If you've been playing Dark Souls II, and following the coverage leading up to the game's release, you may have noticed that the version of Dark Souls II that was originally shown off to the public was not the same as the game we got on consoles. Tweaks to the lighting, overhauls in the structure of the game and graphical changes have been significant since the original gameplay reveal.Read more...
This little extract is from the Dark Souls art book, and has been doing the rounds on Twitter today. It is the most Dark Souls thing you will ever read.Read more...
Dark Souls 2 isn’t out until March of next year. But the network beta’s been running in Japan and other places for a little while now. You know what that means: leaked footage showing what the hotly-anticipated sequel looks and plays like. There’s about an hour’s worth of footage total here so get a snack. Read more...
I have never played Dark Souls. I believe I should probably preface this article by making this fact clear. The original Demon's Souls hated me. Read more...
It’s the first of April, and with the new month comes a new look at content coming to PlayStation Plus — there’s much to take in, with Plus members getting the venerable Demon’s Souls free. In addition to the monthly overview, this week brings more goodies, such as a sale on the award-winning The Walking Dead series, and more discounts on fan-favorites like Rainbow Moon and the Soldner-X series.
April Preview
The following games are slated to be free to PS Plus members through the Instant Game Collection in the month of April.
Demon’s Souls (PS3)
PSN Price: $19.99, Free for PS Plus members
Beautiful, compelling, and unforgiving, Demon’s Souls is the ultimate hardcore RPG experience. Revolutionary online features support your adventure like never before, presenting seamless interconnectivity that serves in every instance to enhance the single-player game. Leave hints and clues for those who will follow in your footsteps either intentionally or through your own inadvertent demise, your bloodstains will allow your successors to view a replay of your death, hinting at how to avoid your gruesome fate. It’s an in-depth action RPG that offers hundreds of hours of gameplay. If you can tackle the learning curve, you’ll find one of the most ridiculously rewarding games of the generation.
SOULCALIBUR: Broken Destiny (PSP, Supported on PS Vita)
PSN Price: $39.99, Free for PS Plus members
Battle as one of many returning Soulcalibur favorites, each enhanced with tuned balancing, new moves and animations. Play the dedicated single player game mode: Trials, developed exclusively for this Soul Calibur outing and evolved versions of classic game modes like The Gauntlet and Versus. Blow away your competition using finely tuned and enhanced battle mechanics including critical finishes, Soul Crushes and equipment destruction and unleash devastating combos.
Malicious (PS3)
PSN Price: $9.99, Free for PS Plus members
Take control of the Spirit Vessel and battle waves of brutal fighters and colossal enemies to rid the world of the evil force of Malicious. Gain new weapons, build your powers and perform devastating combo attacks as the final showdown between good and evil draws near. With a beautiful art style, Malicious is a treat to look at and will be coming to PS Plus later this month.
Labyrinth Legends (PS3)
PSN Price: $9.99, Free for PS Plus members
Are you daring enough, crafty enough, powerful enough to become a legend? Brave the mysterious tunnels, mystical crypts and maniacal creatures of Labyrinth Legends. Explore hidden catacombs and ancient tombs of lost civilizations while evading concealed traps and solving an array of intuitive puzzles. A unique combination of crisp graphics and dazzling visuals, inviting exploration, tricky puzzles, and exciting monster-slashing arcade action makes Labyrinth Legends quite the thrilling game.
Zombie Tycoon 2: Brainhov’s Revenge (PS3 and PS Vita – Cross-Buy and Cross-Play)
PSN Price: $9.99 Free for PS Plus members
Pick your side in the epic war between two evil masterminds: apprentice-gone-rogue Orville Tycoon and his army of heavy-duty zombies, or his vengeance-thirsty mentor Professor Brainhov and his frantic masses of agile undead! Post Z-day, Tycoon’s mad machination to extinguish all life in Finkleville has almost reached its apogee. During the final siege on the human fortress, his former mentor makes a sudden comeback, seeking retribution for his apprentice’s betrayal and eager to reclaim his rightful place as alpha mad scientist. Only one question remains: who shall win? Slow zombies, or fast zombies? Find out as undead armies clash in both the immersive single player campaign and the competitive multiplayer mode!
