Bethesda drops new details on Dishonored 2’s protagonists

Dishonored 2 is silently approaching its release on the Xbox One, PS4, and PC. The game is set in a new region (Karnaca) and 15 years after the events of the first game, as well as the choice between two protagonists: Empress Emily and Corvo.

While we patiently await the release of Dishonored 2, Bethesda has revealed a bit more information on what to expect in Dishonored 2. We know that Emily and Corvo come with two very different sets of abilities, but it appears as though Emily's powers are a direct reflection of who she is – much like her clothing and weapons.

Corvo trained the Empress to be an assassin, but he didn't train the Empress out of her

Her clothes and weapons are of the finest quality with their own luxurious adornments, but are not the only things that represent who she is, her powers, which are completely different from Corvo's, will also set her apart. “In a way you can say the Outsider marks people according to their personalities,” said Lead Designer Dinga Bakaba. “She’s an Empress. She’s younger. She has a different personality. So her powers reflect that. She has a lot of powers that allow her to subdue the will of others.”

Emily's powers have already been combined in ways the team didn't forsee. From her Mesmerize ability, that calls an entity from the Void to enthrall her enemies and allowing her to kill or sneak by, to her Domino ability that links people together so they’re affected with one action.

As for Corvo's abilities, you'll have the same set of abilities form the first game – except with a couple upgrades. “You now have upgrades you can acquire, and you have a power tree,” says Bakaba. “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.”

The choice between two protagonists will effect a bit more than your playstyle, though. As you play through the game's missions as either Corvo or Emily, each character will respond differently to the environments. According to Arkane's co-creative director Harvey Smith, the experience for the characters greatly differ. "You can literally visit his home neighborhood when you play Dishonored 2,” said Smith, as for Emily, her trip to Karnaca is less than friendly. “At the beginning of Dishonored 2 she loses everything and she’s on the run,” he says. “This is also Emily’s first exposure to the way the rest of the world lives. They both have their own perspectives, and that was something important for us to get right.”

Dishonored 2, and it will launch this November 11th on PS4 and Xbox One as well as PC