History VideoGame / Dishonored2

* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: At the start of the final level playing as Emily on Low Chaos, Emily argues with [[spoiler:the trapped soul of]] Delilah that a monarch is not automatically entitled to the respect and adoration of their subjects (as Delilah seems to think), but must earn both with their actions for the good of their state every single day. This conversation culminates Emily's CharacterDevelopment from being a restless wanderlustful youth not taking her Imperial responsibilities seriously.

** When facing Delilah in her painting world, she'll be prominently sitting on a throne seeming to wait for the player. [[spoiler:It's a decoy, attacking her triggers all the other fake Delilahs to attack the player. The real Delilah stands on top of the portal the player came through]].

* RealityEnsues: The game puts a heavy emphasis on how in order for a country to function, it needs a ruler who can actually do the job. Therefore, all three rulers in the game (Emily, who still had the restless energy of youth and spent a lot of time skiving off; Delilah, who didn't give a fuck about anyone other than her allies and coven, and that's even questionable; and Luca Abele, who was running Karnaca into the ground with the amount he was spending) find a lot of opposition to their methods, and the countries they rule suffer for their actions.

* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: Duchess Lucille Clothilda was one of the first to switch allegiance after the coup, and Delilah invites her up for a special dinner in her honour. [[spoiler:Lucille is found dead over a toilet, most likely poisoned. And to drive the point home, the invitation to her says that Delilah is "eager to show how I feel toward one who is so quick to change allegance."]]

* SecretRoom: Right at the start you have to find the Imperial Safe Room which [[spoiler:is located behind bookshelves]] off the Imperial Chambers. To access the room you need to fetch one of the Imperial Signet Rings from an enemy]]. Doubles as a SecretPassage as the door at the other end leads you into the city.
* SpaceWhale: The whale floating in space behind the Outsider in [[https://youtu.be/tYX6HK2rNPs?t=192 this]] scene.

* NotSoDifferent: In a rare example of the hero pointing it out, Corvo calls Delilah "someone like me" -- a strange adversary with supernatural powers.

* ComingOfAgeStory: For Emily, who is finally forced to face the result of her actions as a poor empress. She either assumes responsibility and becomes a good ruler, or lashes out and remains a mental child depending on your actions.

* DevelopersForesight: If you knock out the guard in front of the printer in the first level while their conversation is still civil, the printer freaks out (like any other civilian who sees you committing violence). If you wait until the guard is actively threatening him, however, he'll just calmly watch you.

** Emily's powers require a bit more thought and experimentation than her fathers, as hers are far more indirect in their use. This is best exemplified in Far Reach, her equivalent to Blink. As mentioned in EarlyGameHell, it's neither fast enough to spam in a fight nor is it stealthy enough to use as carelessly as Blink, and unlike Blink it can't have its range extended through upgrades. That being said, it's far more useful as an all-purpose tool, essentially being a magical GrapplingHookPistol and long-range retrieval tool if upgraded correctly, allowing you to steal enemies away from their patrol routes to choke out as well as swiping away items right from under their nose.

* EarlyGameHell: Emily has a notably harder time at the beginning than Corvo due to [[TentacleRope Far Reach]] not having as much flexibility as [[FlashStep Blink]]. It's neither instantaneous nor stealthy, making it harder for Emily to stay out of enemies' sight or TeleportSpam in battle to confuse them. However, she can become overpowered with just a few runes, and Far Reach can get itself some much-needed utility to make up for its deficiencies.

* LighterAndSofter: While it has some dark elements, the sequel is overall not as bleak as the first game. [[spoiler:There's no second betrayal, as Corvo faced from Havelock and the Loyalists in the first game. Your allies include decent individuals like Alexandria Hypatia and Aramis Stilton while the first game had shady figures like Slackjaw and the creep who disposed of Lady Boyle. Karnaca is also a sunnier and brighter contrast to Dunwall, which was essentially a CrapsackWorld, the Outsider is mellower and more approachable. Sokolov and Meagan/Billie genuinely want to atone for their past. Likewise, except for the "Corvo the Black" ending, even the High Chaos ending can potentially be milder and less tame than the first game. This does make some sense in that the heroes have survived the first game in Low Chaos and the Empire has had genuine peace for more than 10 years, so it wouldn't make sense for the game to be as dark as the first game was, where the Rat Plague preceded the events]].

* PostPeakOil: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]], in that the world is approaching peak whale-oil. The whaling industry produced an industrial boom when methods for refining the whale lipids into a major fuel source, but that boom is slowing down now that whales are increasingly difficult to find due to over-harvesting. This has lead to rationing of whale oil, and the other associated economic and social difficulties contributed to the discontent with the Kaldwin dynasty that made the coup possible. Karnaca (under its previous ruler) took steps to address this and installed several electricity-generating windmills to take advantage of the good winds that blow through the region, setting it up to be an economically dominant part of the empire. Curiously, the bottles of processed whale oil that you can find as loot are worth ten coins instead of thirty as they were in the first game; with this resource grown scarce, you'd expect it to be worth more.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: It is possible for Jindosh to be killed by his own clockwork soldiers.

** In both installments, if you deal with the game's first target non-lethally (Campbell in the first, Ramsey in the second), they each make appearances in later stages.

** In the ending to ''A Crack in the Slab", Lucia Pastor's speech indicates that not everyone in the Grand Palace is the player's enemy. This [[spoiler:hints at the Duke's body double being an ally in the non-lethal elimination.]]

** In the ending to ''A Crack in the Slab", Lucia Pastor's speech indicates that not everyone in the Grand Palace is the player's enemy. This ends up [[spoiler:hinting at the Duke's body double being an ally in the non-lethal solution.]]

* TakenForGranite: Delilah petrifies either Emily or Corvo, depending on who you choose to play. [[spoiler:In Delilah's boss fight, it's a OneHitKill.]]

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: This installment introduced Quicksave and Quickload.

** When stepping onto a ledge on the exterior of Kirin Jindosh's mansion, Corvo will say "It's a long way down." The protagonist of ''VideoGame/{{Thief}}'' says the same thing on several occasions.

* BadassNormal: A ''choice'' you have. The Outsider offers you a chance to gain back your powers but if you decline, you play the entire game without any powers (referred to as "Flesh and Steel Mode"), meaning it's just your wits and your human abilities, either as a master of stealth or a OneManArmy.

* GrievousBottleyHarm: Bottles can be thrown for the [[GoLookAtTheDistraction element of misdirection]] easily enough. It is more challenging to nail a mook in the head with one for an instant KO. A few variant bottles inflict status effects: several high-proof spirits are effectively {{Molotov Cocktail}}s, some are filled with chloroform and cause a short-term lingering knockout cloud at the point of impact, and others are filled with "Howler Dust", which irritates the target's eyes to the point of temporary blindness.

** In both installments, a target gets arrested by his own guards and City Watch officers.