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Overview
Dishonored 2 is a first-person stealth action game developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks, released on November 11, 2016. Set 15 years after the events of the original Dishonored, the story follows the fall of Empress Emily Kaldwin, overthrown by a mysterious usurper backed by dark forces. Players choose to reclaim the throne as either Emily or her father Corvo Attano, the Royal Protector from the first game, and travel from the grey streets of Dunwall to the coastal city of Karnaca.
Karnaca is a city soaked in dust, political corruption, and a bloodfly infestation that has replaced the rat plague of the original. The setting feels alive in a way that matters mechanically, not just aesthetically. Every alley, rooftop, and locked apartment contains something worth finding, whether that's a rune to upgrade abilities, a black market shop, or a piece of lore that deepens the world. The shift from Dunwall's Victorian gloom to Karnaca's Mediterranean architecture gives the sequel a visual identity entirely its own.
Gameplay and mechanics
The core stealth action loop carries over from the first game but expands significantly based on which character you pick. Corvo retains his original abilities, including Blink for short-range teleportation, Possession, and Windblast. Emily's kit is built around completely new powers:
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- Domino: link enemies so one action affects all
- Far Reach: a grapple-like movement ability
- Mesmerize: distract groups of enemies
- Shadow Walk: transform into a crawling shadow creature
- Doppelganger: create a decoy clone
The two characters play differently enough that a second playthrough with the other protagonist feels genuinely fresh rather than cosmetic. Missions can be completed through lethal or non-lethal means, and the chaos system from the original returns, tracking how much violence you inflict and shaping certain story outcomes.
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What makes Dishonored 2's level design stand out?
The level design is where Dishonored 2 separates itself from almost every other stealth game released in the 2010s. The Clockwork Mansion, a mechanical estate that reconfigures its rooms at the pull of a lever, stands as one of the most inventive single levels in the genre. The Crack in the Slab mission lets players toggle between the present and a ruined past version of the same building in real time, using the mechanic to solve puzzles and bypass enemies. These aren't gimmicks built around a single moment; they're fully realized systems that reward experimentation across multiple playthroughs.
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World and setting
Karnaca's political situation mirrors the broader themes of the series without repeating them. The city is controlled by the Overseers and a mining industry that exploits the local population, giving the world a texture that goes beyond backdrop. Side content, environmental storytelling, and collectible notes fill in details that the main missions only gesture at. Players who explore thoroughly get a fundamentally richer understanding of why this city is worth saving.
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Content and replayability
Dishonored 2 supports high replayability through its dual-protagonist structure, the chaos system, and a Ghost challenge that rewards completing missions without being detected or killing anyone. A "no powers" run, unlocked by refusing the Outsider's mark, adds yet another layer of difficulty and approach. The Death of the Outsider standalone expansion, released in 2017, continues the story with assassin Billie Lurk and brings additional missions set in Karnaca. Between the base game's mission variety, the two protagonists, and the expansion, there's more replayable stealth action content here than most games in the genre manage across an entire series.