Plagues. Powers. Stealth. And lots of stabbing people in the neck. Those are the first things that jump out when looking at the latest trailer for Dishonored. Coming from Arkane Studios, who developed Dark Messiah of Might and Magic and worked on the art and visual style of Bioshock 2, Dishonored puts players in the role of Corvo Atano, a bodyguard the an assassinated empress who has been framed for her murder. Obviously a title that doesn’t try to be ambiguous, Corvo must regain his honor by finding the man responsible by cutting a bloody path through anyone in his way.
One thing which quickly stands out is the power set being similar to both Bioshock and Singularity in the trailer below. The telekinesis looks very similar to the plasmid from Bioshock while stopping a pocket of time was right up Singularity’s alley. Even the art style has a Bioshock feel to it was the way characters appear within the world to the propaganda posters cleverly placed to even the environment that is falling apart on itself. There are also some notable Half-Life 2 inspirations seen as well. The gas masks worn by enemies and especially the walkers closely resemble the forces that Gordan Freeman was forced to tackle in Half-Life 2 and its episodes.
The trailer also has a fantastic score to it. A young girl’s eerie voice further pushes the desolation of the world we have given glimpses of. It also makes the violent acts shown feel that much worse as they are contrasted with the beautiful tones below them.
But what stands out the most in Dishonored’s trailer are the plague rats. These might possibly be the coolest new weapon in gaming. Possibly somewhat inspired by the swarm plasmid from Bioshock, there may be nothing scarier than a swarm of rabid clawing creatures to fend off.
Check out the full new gameplay trailer for Dishonored, currently set to come out on October 9th for PC, XBox 360 and PlayStation 3.
