Although both are set in the same universe, there is no direct story connection between the first Dark Souls and the sequel. The game uses dedicated multiplayer servers. Taking place in the kingdom of Drangleic, the game features both player versus environment (PvE) and player versus player (PvP) gameplay, in addition to having some co-op components. As in the earlier games in the series, it again features challenging gameplay, but with a more powerful graphics engine and more advanced artificial intelligence system.