Corvo is just as valid of a character as Emily

[Daddy Kaneki]

A lot of people believe that Dishonored 2 fits Emily better as the playable character than Corvo, personally I don't agree.

The strongest argument for Emily being the playable character is "well, it fits her thematically because she hasn't taken her Empire that seriously and she's now seeing the result of her inattention because of the suffering and corruption in Karnaca."

However, Corvo states numerous times throughout the game that he is just as much in charge of Emily as Emily is in charge of the Isles. Therefore he personally believes that what he sees in Karnaca is just as much his fault as it is Emily's. He's not just her Royal Protector, he's her father and she also sees him as her top advisor.

Corvo returning home at the end of the game, bringing back all the stories of the suffering in Karnaca by seeing it first hand, and guiding Emily through the process of improving the state, is just as valid of a premise as Emily seeing it all herself and vowing to make a change.

Not to mention the very obvious thematic tie-ins of being the Royal Protector and protecting the royalty from a hostile force trying to seize it. There's family thematics as well, he's the dad, he's protecting the house and family (the house in this analogy is Dunwall/the Empire, because he is royalty.)

Another argument can be made about "well, why does he train Emily for so many years only to not actually get to play as her?" Because we have no *obligation* to play as her, and from a lore standpoint it's fair to say that Emily could get attacked by dissidents even after Corvo passes away so she needed to be trained and prepared for these circumstances. Even if Emily wasn't a playable character, it still makes sense that she's trained by Corvo.

The last counterargument I can think of is that Death of the Outsider has Emily being the playable character as the canon. I actually have two responses to this. First of all, Harvey Smith (the creative director of the series) has stated himself that he considers *both* characters to be canon and neither one is more "canon" than the other. I don't remember where he stated this (if it was on Twitter it was likely deleted) but that is his own creative opinion, both characters are valid and neither one is less "official" than the other.

My second response to the DotO situation is that *some* character needed to be the canon one to even have a sequel anyway. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Alexi Mayhew could have been the canon choice for all it matters in DotO since they needed at least *somebody* to run through the events of the main Dishonored 2 plot in order for DotO to even be a playable game.

Lastly, I feel like if you think one character is more "canon" than the other, that it is actually a pretty big insult to how much work, effort, and love that Arkane has put into making BOTH characters make sense thematically and immersively. Even just a single reference to Emily as "he" or "Corvo" or a single reference to Corvo as "She" or "the Empress" would ruin the entire playthrough from an immersive standpoint. But everyone and every*thing* (notes, books, etc.) refer to the playable character correctly. I want you to imagine the painstaking detail that they had to perform in order to provide the proper respect to both characters, both narratively and sub-narratively.

[GRADE F]

playing as Corvo still makes sense to me. His journey ends up being more about him contemplating, letting go of things and changing what he can.
especially since most of the game takes place in Karnaca, a place Corvo was born. a lot of his narrations are him contemplating on how much has changed throughout the years, there's regret and bitterness to him.

TLDR, playing as Corvo in Dishonored 2 still makes sense thematically

[Sovereign]

Harvey Smith actually stated on twitter that Emily was the canon character and was in fact the only playable character for much of development with the story written for her. Corvo was added much later in development. He eventually deleted this tweet though. Emily is canon regardless as is expressly stated in both DOTO and the novels Return of Daud and The Veiled Terror.

[Daddy Kaneki]

Originally posted by Sovereign:

Harvey Smith actually stated on twitter that Emily was the canon character and was in fact the only playable character for much of development with the story written for her. Corvo was added much later in development. He eventually deleted this tweet though. Emily is canon regardless as is expressly stated in both DOTO and the novels Return of Daud and The Veiled Terror.

So what you're saying is that he made a statement then changed his mind (because he later said both are canon) which he is at full liberty to do so as the creative director. Then why are you even bringing it up? Don't stick to the old word.

RE: DotO and Return of Daud/Veiled Terror, see my last few paragraphs. Already made that counterargument. Read the full post please.

[Sovereign]

Originally posted by Legion <3 Cheryl:

Originally posted by Sovereign:

Harvey Smith actually stated on twitter that Emily was the canon character and was in fact the only playable character for much of development with the story written for her. Corvo was added much later in development. He eventually deleted this tweet though. Emily is canon regardless as is expressly stated in both DOTO and the novels Return of Daud and The Veiled Terror.

So what you're saying is that he made a statement then changed his mind (because he later said both are canon) which he is at full liberty to do so as the creative director. Then why are you even bringing it up? Don't stick to the old word.

RE: DotO and Return of Daud/Veiled Terror, see my last few paragraphs. Already made that counterargument. Read the full post please.

I as far as I know he never said that both were canon and I can't find any evidence to the contrary (link if you have any), I've only ever seen the tweet were he said Emily was canon. Even so it's irrelevant since the actual series content says Emily is canon.

