Every Dishonored 2 Power Shown in Bethesda’s E3 Demo

Set to release on November the 11th, Arkane Studios’ Dishonored 2 appears to be polishing what its steampunk first-person action predecessor did best. In their recent press conference at E3, Bethesda Softworks showcased a segment of the game featuring one of the game’s two playable characters, Empress Emily Kaldwin, revealing some of the game’s powers.

“The game has many different pathways through each mission”, said Co-creative Director of the game, Harvey Smith, in the demo. “There are also different approaches: stealth or combat; lethal or non lethal; and a wide array of supernatural powers that will dramatically change the experience as you play”.

Emily is well equipped in hand to hand combat, parrying guards’ attacks and assassinating guards by a quick stab in the neck.

The female assassin can also use what appears to be a revolver, firing an array of bullets towards a group of enemies. There is a crossbow bolt icon in the abilities menu as well.

Emily can also summon a Void spirit to enthral humans or hounds, distracting her enemies as she sneaks past them.

“[When] mesmerize[d], [enemies] won’t notice Emily or note that she was there”, said Harvey.

Emily can pull objects towards her with the Far Reach ability, as shown in the demo when she flings a whale tank towards her and shoots at it, causing it to explode, damaging her foes.

“Far Reach can be upgraded not only to pull objects from the distance but also enemies so you can finish them off in mid-air”, said Harvey.

Emily can also link human targets together to chain an attack, killing or stunning a group of enemies in one move. This was probably the most interesting ability shown off in the demo, as it provides a variety of opportunities in combat scenarios.

In the demo, the player planted a stun mine and linked several overseers, tricking one into moving towards the mine by turning on a projector. One of the guards then set off the trap, stunning the entire group.

“There are many creative ways to use Domino”, said Harvey.

Emily is also able to travel between the past and present – in areas where her powers are blocked – with the Timepiece mirror. The mirror shows reflections of an area’s past and present through the cracks of the glass screen, allowing Emily to traverse between the two worlds to navigate an area, such as the ruined manor shown in the demo.

“Looking through the lenses of the outsider’s timepiece, you can see the alternate timeline”, said Harvey. “This is useful for solving puzzles but can also be used to avoid or take-down enemies”.

“You can watch enemies in the alternate timeline and then ‘step through’ to execute your plan.

Emily can also transform into a supernatural dark being, significantly increasing her stealth abilities and sneaking for a short time. The ability was teased in the game’s announcement trailer, and is a terrifying image as Emily deforms intro a shadowy creature, crawling towards her prey before ripping him apart.

“Shadow Walk is useful for stealth and combat”, said Harvey.