Dark Souls is From Software’s spiritual successor to Demon’s Souls. Producer, Hidetaka Miyazaki, says the game’s combat is based on “tactical swordplay,” and that his goal is to “kill all players who think there is a safe zone in Dark Souls.”

Wait, scratch that. There are some safe zones in Dark Souls (pictured above), and these are the new feature that Miyazaki is most proud of. Dubbed “Beacon Fires,” these safe areas serve as recovery points that can be used to heal yourself, and to gather with other players. Miyazaki feels that Beacon Fires represent the few places of warmth in Dark Souls’ cold fantasy world.

Dark Souls is slated for release sometime this year on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Namco sent a new batch of screenshots out for the game today, so take a look.