Dark Souls 2 Offers More Freedom Over Linearity

In an interview with Digital Spy, Dark Souls 2 Director Yui Tanimura says he looks to increase the freedom of choice when it comes to playing through the game’s areas.

"Freedom of exploration is something we want to prioritize for Dark Souls 2, even more so than Dark Souls 1. In Dark Souls 1, you were able to travel to several areas, but hopefully for Dark Souls 2, there you have more freedom to explore throughout the game. We realize in Dark Souls 1 there were some certain orders, like ringing the bells or going to Anor Londo, which is not necessarily a bad thing. In Dark Souls 2, we’re hoping we can provide more freedom so things don’t have to necessarily be done in a certain order."

It’s an interesting addition to make, especially in a difficult game that makes no bones about its trial and error combat mechanics. Not knowing where to go and accidentally stumbling through one of Dark Souls 2’s hardest zones would definitely allow a plethora of different challenges to be created by the Dark Souls community. Speed runners would now be able to better optimize their paths and beat the game quickly, if their skill matches with their wits. So much that they might be able to get to the halfway point in the game.

Dark Souls 2 is still in development, so we don’t yet know exactly how they intend on making otherwise skippable areas worth visiting, or what the intended order of play will be. Of course there’s going to be loot in most areas worth making the trip down to, but in a game where you must be prepared to die multiple times avoiding death to venture forward might be the ultimate prize.

Source: Digital Spy via NeoGAF