Anyone who’s played Atlus’s 2009 title Demon’s Souls will tell you it’s one of the most challenging games released for modern consoles. Sure, games like Devil May Cry have optional, insanely hard modes, and racing games have 40-hour races with no checkpoints, but Demon’s Souls is hard from start to finish and back again, without fail or respite.
With all the excellent sales going on over the holidays, there’s a chance some gamers are just picking up Demon’s Souls now. The game is incredibly rewarding, but it can be immensely frustrating, as well. I’ve been playing for a few weeks now, and there’s some wisdom I’d like to impart.
When it comes to a game as challenging as Demon’s Souls, you’ll need every advantage you can get: look at guides online, for example, and read the Demon’s Souls Wikia before you go to bed at night. I shudder to imagine playing the game on a standard definition TV, what with all the camouflaged enemies lurking in muddled, low-visibility areas. Last but not least, fix the damn PS3 controller’s finicky triggers.
The large, convex shoulder buttons are prone to going off if you so much as place the controller in your lap. This leads to serious problems when accidental sword-swings or spell-casts piss off friendly NPCs, permanently breaking the game or, at the very least, making it even more difficult.
One solution is the PDP trigger mod that came out last holiday season. I heard about these recently while Googling something like “PS3 controller triggers are pieces of FREAKING SHIT” because I aggravated the best blacksmith in the game (I was upset). The PDP triggers snap right on top of the existing buttons. I bought them immediately.
After playing for a couple days, it’s clear they’re not perfect – they’re bulky and a little awkward. They might not be best for all games, but the awkwardness actually makes them better for Demon’s Souls. You’ll no longer be comfortable resting your fingers on the triggers, which means you won’t accidentally attack friendly NPCs as often, and you’ll likely have a slightly easier time starting out in this mind-bogglingly difficult game.
Plus, they’re only five bucks. There’s really no reason not to spring and check them out.
