Should you play as Corvo or Emily in Dishonored 2? A hands-on comparison. Who should you play as in dishonored 2

Choose Emily if: invisibility is not a necessity, but fluidity and flexibility are for sure. You want to jump from one vantage point to another, tracking down your prey until it’s time to fight.

Should you play as Corvo or Emily in Dishonored 2? A hands-on comparison

We’re rapidly approaching the release of Dishonored 2 – a game I sneakily suspect might get the Game of the Year gong. (You heard it here first, if right. If not, just pretend I never mentioned it, right?) But before we all get carried away, the key question remains: How different is the experience of each of these two player characters?

The game’s creative director Harvey Smith has already said that you need to play Dishonored 2 twice to understand this, which is a little disturbing for those of us who don’t have time to finish, let alone repeat, even the greatest games (Geralt , I’m sorry). Many of us will only play the 15-hour campaign once, so deciding who we choose is a big deal.

On the one hand, there is faithful old Corvo – the man in the iron mask who introduced us to the joy of Winking (teleportation, for you Philistines who haven’t played the first game) and of rat possession. Then there’s Emily, the young empress from the original Dishonored, who has now grown into a deadly cool assassin with her own set of unique abilities. Who are you going for?

I played one mission as both Corvo and Emily so you don’t have to (not that you don’t want to) and I can confirm that these are completely different things. These are my thoughts on them, both mechanically and narratively. Let him help you choose the right character for you…

Pick Corvo for the classic experience, or Emily for a swathe of all-new skills

The original Dishonored has kept its balance perfectly, offering compelling ways to play both aggressively and stealthily. A Corvo bag with unique magic tricks, along with a solid, satisfying hand-to-hand combat system took care of that. But with Emily Kaldwin’s new abilities in Dishonored 2, it quickly became clear to me that she was a slightly stealthier, more creative character, making Corvo look a bit brutal (even though all his classic moves are still intact).

I’m playing Clockwork Mansion, the fourth mission in the game, consisting of a beautiful steampunk trap filled with rooms that transform and move around the house with giant gears. Looks amazing. Corvo’s three abilities at this level are Blast, Blink, and Time to Bend. Blinking is obviously a classic teleportation trick that is great for confusing and flanking enemies, although this time the AI ​​seems more alert and wary of the trick.

Getting a successful Blink fight in the middle is more difficult, and I find myself relying heavily on using my time to give myself an edge, having come to terms with the reality that I am fighting my enemies face to face a lot more than before. Maybe I’m just out of practice, or maybe Corvo’s 15-year-old diet of whale-fin cakes and hagfish caviar (or whatever else Dunwall’s social elite eats) has made him a little heavier than before.

Emily is sleeker, but defining her as a “hidden” character doesn’t do justice to her ingenious range of powers that are as fun as they are deadly. Her three abilities in the same mission are Shadow Walk, Far Reach, and Domino. The first is the stealth one that turns you into a shadow-creature that runs on the ground like an alien (like in Ridley Scott’s Alien). It won’t help you get out of the fight, but if you want to quickly move around while remaining undetected, or get close to an unaware enemy before gutting him out, this is the way to do it.

I play first as Corvo, then as Emily, and the real fun begins as I play around with Emily’s Far Reach and Domino’s abilities, which show new heights of murderous creativity in Dishonored 2. Far Reach is similar to Blink, but if you use it to target enemy, launches it into the air and pulls it towards you.

Dominoes allow you to tag enemies so that if you kill one of them, they all die in the same way. I quickly focus on seeing how many enemies I accuse Dominoes before trying to cut one of them in half and see them all face the same comic macabre fate (I manage to get four) or throw an enemy into the air using Long Range and piercing him on my blade as he falls.

Corvo’s set of moves has nothing to do with it, and it seems a little squeaky to me, a little old-fashioned compared to Emily’s fresh, screaming moves. But maybe all of this is the developer intent, as Dishonored 2 has a “torch-passing” aura from the character that started the series to the one that has risen from the symbol of innocence to the cold, fascinating hero I am dying to learn more about.

Choose C orvo if: you rely on a solid combination of weapons and skill in combat. When things get a little claustrophobic, your main focus is on the frosty time of possessing others, sneaking past the guards without leaving a trace.

Story

Dishonored 2 occurs some time after the events of the first game. Emily Kaldwin is the Empress of the kingdom of Dunwall after her mother’s death in the first game. On Emily’s mother’s memorial day, Lady Delilah Copperspoon arrives at her castle and lays claims to the sister of the late empress and the true heir to the throne. With the help of the Prince and Mechanic’s army, he seizes the throne and you must regain it.

The story is simple yet effective. The game is all about choices and consequences. From the outset, you have the choice of who you want to play – Corvo Attano or Emily Kaldwin, which has a pretty big impact on how you handle the game’s objectives.

