Dishonored 2: Release date, gameplay and everything you need to know
Magic and mysticism blend with arcane science and some seriously sneaky gameplay as Corvo Attano and the Princess Emily return in Dishonored 2.
If you've played 2012's stealth-action game Dishonored, chances are you're already pretty excited for the sequel. And if you haven't played it, well, you should be excited anyway. Read on to learn why Dishonored 2 is such an anticipated game. For readers in Australia and the UK, we apologise for the spelling of Dishonored.
So what is Dishonored 2?
Four years ago Bethesda, purveyors of fine games for players of distinction, debuted a brand new game called Dishonored. The original had a kind of Whale-Oilpunk aesthetic, as steam-powered science and magic collided in a world that had Victorian military fetishists licking their lips.
The combination of wizardry, gadgets and a lot of stealth proved pretty popular, and Dishonored walked off with a lot of awards, which usually means a sequel is on its way.
What's Dishonored 2 all about then?
The first game introduced us to the royal bodyguard and assassin Corvo Attano and his mission to recovered the kidnapped Princess Emily Kaldwin from within the city of Dunwall. Set 15 years later, Dishonored 2 sees the older Emily, once Empress and now dethroned by outside forces, travelling to the city of Karnaca ("Jewel of the South") to reclaim her rightful place. Corvo, with his rather protective relationship to Emily, isn't going to sit this one out either.
Emily Kaldwin, all grown up and ready to fight.
What's different from the first game?
Well the setting is a big one. Gone is the plague-struck, rat-infested dreary Dunwall. In its place we have Karnaca, based on cities around Greece, Italy and Spain.
You also get your choice of player character. You could jump back into Corvo's soft leather shoes and sneak around delivering the odd neck stabbing, sure, or you could play as Emily. Yes, the former Empress isn't one to just sit around and wait for assistance. She's followed in Corvo's footsteps and has picked up her own set of arcane abilities and the combat chops to go with it.
The game gets you to choose who you play as after a prologue sequence and you stay as that character for the whole game -- no swapping back and forth.
But the gameplay is pretty much the same?
A lot of elements are, definitely. You can play stealthily or run in with guns and spells blazing if you prefer. You can also do the entire game without killing anyone, just like the first Dishonored.
But people familiar with the first game will see that Corvo's magic abilities have been changed a little, while Emily has a completely different set. For example, Corvo's Blink ability, a short hop teleport that was almost essential for stealth in the first game, now has some more combat oriented upgrades. Emily on the other hand doesn't have Blink, but her Far Reach works more like a magical grappling hook. It not only gets her moving around an area, but she can use it to grab items and even enemies.
It sounds very much like this is a game that will lend itself perfectly to two playthroughs, one for each character.
Should I play the first game?
There's an enhanced edition of Dishonored for the new generation of consoles (which includes all of the cool downloadable content episodes as well) and I cannot stress enough how much I recommend playing it. Not only is it just a great game, I think the story is so compelling that you'll get more from the sequel by understanding the first game.
When can I play this?
Dishonored 2 will arrive on PC, Xbox One and PS4 on November 11 this year. As always with release dates this may slip a little, so I'll be updating this article as we hear anything new.