Dark Souls 2 Gameplay Reveal

[Dumac]

IGN has the first gameplay footage of Dark Souls 2

Gameplay video

Interview about Dark Souls 2

I looks pretty sweet. Still looks like a souls game, although it does look slightly different. I'm excited.

The graphics look underwhelming, but perhaps that is cause this is still in development and I'm used to the PC version.

IIRC DS2 will have a PC version from the start, hopefully better made than the DS1 port.

EDIT: 8 new screenshots

 

[KaOTiK]

Looks like a mix of Demon and Dark Souls for the art this type, very much the same but just a bit different. Can not wait for this game, Demon/Dark Souls are some of my fav games this gen and maybe ever.

 

[Dumac]

Here are 8 new screenshots. They look better, although they are heavy in DoF and motion blur. I've added them to the OP.

 

[Zenoth]

It looks interesting.

The fighting style reminds me of the kitting and dynamics of TERA's fighting against BAMs (for those who might not know, in TERA "BAM" literally stands for Big Ass Monsters, and most of them are really big indeed). The difference being that it looks like each and every single enemy encounter in DS is similar, rather than specifically dangerous "just" against bosses. That's probably what made the original popular beyond its difficulty (but it made the difficulty as well), namely that every single enemies can be a significant threat and not just trash mobs until a boss fight.

I haven't played the original much, only tried it for a few hours at my cousin's place on his 360 when he rented it. I liked it but didn't get enough time to get into it. From what I can remember I think it was perhaps too linear, but as I said I haven't played that much of it so I'm not sure really. I will probably wait until the second one is released for the PC. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if the original (PC version) will be included in some sort of pre-order or sales offers with the sequel on Steam or elsewhere.

I'll definitely keep an eye on that one.

 

[ArchAngel777]

Dark Souls and Dead Space are the ONLY two games I have completed in the last 5 years. To give you a hint, I have played over 50 different PC games in that time. Nothing has kept my interest to the level of Dark Souls.

I did somewhat lose interest on my 4th play through. Not because it wasn't fun, but because it only gets slightly more difficult each time after the second (like 7% or so) and If I beat it three times, I know I can beat it 7 times.

I cannot wait for DS2.

 

[PowerYoga]

looks amazing... here's to hoping they make considerations for the PC from the ground up as well.

 

[tnt118]

And this isn't a complaint, but I really feel like this is just "more Dark Souls". It was a great game, and DS2 might be the rare game I actually buy at launch, but they really didn't showcase anything that takes the game in a new or interesting direction.

Again, not a complaint.

 

[PowerYoga]

I thought the bit about enemy reactions was kind of interesting. I haven't played dark souls in a while but I don't think the enemies really used different attacks depending on where you were standing, did they?

 

[Dumac]

And this isn't a complaint, but I really feel like this is just "more Dark Souls". It was a great game, and DS2 might be the rare game I actually buy at launch, but they really didn't showcase anything that takes the game in a new or interesting direction.

Again, not a complaint.

You are right, they didn't show anything similar to the jump from Demons Souls -> Dark Souls.

But they also kind of glossed over most of the details of the game and didn't give much info at all. I am hoping there are at least a few gamechangers as well.

 

[Kneedragger]

Looks really good. I just started playing the first one on PS3 since its free.

 

[turn_pike]

As for myself, I dont mind more of the same. I've never had a true Dark Souls experience. Demon's Soul never got ported to PC so I assumed it would be the same for Dark Souls, which led me to watch some lets play Dark Souls in youtube. By the time Prepare to Die edition was announced, I was already thoroughly spoiled.

I'm excited to play a Souls game the way it meant to be played. No wiki, no nothing. Just a babe in the woods.

 

[smackababy]

As for myself, I dont mind more of the same. I've never had a true Dark Souls experience. Demon's Soul never got ported to PC so I assumed it would be the same for Dark Souls, which led me to watch some lets play Dark Souls in youtube. By the time Prepare to Die edition was announced, I was already thoroughly spoiled.

I'm excited to play a Souls game the way it meant to be played. No wiki, no nothing. Just a babe in the woods.

Yeah, first playthroughs are always great. But once you go back and and replay you realize you missed so much. The Souls games were some of my favorite games of all time. I love the engine and the combat. I wish more games would take hints and you don't have to be a super strong god in every game. SL1 playthroughs are really fun.

 

[clok1966]

Im an old gamer and consoles have lost the appeal.. fps with sticks, football games with "push x+y+lshift then tap left trigger" to juke is utter BS! But as a gamer addict i still buy um (consoles and games) but seldom play past a few hours.. sad and wasteful money wise. Demons Soul came along and rewarded smart playing, while some will disagree, I never felt traps where cheap (I never saw one I couldn't see before it was spring if I paid attention).. it felt as real as a fantasy game could get and required me to play well.. I loved it.. I never once felt it was "brutally hard' as was quoted so many times in reviews.. (I came from 3 player no saves games, megaman, castlvania, Etc, Demons Souls is far more forgiving) it was just a solid all combat and exploration game. Loved the old KINGS FIELD games they made on the PSone (also known as brutally hard). No, Demons Souls and Dark SOULS are just good games.. more of the same wont bother me a bit. Anybody who plays HALO, COD, BF sure cant say "more of the same" is bad.. most those guys been making the same game since the 90's.