Leaving PS Plus In March
April 2nd – Spec Ops: the Line
April 9th – Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition
April 16th – Anomaly: Warzone Earth Review
Entering PS Plus in April (in no particular order)
Demon’s Souls (PS3)
Malicious (PS3)
Labyrinth Legends (PS3)
SOULCALIBUR: Broken Destiny (PSP, Supported on PS Vita)
Zombie Tycoon 2 (PS3 and PS Vita – Cross-Buy and Cross-Play) – Coming April 30th
April 2nd PlayStation Plus Update
Demon’s Souls
PSN Price: $19.99, Free for PS Plus members
Beautiful, compelling, and unforgiving, Demon’s Souls is the ultimate hardcore RPG experience. Revolutionary online features support your adventure like never before, presenting seamless interconnectivity that serves in every instance to enhance the single-player game. Leave hints and clues for those who will follow in your footsteps either intentionally or through your own inadvertent demise, your bloodstains will allow your successors to view a replay of your death, hinting at how to avoid your gruesome fate. It’s an in-depth action RPG that offers hundreds of hours of gameplay. If you can tackle the learning curve, you’ll find one of the most ridiculously rewarding games of the generation.
The Walking Dead Sale (PS3)
Various Discounts
Telltale’s The Walking Dead redefined how we think about video games. Recipient of several Game of the Year 2013 awards, if for some reason you haven’t had a chance to experience this unique story within The Walking Dead universe, now is a fine time to check it out. You can get the entire first season, episodes 1 through 5, through the Season Pass, or fill in what you have left by picking up each of the episodes individually.
The Walking Dead Season Pass (Regular Price: $19.99; PSN Sale Price: $14.99; PS Plus Price: $10.49
The Walking Dead Individual Episodes 2 – 5 (Regular Price: $4.99; PSN Sale Price: $3.99; PS Plus Price: $2.99
Rainbow Moon Sale (PS3)
Various Discounts
Rainbow Moon, the indie-developed Strategy RPG filled with exploration, tactical turn-based battles, six memorable characters, is now on sale with extra discounts for PS Plus members. Find the core game, a premium bundle, as well as the soundtrack, all on sale.
Rainbow Moon (Regular Price: $14.99; PSN Sale Price: $9.99; PS Plus Price: $7.99)
Rainbow Moon Premium Bundle (Regular Price: $18.99; PSN Sale Price: $10.99; PS Plus Price: $8.79)
Rainbow Moon Melodies (Regular Price: $4.99; PSN Sale Price: $1.99; PS Plus Price: $1.59)
Söldner-X Sale (PS3)
Various Discounts
The Söldner-X series combines 2D gameplay with white-knuckled action, fantastic level design, and beautiful HD environments to bring a truly unique shmup (short for shoot em’ up for the uninitiated). Both Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer and Söldner-X2: Final Prototype are on sale, as well as bundled editions with extra content, and individual add-ons.
Söldner-X2: Final Prototype and Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer Bundle (Regular Price: $14.99; PSN Sale Price: $7.99; PS Plus Price: $6.39
Söldner-X2: Final Prototype (Regular Price: $9.99; PSN Sale Price: $4.99; PS Plus Price: $3.99)
Söldner-X2: Final Prototype Complete Bundle (Regular Price: $12.99; PSN Sale Price: $6.99; PS Plus Price: $5.59)
Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer (Regular Price: $7.99; PSN Sale Price: $3.99; PS Plus Price: $3.19)
Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer Soundtrack (Regular Price: $3.99; PSN Sale Price: $1.99; PS Plus Price: $1.59)
Söldner-X2: Final Prototype Soundtrack (Regular Price: 4.99; PSN Sale Price: $1.99; PS Plus Price: $1.59)
Remember, check back every Monday to learn when Malicious (PS3), Zombie Tycoon 2 (PS Vita and PS3), Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny (PS Vita and PSP), and Labyrinth Legends (PS3) are arriving to PS Plus members. You’ll also find more discounts and other exclusives that we weren’t able to detail here just yet. Remember the month preview is subject to change.
What’s your favorite content from this week’s update?
What was your favorite content from March?
Thanks for reading this week’s update. You’ll find all the content detailed above with their Plus benefits active when PlayStation Store updates on April 2nd. Got more questions about Plus? Leave your comments below, or, if you’re looking to engage with more of the PS community, head over to the PlayStation Community Forums to discuss this week’s news more, find other topics to contribute your thoughts to, or start one for yourself. See you in the comments! (oh, and no there are not any April Fool’s jokes in this post; I tried!)
