Death welcomes you and a friend.

We are just a few days away from the three month mark  until Dark Souls II’s anticipated release. The sequel to 2011’s critically acclaimed Dark Souls. Many fans remember the game for its’ great gameplay, fantastic enemies, memorable bosses (Great Wolf Sif anyone?), and unforgivably brutal deaths . After beating the original game many players just couldn’t stop playing, and with Dark Souls having so many different styles of play how could you put it down?

New threats await thee.

Dark Souls II continues the the traditional gameplay of the original game, but with a few extra editions as well. For one thing you’ll be able to chose your class, unlike in the original when you could (technically) be multiple classes. The already large world will be twice the size of it’s predecessor which will be quite the sight to see. There’s a new graphics engine that would lead someone unsuspecting into believing that this is actually a next-generation title, it’s pretty impressive compared to the previous game’s graphics which were pretty damn good, proving that the 7th generation definitely has life left without a shadow of a doubt.

New weapons, armor, spells, and enemies, but still no Easy mode sorry noobs.

The signature difficulty and hardcore gameplay returns in Dark Souls II and newcomers hoping to get a bit of a break with an easy mode, then sorry but that’s not happening now or at all even, as Namco and From Software have confirmed that DLC is unlikely even though it was included in the predecessor.  which could be considered a good thing if one is hopeful that the new world in Dark Souls II is truly big enough to the point where there’s no need for downloadable content in order to continue enjoying it.

The new hero of Dark Souls II.

In the original Dark Soul, you played an Undead Warrior who escapes the grasp of the beasts in the Undead Asylum, in order to stop the Lords of Fire. This time around you’re a curse human looking to rid him/herself of said curse. It will be interesting to see if the curse effects gameplay in a way similarly to the curse in Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones. Even though this title won’t include an easy mode, newcomers still shouldn’t have very much trouble compared to seasoned vets as Namco and From Software plan on having the opening areas of Dark Souls II more accessible for them.

Dragons are back, baby!

It seems that Dragons which were pretty scarce in the original title have made themselves more at home in the new title. In one of the trailers released a bridge full of dragons in the sky and one even advertently blocking the players’ path is shown. Are Dragons the central threat int Dark Souls II? Do they have some relation to the new player character’s curse? It’d be interesting to have a Dragon boss fight in Dark Souls II, hopefully one more willing to die unlike the Hellkite Dragon who comes and goes from the bridge in Dark Souls II.

Who are these guys?

Another mystery in the trailers are the appearance of beings wearing white Renaissance like styled mask. Do they have some sort of significance to Dark Souls II’s story? Are they attempting to stop the player character from ending his/her agony of the curse? Are the the ones who cursed the player character? Or are they just simple enemies who regularly appear throughout the game?

The player character rests at a bonfire, a Dark Souls II signature.

A returning fan favorite element in Dark Souls will be multiplayer, in the original game players could ‘invade’ another person’s game and either help them or screw them of their souls. Though there isn’t very much info out on Dark Souls II’s multiplayer, one could expect it to be pretty similar to the original’s with perhaps a few key differences, hopefully an option to accept an invade rather than just letting it happen once a player goes online.

The player character down on his knees in agony.

Dark Souls II has a lot of hype to live up to, thought it’s doubtful the game will have much issue doing so. With twice the world (and likely content) of Dark Souls I, players will have fun dying all over again as new threats, challenges, dragons, and a curse all get in the way of story progression.