In Dishonored 2, players will return to the Empire of the Isles, but this time they'll experience most of the game in a new setting. While Dishonored 2 begins and ends in Dunwall — the bleak industrial city of the first game — most of the action takes place in Karnaca, often referred to as the Jewel of the South. The capital of Serkonos — which is the southernmost island in the Empire — Karnaca is a dazzling Mediterranean-inspired metropolis with distinctly different culture and style.

Corvo Attano returns in Dishonored 2, but this time he's not alone. He's now joined by his daughter, Emily Kaldwin. Fifteen years later, both characters have grown. Now 25, Emily is no longer the innocent child from the first game, but a powerful figure who rules the Empire. And Corvo, having restored his daughter to the throne, once again serves as the Royal Protector. On the anniversary of the death of Emily's mother (and Corvo's lover) Jessamine Kaldwin, an otherworldly usurper seizes the throne, leaving the fate of the Empire hanging in the balance.

Players will choose to play as either Emily or Corvo, fully voiced with their own perspectives and emotional responses to the events transpiring around them. Emily is voiced by Erica Luttrell. Corvo is voiced by Stephen Russell. Other actors in Dishonored 2 include: Vincent D'Onofrio (Luca Abele, Duke of Serkonis), Rosario Dawson (Meagan Foster, Captain of the Dreadful Wale), Jamie Hector (Vice Overseer Liam Byrne), Pedro Pascal (Paolo, leader of the Howler gang), Sam Rockwell (Mortimer Ramsey of the Dunwall City Watch), and Robin Lord Taylor (The Outsider).

Dishonored 2’s first free game update with New Game Plus will be available worldwide on Monday, December 19th for PC, Xbox One and PS4 and will release today as a beta on PC.

Dishonored 2 offers the freedom of choice to play and improvise as you like. With this new mode, combine Empress Emily Kaldwin’s abilities with Royal Protector Corvo Attano’s signature powers to create any custom combo of multiple powers that you can imagine. Unlocked once you complete the game as either Emily or Corvo, New Game Plus lets you begin anew as either character with access to each hero’s full suite of abilities plus all the Bonecharm Traits and Runes collected from your previous playthrough that you can re-assign to choose the powers you want.

Even more options to customize your experience will arrive in January with the game’s second free update that will include two new features: Mission Select and additional Custom Difficulty Settings that further tailor to your playstyle and adjust the challenge based on a wide array of settings. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more details on the second free update.

Emily and Corvo have their own unique supernatural powers. Corvo's powers return from the first game, but each has been extended and enhanced. Corvo's Possession power, for example, can be upgraded so you can chain from host to host — or you can instead hide in corpses or sleeping enemies. Emily's Far Reach mobility power can be upgraded to allow you to steal objects from afar, or you can upgrade it to yank enemies toward you and take them out midair.

The Dishonored series is all about options and exploration, and Dishonored 2 takes that to the next level with deeper choices and even more ways to play. The game has many different pathways through each mission, but also different approaches — stealth or combat, lethal or nonlethal — and a wide array of supernatural powers that dramatically change the experience.

Dishonored 2 will deliver classic Dishonored gameplay, with missions that include many pathways to explore, creative approaches to reach your targets, and a myriad of ways to combine powers, tools and abilities to tackle any situation. "But this time we've put a greater emphasis on big, interesting mission themes — either from a gameplay or a fiction standpoint — making each mission a wildly unique place to explore" Smith said. Here are three examples: