14 DAY TRIAL // The development team at From Software working on Dark Souls 2 says that the new game will be a direct sequel, continuing the story of the first title, and that launch might not take place in 2013 because the scope of the game is bigger.
The team is quoted in Edge as saying that Dark Souls fans will see a clear continuity in terms of story, although no details were offered.
The graphics for Dark Souls 2 will be on a similar level of quality with those seen for Watch Dogs, the new surveillance focused title from Ubisoft, and Star Wars 1313, the new video game from LucasArts.
The game world will be similar to that of the first game in the series, but with increased density, which means that there are more enemies to fight and more NPCs to meet.
Dark Souls 2 does not take place on Lordran, but the From Software team is unwilling to divulge the name of the game world because it includes important hints about the story.
Development for the new title will be handled by Tomohiro Shibuya and Yui Tanimura, who are replacing Hidetaka Miyazaki.
The decision was made because publisher Namco Bandai wants to see a fresh take on the game world and because Miyazaki is already working on another project.
Dark Souls 2 will include a better Covenant system, a new approach for the morality feature and a more accessible story with less hidden elements.
Apparently, the team started working on the game as early as September 2011 and is currently 25 percent complete.
It’s not clear whether Dark Souls 2 will be launched in 2013 or will be pushed back another year, which probably means that the game will be offered on the next generation of home consoles from Sony and Microsoft.