Dark Souls. The name of the game alone strikes fear into the hearts of stalwart gamers across the world. An absolutely punishing experience that on more than one occasion induced fits of controller throwing rage in my living room. It was AWESOME. The team at From Software is back at it again with Dark Souls II and if you thought they might go easy this round you would be mistaken. They are prepared to take you on another frustrating yet immensely rewarding journey. As I sat down with a couple members of the From Software and Namco Bandai team at the recently passed E3 one of them warned me simply with this – Shawn, this game is hard as shit. You might wanna call your mama and say goodbye because you might not make it out alive.
While this induced quite the chuckle from myself and other journalists in the room I didn’t think for a second that I was being kidded. Sure enough, as I navigated my fighter (aka: stabbing dummy) into the first narrow hallway, I was overcome quickly by attackers and promptly put to shame mercilessly by my fellow journalists. For the record, none of them fared much better and I took a small amount of comfort in that.
Dark Souls II comes to us with a brand new game engine which allows for much improved animations and lighting. In one particular section I was fighting in what would have been a pitch black stairwell. At the entrance to the stairwell I picked up a torch to hold in my off hand ventured in. The lighting and shadows bouncing around as I jumped and swung and spun in circles was great and a noticeable improvement over what we saw in the first Dark Souls.
Not to be outdone the combat physics took a big jump forward as well. For the first time in the Dark Souls series the team at From Software decided to go with motion capture in order to better represent the realism of fighting. Movement is fluid and looks as true to life as ever. One of the new additions to the sequel as well is the ability to carry up to 3 weapons or double up on weapons with a shield. The dev team has actually added a new dual wielding system that is awesome to see in action. Sure you could hold a shield or weapon in your off hand before but now you can actually use it. How’s that for advancement!?
Check out the E3 trailer here:
Jumping back into the demo I chose to play through with the new Dual Swordsman character. I figured if there were new dual wielding mechanics that I might as well take advantage of them. Also on offer were the warrior, sorcerer and temple knight class but who can say no to murdering bad guys with two swords at once? The swordsman, while fairly stealthy and swift, can’t take much abuse mind you so you have to play smart or face the consequences. Attempting to make my way further into the level I couldn’t help but take notice of the step up in the ability of the game’s AI. In Dark Souls enemies would move at you en masse and would quite simply overcome you while they ripped you to shreds. If you chose to run they tended to stay where they were and quickly forget you ever there. Not so anymore. Enemies make calculated attacks and they hunt you down. Not only that, enemies will parry with you and dodge with back steps and weaves. As a whole the interaction feels much more like your interacting with a player as opposed to an AI which is a drastic improvement.
For anyone who might have played the first game you undoubtedly know that if you were able to sneak up on an opponent that you could get an easy and guaranteed kill with a backstab. In an effort to make a punishing game even more punishing though the team decided to make the backstab more of a gamble. It can miss and the consequences can be absolutely devastating. While attempting to backstab a massive turtle-shelled bad guy I was countered as said bad guy delivered a back drop that wiped out my swordsman in one swift deathblow.
As I became more comfortable with the dual swordsman I was able to throw together the odd combo. Combos not only deliver massive damage to your enemy but with the new mechanics they also use far less stamina than when you throw attacks on their own. This definitely encourages the player to practice and improve their skills as being caught with no stamina can prove fatal. Hell, anything and everything in Dark Souls II can prove to be fatal so any step up a player can get is worth it. Speaking of getting a step up on the competition the player now has the option to use life gems that they acquire in game to boost their health when it’s low instead of using an estus flask. Life gems slowly regenerate the player’s health allowing the player to move around while doing so. This is unlike using an estus flask which leaves you momentarily immobile and basically a sitting duck for the improved AI.
Despite all my swagger and confidence I didn’t last more than 10 seconds against the demo’s boss the Mirror Knight. Slamming his mirror shield into the ground in front of me my reflection came to life and bashed its way into the fighting arena. Turning on my heels I had my feet kicked out from under me and was quickly dispatched. With equal parts frustration and embarrassment I stepped aside to watch the next sucker try their luck.
The final note of improvement to touch on is persistent bonfire warping. Every single bonfire you come across will allow you to warp rather than only the odd one. This will greatly reduce the amount of time a player randomly wanders over the landscape. A small improvement but an appreciated one I’m sure.
Unfortunately we didn’t get a look at the multiplayer offering so fans will have to wait a little longer for information in that department. Approximately 40 hours in agonizing length Dark Souls II is slated to arrive to PC and next gen consoles sometime around March 2014 but no date has been set in stone. After only getting a slight glimpse into what From Software is offering I can safely say that I’m excited to see what else they have in store.
