The Dishonored Series as Environmental and Social Commentary
through lies primarily in the player ’ s approach to lethality . Corvo , Emily , and Billie eventually gain a number of increasingly powerful skills and weapons , and the player has the option to select those that create a lethal outcome or those that do not . The games also allow the player to use stealth mechanics and a critical assessment of each mission environment to avoid most , if not all , combat . 5 The player ’ s nonlethal options to deal with enemies include using a choke hold or sleep dart , and for every major antagonist or mission objective the player confronts , the game provides at least two options , with at least one being nonlethal . The stealth mechanics of the game are challenging , and completing missions at a Low Chaos level proves challenging , requiring careful planning and strategy at every stage . The less patient player may well feel inclined to simply kill everything in his or her path , as the character embodied by the player can be made sufficiently strong via skills and weapons that this clearly becomes the easier option . Yet , narratively , it is arguably the less satisfying play style to adopt , given that the game ’ s lush and detailed surroundings invite the player to approach each mission with caution and care . For example , many mission locamissions , again related to whether they are completed lethally or by finding an alternative means to accomplish the objective .
5 An example of this is the brilliantly designed “ Clockwork Mansion ” mission in Dishonored 2 . The mansion contains a number of levers that when activated shift around walls and rooms like puzzle pieces , leading to a disorienting space to navigate and potential encounters with a large number of enemy guards . On entering the mansion , should the player look toward the ceiling almost immediately after entering , he or she may notice that it is made of glass and can thus be broken with a crossbow bolt . A player that does so can move into the opened space , as it is the crawl space between that wall and the outer wall of the mansion , a space needed to allow the pieces to move when activated . Taking this route to the mission objective , which is to neutralize the mansion ’ s creator Kirin Jindosh by either lethal or nonlethal means , enables the player to bypass nearly all guards save one , who can easily be overpowered .
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