bahamut_zero's Profile

Demon's Souls is an action-based RPG published by Atlus, who have brought us such titles as Persona 3 and Devil Summoner. By no means is Demon's Souls your typical RPG however. The game is brutal to say the least. Those who are easily frustrated are best to stay clear of this game as it will test the very boundaries of your sanity.

The story takes place in a medieval-type world where peace reigns supreme especially in the Kingdom of Boletaria which has been enjoying prosperity. Humans have discovered the soul arts and everything was peachy until King Allant the twelfth, not satisfied with the status quo, unwittingly awakens the "old One', an ancient demon sleeping within the bowels of the Nexus. In doing so, Boletaria is plunged into a nightmare as a colorless fog engulfs the land and demons come forth to absorb the souls of all humankind. Without their souls, these humans become mindless drones, attacking anyone and anything. The fog however, is not confined within Boletaria and threatens to overwhelm the entire world. It is up to you as the player to guide your character in an effort to ultimately save the world or partake in the power promised by the 'Old One'.

The gameplay is fairly standard with the ability to use all weapons regardless of class (provided your character has the required strength, dexterity and magic slots). There is also the ability to wield a weapon and shield in each hand or wield a weapon with both hands, which increases the damage you inflict. Every action you take requires stamina and it is absolutely crucial to keep an eye on this. If your stamina is completely depleted, you will be unable to attack, block or evade leaving you wide open for a devastating and often fatal blow. The ability to evade is key to defeating strong enemies and those who are slow to master this will find themselves in trouble. Magic (offensive spells) and Faith (healing and defensive) spells can also be used however you require different weapons to be able to use them (there is one exception to this). As usual, casting takes time and can be easily interrupted. The same goes for consuming items. Weapons, spells and items are allocated to your equipment depending on how you want them and you are easily accessed and switched.

Demon's souls features some of the best graphics I've seen in a game to date. The various worlds are both breathtakingly beautiful and downright creepy at the same time. Whether you are within the castle walls of Boletaria or the dank swamps of the Valley of Defilement, you will undoubtedly be affected by the atmosphere as you immerse yourself in this game. Each world is completely different from the rest and enemies too vary quite substantially between them. As such, your strategies and choice of weapons must adapt. Long weapons such as spears may not be as effective in narrow corridors however some enemies are only weak to its piercing attacks. Also, it is completely up to you as a player whether you choose to launch yourself at the enemies (not recommended) or attack from afar with bows or magic. Major boss fights are epic, as some of them are huge, making you feel as though you are fighting a titan. Fighting them is so much fun at times, you will find yourself strangely !
saddened at their defeat.

As mentioned earlier, this game is brutal. Death is only part of the journey and in fact, you will find your character dying very, very often. When this happens, your character will revive in the Nexus in soul form. You will be able to keep everything you picked up however you will lose all the souls you were carrying with you. All is not lost however as you are still given one last chance to retrieve them as long as you can make it back to the place you fell without dying. You may be thinking that it really isn't so bad since you still get to keep all your items etc, however souls are extremely precious since they act as the only form of currency in this game. You cannot upgrade, repair your equipment, purchase, acquire magic or level up without souls, so as you can imagine, you need a LOT of it. To make things worse, you cannot sell anything as it wouldn't make sense to sell items for souls, and so you can only acquire them through defeating enemies.

During the game, you character will exist either in human form or soul form. During soul form, your HP is only half of your human equivalent and your movements are quieter and softer allowing you move around sometimes without being detected. The only way to revive yourself back to human form is to either defeat a major demon (boss) or consume an item called the 'Stone of Ephemeral Eyes'. Again, it is up to you as a player whether you choose to proceed through the game mainly in human form or soul form.

Another interesting thing of note is the changing nature of 'world tendencies' and 'character tendencies'. Your character's actions will ultimately affect the 'world tendency' which swings from white to neutral to black. During the white tendency, enemy attacks will be slightly reduced, the amount of souls acquired will also be reduced and several NPC's will appear. During the black tendency however, enemy attacks will be more powerful, but you will be able to reap more souls. Again several other NPC's will appear as well as extremely powerful foes called black phantoms. You can control these world tendencies to your own liking to take advantage to everything the game has to offer.

One of the best features of Demon's Souls is the online play function. When playing online, you will come accross various apparitions wandering around you. These are actually images of other players who are online at the same time. You cannot interact with them but it has a nice feel to have them around. Puddles of blood signal the manner in which a previous online player met his/her untimely death. You can often judge from these little ghostly videos whether a jump/drop is do-able or fatal. Red messages on the ground are often left by other players either warning you about an impending enemy or pointing you towards loot. You can also leave messages for other players, the benefit of which is if your message is recommended, your HP will be recovered to full, no matter where you are in the game at the time. Blue signs belong to other players who are standing ready to assist you if you require a friend to help you out in a particularly difficult battle. Upon touching this, yo!
u can summon another player online. Not everything is smurfy though, as there are also black phantoms who can invade your world. Again these are not-so-nice online players who will enter your world and destroy you for a portion of your souls. All in all, these online features are one of the best I've ever seen in a game.

Finishing Demon's Souls once does not mean you have to put the game away however as you can still proceed through a second playthrough whilst keeping everything except key items. During the second cycle, enemies will be tougher and yield more souls. There are two endings to this game and this, coupled with the new game+ adds more replay value to the game.

In conclusion, I would recommend Demon's Souls to anyone who is up to the challenge. It certainly isn't for everyone but playing and finishing it gives an amazing feeling of accomplishment. It is also one of the most comprehensive games I've played to date.