Dark Souls has surprised a large group of customers since its release earlier in the month, and its motto,”Prepare to Die”, is no understatement. The game is absolutely ruthless, and the simplest mistakes regularly end in death. This seems routine for From Software, the game’s developer, and, while the game is a step up in difficulty from its predecessor, Demon’s Souls, the team doesn’t plan to make its successor more challenging – if there is one.
Game Director Hidetaka Miyazaki stated the following when asked about a potential sequel to Dark Souls:
If there is a sequel to Dark Souls, I am not going to make the game more difficult
Dark Souls has struck a great balance of difficulty and reward, which is a significant success given how hard the game is. Truthfully, we haven’t seen a game this punishing in ages, and most importantly we haven’t seen an experience this cold-blooded and commercially successful at the same time. The game is rarely unfair, and instead hangs on the premise of ‘learn and adapt’. If it were any harder, the drop-out rate would probably shoot through the roof, so retaining this balance will be in the best interest of both From Software and blood pressure levels worldwide.
We hope to see another release in the series, and based on the above quote there’s certainly a possibility. Sales appear to be strong, thanks in-part to a strong advertising campaign, as well as appealing improvements to the formula that has made Demon’s Souls one of the most actively discussed titles on several message boards. Who would have known that an ad detailing how excruciatingly hard a game is could sell units?
[Source]
