It seems that any time i play a recent release i’m nearly always so impressed by the graphics that i concentrate a huge chunk of a review on them or on some other quirky feature, Demon’s Souls however is different. the game is by far the hardest game i have ever played, through years of games nothing has even come close and its because of this that i wouldn’t recommend it to casual gamers wanting a quick run around – unless you like getting killed over and over again.
Unlike most rpgs on the market demon’s souls doesn’t actually have a lot in the way of story, which i found to be better because i don’t like getting bogged down in mind numbing conversations with characters when their are worlds to explore and demons to vanquish. the story though simple was intriguing enough for me to want to follow it to the point where i’d reach the very end and see what the final conclusion with the characters would be.
The world you play in is consumed by dark forces causing demons to awaken and tear up the very fabric of existence, by this i mean their main aim is to completely wipe out humankind. between the realities of life and death exists a place known as the nexus where the souls of those who are slain pass through on their way to the the next world. beneath the nexus lies an ancient being known as the old one, this being offers riches and power to those who give themselves up to its will. in an attempt to bring more wealth and prosperity to his kingdom the king of boletaria gave himself over to the ancient power but instead of the riches he dreamed of his realm was blanketed by a thick fog which brought with it hoards nightmarish demons that killed those who crossed them and drove the rest of the living insane. as time goes by many brave warriors attempt to heroically slay the demons and rid the land of evil but they are never heard of again, soon you too are to answer this calling where you enter the fog as humankinds last hope.
Like i said before and in previous blog postings the gameplay is unforgiving and brutally hard, its because of this that i wanted to play it, unfortunately i only recently managed to track down a copy of the game so i eagerly jumped right in. there are many original points about the game that make it a fun though tough gaming experience but the main one is this, when you die the game gets harder so if you continuously get killed the game will scale itself against you. now this might sound unfair and indeed it can be but it teaches you to be more aware and to fight better, the temporary release from this unfairness is the fact that the enemies always spawn in the same area so you will soon learn their patterns and know what to expect. the first time i played i was getting severely thrashed by the enemy AI which caused me to delete my chosen character and build a better one, the second time around it worked much better. similar to most rpgs once you start the game lets you build and fully customize your chosen character class but as you progress through the story it offers an in depth stats modifier letting tweak and perfect their skills at the cost of collected souls so you have a better chance of surviving the mayhem.
Apart from the ability to level up your characters skills and stats there is a wealth of weapons scattered throughout the worlds that can be used to fight with, almost all of these weapons can be modified or upgraded using stones or souls. pretty much every medieval style weapon is on offer such as swords/spears/bows/shields/daggers and various types of armour but you really need to upgrade your tools to stand a chance. magic too is on offer and it worlds really well on some of the many bosses you encounter on your journey, spells such as fireballs and clouds of poison really help to even the odds. the main key to progressing is really learning how to use your arsenal correctly, if you don’t quickly learn to use a shield you are not going to last long at all and if you don’t learn to strike when their guard is down again you probably won’t last long.
The enemies are wide and varied going from small mindless corpses to towering level bosses that guard the gates to the next area of the map. one of the things that really impressed me about the game was the amount of and quality of the bosses, modern games seem to not incorporate the idea as much as past games did but demon’s souls makes up for this in droves. right into the first level of the game you meet the first boss which can be taken down easily enough but is only a sample of what’s to come. as you get deeper into the world you encounter huge beasts that can decimate your character with a few hits but its refreshing to see the work that’s put into them, even if its only for a few seconds before they crush you where you stand. besides the bosses each world has a number of different kind of enemies laying in wait, some can be dispatched with the usual slash of a sword but others require the help of magic or a specific type of weapon.
The environment is really a mixture of everything you would ever need from an rpg, there are huge stone castles teaming with armour clad knights, pitch black tunnels crawling with life, dreary swamps infested with rotting jackal like creatures and a whole host of other clever and well drawn out places and predicaments. graphically the game is impressive, the lighting is done really well giving the game a realistic yet slightly other worldly feel to some of the worlds. levels like the tower of latria feel and look like something straight out of a lovecraft novel and their clever level design keeps you on your toes for evil lurking in the shadows or even traps. the sound is pretty much what you would expect from an rpg and though the soundtrack fits the game really well complimenting the story nicely its not quite as epic as it could be. other sounds like the clang of a sword against armour or the whish of an arrow are for the most part fitting of that weapon.
Apart from everything mentioned there is also a rather unique online mode which shows you ghost images of other players traversing the same world, but they are ghost images for a reason because what you are witnessing is their demise. why would anyone want this feature? its simple really this alerts you to hidden dangers even traps. another way to warn users is the message box you use to leave predetermined messages on the games landscape, if used correctly it can be a great asset to other players. if you don’t feel like helping other players you can always invade their world and kill them for their souls, be warned though just as you can invade theirs so too can they invade yours.
Demon’s Souls has been and still is one of the best yet hardest games i have had the good fortune to play, due to the games high difficulty level the games developers never really aimed it at a wider market and so many gamers have trouble tracking it down which is a real shame because its such a unique experience. i can’t really say anything negative about a game that openly admits to being such a difficult play, complaining about the various and many times i was killed repeatedly would be stupid because i knew to expect it all. the story like i said is minor so it forces you to just get on with the action and exploration side of it rather than slowing down for explanations. every little element of the game seems perfectly tuned to fit the world you inhabit which is what you want from a game but rarely is it ever delivered and in such scale too.
I can’t begin to calculate how many hours of gameplay you will get from the game because there is so much to do and it all takes time and effort but i recently finished the main story and that took at least two weeks. on finishing the story i was awarded with a fresh play through using all my stats/weapons/etc but with one major difference, not only had the game world opened some new areas it had gotten even harder. that’s right when you complete the story you are given the chance to replay it on a harder difficulty to pick up new items or missed achievements but unless you have perfected your skills and stats its going to be a brutal experience all over again. during the middle of my completing the game it was announced that another game is to be released, this time much bigger and much harder. for the time being i’m giving this one a 9 out of 10 and eagerly awaiting the arrival of the next in the series “Dark Souls”.
