Demon's Souls Successor, Dark Souls, Gets First Details, Appears on PS3 and Xbox 360

Dark Souls, previously known as Project Dark, has finally been detailed, and will be the spiritual sequel to 2009's Demon's Souls.

Hardcore role-playing game fans were thrilled when Demon's Souls appeared for the PlayStation 3 back in 2009, as the title offered one of the most intense and challenging experiences since the golden days of hard to master RPGs.

Now, its developer, From Software, is working hard on another difficult role-playing game, in the form of Dark Souls, previously known to the world only under its Project Dark codename.

After months of rumors, the first actual details have been revealed by Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu, who published an extended feature on the brand new RPG.

According to both the magazine and its developer, Dark Souls will be even harder than its predecessor, but the rewards for overcoming its tricky obstacles will certainly make players feel good after completion.

The world of Dark Souls will be an open one, so exploration will be key for players that want to uncover all of its secrets.

The game, however, won't have any type of map, just a position marker, which will certainly prove tricky, as From Software confirms that level designs will be more complex this time around.

Expect to find the same medieval fantasy themes, but don't go searching for any connection to Demon's Souls, as the two games aren't linked in any way.

The gameplay will be largely the same, meaning you'll need to kill a lot of enemies in order to upgrade your character and unlock more weapons or spells.

This time around, new online modes will be added, including cooperative and competitive (Player versus Player) ones, in order to keep things interesting.

Dark Souls will be a PlayStation 3 exclusive in its native Japan, as it is published directly by From Software, but in the rest of the world, including North America and Europe, it will appear on both the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, published by Namco Bandai.

A release date hasn't been revealed, so until more details appear, enjoy these new screenshots and the new announcement trailer of Dark Souls below.