Dark Souls 2 will offer more freedom than the first game, Namco Bandai has revealed.

Director Yui Tanimura said that more open progression was a focus, and teased that players won't have to go to certain places in a specific order, as with the original.

"Freedom of exploration is something we want to prioritise for Dark Souls 2, even more so than Dark Souls 1," he told Digital Spy.

"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."

He continued: "We realise 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.

"We're hoping that if the player tries hard enough, or are willing enough, they could even start halfway through the game, depending on how willing or how brave they are."

When discussing how the player approaches the end stages of the game, Tanimura said that while the goal of "trying to cure a curse" is the same, how you reach the latter stages "is dependent on the player".

"You won't have to follow a certain line, it will be unique for all players, I think," he said.

"It might be an interesting aspect that players will be able to enjoy a little bit more than Dark Souls 1."

Recent new Dark Souls 2 videos demonstrated some of the new character classes available.

Gaming: Dark Souls IITanimura recently vowed that more care will be taken on the PC edition of the game, admitting that the original was inferior to its console counterparts.

Dark Souls 2 will be coming to Xbox 360 and PS3 in March 2014, but was recently listed for the PS4 by a European retailer.

> 'Dark Souls 2' preview: First look at From Software's punishing sequel

Watch the Dark Souls 2 announcement trailer below:

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