With Bandai Namco Games’ Tales of Xillia 2 just over a month away from release here are three reasons why I’m excited to play the sequel to my 2013 Game of the Year.

The following list contains some minor and major spoilers for Tales of Xillia.

1) A Darker Story

Bandai Namco Games have promised that Tales of Xillia 2 will have a far darker story than Tales of Xillia. From what little information I have on the story, the game’s darker elements will be far closer to the characters with both main characters Ludger Kresnik and Elle Marta both appear to have a rather dark history and mostly likely a dark future. For example Elle witnessed her father being brutally murdered, and Ludger like his brother Julius seem to have a dark power hidden within them. With both characters experiencing darkness from what seems to be an early portion of the game it isn’t inconceivable that the story will get darker especially when main characters journey is to the mythic “Land of Canaan”, which is likely sought by some dangerous and powerful people.

I personally hope that the darker elements of the story are paced out, with the dark elements being slowly built up to create tension and suspense for the player.

2) Returning characters

Tales of Xillia’s Leia, Elize and Rowen can all be seen in the background

Since Tales of Xillia 2 is a direct sequel the characters from the first game are returning, and it seems it won’t just be one or two characters, but every main good cast member seems to be making an appearance. The return of the old characters is for me one of the most exciting parts of Tales of Xillia 2 because in the first game I had really grown attached to them and I always wondered how their journey in the first game really affected them. Although it must be noted that Tales of Xillia 2 only takes place a year after the events of Tale of Xillia.

While I’m happy to see the characters return I am a bit worried about the characters of Milla and Muzét because at the end of Tales of Xillia, Milla became the new Lord of Spirits and with the help of Muzét and her four Great Spirits she has left the human world to revive and create new spirits. While this has left me a bit puzzled I am interested in seeing how and why Milla and Muzét will return.

3) Choice

While in Tales of Xillia the main draw was choosing whose eyes you saw the story through i.e. through the eyes of a spirit or a human, Tales of Xillia 2 takes this concept and turns it into the choice system.

Like many games before the choice system is about asking the player how they should answer a question or action, but while a lot of games have it as a tool create a feeling of immersion it seems Bandai Namco Games want to take it a bit further by having every one of the choices you have Ludger make create a new path. While I hope there are a large number of paths I feel there will be only a pretty limited number of paths.

Choice options seem to range from the mundane with Ludger picking what to cook to nail biting choices where you have to decide who to protect and if you should kill a person. With such a broad range of choices I really am interested in seeing how the choice you make effects Ludger and the world, for example if you chose to kill someone will people around you remember or will they only bring up what you did once and forget about it.

Tales of Xillia 2 will be exclusively available for PlayStation 3 on August 22, 2014.

For more information on Tales of Xillia 2, visit http://www.bandainamcogames.eu/product/tales-of-xillia-2/playstation-3.