 

[smackababy]

Im an old gamer and consoles have lost the appeal.. fps with sticks, football games with "push x+y+lshift then tap left trigger" to juke is utter BS! But as a gamer addict i still buy um (consoles and games) but seldom play past a few hours.. sad and wasteful money wise. Demons Soul came along and rewarded smart playing, while some will disagree, I never felt traps where cheap (I never saw one I couldn't see before it was spring if I paid attention).. it felt as real as a fantasy game could get and required me to play well.. I loved it.. I never once felt it was "brutally hard' as was quoted so many times in reviews.. (I came from 3 player no saves games, megaman, castlvania, Etc, Demons Souls is far more forgiving) it was just a solid all combat and exploration game. Loved the old KINGS FIELD games they made on the PSone (also known as brutally hard). No, Demons Souls and Dark SOULS are just good games.. more of the same wont bother me a bit. Anybody who plays HALO, COD, BF sure cant say "more of the same" is bad.. most those guys been making the same game since the 90's.

I think once people realize that death in the Souls games once you learn the mechanics and master them (rolling, parrying, and such) the games become a lot easier. And that death is really meaning less. Being 'alive' only added benefits, but losing that took very little away.

 

[KaOTiK]

Reading some various interviews and Q&A's. The PC version is going to run at 60FPS and the console version at 30FPS. They are building the game on the PC first and then porting it to the consoles as well. The demo footage shown is from the PC running at 60FPS as well. They said the PC version will have better textures/lighting/performance/etc.

I will preorder this game no questions asked soon as it is put on Steam.

 

[Dumac]

Reading some various interviews and Q&A's. The PC version is going to run at 60FPS and the console version at 30FPS. They are building the game on the PC first and then porting it to the consoles as well. The demo footage shown is from the PC running at 60FPS as well. They said the PC version will have better textures/lighting/performance/etc.

I will preorder this game no questions asked soon as it is put on Steam.

Sweet, I didn't see that mentioned anywhere. That is awesome.

Gametrailers casually claimed a release date of October 2013, but nobody else seems to have that info...

Also wanted to remind you guys that the game is supposedly server-based this time, much like Demons Souls was. Anyone who played DeS will assure you that it is much better. Plus, on the PC side, it might mean no more GFWL as this article with the supposed boxart suggests.

 

[KaOTiK]

Sweet, I didn't see that mentioned anywhere. That is awesome.

Gametrailers casually claimed a release date of October 2013, but nobody else seems to have that info...

Last info I heard on a release date was still next year. But they might be trying to move it up some because of the next gen of consoles coming out at the end of this year and the DS team said they aren't putting the game on the next gen systems.

 

[KaOTiK]

Finally got some sales numbers for the PC side, Dark Souls sold 300k on the PC. Not bad for a game that was ported long after the console version and was a bad port as well.

http://www.shacknews.com/article/78672/dark-souls-pc-was-half-assed-but-dark-souls-2

 

[smackababy]

Finally got some sales numbers for the PC side, Dark Souls sold 300k on the PC. Not bad for a game that was ported long after the console version and was a bad port as well.

http://www.shacknews.com/article/78672/dark-souls-pc-was-half-assed-but-dark-souls-2

Funny because I bought it on Xbox 360 and PC on release day. Even if it wasn't the best port, I support From because the game is excellent.

 

[KaOTiK]

Funny because I bought it on Xbox 360 and PC on release day. Even if it wasn't the best port, I support From because the game is excellent.

I bought it on the PS3 at launch and the PC as well. The PC getting a port was really just luck, who would have thought a petition to get a PC port would actually work? lol

I double dipped on DS because the petition worked and I signed it hoping it would come over. Sure the port was bad, but the DSfix mod fixed most peoples problems with it.

Good thing it all went as it did since now DS2 is being released same day as the console versions and is getting the treatment it deserves.

 

[Dumac]

I also bought it on PS# and then again on PC for improved graphics + DLC. DSFix really saved the PC port.

