The mission that gives us our first hands-on experience with Dishonored is one called Kaldwin's Bridge. We're out to kidnap the royal physician, a guy named Sokolov whose knowledge of medicine has earned him a slightly nicer fate than Corvo's other targets. We begin by sneaking through a decrepit side street, with alleyways and crumbled buildings offering a number of pathways toward Sokolov's safe house atop the bridge. We immediately get the sense that this place has seen better days.
As we creep along, we emerge onto a street overlooking the harbor, taking in a pre-sunset view of Dishonored's steampunk city of Dunwall. It's a nice view, but all that daylight means we have to get creative with our pathway around the guards patrolling the street. Perhaps that's for the best. Dishonored uses a first-person perspective, making it tricky to tell when your entire body is cloaked in shadow even if it's dark out. Rather, this game encourages a more active approach to stealth where you're constantly soaking up details about the environment around you. You've got basic tools like the ability to poke your head around a wall or peek through keyholes, as well as more subtle aids like contextual audio clues. Indeed, sound is very important to your exploits as a crafty assassin. If a guard's voice is clear and natural, you know he's somewhere close. If that same voice turns soft and muffled, however, that's a sign that the guard has walked into another room, giving you the chance to breeze on by.
