While the first Dishonored put players in the shoes of a supernatural assassin in a steampunk stealth adventure, the sequel gives you two shadowy warriors for the price of one. One of these is obviously Corvo, the first title's protagonist. The newbie this time around is Emily, Corvo's daughter. Because of their familial relationship, one might expect her to play the same as her father.
True, they have plenty of similarities, but these are balanced out by a fair few differences to add some novelty to additional playthroughs. This is especially apparent in her abilities. In contrast to Corvo's brute force, Emily's powers are mostly about misdirection. This is arguably more appropriate for a stealth title.
6 Mesmerize
Emily and Corvo don't have many supernatural weapons at their disposal, so you'd expect the ones that they do have to be distinctive and memorable. Sadly, this power comes off as redundant in the grand scheme of things. Mesmerize summons a spirit to distract enemies, and upgrading it merely increases the number of foes it enthralls and how long it works.
Taken on its own, this ability is perfectly fine. However, it seems downright obsolete next to the Doppelganger power. This trick also lets Emily call in some distracting shades, but that's just the beginning. These spirits have a slew of different uses for those who upgrade the ability. After investing the runes in this, why would players ever go back to Mesmerize? The most logical explanation would be those who go for a no-kill playthrough, and even that is iffy.
5 Far Reach
At first glance, this bears a strong resemblance to Corvo's Blink ability. Players pick a point, and Emily reaches that point in the blink of an eye. Unfortunately, despite Emily's training under her father, this power comes with one catch that severely hampers its usefulness.
Blink is instantaneous. Corvo teleports to wherever the player indicates. Far Reach, on the other hand, involves Emily physically moving through a space. She latches onto a distant ledge and pulls herself toward it. This means that she could potentially be spotted by enemies. It makes the power less enticing to use when you have to worry about hostiles, thereby limiting your mobility options.
4 Domino
This power's usefulness is largely dependent on two factors. First is how much the player upgrades it. Linking enemies enemies so that killing one also takes out the other sounds good on paper, but the base tier only lets you kill one additional foe. Getting rid of three or four at once requires upgrades.
The second factor to consider is the situation. While other abilities are universally useful, Domino is more reliant on your ability to read the scenario. Emily must find a good angle to link enemies and find the right one to kill. That's not even considering those players who don't go the hardcore stealth route. Barreling through the game the minimal sneaking makes this power even more superfluous.
3 Doppelganger
Creating a doppelganger has always felt incredibly basic in stealth titles. It slows down the gameplay and functions as a needlessly showy way of distracting enemies. It was boring in Sly Cooper, and it remains equally uninspired here. At least, that's the case for the base level.
Upgrading this power makes it so effective that it practically breaks the game in some areas. The shades that Emily summons can confuse enemies and even kill them. On top of that, you can eventually conjure two shades or swap places with one. It becomes less about distraction and more about calling in your own goon squad. Foes don't stand a chance, but upgrading takes time. Players likely want to use those runes on powers with more immediate benefits. Plus, such mindless murder undermines the game's views on death and consequences.
2 Shadow Walk
When you have an ability that masks your presence in a stealth game, the usefulness speaks for itself. It doesn't make Emily entirely invisible, but moving through populated areas still becomes much easier. Of course, players will use it to bypass some of the trickier encounters and cheaper levels. When enemy patrols eliminate most of the unseen space, it's cheekily satisfying to slip past them so easily.
Shadow Walk grows even more gratifying through its various upgrades. Improvements let Emily take out two or even three enemies while in shadow form. In addition, moving through rodent tunnels and increasing sneak speed make Shadow Walk an alternate navigation option that's arguably more tempting than default movement. It's truly the best of both worlds, benefitting players in the short term while giving them ample incentive to upgrade.
1 Dark Vision
The most important advantage to any game is perspective. No matter which levels they explore in either Dishonored title, players must know where they stand among their enemies so that they can figure out how to win. This is arguably more important in a stealth game, as players are often weaker than their adversaries and must outmaneuver them to survive.
That's why Dark Vision is Emily's best ability. As its name suggests, it lets her whatever obstacles she might face. Hostiles and security systems are visible through walls, and you can even see enemy patrol routes with enough upgrades. In the long run, the awareness that this power grants the player is more valuable than any offensive move that Emily has in her arsenal.