Ben-DutkaAlthough From Software was always coy about the possibility of a Demon's Souls sequel – which most assumed to be the mysterious "Project Dark" – it seems the truth has been revealed.
Citing a feature from this week's Famitsu, Andriasang has opened our eyes to Dark Souls , the follow-up title to the award-winning RPG, Demon's Souls . Through the link you can find an image of the magazine cover with the title in question, and we've already got a screenshot slideshow and debut trailer for you. As for relevant details, some may surprise you while others may be deemed as "oddly intriguing." But first, the debut pics-
Now, first and foremost, while many complained about the steep learning curve in Demon's Souls , it seems the developers aren't fazed at all. In fact, this early unveiling says Dark Souls is actually much harder . Yeah…prepare yourself. Secondly, the new game isn't exactly a sequel, in that there is "no connection with Demon's Souls in terms of story or world," and the standard gameplay has changed; this time they're going with a "classic RPG" style. So in other words, character creation, nabbing weapons and items in the world, leveling up, etc.
They've also upped the size significantly as exploration is at a new high, and all the maps are traditionally connected, which means the shrine/central hub from Demon's Souls will be gone. The environments will be more complex in terms of design, and "the goal in character development is to get rid of elements that may hinder freedom of play style." There's a ton of variety in the weapons and skills and last but not least, we'll get both co-op and competitive multiplayer elements.
Now, this sounds like a complete overhaul, which may disappoint fans of the original. It almost sounds as if they're describing a cross between Elder Scrolls and Dragon Age and although that isn't a bad thing, per se, it appears Dark Souls won't have that poignant note of originality. And let's face it; that's the reason so many adored Demon's Souls . At any rate, the new game is set to launch in Japan some time this year; there will only be a PlayStation 3 version in Japan, but Namco Bandai will release the title for the PS3 and Xbox 360 in other regions.
Related Game(s): Dark Souls
I will definitely be giving this a shot.
Wait, so it's like Demon's Souls with open world exploration? Meaning players may be able to stumble across epic battles rather than knowing exactly when one is coming?
Oh, yes please.
Yep. The open-world in place of the hub-world seems to be the only significant change. Character creation, leveling, weapon collection, upgrading, coop/competitive mp, even leaving notes and messages are all making a return. I wonder if the soul/body form and transitioning and white/dark tendencies will also be returning?
Besides being original, the game was thickly atmospheric despite having a virtually thread-bare story, and had a survival-horror vibe to it as well. The creep factor, the nuances and subtleties of it's game design, the dynamism of the world and how you interacted with it always had you guessing what was around the corner, even if you already played the game, which kept it from feeling like a totally scripted affair. It felt alive.
If they can recapture that, I'll be happy.
I know. But I have a very high opinion of From, I'm sure they'll do the fans proud!
However… If this game suffers at all for going multi plat, I'm going to find some 360 fanboys and go all Baby's Nail on their asses….
They're making it harder?…
I wanna see the dude that beat Demon's Souls in an hour play this!
Also I'm totally on board XD
Umm…My heart skipped a beat.
Sounds freaking awesome. I don't mind the upped difficulty at all. Only thing is, I don't really see this game fairing too well on the 360. And, I hope that they deliver a full and lengthy game and don't let the multiplatform status hinder it in any way.
Certainly wont sell as many for the 360 but I'm sure the amount will justify it.
I'm not
I'm in for some more torture 😀
Demon's Souls was also a lot of fun though and I found that I made the game a lot harder than it was, by weighing my character down -_- as soon as I took the pants off he could run and roll all over the place which made the fake king actually killable…
Can't say I'm interested but 360? Really? Nobody is gonna buy it in that camp.
Not sure if this is true but they are not going to have dedicated servers for this game.
(not sure if demon souls has it though)
Demon's souls has dedicated servers, how else could you see all those people running around while you play. They've even discussed how long they are going to keep the servers going past 2011 last I heard.
Heh? Demons soul's was exclusive?
Yes. Demons Souls was and still is exclusive.
There is no direct connection between this game and Demons Souls. The stories aren't connected and they don't take place in the same universe. This game is simply a spiritual successor.
Last edited by Looking Glass on 2/2/2011 4:32:36 PM
The 360 version wont fair well in my opinion. This kind of game gets ignored by a system where all the players like the fast and easy games. Any game that would give the 360 gamers a challenge they stay away from. They like having it easy.
Last edited by Lenoxseer on 2/2/2011 4:27:11 PM
I agree. The majority of the 360's user base consists of instant-gratification types with little patience, if any.
Not exactly true. Ninja Gaiden debuted on the Xbox and that game it's known for its difficulty, yet it sold ver well, so well infact to get a sequel and get ported over to PS3, and Ninja Gaiden Sigma got its dificulty pared down to make it less difficult.
I own both consoles and I find lazy and easy gamers in both console camps, as well as pasionate gamers who are up to a challenge.
As far as I know Ninja Gaiden debuted on the NES.
NG 1 & 2 were harder on the normal difficulty, but not on masters. And the Master Ninja Missions on NGS2 offers the toughest challenges in the franchise.
