One of the reasons why Dark Souls II is a game to look forward in 2014 is because the game is getting a whole new game engine, meaning it will look much better than its predecessor.
Back in Dark Souls and Demon’s Souls, one of the complaints everyone had (including myself) is the stiff animations of the characters and some of its strange effects when casting. At that time when the games were released, it looked good already but comparing it this time in Dark Souls II, I must say that players will be pleased on the new visual upgrade of the game.
During a behind closed doors presentation Namco Bandai gave to us journalists, one of the main highlights that was talked about is the game’s new engine. Everything on Dark Souls II will be totally new and remade. The demo that that they showed pretty much says it all. Judging alone by the lighting and shadows, it has become darker and more apparent where the blending of light and darkness works totally well. The textures have improved this time around, especially the way the bosses and enemies are crafted. As for the characters, not much has changed but you can see more detail as to how they look.
What really is the big eye-changer in Dark Souls II’s new visual upgrade is the way the magic is casted. This time around in Dark Souls II, the bolt or fire that comes out from the character depicts realism and more effects can be seen. The lightning that struck the boss was really visually eye pleasing. At first glance, you might think of it as a next-generation game but unfortunately, the game is only coming out on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Ryan
June 15, 2013 at 10:22 PMIt’s also coming out for PC, all next-geny with soft shadows, pixels and framerates.
Joe
June 17, 2013 at 12:58 AMYou might like to think of yourself as a “big boss” and talk about Dark Souls but you don’t know a thing about it or what it really means to players. The level of customization and storyline are the big parts of the game, not the graphics. We have been blessed with good graphics but they are not the main point. From Demon’s Souls to Dark Souls there was a huge jump in character animations. If there are any drastic kinds of graphic changes they will be forgotten as the next gen consoles are released. What is needed is improved quality in storyline (without handing it out like I heard they will do, Dark Souls was a grand story) and any deeper and more various customization options such as developing your own battle styles and deeper character attachment. Learn what Dark Souls really means. It doesn’t sound like you’ve even achieved platinum.
Mark Fajardo
June 17, 2013 at 1:00 AMthis article was meant to talk about the ‘new engine’ they wanted us to write about. Our preview article on the gameplay will be coming later this week.
I’ve played both and a big fan of Dark Souls and Demon’s Souls.
You can check my other article talking about the difficulty of Dark Souls II:
http://www.justpushstart.com/2013/06/e3-2013-dark-souls-ii-will-be-harder-than-dark-souls-i/
I should be talking about the gameplay and improvements in my next article.
Mike aka MonolithTMA
June 17, 2013 at 7:40 AMI’ve been playing Dark Souls and Demon’s Souls since their release days on the PS3. I bought the PC version of Dark Souls on its release day as well. I bought Demon’s Souls because I’m a huge fan of the King’s Field series and Demon’s Souls was billed as a “spiritual successor” to King’s Field.
It’s great to see them making graphical improvements, because Fromsoft’s games always seem to be a step or two behind in that department.
So far Dark Souls II looks amazing. Thanks for sharing the information about the new engine.
Josh
June 17, 2013 at 1:53 PMIt’s nice to know that they’re taking advantage of that new engine. it’s a next gen game so make it look next gen! I can’t help but feel a little worried though. Designers put in a little extra to show off the graphical improvement and I hope that they don’t go overboard. Dark souls has a unique atmosphere and design that I can’t quite put my finger on and draws my eye and attention more than many other dark fantasy game. I get the impression that those “look alike” games fall short because what makes Dark souls so appealing is subtle design choices. Here’s hoping they can pull off new contrasts, textures and the like without losing that vital piece that makes it so… Dark soulsy. So far the demos and trailers look alright. I want to take on that mirror knight pretty bad!