Updated at: 26-05-2023 - By: Leo Hall
Included are detailed descriptions of each installment in the Dishonored series, both main and supplemental.

Dishonored is a critically acclaimed stealth action-adventure series developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks, with three games total.

Series protagonists Corvo Attano, Emily Kaldwin, and Billie Lurk are royal guards, an empress, and an assassin, respectively, navigating the political and steampunk-inspired Empire of the Isles.

The games in the Dishonored series are best experienced in the order presented here, which follows the canonical release schedule.

Finally, if Bethesda or Arkane announces Dishonored 3 or any spin-offs set in the same universe, we will update this list accordingly, so be sure to check back!

Main Series

Dishonored

Date of Publication: October 9, 2012

Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and Windows

In the first Dishonored game, players take control of Corvo, a royal guard who is falsely accused of murdering Empress Jessamine Kaldwin.

Worse yet, the evil Lord Regent kidnaps Corvo’s own daughter Emily as part of his plot to seize power in Dunwall.

Corvo, at his wit’s end, decides to use his supernatural abilities to get back at Lord Regent and escape the city of Dunwall before his reputation is completely ruined.

Although the majority of critics praised Dishonored upon its release, some questioned its “punishing” of lethal playstyles with an alternative “bad” ending.

I've played all 3 Dishonored games for almost 2500 hours. Ask me anything :  r/dishonored

Dishonored 2

Dropping on Tuesday, November 11th, 2016

Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One

The story of Dishonored 2 revolves around Corvo’s daughter, Emily, and takes place in the cities of Dunwall and Karnaca.

The sequel takes place fifteen years later and sees Emily reclaiming her throne as Empress of the Isles after an extraterrestrial usurper has taken it from her.

Players assume the roles of Emily or Corvo and are tasked with making their way to Karnaca to face the new threat and retake the throne.

Dishonored 2 received mostly positive reviews, with critics praising the game’s level design, increased traversal and combat options, and focus on environmental storytelling.

Dishonored: Death of the Outsider

Date of Publication: September 15th, 2017

Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One

Death of the Outsider was supposed to be downloadable content for Dishonored 2, but as developer Arkane Studios experimented with different narrative and gameplay directions, the expansion eventually became its own game.

The designers settled on Billie Lurk as the game’s protagonist, and worked to flesh out her backstory, which involves reuniting with her former mentor Daud in order to eliminate The Outsider.

When it comes to the story, Dishonored 3 was designed to wrap up any loose ends from the previous games and give players a new perspective on the series’ conclusion.

Even though it didn’t quite hit as many home runs as Dishonored 2, Death of the Outsider was praised for its detailed environments and gameplay that encouraged player experimentation.

DLC Expansions

Dishonored

  • The Void Walker’s Arsenal is a bundle of four packs (Acrobatic Killer, Arcane Assassin, Backstreet Butcher, and Shadow Rat) that were available only through pre-order at various retailers. Each pack contains three bone charms, a statue that allows players to equip an extra bone charm, a book in the game, and 500 bonus coins.
  • There were ten unique challenge maps in the Dunwall City Trials add-on, and they were split up into four categories: stealth (Mystery Foe, Burglar), action (Back Alley Brawl, Assassin’s Run, Oil Drop), puzzle (Bend Time Massacre, Kill Chain), and mobility (Bonfires, Train Runner, Kill Cascade).
  • The Knife of Dunwall is a supplemental book that centers on Daud, the Assassins’ mastermind and Empress Jessamine Kaldwin’s killer. New areas of Dunwall, such as the Legal District and Slaughterhouse Row, are explored alongside fan favorites.
  • All your progress in Chaos, as well as your powers, weapons, and upgrades from The Knife of Dunwall, carry over into this expansion, The Brigmore Witches.

Dishonored 2

  • Previously exclusive to the Dishonored 2 Collector’s Edition and the GameStop preorder bonus, the Imperial Assassin’s Pack is now available to everyone. In addition to the Duelist’s Luck bone charm and the Void Favor bone charm, you’ll also receive an in-game antique Serkonan Guitar, a book, and 500 bonus coins to use in-game.
  • There were four more patches that introduced new game plus, difficulty settings, and the ability to choose specific missions.

Dishonored: 10 Best Levels From The Series, Ranked

The Flooded District

First up is the Flood District from the original Dishonored. Spoiler alert: this level takes place after the Loyalist conspiracy, which had been your most reliable allies up until this point, betrays you.

The assassin Daud throws away all of your gear at the beginning of the level, which is an interesting twist. It is entirely at your discretion whether or not to retrieve it. The final confrontation with Daud can end in either your death or a warning robbery.

How to Play the Dishonored Games in Order - The Escapist

Edge Of The World

The first true level of Dishonored 2 is called “Edge of the World,” and it has you or Emily investigating Karnaca. Like any good Dishonored game, there are numerous ways to reach your destination, many of which involve sneaking past guards and obstacles.

One distinctive feature of Edge of the World is the lack of an assassination target in favor of the simple goal of reaching the conclusion. This level demonstrates that the series’ gameplay is sufficient on its own, even without a specific target to eliminate.

House Of Pleasure

In this mission from the original game, Corvo must sneak into the Golden Cat prostitute den in order to complete a number of tasks. The map covers a portion of Dunwall, the location of the brothel, and the safe house of gang leader Slackjaw.

