Like last year, this year’s Bethesda press conference at E3 had one specific game it wanted to talk about. Dishonored 2 has been in development at Arkane for a while now and fans itching for a taste of the gameplay have been treated to a buffet.
Dishonored 2 is set in the city of Karnaca and stars two main characters — Corvo Attano, who was the lead in the original Dishonored, and Emily Kaldwin, daughter of Corvo and the empress. Each has their own suite of abilities and specialities, even get their own particular story beats, and can be selected from the beginning of the game. The game itself was created from the ground up through a new engine called Void.
Arkane’s Harvey Smith explained that a key component in building Dishonored 2 came from imagining how Emily’s experiences in the original game had informed her as she grew up. Set 15 years after the conclusion of the original game, Dishonored 2 features a now 25-year-old Emily.
Gameplay trailers that debuted during the presentation included a mission in the Dust District where players can complete their objective through various means. The developer encourages the player to explore the game’s new element of verticality, to look to the rooftops as a viable alternative to moving about at ground level.
Emily’s mission continues and she uses the power of the wind — what Smith called a unique aspect of the city — to either stimulate or shut down various machines. She possesses a mezmirise ability that allows her to distract enemies so she can slip past undetected and unremembered. Everything Emily can do is an entirely new power for the series and allow for some surprising game play. Another of her moves is called Domino and allows her to link a group of foes together, dispatch one and have them all perish or be knocked out by the same single attack.
A second trailer from a mission called “A Crack in the Slab” showed a power that lets Emily leap backwards and forwards in time. Emily opens a pocket watch, and uses it to leap to observe what was occurring on that spot in the past or the future and leap forward or back in order to traverse the level.
Dishonored 2 is releasing November 11, 2016 on PS4, Xbox One and PC. The game will also have a very limited Collector’s Edition available.
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