To follow on from last week where we looked at the best component of each existing Dishonored game which, when combined, would make the perfect Dishonored experience, this week I want to build on that and talk about five things the game could do to while implementing those ideas in order to deliver on that concept.
This article contains some spoilers for The Brigmore Witches and Dishonored 2.
Play As Young Delilah
Delilah is one of the most interesting characters in the Dishonored franchise, and yet we still don’t know a great deal about her. The alleged secret daughter of the late Emperor Euhorn Kaldwin and aunt to Emily Kaldwin, she grew up within Dunwall Tower but was never afforded the status and luxury of her supposed half-sister Jessamine.
Forced out of the Tower after being accused of breaking a valuable item, she and her mother were subjected to a harsh life of violence and poverty before the latter was killed when a guard broke her jaw. Gifted the Outsider’s Mark at the age of 27 after making ends meet through painting and odd jobs (though everything is odd in Dunwall), I think this would be the best setting for my hypothetical game. To reflect for a moment on the point about detestable antagonists from last week, it would be interesting to see the more corrupt members of the City Watch used as antagonists, particularly the guard who murdered her mother.
The Outsider says in Dishonored 2 that ‘Delilah slit a man’s throat for a pair of shoes and painted some of the most brilliant portraits of the age, all in the same year’. This period in Delilah’s life, where she is studying under natural philosopher Anton Sokolov, as well as honing her new Void abilities which would lead to the formation of her infamous coven, is the point in her timeline we know the least about. Even after playing the primary antagonist in both The Brigmore Witches and Dishonored 2, Delilah remains an enigma within the franchise who is fully deserving of her own game to answer some of the burning questions about her eventual rise to power, which brings me neatly onto my next point.
Explore Her Relationship With The Outsider
Before the events of Dishonored 2, without any assistance from the Outsider as far as we know, Delilah manages to free herself from the Void after being trapped there by Daud at the end of The Brigmore Witches. It is demonstrated in Dishonored 2 that she is also capable of travelling through the Void at will, and can also pull those she chooses into it, a feat previously believed to be unique to the Outsider.
Another quote regarding Delilah from the Outsider is ‘Delilah is a part of me now, and I don’t like it’, suggesting she is somehow managing to rival his powers without him willing her to.
Across every form of Dishonored media thus far we have never witnessed any direct interaction between Delilah and the black eyed bastard responsible for all the chaos, lending further weight to my point that Delilah should occupy the role as protagonist in her own installment.
Use Witches In Combat
We have seen first hand the variety in Delilah’s powers through the fights fought against her, but we have also witnessed what she is capable of when battling against the witches in her coven. Whether they are briefly incapacitating the player with their harrowing shrieks or summoning Blood Briars (thick vines which act independently of their summoner) to ensnare or whip the protagonist, similarly to how Daud’s Whalers could use some of his powers in the first Dishonored game, the witches are formidable opponents in any situation.
I mentioned in last week’s article that while unlimited mana was great in Death of the Outsider, but let down by the lack of offensive powers, this could be counteracted by Delilah being able to call on witches to do the damage for her while she can either hang back or engage the enemy directly with weapon combat. Speaking of weapons..
Add Throwing Knives
With the combination of the crossbow and pistol in the existing games, there’s been no real need for a third ranged weapon when you already have so much choice if counting the Void powers as well. For a game based on Delilah, and as we’ve seen countless times that witches can throw multiple Void enhanced throwing knives at a time, I would love to see her primary projectile weapon be knives. This has the added benefit that, like crossbow bolts, after firing you can retrieve ammo from the bodies of the dead.
More Granny Rags
Just like with the Outsider, it is unclear whether Granny Rags and Delilah have ever interacted. We do know that Granny Rags, known at the time as Vera Moray, fell from grace and high society 16 years prior to Delilah gaining the Outsider’s Mark, meaning that Delilah would have been around ten or eleven years old at the time. The timing of this could coincide with the death of Delilah’s mother, giving credence to the possibility of Delilah meeting Granny Rags while trying to survive alone on the cold and unforgiving streets of Dunwall.
Anyone who has played the original Dishonored game would be interested to see more of Granny Rags as she is easily the creepiest character in the franchise with a fascinating back story who, if Delilah wasn’t the focus of this article, I would be just as excited for a game focussing on her development after being gifted the Outsider’s Mark. I could explore possible options for what a Granny Rags game might look like for a future article, so let me know if this is something you would like to see!
That’ll do it for this week! Let me know your thoughts in the comments or over on Twitter @MaliceVER about what would you want to see in a future Dishonored game, and would you prefer to play as an already established character or as someone we have never seen before? Thanks for reading and I’ll catch you again next week.
