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Dark Souls 2's box art is many shades of grey

Mike Suszek — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 15:00:00 EST

The box art for Dark Souls 2 recently popped up on the web, and features a dude with a sword walking away from the box-holder. For all we know, the man may be walking backwards while holding the sword, as animated .gif pack shots have yet to be realized.

We've placed hi-res versions of the box art, courtesy of All Games Beta, in a gallery for your viewing pleasure below. Dark Souls 2 is coming to Xbox 360, PC and PS3.

Gallery: Dark Souls 2 (Box Art)

Dark Souls 2's box art is many shades of grey originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 13 Apr 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Greater priority on PC for Dark Souls, sequel director says

David Hinkle — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 22:30:00 EST

Dark Souls 2 director Yui Tanimura has admitted that From Software botched the job porting Dark Souls to the PC. "A lot of it was not very well done, sort of half-assed," Tanimura told Shacknews through his translator, Tak Miyazoe.

"Yes, we will definitely put more priority on the PC," Tanimura said regarding the upcoming sequel. "Last time, we started working on PC after the console version was complete. This time, because we are considering the PC from the beginning, you can be sure there will be more care put into PC development."

The PC port of Dark Souls was the result of an impassioned internet petition that caught the attention of Namco Bandai. The first two games in the series, Demon's Souls and Dark Souls, were both directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki. Namco Bandai announced Miyazaki would not direct Dark Souls 2, a "company decision" in favor of dual directors Yui Tanimura and Tomohiro Shibuya.

Gallery: Dark Souls 2 (4/12/13)

Greater priority on PC for Dark Souls, sequel director says originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Apr 2013 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumor: Dark Souls 2 screens show what's going to kill you

Mike Schramm — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 21:30:00 EST

All Games Beta has posted leaked screenshots and a trailer it says are from Dark Souls 2. See 12 minutes of gameplay right here.

Continue reading Rumor: Dark Souls 2 screens show what's going to kill you

Rumor: Dark Souls 2 screens show what's going to kill you originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 10 Apr 2013 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dark Souls 2: Twelve minutes of deadly footage

JC Fletcher — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 16:45:00 EST

Foreboding, firelit stone castle environments full of deadly knights and nearby monsters. Death in the middle of a developer-driven demo. It's Dark Souls 2, and director Yui Tanimura picks up a torch and guides you through it in 12 minutes of new footage.

Dark Souls 2: Twelve minutes of deadly footage originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 10 Apr 2013 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dark Souls director sad to leave series, but wants to move on to something 'warmer'

Richard Mitchell — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 22:00:00 EST

Demon's Souls and Dark Souls director Hidetaka Miyazaki is upset about leaving the series, he tells Edge. Dark Souls 2 has been passed to a new pair of directors, Tomohiro Shibuya and Yui Tanimura, a move that was "a company decision" according to Namco Bandai producer Takeshi Miyazoe, and was essentially done to inject the series with some fresh blood (large stains of it, no doubt).

Despite his feelings for the Souls series, Miyazaki admits, "Sometimes I'd like to work on a warmer game - not necessarily casual, but warmer in terms of the atmosphere and the environment." Given how pervasively gloomy the series is, we can understand how being mired in it every day might be draining. Furthermore, while Miyazaki is "sad about not being involved" with Dark Souls 2, he says, "Maybe this is the time to have new inspiration, so I'm fine about that."

For his part, he says that he is eager to play Dark Souls 2 "with a little bit of distance." The development team, fans and the press all understand "what the core of Dark Souls is," he says, and that core "will never change." Finally, while he'd rather not see "Dark Souls 8," he adds that the important thing is serving the series' fans. "We want to stay true to what they expect."

Dark Souls director sad to leave series, but wants to move on to something 'warmer' originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 29 Jan 2013 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Even this Dark Souls 2 concept art is difficult

Mike Suszek — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 21:00:00 EST

Fans of From Software's Demon's Souls and Dark Souls games sure like a challenge. While Dark Souls 2 will be "more understandable," we're expecting that it will retain the difficulty curve set by the previous games.

Since we really don't know what to make of the recent pieces of concept art for Dark Souls 2 seen in the gallery below, we figure it's just another way the series is beating our brains up.

Gallery: Dark Souls 2 (Concept Art)

Even this Dark Souls 2 concept art is difficult originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 22 Dec 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The real danger in Dark Souls 2 is not 'accessibility'

Kat Bailey — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 17:00:00 EST

This is a column by Kat Bailey dedicated to the analysis of the once beloved Japanese RPG sub-genre. Tune in every Wednesday for thoughts on white-haired villains, giant robots, Infinity+1 swords, and everything else the wonderful world of JRPGs has to offer.

