The true Demon's Souls starts here.
Demon's Souls is a beautiful game that would have killed my interest in the whole Souls series if I had started with it first instead of DS1. People often use the term "product of its time" but this might be the first instance where I've unironically felt that a game could never be made the same way before or after it released.
Demon's Souls was formed by its extremely abnormal development conditions, and came out the other side as a sort of anti-2000's video game. In a generation that made sure to walk you through everything, Demon's Souls goes the complete opposite direction and refuses to explain core game mechanics to you. In some cases like with World Tendency, it's a bit of a mixed bag. I like the mechanic in theory but the game deliberately masks its overall significance and how you can go about raising and lowering your tendency. Honestly though, the most baffling example of the game explaining mechanics poorly is that you can fucking clamber in this game, but the game does such a terrible job showcasing it. I had no idea this was a thing until Latria, and as a result I completely missed out on Ostrava's quest line (which blows, because he's an extremely cool character). These issues aren't really a big deal because Demon's Souls is, by nature, rough around the edges. I just wish I knew the actual "roughness" of those edges instead of having to guess on the fly or Google the answer.
But Demon's Souls isn't just a game defined by its mechanics (tell that to Bluepoint though, they're still figuring that part out). The vibe of this game is just...perfection. A brutalist medieval world confronting a deeply existential, lovecraftian threat is fucking awesome and honestly a better premise than that of Dark Souls, even if the series later took its concepts in more interesting directions. The audiovisual experience of Demon's Souls is truly something special, and I now understand why people are disappointed by the remake--Bluepoint really dropped the ball in this regard.
My other criticisms are fairly basic. Boletaria is a fantastic area, Latria and Shrine of Storms are quite strong, but the other areas are pretty lame. Some bosses are very well designed, like Tower Knight, whereas others are either extremely obnoxious until you figure out their one random weakness (Armor Spider), pathetically easy (Leechmonger), or aesthetically and functionally unfinished (Maneater). It's a shame because it's clear they were experimenting and figuring out what sticks, but some of these DID stick, and I wish there were more of those types of fights in the game.
Overall I appreciate Demon's Souls for what it is, but I can also acknowledge that FromSoft's subsequent games do basically everything better, except maybe atmosphere/vibe in some instances. Worth a play but definitely don't start your Souls journey here.
Demon's Souls is a beautiful game that would have killed my interest in the whole Souls series if I had started with it first instead of DS1. People often use the term "product of its time" but this might be the first instance where I've unironically felt that a game could never be made the same way before or after it released.
Demon's Souls was formed by its extremely abnormal development conditions, and came out the other side as a sort of anti-2000's video game. In a generation that made sure to walk you through everything, Demon's Souls goes the complete opposite direction and refuses to explain core game mechanics to you. In some cases like with World Tendency, it's a bit of a mixed bag. I like the mechanic in theory but the game deliberately masks its overall significance and how you can go about raising and lowering your tendency. Honestly though, the most baffling example of the game explaining mechanics poorly is that you can fucking clamber in this game, but the game does such a terrible job showcasing it. I had no idea this was a thing until Latria, and as a result I completely missed out on Ostrava's quest line (which blows, because he's an extremely cool character). These issues aren't really a big deal because Demon's Souls is, by nature, rough around the edges. I just wish I knew the actual "roughness" of those edges instead of having to guess on the fly or Google the answer.
But Demon's Souls isn't just a game defined by its mechanics (tell that to Bluepoint though, they're still figuring that part out). The vibe of this game is just...perfection. A brutalist medieval world confronting a deeply existential, lovecraftian threat is fucking awesome and honestly a better premise than that of Dark Souls, even if the series later took its concepts in more interesting directions. The audiovisual experience of Demon's Souls is truly something special, and I now understand why people are disappointed by the remake--Bluepoint really dropped the ball in this regard.
My other criticisms are fairly basic. Boletaria is a fantastic area, Latria and Shrine of Storms are quite strong, but the other areas are pretty lame. Some bosses are very well designed, like Tower Knight, whereas others are either extremely obnoxious until you figure out their one random weakness (Armor Spider), pathetically easy (Leechmonger), or aesthetically and functionally unfinished (Maneater). It's a shame because it's clear they were experimenting and figuring out what sticks, but some of these DID stick, and I wish there were more of those types of fights in the game.
Overall I appreciate Demon's Souls for what it is, but I can also acknowledge that FromSoft's subsequent games do basically everything better, except maybe atmosphere/vibe in some instances. Worth a play but definitely don't start your Souls journey here.