The PlayStation Network version of Demon's Souls is bringing death and despair to Europe on January 23, Namco Bandai tells us. That means our friends across the ocean must wait a little longer for From Software's downloadable dose of role-playing desolation, following yesterday's news of it coming to North America's PSN this coming Tuesday.
Namco says the game's European servers are staying online, so be sure to look out for messages telling you it's safe ahead when in fact there's a big, fat soul-loving spider who missed both breakfast and lunch and isn't really dealing with it well.
Demon's Souls is still incredibly difficult to play, but is about to become a little easier to start. On Tuesday, Jan. 8, it'll be released on PSN, eliminating the arduous task of standing up, walking to the PS3, and changing discs. The digital version is easy on the wallet too, at $19.99.
Atlus will show a bit of mercy in-game coinciding with this release, holding a "Pure White World Tendency" event through the 14th, making the game slightly easier. We've come a long way since Atlus wanted to shut the servers down: now the whole game is on the internet.
A lot of unusual things go on here at ATLUS, and as a publisher known for delivering great JRPG content, Demon’s Souls represented something unique even for us: runaway mainstream success. In the years since its release, Demon’s Souls went far above and beyond our usual humble offerings, partly because it’s such a special game. It’s a Japanese-developed RPG, made by From Software, but it has a distinctly Western look and feel in the weight of its movements and the ruthlessness of its enemies and environments. It’s a single-player title, but it has a strong online component unlike anything that came before it, where you can summon other players as friendly ghosts to give you a hand, or be invaded by hostile marauders without warning. Its unsparing difficulty seemed to mark it as destined to be appreciated only by a select few, yet it’s been universally lauded (and awarded Game of the Year by a few, including GameSpot) and remains our highest-selling title ever.
As a thank you to the fans who have supported it this far and kept the servers burning, we’re excited to announce that Demon’s Souls will be available on Tuesday, January 8th, as a digital download on PSN. Now you can buy it from the comfort of your own home; if you haven’t yet tried it for yourself, its price of $19.99 should be a warmer welcome than any bonfire. What’s more, to celebrate the digital launch of Demon’s Souls, we’re holding a Pure White World Tendency event from January 8th to 14th, which slightly reduces the difficulty of the game and opens up a few things that can only be accessed in the Pure White state.
So come on and find out what everyone else who’s played and loved Demon’s Souls already knows: the joys of dying over and over again. And when you do, don’t forget to leave a message for the next unfortunate wretch who’ll come after you. Our favorite? The real Demon’s Souls starts here…
#darksouls
Good morning again, Kotaku! I want to thank you all for the warm reception this weekend—thy scent is very human indeed, dear readership. And isn't the sun glorious today? More »
Star Citizen – the newest and spacest thing from mighty commander of all wings, Chris Roberts – sounds impossibly good. And I do mean that, but with more emphasis on the “impossible” part than I’d like. No doubt, Roberts is completely brilliant, but he’s proposing a project of utterly mad ambition. Naturally, it’s made me a bit skeptical. That said, an hour-long chat during GDC Online (the full results of which you’ll see very soon) definitely put a few of my fears at ease. Roberts is dreaming bigger than just about any other designer out there, but his pie-in-the-stars ambitions are actually pretty well-grounded in reality. And also Demon’s Souls, surprisingly enough.
#spoileralert
Borderlands and Demon's Souls were two of 2009's biggest hits, measured by sales and/or popular acclaim. So there's a nice symmetry in seeing Borderlands 2 paying homage to Dark Souls with an Easter egg encountered in the Caustic Caverns. More »
Demon's Souls will not be denied as publisher Atlus announced today that it will support the game's online features for the "foreseeable future." Unlike players in the unforgiving RPG, the servers just refuse to die!
"While it originally seemed as though it would be unfeasible for us to continue to sustain the servers, a number of developments have made it possible for us to continue to invest in and support our fans as they have continued to invest in and support us and Demon's Souls," said Tim Pivnicny, VP of Atlus marketing and sales, we imagine holding a cat o' nine tails. "For all the gamers who have yet to discover the game's amazing online experience, we're happy to say you can still log on and find out why Demon's Souls is still regarded by many as one of the finest games of all time."
The entry fee for electronic sadism is a mere $20 now, as the game is part of the PlayStation 3's "Greatest Hits" collection. The game's online features were intended to end at midnight on May 31, but darkness always finds a way to stay alive.
