There are games that can pull off a silent protagonist quite well, aka HL.

But Dishonored has a basic failing of putting the silent protagonist forward as an actual character who is emotionally involved in events, has a backstory etc. They make him very much an involved character instead of the usual player vessel that a silent protagonist serves as. Because of this Corvo who is kind of a central part of the story and should be emotionally tied to it, actually falls apart because of the constant 100% silence. The fact that you are presumed speaking in certain events when choosing one or two lines of dialogue doesn't help either, as it implies that Corvo is quite capable of speaking to people yet at important moments of the game is a dumb mute, instead of actually being a human with thoughts and emotions of his own.

Ultimately I agree with the OP, yes in Dishonored the silent protagonist hurts the overall narrative and hence the game.

Due to a deformity, Corvo can only speak when he has the mask on. Unfortunately, the mask muffles everything he says. He communicates with sticky notes he has pinned to his chest which are not pictured since it's a first-person game. Ironically, he's in a wheelchair for the entire game but you can't see that either.

I don't see how you guys missed this.

I can't stand voiced protagonists in a first person game. The player is supposed to BE Corvo, not a person possessing Corvo's body but not in control of his voice. Talking protagonists in a first person just breaks the 4th wall for me.

Anyway if you used the heart at all you can't seriously complain the game has lazy writing.

I didn't actually notice it that much in this game. Maybe I'm just used to it by now but Corvo didn't really have much to say, other than with his blade. I agree with you that the outsider is awesome. I want to see more of that character.

@CommanderZx2 said:

On another note I'd much rather have a silent protagonist than one that says lots of stupid one linears.

Really? I thought it would have been cool if Corvo said "I'm gettin' too old for this shit", at some point during the game.

Corvo's actions spoke louder than any dialogue could have.

Not to mention the same VA would have had to walk the line between "good" and "evil" Corvo depending on your decisions.

The Silent Protagonist is a relic that needs to be retired permanently. If a character is well-written, you can identify with them, no matter how different they might be from you. Making the main character a silent automaton and saying "Hey we did this so you could project yourself onto them!" is just lazy.

It didn't even work in Half-Life. It's absolutely bizarre to see Alyx fall in love with Gordan Freeman when his only means of interacting with the world is to shoot things.

@Phatmac said:

@JasonR86 said:

@JZ: @Phatmac:

What would you guys have this character say? What character traits would he have that would make the experience better?

I'm not agreeing with this guy(haven't played Dishonored) but I tend to dislike games with silent protagonists.

Unless they are Bastion cuz Bastion is amazing.

Silent Protagonist are in games because they can be whatever personality you want them to be.