bddevil
Educated
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2016
- Messages
- 71
What you're saying is true for most modern games though. A lot of newer Hitman games shove the different ways to approach things in your face. Same with Deus Ex. I get what you mean, exactly.They can be demigods all they like, on the Easy difficulty level or while crushing ants on their home porch. I have no qualms about eventually becoming super powerful in games, but it has to feel deserved. You need to get your ass kicked first, so that returning the favor feels satisfying. What the hell do I care about "a lot of players" anyway? It's those people that are to blame for the lack of nice things in the first place.Might be difficult for you to understand, but video games are seen as power fantasies by a lot of players. They enjoy being demigods.
I'd say that, in the end, the biggest culprit here isn't even your power level but the mission design. The level layouts are no doubt very nice, but they're not used nearly as well as they'd deserve. I replayed the last mission because I felt kind of bad for rewiring all the security systems the first time around, and it literally took me less than five minutes excluding the boat ride and a couple of NPC monologues. The rest of the game really is about the same. I think this is what separates Dishonored from, say, Thief (another stealth game) and Hitman (another assassin game), which at their best really shine when it comes to mission design.
In Thief, the missions are built around exploration. You can't just beeline to your objective, you really have to look around and be thorough with each level, as there may be a complex chain of objectives to complete or simply lots of mandatory loot to collect before you can finish the level. In Hitman there are a number of different ways you can tackle a mission, most of which are pretty short if executed properly, but to be able to pull that off you need to spend some time getting to know the level, observing NPC patterns, figuring out ways to do things without being caught, and so on. The levels are puzzles that you need to solve using the tools the game gives you, and only with careful planning and precise timing can you make it all work. Dishonored has elements from both (open levels with lots to explore, different ways to take out your targets), but it's all laid out for you. You always have a clear route to your target. You can explore, but the levels don't require it, and the tough places are almost always optional. If there's an obstacle, the way around it is always nearby or otherwise obvious. The game makes sure you'll always know what the non-lethal option is, instead of making you actively look for it. As a result, there's never that rewarding feeling you get from those other series. The closest Dishonored gets is the aforementioned Return to the Tower mission where it momentarily seems to throw everything it has at you.
Looking forward to the DLC nonetheless.
That Lady Boyle mission you mentioned, the NPCs are random so it's random who will tell you everything, but as long as you talk to everyone, you will eventually find them. I agree it would be way better that on high difficulty some of these obvious ways would be removed. This is what's wrong with difficulty levels nowadays - they just control stealth factor/sponge hp level and damage output. The game mechanics is still based on baseline stuff that's static.
Thief is in its own echelon and it's telling that attempts of its recreation in modern gaming were failures. Modern gamers don't "get" Thief and its point.