It looked like next week was going to be the last hurrah for the online component of Demon's Souls. But publisher Atlus has announced that they're going to be keeping the servers online for their hit PS3 hit for as long as they can. More »
Atlus is shutting down the North American servers for Demon's Souls on May 31 at 11:59 p.m. PST. This will not affect the single-player mode, but will prevent players from leaving notes for other players, who appear as ghosts in remote games and all other online activities.
Atlus is holding two World Tendency events, which can alter the difficulty and perks awarded to players in-game, throughout May. Atlus invites all players to sign in for one final hoorah on May 31, Game Informer writes.
Below is a heartfelt statement sent to Game Informer from Atlus VP of sales and marketing Tim Pivnicny:
#demonssouls
We've heard (as far back at 2010) Sony admit that it blundered big time by not publishing Demon's Souls in North America. Now we know why they passed. Shuhei Yoshida, Sony Computer Entertainment's head of product development, told Game Informer that he played two hours of the game as it was close to final, and walked away convinced it would be terrible. More »
Nobody expected Demon's Souls to be the hit it was, least of all Sony, the game's publisher in Japan. When Atlus decided to publish the game in North America, it took a risk -- one that paid off. The duty of publishing the sequel, Dark Souls, would then go to Namco Bandai.
Does Sony regret passing on publishing Demon's Souls in North America? Senior VP Shuhei Yoshida thinks so. He told Game Informer the company passed on the game after seeing an earlier build of the game. "What happened with Demon's Souls was until very late in the game's development, we were not able to play the game through. There were framerate issues and the network was not up and running. We underestimated the quality of the game and to be honest, the media in Japan did the same."
But still, even after a few hours with the final product, Yoshida remarked that he just wasn't able to see the value in the game. "For my personal experience with Demon's Souls, when it was close to final I spent close to two hours playing it and after two hours I was still standing at the beginning at the game. I said, 'This is crap. This is an unbelievably bad game.' So I put it aside." In the end, Yoshida admitted Sony "dropped the ball from a publishing standpoint" and was not able to "see the value of the product."
#ps3
As it did last year, the impenetrably difficult Demon's Souls is giving players just a teensy bit of a break between now and New Year's. From now to Jan. 2, Demon's Souls will ease the game's difficulty and unlock "otherwise inaccessible areas and items." More »
#darksouls
Demon's Souls and Dark Souls. Two of the nastiest, most unforgiving game of this console generation. So why the hell are they looking so adorable? More »
#darksouls
There's a moment early in Demon's Souls, immediately following the game's first major battle, in which the player must sprint from one end of a castle bridge to another. The looming Red Dragon of Boletarian Palace repeatedly strafes that cobblestone walkway with a fiery blast of breath, an attack that will easily decimate a young, inexperienced player. More »
Atlus sent out a little note reminding us all that today marks the second anniversary of the release of Demon's Souls, spiritual predecessor of Dark Souls. In celebration of two years of mind-numbing, controller-snapping difficulty, the publisher has some special World Tendency events lined up for the rest of the month.
Starting today and running through October 17, the in-game world of Demon's Souls will switch to Pure White Tendency, which makes the game (somewhat) less difficult and even opens up certain paths and items. From October 17 through the rest of the month - just in time for Halloween - the world will shift to Pure Black which, you guessed it, makes the game even more difficult (okay, fine, it also opens up different hidden areas too).
To offer up a birthday analogy, it's like Atlus is giving everyone a cake topped with beautiful white icing and a filling made of pure evil.
#yakuza
You've survived the perils of Demon's Souls. You're fighting your way through Dark Souls hell. And next year? Next year you'll likely breeze through Yakuza: Dead Souls, the newly-renamed North American version of Yakuza of the End, as it is a completely unrelated product. More »
#darksouls
I've played some 80 hours worth of Dark Souls on the PlayStation 3, but I still haven't come to the end of this wonderfully bleak, beautiful and brutal game. There is much for me to uncover before I'm done—and when I play Dark Souls through for a second time. More »
#darksouls
Here's the downside to watching any footage of Dark Souls—or even looking at its collector's edition art book. You're going to see some of the game's impressive and imposing enemies. But our latest look at Dark Souls, leading up to the game's release next week, is still a must-see. More »
In an announcement timed suspiciously closely to the release of a totally unrelated game (wink!), Atlus announced that it's going to continue operating the servers for Demon's Souls "into 2012." They had previously only been ensured operation until October of this year.
