Following Namco Bandai’s surprise announcement of Dark Souls 2 at the 2012 VGAs earlier this month, more details on the sequel are beginning to surface.
The latest info dump comes from EDGE Magazine (via NeoGAF ), who ran a feature on Dark Souls 2 in their latest issue. The publication had the chance to visit the offices of From Software, where they were treated to a 10-minute gameplay demonstration.
Perhaps the most surprising tidbit of information to come out from the coverage is that Dark Souls 2 looks significantly better than its predecessor. In fact, the magazine even goes as far as to say that the graphics are on par with Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs , and LucasArts’ Star Wars 1313 .
So far, the only platforms confirmed are PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, with a PC release being likely. When asked whether or not Dark Souls 2 could also be in the works for next-generation systems, the magazine received a polite “no comment.”
The developers told EDGE that Dark Souls 2 is a direct sequel to the original, but it won’t be taking place in the same world. More details on that will have to wait until a later date.
From Software also confirmed suspicions that Hidetaka Miyazaki’s involvement in the development of Dark Souls 2 will be as a supervisor; it was previously announced that Tomohiro Shibuya and Yui Tanimura will be leading development on the game, but Miyazaki’s role was unclear.
Miyazaki is instead working on an all-new IP. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t want to share any details on what that might be.
A few other interesting details were disclosed in the coverage. As I’m sure many of you will be pleased to hear, the team is bringing back server-based PVP with Dark Souls 2 .
For news that may not be as well received, Shibuya plans to make gameplay elements like the Covenant system clearer and more accessible, which falls in line with his recently-revealed design philosophy for Dark Souls 2 .
Are you excited about Dark Souls 2 , or are you worried about how it will be handled with new directors?
