Dishonored 2 Preview

If you’d forgotten, Dishonored won our illustrious Game of the Year Award back in 2012 , so we’ve been pining for a sequel ever since. Thankfully, that project was formally announced at this year’s E3 and it’s scheduled to arrive in the spring. We’re expecting a bigger and better version of the game we loved; anything less will be a disappointment, so developer Arkane Studios had best step up! The good news is the team has already confirmed that the second effort will be very much like the first, in that it’ll be an action/adventure quest “where you don’t have to kill anyone.” You know, kinda like a more fantastical and less futuristic Deus Ex .

Anyway, one of the most important additions will be the inclusion of a female protagonist. In the original, we stepped into the capable boots of assassin Corvo and while he is indeed returning for the sequel, we’ll also have the option of playing as Emily. Those who played the first game will remember Emily as the little girl Corvo was sworn to protect; well, she has grown into a formidable fighter in her own right and her abilities might even surpass Corvo’s. The bottom line is that, akin to the male/female split lead in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate , we’ll have two characters that have distinct skills and abilities. Also like in Syndicate , there are no character-specific missions; you can select who you wish to use for any given quest. This increases the game’s longevity because we might want to see missions from different perspectives.

Dishonored 2 takes place 15 years after the original game ended, so we’ll begin with Emily Kaldwin, who is now Empress. Arkane has called her “the only thing good in the world actually worth saving,” so it makes sense that she’ll be a focal point in the new narrative. But once again, Emily’s life is put in peril as a mysterious usurper ousts her from the throne and Emily is forced to flee the darkening city of Dunwall. Much like Corvo, she will then become an outlaw who must right a tremendous wrong, but unlike Corvo, she won’t spend all her time in Dunwall. In fact, the primary setting will be Karnaca, the capital city of Serkonos, which is Corvo’s hometown and described as a brighter, warmer location. In fact, it sounds a little like New Orleans, so it’ll definitely have a spicier tinge.