Ask anyone who played through the 2016 stealth-action sequel what they remember most. They won't say the skill tree. They probably won't even mention the voice acting. They'll talk about the house that moves. Dishonored 2 the Clockwork Mansion is more than just a mission; it’s a mechanical puzzle box that feels like it was built by a madman who happened to have a degree in structural engineering.
Kirindosh is the name. Jindosh.
He’s the Grand Inventor of Serkonos, and his home is a terrifyingly beautiful display of ego. When you step into that foyer and pull the first brass lever, the world literally unfolds. Walls slide into the floor. Ceilings swap places with floors. It’s loud. It’s intimidating. Honestly, it’s one of the few times a video game environment has made me feel like the building itself was trying to outsmart me.
Why the Clockwork Mansion Works When It Should Fail
Most "gimmick" levels in gaming are a chore. You know the ones. The water levels where the controls get floaty or the escort missions where the AI has the survival instinct of a lemming. But Arkane Studios did something different here. They didn't just make a level with moving parts; they made a level where the moving parts are the level.
The sheer technical ambition of Dishonored 2 the Clockwork Mansion is staggering. According to Harvey Smith, the game’s co-director, the team had to account for every possible physical location of a room at any given time. If you’re standing on a rug while the floor flips, where do you go? If you drop a glass bottle and then pull the lever, does the glass stay there?
It does.
The level operates on a logic of "behind the scenes" spaces. If you’re clever—or just curious—you can slip behind the shifting walls. You find yourself in the "guts" of the house. It's dusty, cramped, and filled with the literal gears that move the luxury rooms above. This isn't just a visual trick. It's a completely viable way to play the game. You can bypass almost the entire security system by just living in the crawlspaces.
That’s the brilliance. The mansion presents itself as this rigid, mechanical gauntlet, but it’s actually a playground for the creative player. You aren't just a visitor; you're a wrench in the gears.
The Terror of the Clockwork Soldiers
We have to talk about the guards. Jindosh didn't trust humans, so he built his own. The Clockwork Soldiers are nightmare fuel. They have four blades, cameras for eyes (front and back!), and they speak in a pre-recorded, polite robotic tone that makes your skin crawl.
"I see you've decided to visit," they might chirp while trying to decapitate you.
They are incredibly difficult to take down if you just try to hack and slash. Their wooden armor plates reflect bullets. Their reach is insane. But, in classic Dishonored fashion, there’s a trick. If you shoot their heads off, they don't die. They just lose the ability to distinguish friend from foe. They start attacking based on sound.
I remember the first time I realized I could use a noise maker to lure a headless robot into a room full of Jindosh’s actual human guards. It was chaos. Beautiful, clockwork chaos.
- Pro Tip: Use rewiring tools on the floor panels if you can find them.
- Another thing: If you never pull a lever, Jindosh doesn't even know you're there. You can complete the entire mission in total silence, essentially ghosting the greatest inventor in the world in his own home.
The Narrative Brilliance of Jindosh
A lot of games tell you a character is smart. Dishonored 2 shows you. Every inch of the Clockwork Mansion reflects the mind of Kirin Jindosh. He’s arrogant. He’s obsessed with efficiency. He’s also clearly bored.
The mansion is equipped with a sophisticated intercom system. As you move through the house, Jindosh talks to you. He isn't just monologuing like a Bond villain; he’s analyzing you. He comments on your choices. If you kill his guards, he notes your lethality. If you sneak past, he admires your technique.
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It creates this weirdly intimate relationship between the player and the target. You start to feel like you're in a chess match.
The "Non-Lethal" option for Jindosh is famously dark, even for this series. Instead of killing him, you can use his own "electro-shock machine"—the very tool he was going to use on Anton Sokolov—to essentially lobotomize him. It’s a grim irony. The man who valued his intellect above all else is left with nothing. It makes you question if a quick blade to the throat wouldn't have been more merciful.
Behind the Curtains of Game Design
Technically, the mansion shouldn't work on older hardware. The way the rooms load is a feat of smoke and mirrors. When a room "transforms," the game is actually swapping out entire modular sets within a fraction of a second, hidden by the movement of the large wooden panels.
It’s a masterclass in occlusion culling and memory management.
If you look at the floor plans, the mansion is actually quite small. It feels huge because of the verticality and the fact that one physical space serves three or four different functions depending on which levers have been pulled. It’s efficient design. It's also why, even years later, people still hold up Dishonored 2 the Clockwork Mansion as the gold standard for environmental storytelling.
Strategies for Your Next Run
If you're going back into the mansion—and honestly, you should—try playing it differently. Most people go for the high-chaos "kill everything that moves" approach the first time. It's fun, sure. But the real depth comes from the constraints.
Try the "Silence" achievement. To do this, you have to reach Jindosh without him ever knowing you've arrived. This means you cannot pull a single lever that he has rigged to his alert system. You have to find the hidden gaps in the walls right at the start.
You'll see a completely different side of the level. You'll hear conversations between guards that you'd otherwise miss. You'll find notes tucked away in the maintenance shafts that flesh out the lore of the Duke’s inner circle.
Also, pay attention to the acoustics. The mansion is designed with sound propagation in mind. Footsteps on wood sound different than footsteps on the metal plating of the clockwork mechanisms. This isn't just fluff; the guards react to it.
The Clockwork Mansion isn't just a level. It’s a testament to what happens when level designers are given the freedom to be truly weird. It’s complex, frustrating, beautiful, and deeply rewarding. It represents the peak of the "immersive sim" genre.
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Next Steps for Mastery
To truly conquer the mansion and see everything Arkane hidden away, follow these specific paths:
- The Ghost Path: Start the mission and immediately look up at the ceiling in the first room. There is a skylight. Shoot it. This allows you to enter the "between-wall" spaces without ever triggering the first transformation lever.
- The Mechanical Dismantler: If you're struggling with the Clockwork Soldiers, use Stun Mines. Two charges will completely disassemble a soldier without alerting the entire house.
- The Lore Hunter: Locate Jindosh’s private bedroom. It’s a rotating room that changes based on a button behind his bed. There are audiographs here that explain his relationship with Delilah Copperspoon, which provides critical context for the game's final act.
- Save Sokolov First: Most players go for Jindosh first. Try navigating to the Assessment Chamber to rescue Anton Sokolov before you ever set foot in the upper mansion. It changes the dialogue and the way the escape sequence plays out.