Dishonored 2

The change of regime is hostile and immediately the player has to choose between two protagonists, either Corvo or Emily, as the main character for the entire game. In the first game only Corvo was available and now there are two, each with their own supernatural abilities. Those can also be discarded entirely by rejecting the Outsider's help and just like the first title it can also be approached as a pure action game with melee and ranged combat, as a pure stealth game or as a mix of everything. Unlike the first game there is no silent protagonist as they both are voiced and speak throughout the game. The game is set in the coastal city Karnaca in the southern part of the Empire of the Isles. Architecture, fashion and technology now draw from 19th century European countries like Greece, Italy and Spain. Where the first game linked together environments as hubs with loading times, Karnaca has a more open world-style approach as a single environment, but the game still uses hubs as large sandbox environments for missions.

Just like Corvo, Emily has access to the Outsider's Mark and can choose to use supernatural abilities or reject them entirely. Emily's abilities often focus on distraction and they are Domino to link the fate and actions of two or more characters, Doppelganger to create a clone, Far Reach as a grappling hook, Mesmerize to turn enemies into a dream state and Shadow Walk to turn into smoke for stealth or to move through vents. Corvo's familiar abilities are Bend Time, Blink, Dark Vision, Devouring Swarm and Possession. Abilities can be upgraded, for instance for Corvo's Blink to pass through glass without breaking it or Emily's Far Reach to snatch items harpoon-style. For stealth it is possible to knock out, drag and throw enemies, it is possible to distract using sound and alarms, and guards have an awareness meter based on sound, discoveries and alerting each other, and vision. The rat plague from the original game is replaced by blood flies. They can attack the character, but can also be turned into a distraction.

Runes need to be discovered or bought at black markets to upgrade the abilities. The bone charm system of the original title returns, but in a new form. Players can now craft custom bone charms after unlocking that power, as equippable items that provide new powers. Bonecharms can add invisibility or invulnerability to specific actions or improve actions such as sprinting or swimming, or the regeneration of health or mana. Next to coins as the main currency, blueprints need to be located to upgrade the arsenal and there are paintings as optional collectibles.