Dark Souls scares North America October 4

2009's Demon's Souls was critically praised for being fantastic and difficult, ultimately earning the GameSpot's Game of the Year accolade. Now, gamers waiting to play its successor--Dark Souls--have a firm release date to circle on their calendars.

Publisher Namco Bandai today announced that Dark Souls will land on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in North America on October 4. The From Software-developed action role-playing game was previously scheduled to debut at an unspecified date in early October. Dark Souls will ship in Japan this September and in European regions on October 7.

The action role-playing game is set in a dark fantasy world complete with dungeons and otherworldly creatures to battle. New features in Dark Souls include the ability to dual-wield weapons and summon non-player characters during battle, more variations and improvements in co-op mode, and new outdoor areas that are seamlessly connected to one another.

For more on the upcoming title, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of Dark Souls, as well as an interview with the game's producer Kei Hirono, embedded below.