Dishonored 2 Devs Talk Corvo and Emily's New Powers
By Jasmine Henry 24 July 2016
Dishonored 2 developers discuss Emily and Corvo’s powers, explaining how they are different and why players should expect an ‘interesting experience.’
When Dishonored 2 launches later this year, one of the biggest changes that the stealth sequel is making is that it will have two protagonists. Emily Kaldwin and her father Corvo, who returns from the first Dishonored, will both be playable in the upcoming game and they offer players two very different sets of gameplay tools indeed.
While the Dishonored 2 gameplay trailer from E3 2016 offered a decent look at this, developer Arkane Studios has continued to discuss the two characters’ powers in a new blog post, explaining exactly how Corvo and Emily are different.
Dishonored 2’s co-creative director Harvey Smith explains that Emily has had a “pretty good upbringing” and that her privileged life as an Empress – which is cut short when a usurper steals the throne – is reflected in both her powers and her clothing. “She wears an asymmetrical-cut jacket with gold embroidery befitting someone who grew up in a palace,” notes Smith, adding that “when she’s carrying a pistol or a crossbow, they need to look like they were made by the finest craftsmen in the Empire of the Isles.”
Dinga Bakaba, the game’s lead designer also adds that “in a way the Outsider marks people according to their personalities” and that as Emily is an Empress, is younger and has a different personality to her father, Corvo, her powers mirror that and “she has a lot of powers that allow her to subdue the will of others.” Bakaba says that “Emily is pretty good at crowd control” with Mesmerize (an ability that distracts foes) and Domino (a power that links enemies and makes them share the same fate) being good examples of this.
With this all said, though, Dishonored 2 players shouldn’t expect the game to leave Corvo in the dust. Although he has the same powers as in the first game, Bakaba notes that “you now have upgrades you can acquire, and you have a power tree,” with which to improve those powers with.
The designer also says that “I think players will have an interesting experience playing the game once with Emily and once with Corvo, because different powers mean different solutions to problems and a different experience.” Players have already been salivating over the possibility of Dishonored 2’s power combos so these different solutions of problems could add yet another level of replayability to the upcoming game.
Dishonored 2 releases November 11, 2016 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: Bethesda