Characters

Dishonored 2 doesn’t feature many of the key characters, but most of them are high-quality stuff with good writing overall. Emily is the perfect example of this, as her dialogues and tones reveal her royal upbringing and contain the courage and wit that her father Corvo had to teach her in training.

In addition to these characters, you have two allies who will help you on your journey – Anton Sokołów and Maegan Foster. Anton Sokolov is an old scientist who is really weak and on the verge of death, but intelligent nonetheless. The character of Meagan is somewhat shrouded in mystery and gradually develops over the course of the story.

Delilah Copperspoon also has an interesting storyline, and new information about her story is gradually revealed throughout the story. It is mainly made up of tried and tested kingdoms and castles affairs, but here it works to great effect. You know that something is really good when these tragedies make you question the rightness of your own searches.

It’s clear to many Dishonored players that Deathloop is based on the same gameplay philosophy as previous Arkane titles. Personally, I think Deathloop is the friendliest and most accessible title they’ve created so far.

Emily Kaldwin’s abilities

• A qualified fencer and an efficient marksman. Emily can wield a Corvo sword efficiently and use her personal crossbow and pistol with great precision.
• He has unique supernatural powers: Domino, Hypnotism, Shadow Walk, Far Reach and others. By far her most dangerous skill is Shadow Walk. He can transform into a lethal, inky creature, and then quickly return to his human form.
• He is an excellent free runner.
• Can climb tall structures with ease.
• Emily has also proved to be fluent in swimming.
• She is resistant to almost all of Corvo’s gadgets and powers.

For more information about Emily Kaldwin and her powers, check out the video below:

Have you decided which of these two playable characters to choose?

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Whether it’s news, reviews or interviews – Sherif is always happy to tell you about video games. He plays shooters more than a sane person, and sometimes has the skills to show it.

Silent flaws or vengeful reclaiming?

When your overall playstyle doesn’t bother you much, it just comes down to your preferences. Do you want to delve into Corvo’s story or are you more interested in comparing Emily to him?

Corvo, although fully publicized in Dishonored 2, is still rather quiet and has become a bit more experienced after the events of the original. His skills have developed a bit, but he is still a character you fell in love with in 2012. On the other side of the spectrum is Emily, who embarks on a vendetta to regain her throne, which gives her story a resemblance to Corvo in Dishonored.

Remember that their stories are intertwined with each other, but depending on who you choose, you’ll experience it very differently. Corvo still largely fulfills the same role as in the first game, but Emily can now take matters into her own hands and vent her anger herself.

Choose Corvo if: you know him and like that he hasn’t changed much. His story gets a bit more in-depth this time, revealing a character you’ve already embodied. You like to stick with what you know, and maybe give Emily a shot in the second leg.

Choose Emily if: You want to see the story of how Ttagedy shaped this young assassin, taking her on a path of vengeance and justice that is similar to Corvo’s story in the original Dishonored. You want to know someone else’s story first before diving into Corvo’s life again in the second game of Dishonored 2.

Final rundown

If you’re a die-hard stealth fanatic then playing as Corvo will be a better choice. His abilities can be used more defensively than Emily, and while he can be as deadly as your imagination allows, the satisfaction of flickering between shadows without being noticed makes it easier to play Dishonored 2 non-lethal.

Emily is a very strong addition to the sequel, and her abilities are a bit more deadly than those of Corvo. You like to take your time, turn each level into a giant puzzle and see how many guards you can creatively eliminate by combining your skills. Avoiding detection shouldn’t be too much of a problem, but if something goes wrong you can rely on Emily’s powers to wipe out those who oppose you in Dishonored 2.

Choose Emily if: Your goal is to link goals and pass the fate of one guardian to a handful of others. Causing the occasional chaos is not that much of a problem as you can easily get rid of large groups.

You won’t understand Dishonored 2 until you play it twice, says developer

Your choices in Dishonored 2 will affect the way you play, so much so that you’ll miss out on a lot of content on your first playthrough.

Harvey Smith, the creative director of Dishonored 2, revealed that because the game’s story is influenced by player choice, some may lose a lot of its content because of the choices they make.

Speaking to Finder, Smith said you’ll likely see around 25 percent of the game on your first playthrough and that going through it more than once is your best bet – if you want to see more of the game.

“Every time you play Dishonored 2 it’s different because you find different paths, buy different powers, go to high or low chaos, and play as Corvo or Emily. Also, when the Outsider offers you his mark, you can decline, ”he said. Side.

“So before, some have played it once, some have played it multiple times, but Dishonored 2 has even more reasons to play it again.”

This also applies to the game’s plot, as Smith notes that it may take more than one game play to fully understand it. “And I don’t think players will understand Dishonored 2 until they play it twice,” he continued.

“Because there are so many overt conversations to miss and knowledge to read and even just understand the impact of the environment on storytelling.”

Runes – The way the game offers the different powers you get as you play the game is not enough to unlock half of the available powers in one playthrough.

