My True Deceit in "Dishonored"

The kind of dishonesty the player is supposed to achieve in Dishonored. (from superbwallpapers.com)

I've never been as exhilarated to step off a boat as I was in Dishonored. Time after time, the simple act of leaving Samuel the boatman and stepping onto dry land filled me with anticipation and dread.

Death, dismemberment and, above all, deceit lurk around every corner of Dunwall, the fictional city overrun with plague that hosts Dishonored's cast of oppressors, freedom fighters and bystanders.

So why was I the greatest deceiver among them?

I don't mean Corvo, the badass bodyguard who becomes a more-badass assassin in an attempt to avenge his beloved empress after being framed for her murder.

Despite Corvo's triumphs - I won't forget the poetic justice of branding a man with his own torture device, the thrill of betraying a man who led me to a theft in exchange for a cut, the unease at delivering a marked woman to an unknown man who would save her life but force her to love him - they didn't measure up to my true deceit.

I turned Dishonored - a singular achievement widely recognized as one of the best games of 2012 - into the stealth equivalent of Contra.

Wishing to complete the game as quickly as possible, I bypassed all but the easiest runes and bone charms, outfitting myself with a meager three abilities - Blink, Dark Vision and Shadow Kill - that left me ill-equipped to conquer latter missions on normal.

When I got into a fight - which happened frequently, as I generally suck at sneaking and didn't have the best tools at my disposal - it generally ended with my quick death, a reloaded save and another attempt with the benefit of added knowledge. I became so paranoid that I started to save after simply making it down an empty hallway without any zombie dogs bursting through the windows.

I broke the illusion of reality in favor of winning. Rather than plotting an intricate murder and exit of the enemy's vast compound, I frequently teleported myself wildly across rooms, executed my targets and ran like hell for the last load point. 

If only my enemies had followed me across the digital threshold, my underpowered Corvo would have been no match for them.

Instead, I simply fled into the night, back to the boat and on to more dishonest victories.