Be warned: you may have to play through Dark Souls again to access the Artorias of the Abyss DLC

You may have to play through Dark Souls again if you want to access the £10 Artorias of the Abyss DLC.

THERE MAY BE SPOILERS AHEAD.

Once players beat the game's end boss Dark Souls auto-saves so that the next time you load that save file you're immediately shoved into a New Game+ mode.

Unfortunately, you can't access the DLC, which launched yesterday for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, from the beginning of the game. Namco Bandai confirmed to Eurogamer the process you face.

The only way to access the new DLC is through the following:

• Defeat Hydra at Darkroot Basin
• Defeat Crystal Golem at Darkroot Basin and save Dusk of Oolacile
• Defeat Crystal Golem at Duke's Archive and get Broken Pendant
• Touch Black Fog at lake in Darkroot Basin where player defeat Hydra

According to Namco Bandai there is no way to access the DLC without doing the above.

Eurogamer reviewer Tom Morgan tells me if you've left your save right at the beginning of the game, you'll face around 20 hours of play before getting to The Duke's Archives. This figure depends, of course, on the level of the character in question from the previous play through and how well you know the game world itself. The issue for New Game+ players is worsened by the fact that enemies are made tougher in this mode.

The Artorias of the Abyss DLC comes with the Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition, which launches on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this Friday, 26th October 2012. It's already out on PC.

The DLC gives you access to new maps and environments, new bosses, enemies and NPCs, weapons and armour, extra content and online matchmaking for co-op or player versus player gameplay.