Thanks to this renewal, players will still be able to leave notes for one another, show up as ghosts in others' games to warn of dangerous conditions, or just become a mean-spirited invader. And with that continued support will come new "Pure White" and "Pure Black" world tendency events for unspecified dates this holiday season.
Atlus PR also just casually drops the fact that Demon's Souls has an MSRP of $19.99, making it the best bargain in From Software's two-title-strong library of hardcore action RPGs.
#demonssouls
Last we heard, From Software's Demon's Souls, the PlayStation 3 role-playing game with incredibly innovative online features, would keep its North American servers going until at least October 6, 2011, the game's second birthday. Today, publisher Atlus says it plans to keep the Demon's Souls online party goin' into next year. More »
#darksouls
Dark Souls, the spiritual successor to bastard hard Demon's Souls, was released today in Japan. There are reports of it selling out at select shops. There are also reports of game-killing bugs. More »
Beautiful, compelling, and unforgiving, Demon’s Souls is the ultimate hardcore RPG experience. Revolutionary online features support your adventure like never before, presenting seamless interconnectivity that serves in every instance to enhance the single-player game. Leave hints and clues for those who will follow in your footsteps either intentionally or through your own inadvertent demise, your bloodstains will allow your successors to view a replay of your death, hinting at how to avoid your gruesome fate. It’s an in-depth action RPG that offers hundreds of hours of gameplay. If you can tackle the learning curve, you’ll find one of the most ridiculously rewarding games of the generation.
SOULCALIBUR: Broken Destiny (PSP, Supported on PS Vita)
Battle as one of many returning Soulcalibur favorites, each enhanced with tuned balancing, new moves and animations. Play the dedicated single player game mode: Trials, developed exclusively for this Soul Calibur outing and evolved versions of classic game modes like The Gauntlet and Versus. Blow away your competition using finely tuned and enhanced battle mechanics including critical finishes, Soul Crushes and equipment destruction and unleash devastating combos.
Malicious (PS3)
Take control of the Spirit Vessel and battle waves of brutal fighters and colossal enemies to rid the world of the evil force of Malicious. Gain new weapons, build your powers and perform devastating combo attacks as the final showdown between good and evil draws near. With a beautiful art style, Malicious is a treat to look at and will be coming to PS Plus later this month.
Labyrinth Legends (PS3)
Are you daring enough, crafty enough, powerful enough to become a legend? Brave the mysterious tunnels, mystical crypts and maniacal creatures of Labyrinth Legends. Explore hidden catacombs and ancient tombs of lost civilizations while evading concealed traps and solving an array of intuitive puzzles. A unique combination of crisp graphics and dazzling visuals, inviting exploration, tricky puzzles, and exciting monster-slashing arcade action makes Labyrinth Legends quite the thrilling game.
Zombie Tycoon 2: Brainhov’s Revenge (PS3 and PS Vita – Cross-Buy and Cross-Play)
Pick your side in the epic war between two evil masterminds: apprentice-gone-rogue Orville Tycoon and his army of heavy-duty zombies, or his vengeance-thirsty mentor Professor Brainhov and his frantic masses of agile undead! Post Z-day, Tycoon’s mad machination to extinguish all life in Finkleville has almost reached its apogee. During the final siege on the human fortress, his former mentor makes a sudden comeback, seeking retribution for his apprentice’s betrayal and eager to reclaim his rightful place as alpha mad scientist. Only one question remains: who shall win? Slow zombies, or fast zombies? Find out as undead armies clash in both the immersive single player campaign and the competitive multiplayer mode!
Telltale’s The Walking Dead redefined how we think about video games. Recipient of several Game of the Year 2013 awards, if for some reason you haven’t had a chance to experience this unique story within The Walking Dead universe, now is a fine time to check it out. You can get the entire first season, episodes 1 through 5, through the Season Pass, or fill in what you have left by picking up each of the episodes individually.
Rainbow Moon, the indie-developed Strategy RPG filled with exploration, tactical turn-based battles, six memorable characters, is now on sale with extra discounts for PS Plus members. Find the core game, a premium bundle, as well as the soundtrack, all on sale.
The Söldner-X series combines 2D gameplay with white-knuckled action, fantastic level design, and beautiful HD environments to bring a truly unique shmup (short for shoot em’ up for the uninitiated). Both Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer and Söldner-X2: Final Prototype are on sale, as well as bundled editions with extra content, and individual add-ons.
What’s your favorite content from this week’s update?
What was your favorite content from March?
