‘Dishonored 2’ Lets You Play As Corvo Or New Female Lead

Arkane Studios made an appearance during Bethesda Softworks’ E3 Showcase Monday night to reveal Dishonored 2. While the sequel was expected, the reveal trailer for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC title, plus the details that followed, had some new surprises of its own. Not only is the setting of the Empire of the Isles expanded on, but you will have the opportunity to play as two characters that share a history together.

Corvo Attano will return in Dishonored 2, and is joined by a new female protagonist, Emily Kaldwin, who is the focus of the trailer. Players of the original game will recognize her as the orphaned princess and Corvo’s daughter.

Emily’s powers and abilities are different from those of Corvo, which will affect how players tackle the game. While Corvo was able to blink teleport, she has a kind of shadow magic that allows her to shoot a shadow tentacle to reach different areas and pull her to it. The “Shadow Walking” ability that was cut from the original Dishonored also appears, as Emily turns into a shadow to traverse a collapsing hallway to reach her target. She also demonstrated the ability to pause time, like Corvo.

On the weapon side, she used a small crossbow that can fire normal and explosive arrows. An Arc Mine from The Knife of Dunwall DLC was also used, along with Corvo’s retractable sword.

In a post-show interview with Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb, Arkane Studios explained that players will have to choose between either Corvo or Emily at the beginning of the game. They are locked in with that character during the entire play-through for story reasons, and will have different takes on the story.

Co-op will not be available because Arkane feels that single-player gives more choices and consequences. The Dishonored 2 world is designed around both Corvo’s and Emily’s abilities.

Dishonored 2 takes place 15 years after the events in the original on the island of Karnaca, located south of Dunwall’s location. “An otherworldly usurper has seized the throne from Empress Emily Kaldwin, leaving the fate of the Isles hanging in the balance,” according to Bethesda’s announcement. The island of Kanaca “holds the key to restoring Emily to power.”

As the Dishonored 2 trailer shows, Kanaca is a more tropical location than the whaling island of Dunwall. This new island has a large mix of natural and city environments. How that will affect gameplay remains to be seen.

Bethesda is targeting a spring 2016 release for Dishonored 2. Those that have yet to experience the original will have another shot when Dishonored: Definitive Edition hits the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One this fall. It contains the game and all of its DLC, running with all the graphical goodies that the new generation of consoles can afford.

[Images via Bethesda Softworks]