Dark Souls [PS3, X360, Sequel to Demon's Souls]

[Ike]

www.1up.com/news/demon-souls-sequel-revealed

Project Dark, the codename for the new RPG from Demon's Souls developer From Software, has an official name now. This week's issue of Famitsu magazine brings the first word on Dark Souls, sequel to the open-ended PlayStation 3 RPG that became a worldwide sleeper hit upon its release in 2009.
Unusually, Famitsu also revealed details on the overseas release of the sequel, which is apparently already in the works. According to the dev interview printed in the issue, the game is due out worldwide for both the PS3 and Xbox 360 by the end of this year, although it'll remain a PS3 excusive in Japan. Namco Bandai Games will handle publishing duties in both the US and Europe this time around.

Dark Souls is set to offer similar action as Demon's Souls, a game praised for its freedom of exploration, character customization, and extreme challenge level. The new game has no story connection to Demon's, but it'll offer a much larger world and much more complex geography to explore. The world will also be seamless, so instead of choosing regions to hack through, you'll play on a single, large game map.

Character creation will be more fluid, and instead of choosing a class at the start of the game, you'll be able to customize your hero in different, deeper ways. Co-op and competitive online features are set to make a return as well, expanding on the system in Demon's that let you view the final moments of fellow players.

More info as it comes.

There is a profound emptiness in my balls.

[susanismyalias]

Glorious Xbox master race.

No in all seriousness I'm really glad to see this on a console I currently own, even though I plan on grabbing a ps3 shortly.

[ALV]

What about fromsoftware making a nextgen kings field?

[Ike]

Feb 1, 2011 13:51:24 GMT -5 ALV said:

What about fromsoftware making a nextgen kings field?

I was under the impression that's what this was. Or rather, what Demon's Souls was.

[caoslayer]

Be wary of awesome game ahead.

[TheGunheart]

Not sure I like the idea of a seamless game world. Part of the appeal of the original to me was the old-school "level-based" feel of the game world.

[justjustin]

Great news! After finishing Demon's Souls for the first time one of my first thoughts was "when does the sequel come out?" It had such a fresh take on things (and plenty of rough edges) that I couldn't imagine there not being a sequel down the road.

I know a lot of people describe Demon's Souls as "old school," but it didn't feel that way to me at all. The stages were quite long, and the time it took to learn the game was too short. I don't think the pacing was quite as good as it could have been. It ended up being frustrating the first time around, and an absolute walk in the park with every successive play.

Another issue I had is it seemed much too easy to identify the "best" ways to play the game. Sure, there was variety, but a bulk of the spells and items did not feel useful enough to me. The class system was essentially superfluous, only helpful early in the game. Where to find the best weapons a soon as possible became obvious too fast.

But its basic structure was very refreshing, and all the little details and exceptional presentation practically canceled out all those smaller issues, so I ended up playing through the game at least 5 times. It could have been better with a smaller, focused scope (truly more "old school") or a larger, more complex one. I felt Demon's Souls felt caught in between. Looks like From Software went with the latter choice, so I'm definitely looking forward to Dark Souls.

[Feynman]

Feb 1, 2011 14:05:29 GMT -5 Ike said:

Feb 1, 2011 13:51:24 GMT -5 ALV said:

What about fromsoftware making a nextgen kings field?

I was under the impression that's what this was. Or rather, what Demon's Souls was.

While I do feel that Demon's Souls is very much a spiritual successor to the King's Field series, there are some substantial differences that would make an actual King's Field game much appreciated.

EDIT: Welp, I did bit more reading on Dark Souls, and it basically looks like Dark Souls is closer to King's Field than Demon's Souls was, featuring connected maps instead of a level-based hub, as well as stronger exploration.

In other words, Dark Souls seems to be heading in the direction of being a King's Field game with Demon's Souls' combat. I am a happy person.

[Ike]

Feb 1, 2011 14:40:28 GMT -5 caoslayer said:

Be wary of awesome game ahead.

I'm half-tempted to go on Demon's Souls and lay this message all over Boletaria.

[shelverton]

Still haven't played Demon's Soul I need to do that ASAP, but I have so many unplayed games right now. Dunno where to start really.

Anyway, where is Otogi 3? And when is Otogi 1 & 2 gonna be compatible with 360? (never, I presume). I think Otogi is still one of the best 3D action games ever made, but Fromsoftware doesn't seem to agree.

[kitten]

I really have no idea how I feel about it becoming open-world. It could be really good, or it could be really bad. What I worry about most is that if they keep the old method of finding co-op (or even pvp) games in, that it might be excessively difficult to get a game with a friend going.

[Feynman]

I rather wish they had kept Black Phantoms, and removed the co-op Blue Phantom aspect entirely. Demon's Souls was very much designed with having a single player in a level, and thus Blue Phantoms ended up being really lame. Even a single extra player in a stage reduces the challenge to a negligible level, and kills the isolated, tense atmosphere of the game as well... I know far too many people who ruined their initial experience with Demon's Souls by playing through the whole game in a group.

[justjustin]

New trailer: www.eurogamer.net/videos/dark-souls-gets-official-announcement

And screenshots:

www.famitsu.com/news/201102/images/00039956/Zjo45YI3XCpMxuBT36K1ZR2C95aAPUtr.html

Really looks like a more menacing version of Demon's Souls. Darker, more violent, creepier atmosphere.

[kitten]

Feb 2, 2011 7:09:51 GMT -5 Feynman said:

I rather wish they had kept Black Phantoms, and removed the co-op Blue Phantom aspect entirely.

Did you play the game in co-op with a friend, at all? Co-op and pvp defined Demon's Souls, for me. You still have to learn just as much and I'd argue the tension can sometimes be higher when you're having to escort a less-skilled player (no offense to Ike =P). If you jump in with someone already familiar with the game, I can understand it ruining a lot of the learning process, which is one of the things that makes the game such a wonderful experience, but when both you and the friend are learning it together, I found it a considerably better experience than when playing by myself.

I played the game solo for a while before going into co-op, and did an NG+ run after co-oping... neither time did I enjoy it as much as I did playing it with Ike. Having to do each level twice for us to progress hardly sped the game up too much, too.


Edit:

That new cutscene is really awesome, but I still like Demon's Souls opening cutscene better... it just really got you pumped for the game.

[cj iwakura]

Sparkly is back.



And she wants blood.