Arkane is determined to ensure that when players finally get their hands on Dishonored 2 next year that playing as either Corvo or Emily results in wildly different experiences.
In an interview with Mashable Co-Director Harvey Smith explains that Emily was always special, even in the original Dishonored. “[S]he’s watching you. If you play very violently, she changes in the game. So people were interested in [her],” he said. “You have this privileged girl who, instead of living the life she would have lived, got interrupted by this tragic event. But then she was raised by Corvo the rest of the way. So who would she be as an adult?”
Unlike the majority of games featuring multiple playable protagonists, Dishonored 2 won’t allow players to switch back and forth between Emily and Corvo on the fly. Smith explains, “We were trying to decide how … to break it up so you make the choice. You play as Emily for like half an hour and then you get to this pivotal moment where a dramatic thing happens, and you choose at that point whether to continue with Emily or switch to Corvo. And then you’re locked in.”
Whether playing as Corvo or Emily, players will take on the exact same missions, but as the two characters have different powers, the way each mission can be tackled will be different each time. Add in the choice as to whether a player uses a stealth or combat approach and the variables quickly add up.
“Emily fights with a little more finesse than Corvo does,” according to Smith. “Whereas Corvo has the very classic Possession, Rat Swarm, Blink [abilities], Emily has Far Reach, Shadow Walk, Mesmerize… these powers that nobody has heard of.” Far Reach is an example of a similar ability that can be levelled up in such a way that it becomes an altogether different skill from Blink. Smith explains that with Far Reach “You send this magic tendril out into the world to pull yourself to a location. You can stick to walls, you can yank somebody toward you and assassinate them in mid-air, so you have these synced assassinations in mid-air.” Smith adds “It begins to feel different, and it adds momentum. You can run and jump and it has rope physics to it.”
Both Corvo and Emily are fully voice acted in Dishonored 2 which will also change the way a player experiences the game. “Corvo’s an older guy, he’s coming home for the first time to Serkonos. Emily is like an empress outlaw on the run, and she’s young, she’s 25. So their perspectives are very different.”
Dishonored 2 will be available for PC, PS4 and Xbox One in 2016.
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