So we knew that From Software, creators of the glorious Demon’s Souls, were working on a “sequel.” Now we know its name: Dark Souls, to be published in the west by Namco-Bandai. That’s a bit of a surprise, since Atlus did so well with the original it seems they’d want sequel localization rights, but there you go.
All we know right now is that it’ll be a PS3 exclusive in Japan but probably a PS3/360 title in the West, will play similar to Demon’s Souls but feature an open world rather than the hub-based style, have some sort of innovative multiplayer like its predecessor did, and will be awesome. Wait – that last one’s not assured. But if it’s like Demon’s Souls it will be.
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Eurogamer has video (http://www.eurogamer.net/videos/dark-souls-gets-official-announcement?size=hd) and screenies (http://www.eurogamer.net/gallery.php?game_id=14787&article_id=1324147)
Eurogamer’s writeup also says the game is supposed to be HARDER than Demon’s Souls. At the same time, world tendency is OUT because Namco would not splash out for the servers, so, potentially, online component might be simpler compared to Demon’s Souls.
As if the name Demon’s Souls wasn’t weird/vague enough, the sequel is DARK SOULS?!? What a lousy title; at least it’s not Dark’s Souls.
I enjoyed Demon’s Souls for some time and was with everybody else when they said it was never unfair but after a string of infuriating moments I’d simply had enough.
I had no problems with the difficulty of Demon’s Souls and the way it heavily punished failure but at times it only served to exasperate the various control quirks the game had. The loosey-goosey targeting, the dodging input stacking, the clunky movement (such as turning round on a thin beam above a gaping crevasse), the awkward bow toggle and weapon/magic switching — every time these quirks raised their ugly heads they threatened to kill me and jeopardise possibly hours of progress. I’m surprised none of the above ever gets mentioned to be honest.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot I love about Demon’s Souls but From Software need to seriously tighten up the controls for Dark Souls if they’re going to pull me in for a second time. And they should drop the sprint button, we’ve got analogue thumbsticks and everything now. And while they’re at it they should allow for some kind of fucking control scheme customisation as well. STOP THIS ONE CONTROL SCHEME NONSENSE.
Gregg, I believe “multiple editable control schemes” was one of our wishes here last year when we were all rambling on about “new rules” of game development or some such. Do you recall that?
Well, hear hear to your statement anyway.
Yeah, if I remember rightly it was Fink who opened up the original thread. I can get pretty animated with these things when they occur but if you were to ask me out of the blue what things drive me up the wall I couldn’t come up with shit. I need prompts and autocues.
I had no problems with the difficulty of Demon’s Souls and the way it heavily punished failure but at times it only served to exasperate the various control quirks the game had. The loosey-goosey targeting, the dodging input stacking, the clunky movement (such as turning round on a thin beam above a gaping crevasse), the awkward bow toggle and weapon/magic switching — every time these quirks raised their ugly heads they threatened to kill me and jeopardise possibly hours of progress. I’m surprised none of the above ever gets mentioned to be honest.
I have mentioned the above, Gregg B, though not nearly as detailed or elegantly as you did. I think I just called the controls “wonky” or said they “sucked” or something.
I have no love for Demon’s Souls.
In fairness: Ajax was loving Demon’s Souls – white knuckled, tense, grinding his teeth – until he fell off a balcony. Then he condemned the game. He’s very harsh.
It’s a good thing he doesn’t condemn his friends after one failure. The Steerpike family have given the Ajax family basically nothing but disappointment over the years.
Well-Played 2.0 (shameless plug) has a great chapter called “Inhabiting Demon’s Souls” by Matthew Weise that does a fine job of explaining the game’s strength and punch.
It’s not for everyone. But I love it, and Dark Souls is officially On My Radar.