Dark Souls 2 Includes Timed Co-Op, Greater Penalties for Death

Don’t let the new generation of consoles fool you – there are still plenty of great games slated to release on the boxes you own right now. Grand Theft Auto 5 just sold what seems like billons of copies in a matter of moments, and all the major third-party products will still see life on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. However, the main reason to still own Sony and Microsoft’s current offerings in 2014 will be Dark Souls 2. The sequel to the brutally difficult action title, which was the spiritual successor to another teeth-gnashing game, is shaping up to be everything a Souls fan could hope for and new information about the game is currently emerging from the Tokyo Game Show that you should know about.

Steven O'Donnell, host of Australia's Good Game, is a fan of From Software’s work. He’s been lucky enough to play Dark Souls 2 in Japan, and reports that the more you die as a member of the undead, the less health you have. That means that along with losing all souls being carried, players will have to deal with a shorter health bar after spawning. The co-op has been made more difficult, too. No longer can a bigger, better player guide someone new through the entirety of the world, as a timer has been added to stop handholding.

O’Donnell also mentions the addition of a clothe map to the collector’s edition of the game, which could be used to soak up all your tears after playing Dark Souls 2. Look for the game to launch this March on consoles and PC.