Although the story of the Kaldwin dynasty ended in Dishonored 2, developer Dinga Bakaba from Arkane has indicated the studio’s interest in continuing the franchise, and has pushed back on the idea that the end of Corvo and Emily’s stories means the end of the series. Though Dishonored 3 has yet to be announced, there are plenty of clear settings from the first two games’ lore that could provide a springboard for the third chapter’s success.
The Dishonored series treats players to a rich gothic world without limiting itself to just one city, climate, or single cultural influence. The nations of the Isles have diverse real-world counterparts, and with a largely unexplored mysterious continent to the east there are many different places Dishonored 3 could take players, each with their own implications for the flavor and themes of the next game.
Most of the nations of Dishonored are a hodge-podge of combined real-world counterparts, and Morley is no different. The first game is set in Dunwall, the capital of Gristol. In short, Morley is the Ireland to Gristol’s Britain. The island sits off Gristol’s north-eastern shore and while Gristol was plagued by rats in the first Dishonored and Serkonos by bloodflies in the second, Morley’s recent history has been plagued by war and famine.
The events of the first Dishonored take place in the year 1837 of the game’s timeline. In 1801, the Morley Insurrection began, largely due to anger over the absentee ruling and mercantile classes exploiting the island’s citizens. The last Empress of the Isles from the Olaskir dynasty was assassinated, leading to the creation of the Royal Protector post which Corvo Attano holds at the beginning of the first game.
Famine broke out at the end of the conflict in 1803. The cause of the famine is never made explicit, but the references to Gristol’s naval superiority hints that a blockade could have been behind the disaster. As a result, many people from Morley traveled to other parts of the Empire, where they can be seen working throughout the first Dishonored and its sequel.
Morley could provide a great alternate perspective on Dishonored‘s otherwise strangely royalist slant. Over the first two games, the ruling Kaldwins are portrayed in a broadly positive light assuming that the player doesn’t choose to bring chaos to the land. Even when the loyalist conspiracy turns on Corvo in Dishonored 1, the solution is still to restore Emily Kaldwin as the rightful heir, not to reject the aristocracy entirely.
Morley could put the player in the shoes of a pro-independence revolutionary like Assassin’s Creed 3 did, though Morley has retained its own monarchy throughout its history in the Empire of the Isles. In any case, Dishonored 3 could use Morley to show the cost of the Empire players fought for throughout the first two games.
Tyvia is one of the most diverse possible settings for Dishonored 3, in people if not in climate. The northwestern island is consistently cold. In fact, the climate is so hostile that prisoners in Tyvia’s infamous labor camps are free to leave at any time – none survive the trek back to civilization. These camps are clearly based on Russian gulags, and the names of Tyvian characters like Anton Sokolov solidifies the Russian influence.
That isn’t the island’s only influence, however. Like some parts of northern Scandinavia, Tyvia is in total darkness for half of the year. Northwest of Tyvia is a smaller island which appears to have an Asian influence. The island contains the city of Wei-Ghon, birthplace of High Overseer Yul Khulan, who is seen in Dunwall Tower at the start of Dishonored 2.
Tyvia has never been seen in-game, but if the breadth of Arkane Studios‘ influences is anything to go by, exploring its cities could provide a diverse world to explore in Dishonored 3. Despite its distance from the heart of the empire, Tyvia is still a part of the Empire of the Isles. As a result it could be interesting to see the differences in the ways the known factions – like the Abbey of the Everyman – present themselves in the different corners of the world, and the different aesthetics that come with that. It’s possible, however, that Arkane might have to slightly ret-con the island’s inflexible climate if players are to enjoy the full beauty of its landscape.
The eastern continent of Pandyssia provides the developers of Dishonored 3 with a huge amount of freedom. Not only is it the largest landmass in the known world of the games, but it has some of the most interesting lore. While clearly based on the New World and Africa from the perspective of Europe, Pandyssia has proven immune to the Isles’ attempts at colonization. Evidence of its extremely hostile ecosystem can be see in the first Dishonored, where the Pandyssian Bull Rat is the primary carrier of the plague.
The first two games are full of strange hints about what could lie in the heart of Dishonored‘s Pandyssia. Piero from the first game claims to have read of land whales that live deep in the continent. While it remains unclear how many of the rumors about Pandyssia are true, the continent’s interior seems to take influence from works like Heart of Darkness, with few explorers returning with their sanity intact.
No matter which path the player chooses at the end of Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, it is acknowledged that without the Outsider there is no longer a being which can choose which mortals receive the gifts of the Void. Pandyssia, however, might provide an alternate way for Dishonored 3’s protagonist to gain their powers.
Pandyssia is hinted to be populated by people who, at least in the past, were able to channel some of the powers of the Void. Though excursions to the continent are rare due to its distance and inhospitality, there are Pandyssian characters seen in the games. Billie Lurk, for example, is said to be the child of a mother who immigrated from an island off the coast of Pandyssia.
Pandyssia could provide the best opportunity for the games to explore new lore, new locations, new cultures, and maybe even new powers. With the Dishonored series reportedly not on hold, wherever the next game is set, it’s sure to be packed full of hints that help further develop the world and its inhabitants.
Dishonored 3 is not confirmed to be in development.
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