What’s New In Dishonored 2? Everything You Need to Know

A Brand New Protagonist, and Voiced Corvo

Corvo Attano was the main character of the first Dishonored, and he’s making a return. Corvo was on a quest to exonerate himself form the false accusation of killing the Empress in the first game, as well as to take back the throne so Emily Kaldwin could assume her rightful role. During the first game, you find out that Corvo was in a relationship with the Empress, and Emily is actually his daughter.

In Dishonored 2, which takes place 15 years after the first game, you’ll have the option of playing as either Emily or Corvo. The two characters will have slightly different abilities, and the story will play out a little differently as well, although the end goal stays the same. There is, however, a system that returns from the first game known as Chaos that can alter the story. Choosing the non-lethal route and not killing enemies will result in low Chaos and a more intact world state, whereas killing enemies willy-nilly will result in more Chaos and a more broken world state.

To top things off, Corvo himself will be voiced, providing more character and context for the story. Stephen Russel, known for his voice work as Nick Valentine in Fallout 4, will be providing his talents for Corvo. At the same time, Erica Luttrell, who plays Sapphire on Steven Universe, will be voicing Emily.

A New City and Story

Dishonored 2 functions as a direct sequel to the first game, taking place 15 years later. Emily Kaldwin assumed the throne as Empress of Dunwall, and the city has prospered under her reign. The second game picks up when an otherworldly power dethrones Emily and labels her an outlaw to society. Now it’s up to Corvo or Emily to prove the truth, and reclaim the throne.

Dishonored 2 is taking things out of Dunwall and into an entirely new setting, the coastal city of Karnaca, capital of Serkonos. This location promises to be quite a bit different form Dunwall, as it isn’t facing quite the same plague problem the original city was. It’s a wealthy coastal city focused on extracting silver from the local mines, while huge wind turbines power it. Two factions wage war within the city for control: the Howlers and the Overseers.

More Options and Abilities in Combat

The best part about the first Dishonored were the powerful supernatural abilities you had at your disposal. Some were focused on stealth, while others turned you into a deadly close-quarters assassin. Dishonored 2 promises to up the ante with these abilities, and give you even more options for both stealth and combat.

Most of Corvo’s abilities in the game return from the first Dishonored, with powers like Swarm that lets you summon hordes of rats. Other abilities like Blink, Bend Time, Dark Vision, and Possession return to power him up in battle and world traversal.

Emily on the other hand, will have a host of new powers at her disposal for taking down enemies. She has some similar abilities that will also let her traverse the world more easily, like Far Reach which lets her grapple to buildings and points. Other powers will have varying effects; Domino, for example, lets Emily chain enemies together so when she kills one the others will fall as well. Doppelganger summons a double that she can use for misdirection, while Mesmerize can put enemies into a distracted dreamlike state.

These are just a taste of Emily’s powers, but the point is that the two characters will feel distinctly different. Playing through as one will be completely different from playing through with the other, both in how you perceive the story and how you play it.

Distinct Missions and Choices to Complete Them

If you played the first Dishonored, you might remember that the game was segmented out into different assassination missions that would each take you to a different area of the city. These areas would generally be pretty wide open exploration segments that really let you tackle your mission in a variety of ways. Arkane has doubled down on this idea, saying that Dishonored 2’s areas will encourage player exploration and choice.

You’ll have quite a few options and routes to choose from on each mission, and of course playing as either character will only enhance those options. On top of that, each mission in the game will be employing a certain “theme” that makes it special. These could be a variety of things. For instance one will put you in a level where constant dust storms rise up, making you stalk your enemies in the weather. Another will drop you into a massive mansion, filled with mechanical guards and puzzles to make your way through. You can watch this trailer for the game for even more info on themed missions.

More Fleshed Out NPCs

The first Dishonored featured an item called “the heart,” that let you point it at enemies and receive a little bit of backstory on who they are. The only problem was that there was a limited number of these backstories, and quite frequently you’d see the same one pop up time and again.

Dishonored 2 has improved on this feature substantially, once again providing some context on the NPCs that you’ll be battling along the way. Once again you’ll be able to use the heart, and this time the game randomly draws from a huge bank of backstories for the characters. This means that your chances of seeing the same story twice will be drastically lower.

Interestingly, the game also weighs NPCs based on their actions. Killing someone that’s a good person or does good things will contribute highly to your Chaos level. On the other hand, killing an NPC that does atrocious things like murdering people, will result in a lower addition to your Chaos level.

Multiple Playthroughs

As Dishonored 2 has two very different playable characters, it seems obvious that the game would encourage multiple playthroughs. Indeed, it is true that if you want to see everything and do everything you’ll need to play through at least twice.

Emily and Corvo both perceive the story differently. So even though you’re playing the same story, the lens through which you see it will be different. Additionally, it’s impossible to get every achievement/trophy in the game without playing both characters, and earning their respective ones.

When, Where, and DLC

Dishonored 2 will be available a bit earlier to anyone that pre-ordered the game, releasing on Nov. 10. For anyone that didn’t pre-order the game, it officially launches on Nov. 11 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.

As the first Dishonored had a healthy helping of DLC, you’re probably wondering what kind of add-ons sequel could be seeing. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been any kind of DLC announced or confirmed as of yet. With what a stellar job Arkane did with the first game’s DLC though, it doesn’t seem unreasonable that we could see some kind of announcement.