Yesterday, Bethesda tweeted an image with just one word: “Tomorrow”. Well, yesterday’s tomorrow is today and we now know that the image is not related to any of Bethsda’s existing franchises like Fallout, Rage, or The Elder Scrolls. Rather, it comes from their mysterious new intellectual property, Dishonored. A trailer hit the internet today giving gamers a look at the world in which this game is set.
It doesn’t show any gameplay footage, but rather presents a CGI movie depicting the game’s protagonist Corvo, as he is framed for a murder he didn’t commit, then recruited to become a supernatural assassin. Armed with guns, daggers, an the ability to stop time, plus some fancy acrobatics, he takes to the rooftops of the city of Dunwall looking for revenge.
Dishonored is set in a world that resembles the early 20th Century, but has magic and advanced technology too. City guards walk around in exo-suits with tall stilt-legs, and use bows that fire exploding arrows. Armored vehicles travel on rails like 19th Century streetcars, while gunmen carry clumsy muzzle-loading guns, and dress like World War I officers.
It’s a visually distinct setting that holds the promise of new “Diesel-punk” themes that blend the recent past with the near future. But the look and setting are only part of what can be gleaned from this video.
Much of the video is done through the first person perspective, including sequences that involve climbing and jumping across rooftops, much like DICE’s first-person parkour game Mirror’s Edge.
Gameplay will clearly involve a mixture of ranged combat and hand-to-hand; Corvo is shown slitting throats with daggers, and deftly evading the thrusts of swordsmen. One scene depicts him dropping down from a rooftop to backstab an unwary guard below.
Yet he is also shown using an unusual crossbow-like weapon to launch projectiles, and also faces off against foes armed with guns. A noteworthy aspect of this ranged combat is that Corvo can stop time, firing his weapon multiple times at different targets, but leaving the projectiles frozen in mid air. When he restarts time again, the projectiles all simultaneously hurtle towards their targets to easily take down a large group of attackers.
This is presumably a demonstration of a mechanic that players will actually be able to use during gameplay and, if it works as shown, should create many interesting options for tactics.
This combination of guns and special powers has been seen in a few big games recently, including Mass Effect, but also the Bioshock series. In fact Dishonored most closely resembles the Bioshock franchise for players seeking a simple comparison. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the developer Arkane Studios worked on Bioshock 2, contributing some of the design, art and animation. Another unsurprising project for Arkane was the aborted Half-Life spin-off Return to Ravenholm, and influences of Half-Life’s Combine can be seen in the ominous guards and their technology (Half-Life 2’s art director Viktor Antonov worked on Dishonored).
Launching with the new video is the official website, which contains some concept art and a handy link to pre-order the game from various retailers. Dishonored will arrive for PC, Xbox and Playstation later this year. Keep an eye on Explosion.com for more preview coverage.
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