It was only four years ago that From Software's "Souls" series couldn't even find a publisher in the US. It was roundly dismissed by Sony Computer Entertainment America for being too difficult, seemingly dooming it to the status of import gem and not much more. Then Atlus got it at a pittance, saw it sell dozens of times more units than they could have ever expected, and the hounds descended upon what was suddenly a profitable property.

It was a cult hit. It had currency among the so-called hardcore gamer. Other publishers simply had to have it. In the end, it was Namco Bandai that came away with the right to publish more From Software titles in the series across multiple platforms, thanks to the minor name change from Demon's Souls to Dark Souls.

Fast-forward to 2012, and Dark Souls 2 has enough cachet to warrant a debut trailer at the Spike Video Game Awards. Namco Bandai is cashing in on the success of Dark Souls and fans have a bona fide franchise on their hands.

Gallery: Dark Souls 2 (VGAs 2012)

Continue reading The real danger in Dark Souls 2 is not 'accessibility'

The real danger in Dark Souls 2 is not 'accessibility' originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 12 Dec 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dark Souls 2 will be 'more understandable,' says director

Richard Mitchell — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 14:30:00 EST

The upcoming Dark Souls 2 won't be quite as obtuse as its predecessor, Tomohiro Shibuya told Edge. Shibuya will direct the game alongside Yui Tanimura, taking the reins from Dark Souls director Hidetaka Miyazaki. Shibuya promises a less ambiguous experience, something that will be friendlier to new players. Noting that he personally prefers to be direct, he added that the game "will be more straightforward and more understandable."

For experienced Demon's Souls and Dark Souls players, that statement might be more terrifying than the games themselves. After all, part of the appeal of the games is their mystery and the reward of overcoming their crushing difficulty. That said, all we have to go on right now is a single trailer for Dark Souls 2, and it's as grim as we'd expect from the series, so we're not panicking just yet. Here's hoping the game's new directors can lower the bar of entry without snuffing out what made the series special in the first place.

Miyazaki himself made comments regarding Dark Souls' difficulty earlier this year in an interview with Metro. In the original interview, Miyazaki seemed to ponder the possibility of creating an easier difficulty mode for Dark Souls in order to make it more accessible. Namco later claimed that his comments were mistranslated.

Dark Souls 2 will be 'more understandable,' says director originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 10 Dec 2012 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dark Souls 2 announcement trailer has us preparing to die all over again

Sinan Kubba — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 06:00:00 EST

This trailer paints a fate that's unsurprisingly bleak, but the news of a follow-up to From Software's grueling 2011 gem is anything but. We don't know when, but we do know Dark Souls 2 will lead to broken controllers and mangled keyboards on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

Dark Souls 2 announcement trailer has us preparing to die all over again originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 10 Dec 2012 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dark Souls 2 screens are a little shy

Mike Suszek — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 10:30:00 EST

Okay, so maybe we wanted to believe that there are adult Shy Guys in Dark Souls 2. At least, that's what we thought when viewing the announcement trailer during the 2012 VGAs a few nights ago. That's our mistake, but when you look at these screens from said trailer, can you really blame us?

Not much is known about Dark Souls 2, besides From Software's unswerving commitment to making the game incredibly difficult. We can say with certainty that Shy Guys first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 2. Dark Souls 2 has the number two in it as well. "Shy Guy" is also two words. None of that is a coincidence, right?

Gallery: Dark Souls 2 (VGAs 2012)

Continue reading Dark Souls 2 screens are a little shy

Dark Souls 2 screens are a little shy originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 09 Dec 2012 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dark Souls 2 announced because your life wasn't hard enough already [update: PS3, Xbox 360 and PC confirmed]

Alexander Sliwinski — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 21:49:00 EST

Masochism returns in Dark Souls 2. Announced during tonight's VGA awards, no release window or any other details. You kill Shy Guys though! There's also dragons, a dude in armor and a lady wearing a hooded cape.

Update: We've got the full live-action trailer just beyond the break.

Update 2: Sadly, this trailer's been pulled. We'll update this post (and the rest of our VGA 2012 posts with video) as soon as it's back up.

Update 3: From Software's Twitter account confirmed Dark Souls 2 will be on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Continue reading Dark Souls 2 announced because your life wasn't hard enough already [update: PS3, Xbox 360 and PC confirmed]

Dark Souls 2 announced because your life wasn't hard enough already [update: PS3, Xbox 360 and PC confirmed] originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 07 Dec 2012 21:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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