History Awesome / Dishonored

** If you've done all of the above, or just kept the chaos down, at the end. Havelock has a VillainousBreakdown, kills Martin and Pendleton, and pretty much just waits for Corvo to come finish him off, pathetically babbling to himself. Just the threat of Corvo is enough to break the spirit of anyone who's done immoral things.

* The sheer number of different ways Corvo can be a badass is worth a mention. Depending on your playstyle, he can either be a [[TheGhost shadowy wraith]] that completely dismantles a government conspiracy without killing a soul and ''never even being seen'', or a [[ OneManArmy nigh-unstoppable engine of destruction]] who leaves a mountain of corpses in his wake as the entire city tries, and fails, to even slow him down.

* The AntiClimax of the Low Chaos FinalBoss still manages to be awesome. [[spoiler:You've infiltrated the most heavily guarded areas to assassinate the richest, strongest people in all of Dunwall. Havelock knows what you're capable of and there is absolutely no possibility of making it in a fight with you. Confront him directly, and he won't even resist, because he knows he doesn't stand a chance.]]
** [[spoiler:He will attack you [[DirtyCoward when you're distracted grabbing the key to Emily's room]]. This leads to an expectantly brief sword fight, possibly ending with you stabbing him in the elbow, and bending his arm around so that he [[HoistByHisOwnPetard shoots himself]] [[BoomHeadshot in the face]] and presumably blasts himself off the edge of the lighthouse. His face at that [[OhCrap exact moment]] is just glorious.]]

** You can take the High Overseer and [[spoiler:brand him with the mark of a heretic, ensuring that he will wander the city forever, disgraced and shunned, to the point where it's against the law to help him at all. Plus, when you're in the Flooded District, you'll find him as a weeper, with a note cursing Corvo with his last words.]]
** The Pendleton brothers can be [[spoiler:kidnapped, shaved bald, have their tongues cut out, and be forced to work forever in their own mines as slaves.]]
** Lady Boyle can [[spoiler: be sent away with another Lord who truly loves her and insists that she'll love him too...eventually. No matter what. Granted, it's not as harsh as the others, but much more creepy.]]
** Lord Regent Burrows [[spoiler:has his plan to spread the plague across the city [[EngineeredPublicConfession broadcasted far and wide]], sending him to the prison for summary execution. It turns out he deliberately started the Rat Plague as a way to [[KillThePoor get rid of the poor and unproductive members of society]] - that's [[RevealingCoverup why he had the Empress killed to cover his tracks]] when [[SheKnowsTooMuch she started investigating the origins of the plague]].]]

*** There's also two ways to spare him, both of which are awesome. [[spoiler:The first is beating him in a sword fight, then [[SheatheYourSword lowering your weapon]] and walking away. The other way is to steal his pouch of coins and leave him unhurt. That just lets Daud know you were right there, with the option to kill him, having snuck up on a master assassin with the same powers as you... and ''you let him go''.]]
** If you've done all of the above, or just kept the chaos down, at the end. [[spoiler:Havelock has a VillainousBreakdown, kills Martin and Pendleton, and pretty much just waits for Corvo to come finish him off, pathetically babbling to himself. Just the threat of Corvo is enough to break the spirit of anyone who's done immoral things.]]

