Dark Souls II Preview
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The two areas I traversed a fiery, dank dungeon with an unsettling outdoor section, and an area startlingly reminiscent of the Priscilla portion of Anor Londo - were cramped. By which I mean they felt more like Demon Souls than Dark Souls; tight corridors, low lighting, a surplus of rubble.
The demo also sent me into a diabolical series of unlit rooms which I had to pass through to reach a bonfire, and overestimating the cruelty of From Software, I began to inch through with my shield raised, and the volume cranked up to maximum. After ten arduous minutes and some seriously stressful but deft swordplay, I emerged outside. After I eventually died (for the first time), I approached the beginning of the darkness again, and saw a torch. Pressing 'X', my character seized the flaming brand, and I walked into the darkness. Which wasn't dark anymore. The 'either hold a shield in complete darkness or hold a torch and be totally defenceless' conundrum is one that I'd encountered before in the Tomb of the Giants, but never before have I felt so confused and flattered by my own staggering dumbassery.
The final boss, a silvery giant bearing a mirror, was clearly programmed to have vastly more health and stats than normal. I watched several critics and employees at Namco Bandai chip away at its prodigious health pool, and I began to realise that From Software really, really didn't want anyone calling this game easy.
