Dishonored developers Arkane Studios are working on a new game, Deathloop, where players have to take down eight "visionary" targets on the island of Black Reef before a time loop resets, bringing everyone back to life. While the premise is very different to that of Dishonored, the game appears to have a lot in common with its predecessor in terms of combat.
Dishonored had some fantastically unique magical abilities that players could use as assassins Corvo Attano or Emily Kaldwin. It's already clear from the gameplay trailers that Deathloop will let players do short range teleportation similar to the Blink ability in Dishonored 1 and its sequel, and that they'll have access to a power that pushes enemies away like Windblast. However, there are more fun abilities which Deathloop should take from Dishonored, especially since the new game will not make distinctions between violent and pacifist runs like Arkane's older IP.
Domino
Domino was one of the best new skills introduced in Dishonored 2, adding a totally new dynamic to the game for players who pick Emily Kaldwin as their character. This ability links the fates of the NPCs under its control. The player starts with the ability to link together two targets. If players upgrade the skill to the max, they can link up to four NPCs together. If one of them is knocked out or killed, they all are. This skill could be particularly useful for Deathloop's Colt with multiple targets in the same place, like in the "Two Birds One Stone" trailer. However, it would likely be managed differently to prevent it from being too overpowered in a game with only eight main targets.
Bend Time And Possession
With Deathloop's setting of Blackreef stuck in a time loop, the Bend Time ability from Dishonored not only makes sense, but is perhaps one of the most likely to be taken from Arkane's last series. Bend Time allows the player to set up some wonderfully creative kills. Players are able to slow down time and, if they upgrade the ability, they can even stop it entirely at the cost of much of their mana.
Projectiles like bullets stop in mid air, and in combination with the Possession skill, players can even make a guard walk in front of a bullet he just shot at the player. Bend Time and Possession open up a world of satisfying and creative ways to take on combat in Dishonored, and would likely do the same in Deathloop, especially when time itself is the name of the game.
Semblance
Semblance is one of the coolest additions to Dishonored, though many players may have missed it. The ability was only included for Billie Lurk in the Death of the Outsider expansion pack for Dishonored 2. The ability allows Billie to appear exactly like the NPC that the power is used on. Not only is this great for stealth, but when possessing certain important characters the player can even unlock unique experiences. There may be times in Deathloop where it makes more sense to impersonate one of the eight targets than to kill them right away, such as impersonating the scientist Egor Serling to gain access to Aleksis Dorsey's party using his invitation.
Foresight
Foresight is another great power in Dishonored that was only added for Billie Lurk, but which would totally make sense in an island where time manipulation is everywhere to be found. This ability allows the player to pause time, but instead of manipulating events, they get to walk ahead to check out an area and any potential threats in advance. They can even use it to Blink to areas they might not have otherwise known about or been able to reach which, assuming the Blink-like power seen in the trailers operates similarly to the one in Dishonored, could make Foresight an invaluable addition to any assassin's repertoire.
Devouring Swarm
Devouring Swarm might have to be reskinned to fit into the sci-fi world of Deathloop. It's one of the most grizzly and gothic powers that players can use is Dishonored, and ties directly into the story of both games by allowing players to summon a swarm of rats who devour the enemy without leaving a trace. It's a cool ability, but ultimately one that Dishonored's Chaos system punished using by making kills contribute to the game's "Bad" ending. Deathloop's time loop makes Colt a total pragmatist when it comes to stealth and killing, which could make a skill like this far more satisfying to use.
Doppelganger
The Doppelganger ability allows the player to create a fake assassin to draw the attention of the guards away from themself. By default these body-doubles just stand there waiting to be spotted, but with the proper upgrades they can be used in combat. In Dishonored, however, unleashing an unruly doppelganger was a surefire way to stack up bodies and risk getting a worse ending to the game. If put in Colt's hands, Doppelganger could be a more useful ability, especially with rival assassin Juliana "Jules" Blake on the hunt for him. After all, if she reveals herself by shooting the double, that could buy Colt all the time he needs to take her out and continue his mission.
Mesmerize
The Mesmerize ability allows Emily to summon a strange spirit from the void which puts the guards who look at it into a trance. As with many of Dishonored's abilities, the more Mesmerize is upgraded the more guards it can affect at one time. This is another skill that would likely have to be reskinned in Deathloop - after all, there is no Outsider or Void in Deathloop's story as far as any fans know.
Nonetheless, Mesmerize is a useful skill for non-violent playthroughs. While non-violence won't be necessary in Deathloop, it could prove to be far easy than taking on certain groups of enemies all at once as Colt battles through Blackreef in an attempt to kill his targets, break the loop, and make his way home.
Deathloop is set to release on May 21 for PC and PS5.