Dishonored 2 will be released November 11 for PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

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To make it easier for you to choose between Emily Kaldwin or Corvo Attano, we will list the main features of the two. Depending on the game strategy you want to use and your playstyle, you will be able to choose the character that best represents you.

Gameplay is more free-flowing and the Gunplay is satisfying.

Perhaps something that puts people off Dishonored is that the game is very punishing for mistakes. Dishonored is primarily a stealth game. While it can be played like a shooter, its design is more suited to stealth. Kicking the door and shooting everyone in sight is a viable strategy at lower difficulty levels, but it leads to a higher chaos rating and a more sinister ending.

The Deathloop is much more affordable to shoot and as such is an even more profitable option. There are many types of weapons that can be obtained with trinkets that provide a boost to their abilities. Coupled with the Dualsense haptic feedback, they seem much more powerful than a single Dishonored gun.

Deathloop | PlayStation Showcase 2021 Story Trailer

Additionally, in Dishonored, when you’re trying to stealth and fail, your only choice is to reload your saved game if you’re going to play with ghosts, or try to hide or fight your way out of a skirmish. The latter can trigger nearby alarms and make even more enemies run towards you.

Deathloop is much smoother, and when seen it’s a lot easier to take down an enemy without alerting every enemy in the area. Even with multiple enemies around, shooting yourself to safety is more rewarding and less punitive than in Dishonored.

Additionally, due to the PlayStation 5 SSD, there is less waiting after death. The player will no longer have to wait 30 seconds between reloading attempts. Deathloop triggers a player with a reprise ability that returns time to the last safe point after death. You will have to restart the loop the third time around, but there is still room for errors. This is much more player-friendly than having to watch the loading screen because you’ve tried something risky.

Gripping character development from voiced protagonists and antagonists

A silent hero appeared in the original Dishonored. In The Knife of Dunwall DLC, the team experimented with the full voice of Daud, the new hero. Daud was one of the main antagonists of the main game with an established personality, so having him as the player’s new voice was a risk that ultimately paid off. Daud was much cooler than Corvo and consequently he and his team of hilarious killers became fan favorites. His inspiration can be felt in Arkane’s later works.

Deathloop has a Colt character from the very beginning, which is fully expressive and talkative. His personality is fully established from the very beginning. His constant dialogues with Juliana are witty and fun. Players will be more likely to see Colt get out of the loop compared to Dishonored’s plot of “Will the Masked Hero Find a Girl and Save the Day.

Building the world of Deathloop is also a treat for the eye, with visually distinctive and colorful inspirations from the last century. Dunwall has also been a master class at world-building, but with a more expressive protagonist there’s a much more intriguing world you’ll want to explore.

You gain new powers by finding runes scattered throughout each chapter of the game. You have complete freedom in choosing your powers (and their upgrades) – all you need is runes to unlock the desired abilities. There are also hidden bone charms around the world, and equipable wards that provide specific stat bonuses and effects.

Achievements and replayability

On Xbox One, Dishonored 2 has 50 achievements worth a total of 1,000 player points. Each of the nine chapters has at least one optional achievement, if not more. The achievement for finding all collectable images in the game will likely require the use of a guide, as the Heart used to find Runes and Bone Charms offers no hints for images.

Of course, the game offers Achievements for completing Low Chaos and High Chaos runs, requiring at least two passes. There are also achievements for the “No Kills” and “No Power” runs. Emily and Corvo have an achievement related to their unique powers, so you’ll need to play as both of them.

Complicating the achievement situation, Dishonored 2 does not have the Chapter Selection feature at launch. In other words, you can’t go back to find the paintings or complete the goals you missed after completing the chapter. A workaround for this is to create a save at the beginning of each chapter to use as a backup in case something goes wrong while playing. Even so, the linearity of the game, coupled with a ton of things to pay attention to in each chapter, is limiting and stressful.

Fortunately, the upcoming updates will address linearity and overlooked performance issues. The first update, expected in late December, adds the New Game Plus mode, which allows survivors to start over while keeping all their runes and bone charms. This mode also allows you to mix and match Emily and Corvo’s powers.

The second major update is coming in January. It adds custom difficulty settings and, most importantly, a chapter selection. Both New Game Plus and Chapter Choice seem like obvious pieces from the start, but it’s likely the developers just didn’t have time to roll them out before launch.

Overall Impression

Dishonored 2 is an amazing game. Played entirely in first person, the freedom it gives players is very much like that of the Elder Scrolls games. Although the game is split into separate levels rather than an open world, each chapter is huge and full of atmosphere, detail and countless nooks and crannies to explore. The Empire really does feel like a believable steampunk world with countless stories to tell.

Choosing between High Chaos and Low Chaos gameplay is very similar to the moral choices of BioWare games. Here you can only be virtuous or caricaturally evil, with no gray areas in between. But that’s not all that bad, because being a ruthless killer never loses its sombre shine. High Chaos is truly the most darkly satisfying way to play. And when you’re ready for a bigger challenge, you can play the whole thing again as a stealthy benefactor.