Anything published under the auspices of Bethesda, producers of both The Elder Scrolls and Fallout series, demands attention.  For Arkane Studios’ Dishonored this is both a blessing and a curse.  On the one hand, the Bethesda label has seldom been more prominent, and many a player will be drawn in hoping to discover an epic of Skyrim’s proportions.  On the other, however, this same media storm has ensured that every reviewer capable of working a controller is hungry to cut it down to size.  Dishonored is, after all, the biggest original release this year – its competition in the Christmas run-up are all established series with nothing to prove.

Dishonored takes as its setting the plague-stricken, Steampunk-inspired city of Dunwall, and it’s a remarkably colourful plague-stricken city at that.  This certainly isn’t cause for complaint; the blue wash-out filter has become a crutch leaned upon by developers to convey depression and decay, and it’s exciting to see a world rendered austere by virtue of its architecture and inhabitants rather than its colour palette.  While criticism has been directed at the resolution of Dishonored’s textures, this is likely a product of the watercolour style’s tendency to blur otherwise crisp lines.  Overall, the aesthetic is absurdly pleasing, and one particular excursion to an aristocratic reception places you in truly breath-taking surroundings.

The opening minutes see you hit the ground running as Corvo Attano, Lord Protector to the Empress of Dunwall.  The subsequent minutes see you languishing in a cell as Corvo Attano, Lord Protector to the late Empress of Dunwall.  The brevity of the introduction is perhaps necessary – spending half the game as an upstanding member of the community might have undermined the premise – but consequently there’s a distinct lack of emotional connection as your (supposedly) long-standing charges start kicking the bucket.  Thankfully, the game quickly settles into a pace more amenable to immersion in a richly detailed world.  Voices such as that of Chloë Grace Moretz ensure much of the acting is enjoyable, though the dominance of American accents in the equivalent of 19th century London seems a curious oversight.  I’m pretty sure they’ve spelt “dishonoured” wrong, too.

Simmering nationalism aside, Dishonored deserves lavish praise for its gameplay.  Creating a sensation of physical presence in first person is a considerable challenge to which Arkane have risen boldly.  That one never feels hamstrung by the slower movement characteristic of stealth-based action is an achievement in itself, too. The ability to teleport short distances works wonders here, adding three-dimensional dynamism to the usual shadow-skulking, and frequently transforming otherwise lethal experiences into hilarious flights from danger.

Barring the sometimes finicky detection of ledges and my own cultural intolerance, then, it’s difficult to fault Dishonored.  It has already received unreserved praise from all corners of the press, but I shall add my own voice to the clamour in heartily recommending a play-through. Unless you’re fond of whales, of course.