Dark Souls II director on accessible approach

When Dark Souls II's new co-director Tomohiro Shibuya said he wanted the game to be "more straightforward and more understandable," he kicked the hornet's nest. The more detailed Edge interview with Shibuya, who along with Yui Tanimura is taking over from Demon's Souls and Dark Souls director Hidetaka Miyazaki, reveals what he hopes to alter to make the series a little bit friendlier.

“Accessibility to players who haven’t picked up Dark Souls is definitely a key topic,” Shibuya said. “Right in the beginning when players first pick up the game is something that I will definitely focus on. To not immediately throw them into Dark Souls but provide a good introduction in terms of what the game’s about and how the game should be played."

Shibuya said that giving players a more comprehensive, understandable introduction will hopefully let more of them get through to the game's addictive core without feeling discouraged and giving up. Dark Souls' covenant system in particular was too difficult to absorb and experience for many, he said.

“Making it more accessible to players is something that I want to express… I will follow the same concept as Dark Souls, but there were a lot of hidden story elements that some players may not have caught before and I’m hoping to make some of that a little bit more clear or directly expressed to the player as well.”