* Piero and Solokov get one [[spoiler: when their combined research defeats an entire army outside the Hound's Pit pub.]]
** [[spoiler:Doubly so when it ''cures the Weeper plague afflicting the city.'' Even the Outsider is impressed by that one.]]
** Even better, [[spoiler: you can just kill and/or render unconscious all the guards on your own.]] Piero will compliment you on this, remarking that he had spent weeks working on something that you were able to handle on your own in minutes. Though he still sounds a bit ticked off that you were able to.
* Samuel, [[NonActionGuy of all people]], gets one in the High Chaos version of the final level. He calls you out on how much you've embraced your role as a sociopathic, bloodthirsty murderer. He tells you that you disgust him and demands that you get off his boat. And then he [[spoiler:shoots off a flare gun to alert the guards - and even tells you he's doing so beforehand. He basically "betrays" you to your face, showing that he has the courage and integrity that the other Loyalists lacked.]] And, again, he's saying and doing these things to the man who just single-handedly murdered pretty much everyone he saw. Samuel may not be a fighter, but the man's got ''guts''.
* [[spoiler: While assassinating Campbell, your options to neutralize him are ''large''. Poison him by switching glasses, marking his face with an iron prod so he'll be exiled to plague filled streets, or simply throwing a grenade at him in his own secret ''claustrophobic'' room.]]
** [[spoiler: Lady Boyle has just as many. Shank her before she gets down the stairs, rewire the Wall of Light in her own house and make her walk into it, tell her to her face that there's an assassin after her and slit her throat when she believes you, set off the alarm, watch her and her sisters lock themselves in a bedroom, break in there, and unleash a swarm of rats, completing "Literature/TheMasqueOfTheRedDeath" reference.]]

* [[spoiler: If you sabotage Delilah's ritual, instead of performing a GrandTheftMe on Emily, she gets sucked into her own painting: a Void within the Void. She begs for the Outsider's help as she's being sucked in and curses Daud's name as she loses her grip. You get the feeling that Daud, the player, and the Outsider are watching in amusement as this happens.]]

* The changes to the tone of the game once you cross a certain point in High Chaos, and VideoGameCrueltyPunishment meted out to you deserves its own example. The effects and [[spoiler: Samuel's betrayal]] was fought by the dev team to keep it because [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome it's the only logical consequence to all the chaos and murders you commit in an already destabilized city]], despite many games keeping the ending same irrespective of how you played them. And ''it works''.

* The changes to the tone of the game once you cross a certain point in High Chaos, and VideoGameCrueltyPunishment meted out to you deserves its own example. The effects and [[spoiler: Samuel's betrayal]] was fought by the dev team to keep it because [[RealityEnsues it's the only logical consequence to all the chaos and murders you commit in an already destabilized city]], despite many games keeping the ending same irrespective of how you played them. And ''it works''.

* The final mission on Low Chaos for anyone who just wants the ending but aren't concerned with a PacifistRun. You've reached a point where the ending is now set in stone. After a whole game of knocking people out, non-lethally dealing with targets and generally holding back from using the more dangerous powers; [[MookHorrorShow Corvo is finally allowed to go all out.]]

** [[spoiler: Lady Boyle has just as many. Shank her before she gets down the stairs, rewire the Wall of Light in her own house and make her walk into it, tell her to her face that there's an assassin after her and slit her throat when she believes you, set off the alarm, watch her and her sisters lock themselves in a bedroom, break in there, and unleash a swarm of rats, completing the ''[[Creator/EdgarAllanPoe Masque of the Red Death]]'' reference.]]

** Lord Regent Burrows [[spoiler:has his plan to spread the plague across the city [[EngineeredPublicConfession broadcasted far and wide]], sending him to the prison for summary execution. It turns out he deliberately started the Rat Plague as a way to [[KillThePoor get rid of the poor and unproductive members of society]] - that's [[RevealingCoverup why he had the Empress killed to cover his tracks]] when [[HeKnowsTooMuch she started investigating the origins of the plague]].]]

** [[spoiler:He will attack you [[DirtyCoward when you're distracted grabbing the key to Emily's room]]. This leads to an expectantly brief sword fight, possibly ending with you stabbing him in the elbow, and bending his arm around so that he [[HoistByHisOwnPetard shoots himself in the face]] and presumably blasts himself off the edge of the lighthouse. His face at that [[OhCrap exact moment]] is just glorious.]]

** Not only that, but if the remaining sisters aren't killed, they will actually ''thank'' Corvo for sparing their lives and will give him a gift after reading the guestlist.

