Dishonored 2

The highly anticipated sequel to Dishonored is quickly approaching release. While we just saw a fresh look at gameplay featuring Corvo at QuakeCon, at Gamescom we got a deeper look at Emily Kaldwin's supernatural abilities. We were treated to two demos, both from the point of view of Emily. First, she is tasked with a rescue mission as she navigates a conspiring inventor’s home, and then she infiltrates The Royal Conservatory where she takes on Delilah Copperspoon’s disciples from the witches' coven.

“The duke’s circle is full of clever bastards, but no one is like Jindosh. His home is full of marvels, and there’s a reason people are afraid of his mention,” narrates a stern Emily as the opening scene of the demo gives quick snippets of Dishonored’s new setting, Karnaca.

We see a woman smoking a pipe on a boat as a black whale swims by, and the buildings of Karnaca loom in the distance. It switches to Emily’s point of view, as she begins to scope out the grounds outside of an austere mansion. This building is known as the Clockwork Mansion, and is the home of the conspirator and renowned inventor Kirin Jindosh. His home, as she mentions above, is full of trinkets and strange mechanisms; some can be dangerous, while others can be used to your advantage to navigate the maze-like interior.

Emily’s mission is to rescue Anton Sokolov, an ally from the first game who is being held captive. This turns out to be quite a challenge, as the home itself twists and turns with the pull of a lever, and robotic enemies known as Clockwork Soldiers stomp around the halls, along with human guards.

“Who would build something like this, and why?” monologues Emily as she warily admires Jindosh’s home.

Outside, Emily uses a telescope-like device to see in the far distance. Several guards are patrolling the grounds, so she takes a stealthy approach to get rid of them. She assumes her Shadow Walk form, which transforms her into a demonic creature made of smoke, allowing her to sneak up on her enemies unseen. She ferociously slashes them with a knife after lifting them up from the ground by grabbing one of their legs.

A group of guards stand together now, unknown of her presence. Using her Domino power, she is able to kill all of them at once. By decapitating one enemy, all of them assume the same fate. With the coast clear, she moves in to the building, slinking closer to her main target.

Inside, Emily pulls a lever that opens up a new entryway. Clockwork Soldiers stand nearby, but they do not attack her…yet. The voice of Jindosh booms through a speaker in each room she enters, taunting her onwards. The two finally come face-to-face through a glass window as he nears her in a long hallway, which ends with him deducing her identity as the Empress.

It’s obvious he sees this as a game of cat and mouse, as he alerts his mechanical army and human guards of Emily’s presence. She can no longer hide in the shadows; now, she rushes through the building, crashing through windows boisterously. She tackles Clockwork Soldiers, ripping off their bird-like skulls from their necks. With Far Reach, she jumps from one corner to the next. This power can be upgraded so that Emily can pull objects toward her, like a mental grappling hook. Light platforming ensues as she pulls levers to create new paths and shimmies across a ledge toward another part of the mansion.

In the final room, filled with blackboards with blueprint designs and an array of quirky inventions, Jindosh unknowingly awaits his fate. Approaching him from behind, Emily chokes him and straps him into a chair, one of his own inventions, which later continuously zaps him painfully. “With this machine, maybe you won’t have to die after all, Jindosh,” she says. While it may not kill him, Emily notes it may be a fate worse than death. “Not sure I call it mercy,” she says menacingly.

This ends the mission, and it transitions to the second demo, where Emily enters the sanctuary of the witches' coven, a group headed by Delilah Copperspoon. We were only shown about three minutes of this gameplay, where she enters the museum-esque location where large, stuffed birds hang from the ceiling. Emily once again makes use of Far Reach, bouncing from one area to the next. She brutally stabs her enemies from behind, and jumps to a hanging chandelier. A couple of ghoulish witches sit here, unaware of her presence, until she guns them down without hesitation.

Dishonored 2 is absolutely brutish in the best way possible so far, and Emily's arsenal of supernatural powers look to be a blast. The stealth RPG releases November 11 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Click below to view our hub, where you can check out exclusive interviews, videos, and coverage.