"Dark Souls 2" is coming. Last week we got our first real look at gameplay from IGN. Of course, with every new detail revealed there are a hundred more we need to know. Here's a small list of things we still need to know about the upcoming and hotly-anticipated sequel. Though, to be fair, they could all be summed up as - "please don't screw this up and I love you, From Software, "Dark Souls" developer."
Balance Between Accessibility and Challenge
If there's one thing people say about the original "Dark Souls," it's that it wasn't afraid to challenge players. Unfortunately that's refreshing in this day and age, where dying and respawning is virtually inconsequential in most games. "Dark Souls," on the other hand, provided real difficulty and then punished you, fairly, for screwing up. From Software can do two things to ruin "Dark Souls 2." They could make the game way too hard in an effort to satisfy the vocal internet crowd, or they could mutter that horrible word we gamers fear to hear - accessibility - and go the other way. It's the balance of challenge and reward that made "Dark Souls" so memorable, not just the difficulty. Everything they do, every enemy they make, should strive to emulate that aspect of the original.
Making Choices Matter
The "Dark Souls" plot was mostly meaningless—an excuse to dungeon-crawl and engage in the gameplay that made the game what it was. In other words, while somewhat interesting, nothing about the plot had much to do with the success of the game, which renders the few player decisions meaningless. That could change in "Dark Souls 2" if decisions actually have an impact on gameplay. For instance, at the end of "Dark Souls" the player could either become the "Lord of Dark" or sacrifice himself for the greater good. Put that kind of decision in the middle of "Dark Souls 2" (without the whole sacrificing one's self bit) and maybe you can splinter off the game into two wholly different experiences by the turning the player into one of two entirely different kinds of beings. Much of the "Dark Souls" experience has to do with dying, finding souls and restructuring one's self. If a precipice of decision is reached, the game should react on a gameplay front, not just in its plot.
Expansion of Online Features
The most obvious innovation from "Dark Souls" came from the odd online features, which made strides to mix real human interaction into the largely single-player campaign. From Software had some really interesting ideas and now they've had multiple years to mull it over and fine-tune those ideas. Dueling and writing messages should be expanded, not just as roadbumps and stop-gaps along the path, but as integral to total progression, if the player is willing. That's as tough a balancing act as creating the game's difficulty, and certainly a lot to ask, but it could show "Dark Souls 2" as a true progression of the series rather than a mere semi-sequel.
Combat Systems Balancing
Every sequel ever should follow this rule, but the combat systems in "Dark Souls," from melee and shield combat to sorceries, pyromancies and miracles, needed more balancing work done to them before release. Sorceries in partiticular were over-powered, causing hardcore players to focus too heavily on one aspect over another. It hurts the dynamism of the combat in the game when one strategy or character customization is way better than any other.
The success of "Dark Souls 2" will be a balancing act instead of a pile-on of features. That's a sign of an already wonderfully made series. I have no worries.
