief made killing and stealth difficult without making the process difficult.
In other words, Thief gave you the tools and means with which to complete your mission, and it didn’t damage the experience with clunky controls or underpowered weapons. Yet, it also made the levels and the game play very difficult. It meant you had to hone your stealth and killing skills if you wanted to survive the levels, and that is something that the Hitman games didn’t realize until several sequels into the franchise.
Other Games Like Dishonored
BioShock – Many people describe Dishonored as Thief mixed with BioShock
Far Cry – The series has a part-stealth/part-combat feel that is similar to Dishonored
Sleeping Dogs – Run around a city starting fights with more of a hand-to-hand motif
Elder Scrolls Skyrim – The over-the-shoulder perspective and fight mechanics are similar to Dishonored
Watch Dogs – An open world action-adventure third-person shooter that offers numerous options for completing your objectives
