14 DAY TRIAL // Dark Souls 2, the upcoming role-playing game from Japanese developer From Software, will change the old boss encounter mechanic, allowing players to battle with the huge enemies not just at the end of an area, but also in the middle, and even beat them if they're paying close attention.
Dark Souls and its spiritual predecessor, Demon's Souls, impressed through their challenging nature and the fact that they didn't pull any punches concerning difficulty.
Even so, they had a pretty basic progression system through the levels, as players unlocked new areas, explored their different environments, and had to defeat a boss enemy before passing through to the next level.
In Dark Souls 2, however, From Software wants to change things and add the boss fights in different moments during an area.
"As much as the development team is still balancing the game, I think there will be key moments in the game – not just challenges by story or difficulty – but there will be key enemies and bosses in the game that will challenge the players enough,” From Software's Takeshi Miyazoe told VG247.
"There will be areas where we’re revisiting some of the boss battles as well, where you’ll be able to encounter boss battles part-way through the stage."
These early boss fights can even be won, if players pay attention and have the necessary skills, according to Miyazoe
"You won’t have to start from one venue, go through to the end, beat the boss and then start from a new venue. There will be be areas where you can meet the boss halfway. If you’re good enough or paying enough attention, you might be able to defeat them early. "
"We’re trying to create a more interactive gameplay flow so that we sort of break a little bit in terms of the traditional 'start point, boss and then new start point'."
The new RPG is set to receive a beta stage this fall and will be released for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 in March 2014.