I'm not saying that it's wrong to play as Corvo or anything, just that storywise Emily is the intended canonical character according to the creators and the games themselves.

[The Dark Ranger]

I am wondering if there is much of a difference between the two in terms of weapon looks, (crossbow and pistol) powers, and how different the narration and dialogue is.

I am assuming Corvo is unable to do a power-less playthrough based off game one?

[Daddy Kaneki]

Originally posted by The Dark Ranger:

I am wondering if there is much of a difference between the two in terms of weapon looks, (crossbow and pistol) powers, and how different the narration and dialogue is.

I am assuming Corvo is unable to do a power-less playthrough based off game one?

The crossbow is different. Emily's crossbow is very regal whereas Corvo's crossbow is more practical and utilitarian. Emily's pistol also has this noble flair to it whereas Corvo's pistol is much more practical while still having that noble flair.

You'll find out if Corvo is unable to do a powerless playthrough. Start the game.

[Lil Grandpa]

Corvo has better powers than Emily. Time Stop alone makes him the most powerful being on the planet, other than The Outsider. Also blink is better, straight up, especially with the time stop upgrade. Emily's Far Reach is janky as hell.

[Dethlane]

Emily is still the best

[Kuma]

The strongest arguments arent about why Emily would have been better but actually why Corvo doesn't fit well with the plot.

Starting with the most obvious problem that Corvo would feel like an utter failure for letting Emily be captured again after all she went through the first game... Even he would gladly sacrifice himself in that moment for Emily and it was this same feeling that made me and probably many others to easily pick Emily at the start.

Both of them would end up being heavily affected by their choices, emily for being a useless hostage twice, and corvo for being an useless father twice, all his training ended up being for nothing.

Besides, having corvo lose his mark at the beggining only to regain a second later after the fist mission would have been very silly.

They did their best to adjust the dialogues for Corvo also but at the end of the day they both go through the exact same journey, and this journey screams like a new adventure, forming a new crew, meeting new people, someone already experienced like corvo would probably have taken a very different approach to these events, probably A LOT angrier and hastier.

Dishonored 2 has a good story arc ONLY because Emily is the main chracter. If Corvo was the only option this game would have been basically a repeat of dishonored 1, same mistakes, learn to stealth again, lose all powers and grind for the same powers again, rinse and repeat.

And this is why Emily is considered Canon, this story was written for her, otherwise this would have been average at best, they just added Corvo back as a selling point to reach a wider range of players since many people complain about female protagonists, but the truth is, this arc was never designed for Corvo.

[WZ]

I feel it makes zero sense for Delilah to petrify Emily instead of Corvo. One she may perceive as little more than a coddled princess, but the other is a known entity & a demonstrated serious threat. It's so ridiculous that I restarted & picked Emily instead.

[Rundur]

Corvo even has many lines and character interactions with nods to the first game and Daud which fit the story a lot and dont appear with Emily.

Seriously, Corvo is as good as Emily when it comes to the narrative of the story.

[Winchester]

I heard that Dishonored 2 planed as the game with the name "Sishonored 2 Black sparrow', which is a clear reference to Emily. Also, in "Death of the Outsider", Billie reminds that Emily could kill her after the confession she made about participating in the assasination of her mother.
Also, personally for me, I like Emily's story more. While watching how people leave in Karnaka, Emily regrets her irresponsibility during performing her duties in the past. She sees how things are in Karnaka and that people need a leader that knows their needs and can help them, to undo damage made by Delilah and Duke.

Of course, it's if we play with low chaos (canonic style of play). With how chaos, Emily turns into a ♥♥♥♥♥ that only cares about getting back her throne and her father (not necessary father, we have an option to miss this move).

[jakinbandw]

I'm planning to play both. I'm doing Corvo first so that I can unlock his powers, then I'm planning to switch to Emily in new game plus and have her wreck face with timestop and blink.

[Laicus]

If the developers came up with a logical explanation for the possibility of passing the same story by two different characters, for example, some nonsense about magic splitting space, that one of the characters was thrown into an alternate universe, and they need to restore order in these split worlds and connect them back, it would be somehow acceptable, especially if there were at least small differences in these two worlds, and without such an explanation, it is completely absurd. Therefore, there can be no alternatives, in Dishonored the main character Corvo, in Dishonored 2 Emily.

[Talon]

I like playing as Corvo more but it makes more sense for Delilah to petrify him over Emily. She knows how capable he is and it would spell disaster if he was allowed to escape. She'd even have the luxury of hearing and reading about Corvo's exploits before setting her own plans into motion. Compare that to Emily who is barely even able to keep the Empire together. By all accounts, she seems incompetent and an easy enough threat to deal with in Delilah's eyes. It makes more sense for her to underestimate Emily over Corvo.