Do you consider your self to be a
particularly “tough” individual? “Hard,” as they say? Invest an hour into this
game and get back to me, because I’ve played my share of difficult games, but
few are as unforgiving as this game is. There’s a plethora of RPGs out there, so
does this game manage to stick with the pack or pave a path all its own? I find
out in my review of the newest arrival in the fantasy RPG genre, Demon’s Souls.
To be completely honest, I’m the
type of gamer that rarely explores outside a game’s medium difficulty setting,
and most of the times I died were because I made a poor decision that landed me
in the Nexus (the game’s version of limbo). I walked off cliffs, messed up a
block (or parry), and forgot to heal myself when I was low on health plenty of
times, but when I thought I had the hang of things and was doing good the game
decided to stop going easy on me and threw me into a room with a terrifying
demon that sent me packing with one swipe of its weapon. Demon’s Souls does not
care about your feelings. It is beautiful, it is addicting, and utterly
ruthless.
The times when I wasn’t being
ravaged were when I got to really take in the game’s locales. There is some
gorgeous scenery in this game, the dungeons are dark and creepy, the castles
look ancient, the graveyards are unnerving, every location in this game is
beautifully imagined and immensely fun to explore. There’s also a decent variety
in the locations; you’ll be exploring expansive vistas one minute and crawling
through claustrophobic corridors the next. This isn’t the type of game that
forces you to explore dungeon after dungeon, there’s a good level of diversity
to keep it fresh.
The game is divided into five
locations that can be traveled to from the Nexus, the hub the connects them all.
Each location has a very different look and feel to it; you start off at a
castle before moving on to underground tunnels and a couple other locales. Each
section has enemies exclusive to its location, my favorite being the Shrine of
Storms level where you have to fight skeletons as giant manta ray shaped
creatures fly overhead.
Demon’s Souls has a very imaginative
story that gets revealed to you through many very cool grainy cinematics. The
story surrounds the search for power and wealth of King Allant XII who brought
unprecedented prosperity to the kingdom of Boletaria. That is, until a thick fog
covered the lands separating the kingdom from the rest of the world. Those who
entered the fog never returned. The aging King Allant XII had awakened the Old
One, a great beast below the Nexus, which in turn let loose the fog and hordes
of demons. The Demons grow stronger and more powerful with every soul they
devour. The story makes for the perfect backdrop and is also a great incentive
to keep going, just so you can see what’s going to happen next.
Some of my favorite parts of the
game were also the sections where I managed to die often. I‘m talking
about the game’s bosses, which are truly petrifying. They’re usually
intimidating because of their mammoth size or their disturbing design.
Fortunately, you can team up with two friends and take them down through
teamwork (or, in my case watch as you all die one by one but the former sounds
better). The bosses are always tough, but also extraordinarily fun to fight.
There’s no better feeling than the wave of satisfaction (and relief) of
conquering your first boss.
That brings me to what is arguably
the game’s best, and most innovative feature: the multiplayer. When From
Software wasn’t thinking of inventive ways to punish you for being such a
weakling they were thinking of ways to make the online support incredibly
original. If you want to help other players fight through the tougher sections
of the game you and two others can team up and fight alongside each other. If
you’re feeling a little less kind you can enter another player’s world and fight
them as an evil spirit and attempt to take them out. Many games in this genre
have some form of co-op or PvP but Demon’s Souls takes it to the next level by
letting you interact with other players outside of the aforementioned features.
When you die you leave a bloodstain that can be touched to see how the recently
deceased met their end. Thankfully, you only leave one bloodstain at a time,
otherwise you could probably tell what levels I just got through because they
looked like the elevator scene from The Shining.
Like any good RPG, there’s a ton of
customization in this game. You can tailor your character’s appearance to make
him or her look like whoever you want (mine resembled a young Dan Aykroyd), your
class, and equipped items. Being able to make your character your own really
helps to make the dozens of times the game chews you up and spits you out even
more heartbreaking, but when playing online no two characters will be alike. If
you find yourself spending more time in the Nexus than playing the actual game
you can always trade the demon’s souls gathered from slain foes for new items,
upgrades, and repairs.
The multiplayer is less an addition
than a seamless integration; if you want to play with or against other players
there’s nothing stopping you from doing so. But if you’re looking to have a less
noticeable effect on other players’ worlds you can always leave your mark (quite
literally) through your bloodstains, or through helpful messages written on
walls. If you find a particularly useful (or not-so useful) hint or tip scrawled
on the wall you can rate it so other players know whether to heed your advice or
ignore it. Another cool addition was the wandering spirits of other players,
which made the game feel even more real, and if you follow one long enough
there’s a chance you could find something you otherwise would’ve missed.
This is a truly amazing game with a
unique setting, gorgeous environments, and more than a couple jaw-dropping
moments. Unfortunately, for me the game’s controller tossing level of difficulty
keeps it from achieving a place amongst my all-time favorite games. In no way
should its difficulty detract you from diving into this game, because for any
RPG fan this is a game you shouldn’t miss. When a game’s difficulty is my only
real gripe that just goes to show how great it really is. Maybe they should’ve
just included a “Wussy Baby” difficulty for gamers such as myself?
Gameplay: 9.2
Combat isn’t overly complicated but deep enough to require a certain level
of strategy to survive most encounters. The addition of a lock-on feature came
in handy many times.
Graphics: 9.4
This game looks amazing. The enemy designs are great but the more notable
work went into making some of the game’s rather spectacular set pieces. I
guarantee you’ll stop to admire the world at least once.
Sound: 9.2
The music is fantastic and truly helps to immerse you into the game, the
sound effects are well done, and the voice work is well done making quick chats
with the game’s NPCs actually interesting.
Difficulty: Hard
Concept: 9.5
There are more than a couple fantasy RPGs out there, but this game manages
to really stand out with some of the best level and character design I’ve ever
seen. Demon’s Souls follows several tried and true formulas while paving a path
all its own.
Multiplayer: 9.5
Multiplayer has been perfectly blended into the game; whether you want to enlist
the help of some friends or duel with another player, this game has it all. The
ability to leave your mark to warn or help other players through your
bloodstains or writings on the floor is a very clever and useful addition as
well.
Overall: 9.4
This is a truly exceptional RPG experience that hasn’t been offered by any
other game in its genre. It all comes down to whether you’re brave enough to
explore its savage environments, but if you are I can promise that you won’t be
disappointed.