* When you get into Dunwall Tower's main room, the first thing you see is the Lord Regent briefing two of his men using a video screen. Once they leave, you can use the video screen yourself and talk to Burrows. After much blustering on his part, you then get the option to [[DramaticUnmask take off your mask and show him who the mysterious killer really is.]] If you don't, the in-game text that Corvo supposedly says is, "You'll die never knowing who killed you." But if you do, Corvo basically says "Remember me?" [[YouExclamation Burrows's reaction]] is priceless. This also causes him to bunker down in his panic room at the top floor, but isn't that [[DifficultButAwesome the whole point?]]

** [[spoiler:He will attack you [[DirtyCoward when you're distracted grabbing the key to Emily's room]]. This leads to an expectantly brief sword fight, possibly ending with you stabbing him in the elbow, and bending his arm around so he [[BoomHeadshot shoots himself in the face]]. His face at that [[OhCrap exact moment]] is just glorious.]]

** The Lord Regent Burrows [[spoiler:has his plan to spread the plague across the city [[EngineeredPublicConfession broadcasted far and wide]], sending him to the prison for summary execution. It turns out he deliberately started the Rat Plague as a way to [[KillThePoor get rid of the poor and unproductive members of society]] - that's [[RevealingCoverup why he had the Empress killed to cover his tracks]] when [[HeKnowsTooMuch she started investigating the origins of the plague]].]]

** If you've done all of the above, or just kept the chaos down, at the end. [[spoiler:Havelock has a VillainousBreakdown, kills the other two Loyalists, and pretty much just waits for Corvo to come finish him off, pathetically babbling to himself. Just the threat of you is enough to break the spirit of any man who has done immoral things.]]

** Not to mention the fact that he goes to that masked ball [[ForHalloweenIAmGoingAsMyself 'as' a wanted man]] who is systematically destroying the government.
** Not only that, but if the remaining sisters are not killed, they will actually ''thank'' Corvo for sparing their lives and will give him a gift after reading the guestlist.
** If you do that, when you enter The Lord Regent's chamber, you can find a letter about Lady Boyle's death/disappearance. The Watch noticed the guest book signature, but are completely at a loss as to how it got there, assuming it's a fake from a noble with a bad sense of humor.

** [[spoiler:Doubly so when it ''cures the magical plague afflicting the city.'' Even the Outsider is impressed by that one.]]

* Samuel ([[NonActionGuy of all people]]) gets one in the High Chaos version of the final level. He calls you out on how much you've embraced your role as a sociopathic, bloodthirsty murderer. He tells you you disgust him and demands that you get off his boat. And then he [[spoiler:shoots off a flare gun to alert the guards - and even tells you he's doing so beforehand. He basically "betrays" you to your face, showing that he has the courage and integrity that the other Loyalists lacked.]] And, again, he's saying and doing these things to the man who just single-handedly murdered pretty much everyone he saw. Samuel may not fight, but the man has got ''guts''.

* In the flooded district, at one point you can come across a couple of assassins. One is instructing the other. He tells him to cross from one side of the room to the other without being seen. You can, quite easily, ''follow'' the assassin-in-training across the room, without being seen by either of them, and leave without them being any the wiser.
* [[spoiler: If you sabotage Delilah's ritual, instead of performing a GrandTheftMe on Emily, she gets sucked into her own painting: a Void within the Void. She begs for the Outsider's help as she's being sucked in and curses Daud's name as she loses her grip. You get the feeling that Daud, the player, and the Outsider are all laughing at her as this happens.]]

** This may explain why he immediately scarfs down any food he finds in a mission (unlike his spiritual predecessor Garrett, who kept food in his inventory until he needed it)-he's so damn hungry that he just chows down as he considers his options for murdering his foes (or as he contemplates just how beautifully he pulled off that last mission).
* The first time you play the The Golden Cat chapter, chances are you get ambushed by Daud's assassins in the backstreet which appear out of thin air. Replaying it and taking all three out before they even know you arrived in the area feels very powerful since they are the first mooks that can pose a challenge.

