As Dishonored 2’s stand-alone expansion, Death of the Outsider, gets closer, it’s time to take a brief look back at the history of the games, the characters, and the once beautiful cities of Dunwall and Karnaca.
Obviously a reminder about the previous entries in this dark fantastical series is going to have major spoilers dotted through it. Don’t continue on unless you have played the games or if you are happy for us to ruin the twists for you. Because Dishonored is a game of multiple paths and endings, only canonical endings and choices will be discussed.
Dishonored (2012)
Framed for the murder of Jessamine Baldwin, the Empress of the fictional Empire of the Isles, and the kidnapping of her daughter Emily, Royal Protector Corvo Attano is imprisoned and sentenced to death by the corrupt Lord Regent Hiram Burrows.
Freed from Coldridge Prison and helped by a band of loyalists hiding out on a long ago abandoned island within the Empire; Corvo is handed his mask and the tools to exact his revenge by the band of rebels before being visited by a mystical being known only as “The Outsider” and pulled in to The Void with him. Branded by the man some worship as a god and handed supernatural powers that give Corvo the ability to manipulate the world around him.
With a sword, a pistol and the ability to bend time, possess animals, and travel at lightning fast speed, The Royal Protector carves a bloody trail – or not, depending how you play – through the ruling class of Dunwall. Corvo removes anyone that gets in his way, from Thaddeus Campbell, the self-appointed High Overseer of the population controlling religious zealots known as the Abbey of the Everyman, through to politicians, financiers, and all the way back to Burrows. Kidnapping a world renowned physician in the process, Anton Sokolov becomes quite the ally in the fight against those that kidnapped the child that, it turns out, is his daughter.
Corvo learns the truth about Jessamine’s assassination after being betrayed by the loyalists and left for dead in the city’s Flooded District. Carried out by a mercenary named Daud, and politically motivated, revenge against the assassin is bittersweet for our hero who has to rescue the heir to the throne for a second time from those he trusted. After rescuing Emily from her captors, The Royal Protector takes up the mantle once again to protect his daughter after he successfully restores her reign to the Empire.
The Knife of Dunwall (2013)
After murdering the Empress, Daud (The Knife of Dunwall) spends the following six months wallowing in his guilt before he is given a cryptic message to follow by the Outsider. Told to untangle the mystery of a woman known only as Delilah, the killer with supernatural powers, and his top assassin Billie Lurke, set about unravelling the deity’s message.
Daud follows the breadcrumbs through the Slaughterhouse District to the Times Estate and back to Dunwall Tower, where he learns of Delilah Copperspoon, a witch accidentally summoned by a seance at the previously visited Boyle mansion. Having been working with Delilah the whole time, Daud’s most trusted friend Billie double crosses the witch and leaves her fate to her mentor’s whims. Banishing her from Dunwall, Billie Lurke leaves the city on a smuggler’s ship and Daud’s story continues.
The Brigmore Witches (2013)
Continuing on his quest to find Delilah and foil her as-yet unknown plans, Daud heads to Coldridge Prison to find Lizzy Stride, a gang leader. Stride sheds some light on the mystery and helps to get him to the Brigmore Manor on her boat, a price that he must pay for the use of in the blood of Stride’s Rivals.
Confronting Delilah and the Brigmore witches, Copperspoon reveals her plan to possess the young empress. The Knife of Dunwall must stop the witch and cast her to The Void to protect the soon-to-be-queen. Daud returns to his hideout in the flooded district where Corvo is waiting to deal with him.
Dishonored 2 (2016)
It has been fifteen years since the events that put Emily Kaldwin on the throne. During a celebration of the life of murdered Empress Jessamine, Luca Abele, the Duke of Serkonas, introduces his guest to the celebration: the witch Delilah Copperspoon. Claiming to be Emily’s Aunt and the rightful heir to the throne, she attacks the father and daughter team, imprisoning one in stone and locking the other away (dependant on which character you decide to play as). For this, we’ll assume a continuation of Corvo’s story.
Corvo is once again visited by the outsider and spurred on to bring peace and balance to the Empire after escaping to his home city of Karnaca with the help of smuggler Meagan Foster. Removing Delilah from her newly stolen throne and rescuing his daughter from her stone tomb is the only way to repair the damage the false queen has done.
Corvo’s closest friend Anton Sokolov is kidnapped by The Crown Killer (a serial killer who’s taken on the responsibility of removing the enemies of the royal family) and must be rescued in order to fulfil his mission. His investigation leads him to a medical institute where the killer turns out to be the product of human experiments to cure mental disorders and the former Royal Physician is now the prisoner of inventor Kirin Jindosh. A genius weapons maker who lives in a mansion that can completely transform at the touch of a button, he also has Sokolov imprisoned in the house somewhere.
Attano’s investigation leads him to the Royal Observatory and a witch that was responsible for resurrecting Delilah after her defeat at the hands of Daud. Capturing Copperspoon’s soul in the heart that The Outsider gave him years ago, Corvo returns to Dunwall Tower and uses his powers to cast Delilah back to The Void and release Emily from her prison.
That’s us. All caught up.
Come back soon when we play and thoroughly review The Death of the Outsider.