One game really can change everything. Japanese video game developer FromSoftware spent almost all of the Playstation and Playstation 2 era toiling in relative anonymity; they were most known for their King's Field and Armored Core series, both of which attained only a cult following at the time, and their other releases were inconsistent in both quality and tone. Then, in 2009, a then unknown game by the name of Demon's Souls-dubbed as a spiritual successor to the PS1's King's Field-was hesitantly released in North America. Marketing for the game was minimal, so much so that Atlus, the game's publisher, only prepared an initial 15,000 physical units for the games release. And while the game's reception was moderate in Japan, it was received far better in the west, becoming critically acclaimed and going on to sell more than a million copies.. But Demon's Souls influence goes far beyond what it achieved as a game. It represented a huge turning point for FromSoftware in terms of success and global recognition, of course, but it also gave birth to one of the most popular action subgenres of the past few decades; the soulsborne.
As the first in the Souls series, Demon's Souls was a pretty unique take on the action adventure genre, weaving in RPG elements and a core focus on difficulty and personal choice. The game works because it's quite flexible in how it can be approached, right from the beginning. Because while some playstyles undoubtedly have their advantage over others, none of them feel restrictive-there's an impressive amount of freedom in this game that makes it more enjoyable to come back to. It's also highly satisfying-due to its focus on difficulty, clearing a level or a difficult boss your own way is a great feeling, and it creates a really great gameplay loop. Each difficult encounter you survive is further motivation to keep playing, keep exploring, keep defeating enemies. Some combat and controls can feel a bit clunky, and it's clear FromSoft hadn't fully mastered the mechanics yet, but it's more often fun than frustrating.
And for a self-identified difficult game, Demon's Souls might actually be one of the more beginner friendly titles in the series, at least on the basis of its mechanics. It isn't so much hard as it is stubborn, forcing you to forget conventional approaches and beat it at its own game. The bosses, contrary to what most who haven't played it might believe, often represent the easier parts of the level, and many can even be defeated on their first encounter. In that aspect, Demon's Soul is a good introduction to the series, teaching the player to look for patterns and battle strategically.
Demon's Souls is at its best when its ambition in level design matches its combat, and areas like Tower of Latria and Boletaria Palace do just that. Others, though, feel a bit more generic, and sometimes fall into the trope of difficulty by tedium instead of by mechanics. For example, some levels have a semi-checkpoint system where you can open up shortcuts to the beginning every so often. This is a nice mechanic, as death is super punishing in Demon's Souls, forcing you to lose half your health bar and all your souls, which is the level up/weapon upgrade currency in this game. The shortcuts are a nice way of rewarding progression, but for levels without them, it can get really frustrating, really fast. This is why most bosses being simple is almost a requirement, and is what keeps this game enjoyable, because a force 5-10 minute walk back to a boss each and every time is a perfect example of tedious, artificial difficulty, and will especially be frustrating in the first few levels when new players are just learning mechanics.
And the artificial difficulty doesn't stop there, either. Weapon upgrades, for example, rely on so many different variations of RNG gathered materials that you'll be lucky to upgrade any of your weapons to their final form. This means that you'll likely be doing a lot more grinding than desired; either to strengthen your character to the point your weapon doesn't matter, or to farm materials for your weapon in the hope you get the items you need. So while Demon's Souls is exhilarating when you're defeating bosses and discovering new areas, it becomes exhausting when you inevitably feel gated from progression by your stats or your items.
As groundbreaking as Demon's Souls was for the action adventure genre, it's pretty clear today why it was Dark Souls, not its prequel, which really took off. It was an impressive first step into revitalizing a once out-of-favor style of game, and it can still provide plenty of satisfying moments for players, but there's quite a bit of rust on the edges which dull the sheen. Don't be mistaken, Demon's Souls is thoroughly a good game, and is a good starting point to introduce players to the soulsborne subgenre, but its janky implementations and occasional frustration mechanics keep it from being anything much more than that.
As the first in the Souls series, Demon's Souls was a pretty unique take on the action adventure genre, weaving in RPG elements and a core focus on difficulty and personal choice. The game works because it's quite flexible in how it can be approached, right from the beginning. Because while some playstyles undoubtedly have their advantage over others, none of them feel restrictive-there's an impressive amount of freedom in this game that makes it more enjoyable to come back to. It's also highly satisfying-due to its focus on difficulty, clearing a level or a difficult boss your own way is a great feeling, and it creates a really great gameplay loop. Each difficult encounter you survive is further motivation to keep playing, keep exploring, keep defeating enemies. Some combat and controls can feel a bit clunky, and it's clear FromSoft hadn't fully mastered the mechanics yet, but it's more often fun than frustrating.
And for a self-identified difficult game, Demon's Souls might actually be one of the more beginner friendly titles in the series, at least on the basis of its mechanics. It isn't so much hard as it is stubborn, forcing you to forget conventional approaches and beat it at its own game. The bosses, contrary to what most who haven't played it might believe, often represent the easier parts of the level, and many can even be defeated on their first encounter. In that aspect, Demon's Soul is a good introduction to the series, teaching the player to look for patterns and battle strategically.
Demon's Souls is at its best when its ambition in level design matches its combat, and areas like Tower of Latria and Boletaria Palace do just that. Others, though, feel a bit more generic, and sometimes fall into the trope of difficulty by tedium instead of by mechanics. For example, some levels have a semi-checkpoint system where you can open up shortcuts to the beginning every so often. This is a nice mechanic, as death is super punishing in Demon's Souls, forcing you to lose half your health bar and all your souls, which is the level up/weapon upgrade currency in this game. The shortcuts are a nice way of rewarding progression, but for levels without them, it can get really frustrating, really fast. This is why most bosses being simple is almost a requirement, and is what keeps this game enjoyable, because a force 5-10 minute walk back to a boss each and every time is a perfect example of tedious, artificial difficulty, and will especially be frustrating in the first few levels when new players are just learning mechanics.
And the artificial difficulty doesn't stop there, either. Weapon upgrades, for example, rely on so many different variations of RNG gathered materials that you'll be lucky to upgrade any of your weapons to their final form. This means that you'll likely be doing a lot more grinding than desired; either to strengthen your character to the point your weapon doesn't matter, or to farm materials for your weapon in the hope you get the items you need. So while Demon's Souls is exhilarating when you're defeating bosses and discovering new areas, it becomes exhausting when you inevitably feel gated from progression by your stats or your items.
As groundbreaking as Demon's Souls was for the action adventure genre, it's pretty clear today why it was Dark Souls, not its prequel, which really took off. It was an impressive first step into revitalizing a once out-of-favor style of game, and it can still provide plenty of satisfying moments for players, but there's quite a bit of rust on the edges which dull the sheen. Don't be mistaken, Demon's Souls is thoroughly a good game, and is a good starting point to introduce players to the soulsborne subgenre, but its janky implementations and occasional frustration mechanics keep it from being anything much more than that.
tuskoub
10 months ago