Dark Souls II Announced at VGAs

The Spike TV VGA Awards may not be the most core-gamer focused event, but it’s still something that gets a fair amount of media attention.  Every year there’s a surprise or two worth hearing about unveiled during the presentation, and this year’s big one was Namco-Bandai’s trailer for Dark Souls II.  From Software’s brutally punishing Souls series is coming back for a third entry, and while the announcement trailer and follow-up press release were light on details, a few snippets of real information have managed to leak out.

The big piece of info is that Dark Souls II has a different director than Demon’s/Dark Souls.  Previous director Hidetaka Miyazaki has stepped into a Supervisor role, letting newcomer Tomohiro Shibuya take over.  Shibuya has said that he’s less subtle than Miyazaki, and depending on how that shows up in the game it could be very good.  Losing the sense of mystery would also lose part of Dark Souls‘ atmosphere, but having a clearer grasp on important features (World Tendency in Demon’s Souls, for example) can only be a good thing.  Honestly, it’s a bit early to be either worried or optimistic.

The rest of the info is smaller in consequence but still offers a tantalizing glimpse of what’s to come.  It’s a new world to explore, with new enemies, bosses, and traps to contend with, but the same level of difficulty that’s so rewarding to overcome.  Multiplayer is heading back to a server-based system for better stability, although whether you’ll be able to team up with friends at last is still unknown.  Finally, the game is currently planned for PS3, 360, and PC.  That’s it on info for the moment, unless the trailer’s volume of dragons is a clue.  Dark Souls II is shrouded still shrouded in mystery, but knowing that it’s a game that’s going to exist is good enough for now.

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