Also, while NG got wide critical acclaim and a cult following, NG2 on the 360 went largely unnoticed. It didn't sell nearly as well as GOW 2 or GOW3 or DMC4, despite having much more advanced gameplay.
@Ignitus
I understand what you're getting at but we're targetting the current gen…Halo,COD, Gears, umm COD..
Last edited by Teddie9 on 2/2/2011 10:19:04 PM
I was basing it off a whole. Not singling out any one type. Besides Demon's Souls eats Ninja Gaiden on Xbox 360 for brunch. Just a nice little snack.
Well looks like Demon's Soul… trailer's awesome but a game harder than Demon's Soul… hmmmm well…. I'll still buy it I guess
If only there was co-op and offline co-op it'll be heaven
Last edited by Mystearica on 2/2/2011 4:46:47 PM
More harder??? DAY ONE FOR ME!
I'd give up every other game coming out this year just to have this one right now. Having said that, if it did come out this early in the year, I doubt anyone would see me for the next 10 months. So probably as well they release it late, if only to give every other game a chance.
This game shows how retarded IGN is, when they announced the name a few days ago they called it a "sequel".
You've become addicted to changing ur picture.
You've become addicted to not being around.
I'm actually surprised nobody seems to care that it's entirely different than Demon's Souls.
The originality of that game is what made it great, IMO; I thought going "classic RPG" would've annoyed the fans. But I guess not. 🙂
I think what people liked the most was that it was too damn hard (with respect to Jimmy McMillan), and this one claims to be even harder.
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 2/2/2011 5:36:52 PM
well i think because they mentioned the game was harder than the first, all who loved it like myself are still on board for it. Besides, Demon's Souls did allow for leveling up, just in a much different style that most are use to (currency which is use to buy things as well as level up)
Most of us who played demon's souls know this would be a true sequel if they had the rights to it, but since its multiconsole, i think thats the reason why its not DS2.
typically if my first experience with a developer (never played king's field games) is a stellar hit I'm willing to revisit.
Personally can't wait 😀
DS is one of those games I speak well of but it isn't my cup of tea.
Ben, not sure if it's "entirely" different. From what i hear the messaging system, coop/competitive mp will be making a return. And unless by "classic rpg" you mean that the soul currency upgrading won't be making a return (in place of an exp system), I fail to see how different this game will be from the spiritual prequel. Is it that the white/dark tendency won't be in it?
I loved the originality of the first game, so I am a bit worried about a big departure from that initial creation. But I agree with Teddie9, the original team surprised me in a very good way with the first game, so I'm stoked to see whose game is better, this one or Atlus's Cursed Crusade.
Are the servers for Demon Soul's still up? I heard they were closing down. I want to play it but I want the whole experience.
they are still up
Yup. just played yesterday
Oh i just smacked my lady and told her i don't need her no more thanks to this!
But seriously, it sounds like a TAD commercialised Demons Souls. I hugely doubt it will be as good, but this will defeat all RPGs this year, unless L5 release Second Land of course.
Just bring on that unrivalled atmosphere and real gamer, old school difficulty!
Food for thought, maybe the import will be english again so we can get it early! But seeing as though it has a western publisher already in the bag, it could be unlikely.
Last edited by Lotusflow3r on 2/2/2011 6:02:11 PM
Not sure why you got thumbed down.
Probably because my opinion that it'll be my fave RPG this year got taken as fact and they had a fit?
Or my opener offended.
Never pay too much attention to that system anyway. I usually treat it as a "person who disagrees, but can't argue with me" type of reply.
I still have to beat my first playthrough of Demon's Souls. But the trailer for Dark Souls does look epic.
wow this looks great so far. just another great game to add to my HIT LIST for 2011. goodbye social life!
I came…. 6 timesss
O my BEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!
Sorry, got that out and I gotta say, from watching the video it looks as though the combat mechanic will be very similar to demon's souls. Still has the rolling, shield blocking, sword swinging combat I loved in DS from what I saw in the video. Which I absolutely loved.
So take DS, give it a new story, new world, same combat, make it co-op, in an open world and you just made me the happiest man on Earth. As long as the leveling system is the same and they keep a crafting aspect, I'll be so happy.
The only complaint I had with the first one was minor and it's that I prefer open world. Other than that the first one was typical action rpg fare, it simply had a better combat system, leveling system, and armor system.
I think FromSoftware and level 5 might just keep me the happy little rpg fan this generation.
looks really cool so far!
hope they release it here though, and none of this 12+ months later BS too!
I ordered Demon souls online after it came out and i couldnt find it in any stores here.
Dark souls looks sick i cant wait to see more and if they some how put the playstation move (think sorcery with sports champions gladiator mode)it would be insanly fun game to play.
i stopped importing games, half the time i buy them they never get here, and the other half get here so badly scratched i cant play them!
sony really poorly designed ps3 cases, just the slightest knock and the game falls out of its slot and bounces around.
only if i had a penny for every time i have opened up a case, and the disk has dropped out because it came out of its slot.
than, if you want DLC you have to get it from the story you got the game for.
games may not be region locked, but DLC is.
Trailer looks quite amazing
I can't wait. Playing Demon's Souls right now.