Here is a list of possible changes noticed in the gameplay footage. Quoted below:

• new ash/snow blasting from the bonfire as you kindle it.
• Keymouth stones, usable keys that are 1 use only, but could be used in various different areas of the game. this means you have the chance to make a certain area "easier" for example, lighting up an otherwise dark place. whilst it also means you'll not be able to use it at other opportunities.
• For those of you who noticed, on the inventory next to the healing drop there were 2 tiny boxes on the left, one to the bottom right and 1 to the top right, the right one contained the healing drops, so perhaps there'll be more healing items, or a visible queue of your equipped items to assist with toggling through them?
• New ambushes - this was covered in the film, enemies that seemed dead rising up. It's happened in DeS and DaS, but this time it looked pretty awesome.
• Torches - light-able equip-able torches to force you to have no shield as you pass through dark areas mother of god
• You Died - in new ways, such as being launched off the level by some sort of boar creature (*not like the iron golem ever did a ring-out on people...)
• AI and Aggro seems vastly improved in a fair few ways.
• when he passed through the fog gate, it said "enter mist" instead.
• deflecting weapons: this was shown with the axe troll guy (I thought he was a dwarf, tbh) I wonder if this could also happen with arrows or items in pvp.
• in addition to deflecting weapons, it appears you can hit them even after they've landed (if you watch the video closely the player hits axe 1 as axe 2 hits him, this sends axe 1 flying.) this could create some interesting physics, or even perhaps mean you can reclaim thrown items?
• There was no noticeable humanity counter, which was instead replaced with some sort of trinket? perhaps a game mechanic change in some way... note: gameplay HUD still in development, this may not be final
• Improved terrain destruction. S&O and gaping dragon destroying the odd pillar was cool, i guess... but that huge thing tearing down whole sections of wall to get through to you??? Awesome!
• more weapons being equipabble at a time from the fast menu
• you can run and shoot in DaS II
• Anybody notice how good both of those falling death animations were? the character almost rag-dolls, but it seems so much more controlled, I much prefer this to the DaS vertical fall!
• improved movement for dual-wield attacks - including a both weapon combo.
• possible improved movement for the axe, as well. that axe has a much more comfortable movement than any of the DaS axes.
• possible HP regenerating of cyclops monster
• Healing on the move! you only stop to reach into your pocket whilst using a Healing Drop, but then you can at least walk whilst the consuming animation plays through.
• UI changes and shrinks down when you're not in combat, gorgeous view ahead
• over the players Magic slot are 2 numbers, one is "L#" and the other is a one or 2 digit number MonarKay's Theory suggests this is a spell level, and number of casts left in this playthrough.
• rolls change as you swap equipment. as you fight the cyclops, player starts with a fast roll, but after switching to the greatsword he does a mid-roll. This isn't too easy to spot (similar to the regenerating hp theory) because of the camera angles, but if you watch the double rolls as player switches to bow and get some distance, and the moment where his roll is slower, so he gets hit by the cyclops once, there's definitely a shorter distance between rolls.
• more environmental ques for the player. staggering on uneven footing in new situations, character lookling back in fear from the chariot.
• Possible durability meters showing on the HUD

 

[mindcycle]

Dark Souls 2: what's new, what's not
Yui Tanimura, the game's new director, talked up the sequel's new graphics engine, for example. A lot of attention went into the lighting, it seems, with dynamic light sources becoming even more vital to gameplay. There are areas of total blackness, which can only be illuminating when carrying a lit torch.

The levels also feature a three-dimensionality that hasn't been seen in previous games. For example, in one part of the demo, the player looked down from a walkway, seeing a group of fire-breathing dragons collecting in the passage way below. In an outdoor area, the player had to walk across a rickety bridge, whilst fending off flying beasts, circling above.

But there's a lot that hasn't been changed. Although Tanimura was quoted as saying he'd like to make the game more "understandable," it doesn't mean he'll do it in a hand-holding way. "I doubt we'll create more tutorials," he said. "I personally like Nintendo titles which give you a good sense of learning as you play the game."

Tanimura also backtracked on his comments that the story would be "more clear," saying that he plans on "continuing how it was told in Dark Souls."

One thing that's definitely not going to change: the platforms Dark Souls 2 will release on. Although PC will get a proper version at launch this time around,

Sounds good to me!

Read the rest here:
http://www.shacknews.com/article/78682/dark-souls-2-whats-new-whats-not

 

[Goothry]

I would take that list of changes with a grain of salt. It could be that what was shown may not be final. For instance, the rolling with a great sword and the ability of having multiple weapons equiped. It could be that the only intention of some of the mechanics shown were to streamline the gameplay reveal. Check out Epicnamebro's youtube channel. He's pretty good regarding discussion of DS story and gameplay mechanics, and speculations about DS2.

 

[smackababy]

ENB is great at speculation, and can read Japanese (not sure if he still lives in Japan).

 

[KaOTiK]

Dark Souls 2 makes sure you cry at night.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/413936/previews/dark-souls-2-hands-on-beautiful-and-brutal/

On the other side of the bonfire a long dark hall awaits. In the southern alcove several candles are lit, and according to Tanimura each of these candles represents a death. Whenever any player online dies at the hands of the boss in this area, a new candle will be lit, and you will see it.

That boss is the Mirror Knight: the mongrel no journalist has managed to defeat. He's a tall knight with a sweeping heavy sword attack and a lightning projectile. He also wields a mirror which, in the final build, will be an invasion entry point for other human players. This means you'll be dealing with not only a boss but also an invader, which is hilariously sadistic.