The House of Pleasure mission is the first one that gives you a lot of freedom to do things however you like and in whatever order you like. The fact that you get to save Emily, your daughter, adds to the importance of this level.

Dust District

The Dust District map from the sequel game, like the House of Pleasure map, features two targets to eliminate or avoid. You have several options for handling these two goals, including delivering one to the other, eliminating both, or ignoring them altogether as you sneak your way through the mission.

Alternatively, you can skip this section entirely by figuring out the puzzle at the level’s outset. This demonstrates the Dishonored series’ dedication to player agency, even if it’s not how most players would like to encounter the game’s content.

The Loyalists

After the Loyalist betrayal, the player character returns to the game’s central hub location, the Hound Pits Pub. The once-familiar area has undergone a dramatic makeover, complete with guards patrolling the premises and nearly indestructible Tallboys parading the streets.

During the mission’s exploration phase, players can choose to eliminate all enemies without resorting to violence, or they can choose to go on the offensive and resort to mass murder. You either succeed in saving Piero Joplin and Anton Sokolov, or you fail miserably and are forced to abandon them.

A Crack In The Slab

Unlike any other mission in Dishonored 2, A Crack in the Slab completely nullifies your supernatural abilities for the duration of the level. Instead, you are given a magical watch that transports you back in time whenever you like.

The removal of your abilities, coupled with this new mechanic, makes for an exciting new direction in the game. You can’t run away from enemies as quickly, making them more dangerous, and the puzzles are more challenging than ever thanks to having to keep track of two different time periods at once.

The Bank Job

Billie Lurk’s mission to, well, kill the Outsider is chronicled in the spinoff game Death of the Outsider, which features the mission The Bank Job. In this stage, she robs a bank in search of an ancient dagger with which to commit the heinous act.

In true Dishonored fashion, you have a lot of different paths to take. There are several ways to enter the bank, including the front door. The whole level is intriguing because players can choose to put everyone to sleep before proceeding if they want to, or they can choose to proceed without doing so.

The Light At The End

The Light at the End is the game’s final mission and a contemplation of your decisions throughout Dishonored. The level is fantastic overall, and Kingsparrow Lighthouse makes for a fantastic exploration hub. The dynamic nature of the mission, however, is what really draws players in.

The ultimate mission can be bright and peaceful if you’ve been working for low chaos. However, the island is in shambles as the Loyalists betray one another and the conflict escalates. The story concludes with you rescuing Emily and discovering the impact you’ve had on her outlook on life.

Lady Boyle’s Last Party

This Dishonored mission, in which you infiltrate a masked ball, is representative of the game as a whole. Unlike in most stealth games, where you have to sneak around unseen, this one lets you join the festivities as a guest.

You must also determine which of the three Boyle sisters is your intended victim by either sneaking upstairs to look for clues or talking to some of the other partygoers. And then there’s the cruelest option in the game — the nonlethal one.

The Clockwork Mansion

Last but not least, our favorite location in Dishonored is the Clockwork Mansion. This mission from the second game has all the hallmarks of a great Dishonored level, including multiple paths to the objective and the challenge of deciding between lethal and nonlethal means of solving the problem at hand.

It is not enough to simply eliminate Kirin Jindosh; you must also track down Anton Sokolov, a playable character from the original game, by navigating the complex and ever-changing level. This level is the best because it features multiple objectives, moving rooms and walls, and insightful commentary from the Jindosh.

Dishonored: The RPG review - video game's world soars while its gameplay  sags | Dicebreaker

Why You Should Play The Original Dishonored

The Powers

Dishonored’s powers, and the novel ways in which they can be used to defeat enemies, are among the game’s finest features. Time travel, possession, teleportation, and calling upon a swarm of ravenous rats to feast upon the innocent are all within your reach.

As you can see in the video below, if you can master these abilities, you can do some pretty damn impressive things.

Freedom To Play How You Want

Dishonored equips you with an arsenal of abilities, weapons, and technology. As a result, players are free to approach missions in any way they see fit. It is possible to go completely undetected through missions if that is your preference. The choice to use your abilities for evil’s sake and wipe out humanity entirely is also on the table. Don’t get too confident in your abilities, because you can easily be defeated.

The Chaos System

The Chaos system in Dishonored is the game’s AI, and it adapts to the player’s style of play. The player’s actions will have an effect on the game’s world and AI. A player’s destructiveness has a direct correlation to the level of disorder in the world. If players continue to cause mayhem, the world will devolve into total anarchy, with NPCs attacking each other and rat infestations becoming more common. Instead of focusing on morality, the chaos system evaluates the stability of the world based on your actions.

The Origins Of Corvo Attano

In Dishonored, you play as Corvo Attano, the Empress of Dunwall’s former bodyguard. The Empress’s daughter, Emily, is in danger, and Corvo must do whatever it takes to clear his name and prevent her death. Learn how Corvo acquires his supernatural abilities and rises to become one of history’s most dreaded assassins as the story progresses.

Dunwall

Dunwall, the capital of Griscol, is an industrial whaling city that draws inspiration from steam punk and gothic architecture. In the middle of the 1830s, Dunwall experienced a devastating rat plague from which the city has never fully recovered. There are many neighborhoods to discover in the city, and the chaos system allows the city to change in response to your actions. Furthermore, some areas of Dunwall are clearly differentiated from others due to classism and xenophobia.

Dunwall, with the Wrenhaven River cutting through its center, is a delight to explore and has been likened to London in the 1800s.