** [[http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/dishonoredvideogame/images/5/50/Tallboys3-1-.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120320065248 This]] is what a tallboy looks like. A [[http://dishonored.wikia.com/wiki/The_Exquisite_Tallboy document]] in-game reports that they "rain down fire on the sick and the poor" and "are heavily drugged, [which] dulls whatever empathy they might normally possess". So a guard strapped to a very tall metal contraption is walking around shooting at any living signs of the plague (or Corvo) with painful [[ArrowsOnFire incendiary bolts]] that can burn them to death. Since it is very difficult to kill this tall irritant from below, the only option is to [[DeathFromAbove attack from above]]. So Corvo has to [[FlashStep Blink]] up to a tall ledge, give a flying leap, land onto the tallboy, unsheathe his sword, and ''stab that annoyance from above into his thick, fleshy neck''. If done successfully, the whole contraption will fall down to the ground with a thump as Corvo does a backflip off the dead guard's back and land safely on his feet like the badass [[ProfessionalKiller assassin]] he can be.

* It's possible to take out a master assassin and an entire building of his EliteMooks without being seen, using only a knife and a couple of your low-level powers.
** Even better, you can sneak past them all, without being seen or drawing a drop of blood. Daud will even praise you for it. The nonfatal method of neutralizing Daud consists of merely stealing the few coins he has in his pockets, with an implied off-screen VillainousBreakdown when he discovers how easily Corvo could have killed him.

** [[spoiler: He will attack you [[DirtyCoward when you're distracted grabbing the key to Emily's room]]. This leads to an expectantly brief sword fight, possibly ending with you stabbing him in the elbow, and bending his arm around so he [[BoomHeadshot shoots himself in the face]]. His face at that [[OhCrap exact moment]] is just glorious.]]

** The Pendelton brothers can be [[spoiler:kidnapped, shaved bald, have their tongues cut out, and be forced to work forever in their own mines as slaves.]]

*** It's already awesome before even approaching Daud. If Corvo arrives at Daud's room with Low Chaos, then Daud will be informed about Corvo's escape by one of his men. Daud isn't surprised and more or less praises your amazing abilities for having evaded all of his men before stating aloud that he fully expects to meet him soon. This man had the Outsiders blessings for way longer than Corvo, yet sees the man obviously as at least an equal.

* The ending of the prologue is one for the dev team. You're accused of murdering the empress (and kidnapping Emily and stashing her somewhere before coming ''back'' for some reason, in the span of five seconds). A guard slams the pommel of his sword into your head, and the word "Dishonored" fills your vision. It's not just the title, it's what happens to you in that moment, and the effect gives you chills.

** [[http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/dishonoredvideogame/images/5/50/Tallboys3-1-.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120320065248 This]] is what a tallboy looks like. A [[http://dishonored.wikia.com/wiki/The_Exquisite_Tallboy document]] in-game reports that they "rain down fire on the sick and the poor" and "are heavily drugged, [which] dulls whatever empathy they might normally possess". So a guard strapped to a very tall metal contraption is walking around shooting at any living signs of the plague (or Corvo) with painful [[ArrowsOnFire incendiary bolts]] that can burn them to death. Since it is very difficult to kill this tall irritant from below, the only option is to [[DeathFromAbove attack from above]]. So Corvo has to [[FlashStep Blink]] up to a tall ledge, give a flying leap, land onto the tallboy, unsheathe his sword, and ''stab that annoyance from above into his thick, fleshy neck''. If done successfully, the whole contraption will fall down to the ground with a thump as Corvo does a backflip off the dead guard's back and land safely on his feet like the BadAss [[ProfessionalKiller Assassin]] he can be.

*** Actually you can get a ''far'' more detailed account of her fate, if you meet the Outsider during the same level, he says he sees both of Lady Boyle's fates: In one, she dies, in the other, she's forever locked away, miserable, as her dresses turn to rag and her hair grey. "Either way, this is Lady Boyle's last party."