Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin, Now you can die in next-gen shininess

The Souls franchise has always had a polarising effect, either leaving gamers fuming after having smashed their keyboard/controllers to pieces or masochistically begging for more. It’s a style of game that is definitely not for everyone, but for those that have been drawn into the brutally challenging worlds that From Software have created the experience can be quite unlike anything mainstream titles have to offer. Dark Souls 2 proved no exception to the rule, and now the developers are looking to bring their particular brand of sadism to the latest generation of consoles.

More of an expansion than a remastered edition, Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin will include the original game along with all of its DLC, namely Crown of the Sunken King, Crown of the Old Iron King and Crown of the Ivory King. Besides a host of new features and changes, which mostly seems to be focussed on online play and matchmaking, the main thrust of the new release appears to be on fleshing out the narrative of the game through the introduction of the eponymous Scholar of the First Sin. While the expansion will not add any maps, the developers have promised to mix up the gameplay by changing enemy positions and offering new paths to locations.

Players who bought the original title will relieved to hear that they have not been forgotten, and most of the changes and new content will be implemented via a free patch in early February, though this will not include the DLC. PC gamers however will have to pay to receive the visual update to DX11, a move that is bound to cause some controversy.