Popular Culture Review 29.2
Arkane Studios ’ 2012 video game Dishonored received accolades and honors for innovation in gameplay . Although much praise fell to the game ’ s mechanics , the game ’ s narrative warrants closer attention . The overarching plot is one of revenge : Corvo Attano , royal protector and lover to Empress Jessamine Kaldwin , carves a path of vengeance after being framed for her murder . First , he must first recover their daughter , Emily Kaldwin , who is being held prisoner by those who orchestrated a coup and murdered her mother in front of her . He must then decide how to contend with everyone involved in the plot . Corvo receives aid from a mysterious figure , known as The Outsider , who takes the form of a young man , and those who are loyal to the murdered Empress . However , the game ’ s setting and its introduction of the god-like character The Outsider belie a simple and straightforward story of vengeance . Indeed , at the core of Corvo ’ s story of revenge lies the crown city of Dunwall , ravaged by plague and filth and engaged in the whale oil trade . In darkened alleys throughout the heavily industrialized city , beleaguered citizens have erected shrines to The Outsider in defiance of the new , dominant religion outlawing the practice . What emerges from the narrative is a compelling ecological warning , as the player embodying Corvo first witnesses the ruined city and the casual slaughter of whales , then becomes a subject of The Outsider ’ s interest . This warning carries through Dishonored 2 and Dishonored : The Death of The Outsider as these sequels continue to explore the exploitation and oppression of the poor and to follow The Outsider , who is at once a ringmaster , observer of what those who bear his mark enact on the world , and beleaguered victim , enduring fetishization by those who worship him as well as his own history as the subject of terrible violence . The narrative that emerges across all three games provides a stark warning about the consequences of those with power and wealth ravaging the environment and the vulnerable .
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