First off, let it be said that I don’t especially like difficult games. I like regenerating health, I like frequent checkpoints, and I like gentle difficulty curves. Demon’s Souls doesn’t have any of these things. If Demon’s Souls knew you were so much as thinking about any of these things, it would come round your house and kick your teeth in. Demon’s Souls is hard. Punishingly hard. And despite this, even partly because of it, it is one of the best games I have played in the last few years.
The key is that while Demon’s Souls is hard, it’s not unfair. I can count on one hand the number of times I felt I genuinely died unfairly, and I died hundreds of times. Whenever you die, you die because it’s your fault. Maybe you were careless, maybe you were unprepared, maybe you chose the wrong weapon, but it is always you who is at fault.
The primary reason this works so well is Demon’s Souls’ superlative combat. Most RPGs have battle menus or flashy combat systems to separate the player somewhat from the action. Demon’s Souls does not. You equip weapons, shields, wands or talismans in either hand, and use the shoulder buttons to either attack or defend with each hand. This simple system opens up into a complex dance of dodges, parries and ripostes, desperate last-second slashes and fatal impalements. It connects you with your character in a way few RPGs have done before.
Your first inclination, born of years of video game logic, will be to run in and slash away. Your first inclination will get you killed. Even the lowliest opponent in Demon’s Souls poses a genuine threat, and fighting any of them in a group is almost suicidal. Each enemy is almost like a puzzle, requiring you to study their movements, carefully blocking or dodging, then strike at the right moment. Mess up, and it’s back to the start of the level, reborn in a weakened soul form and minus any hard-earned souls you collected along the way. The sense of achievement you get for killing even one rubbish ghoul at the start is one that most games reserve only for climactic boss battles.
The boss battles in Demon’s Souls are certainly worthy of a mention. They are the centrepiece of the game, the capstone to each level, and key to achieving your ultimate goal; the collections of Demon’s Souls. And they do not disappoint. Each of the game’s 18-or-so bosses is unique, challenging and superbly designed. There are intense one-on-one duels, David and Goliath battles against lumbering giants, and towering demons on a scale that brings back fond memories of Shadow of the Colossus. They are constantly surprising, each one requiring a different strategy. The feeling you get upon felling one of these monolithic opponents is almost unparalleled in gaming.
This level of originality and masterful design applies to every aspect of the game. Every level is unique and exciting, and you are never allowed to feel comfortable whilst exploring. Just when you think you are on top of the game, the next level will throw in a new twist, throwing you off-balance and requiring you to master a new skill to get through. By flying in the face of modern game conventions, Demon’s Souls never gets boring. There is never a point where you feel you have mastered the game, and you will play the entire 40-hour epic on the edge of your seat, waiting eagerly to see what the game will throw at you next.
Excellent details in the level design mean that while dying always returns you to the start of the level, you can open shortcuts that let you get back to where you were faster than the first time through. If you die in a boss battle (and you will), you are never more than a 5-minute run away, even if it initially took over an hour to get there. The process of improving your character is similarly well-balanced, with both stat increases and the purchase of weapons and armour tied into the game’s soul currency. Choosing how to evolve your character requires careful consideration, and the game accommodates any choice of character. Should you choose to be a potent sorcerer, a towering barbarian, or anything in between, you will find situations in which you excel, and parts that will be deliciously challenging.
I could go on for pages about all the little intricacies that make Demon’s Souls great, such as the weapon forging element, the game’s brilliant use of sound, or the unique World Tendency system, but I’ll let you discover those for yourselves. One feature that should be mentioned here is the game’s multiplayer element, which is quite unlike anything seen before. There are no lobbies, clans or friends lists; the multiplayer element happens organically as you play the game.
Whilst exploring, you can see the ghosts of other players running around the world, and watch them battle the same enemies you are. You’ll find the bloodstains of other player littering the floor, and examining one will reveal how that player died, often giving you a clue as to what to avoid ahead. Players can leave messages strewn throughout the world, warning each other of dangers ahead. If you are struggling, you can examine a soul mark left by another player and summon them in soul-form into your world to give you a hand. On the flipside, malicious players in soul-form can invade your world in an attempt to kill you and regain their lost body. The whole system works wonderfully, adding another layer of tension and atmosphere to an already deep game.
Demon’s Souls is not perfect. A clunky and imprecise lock-on system makes some battles frustrating, especially those fought in tight corridors. Key NPCs have been known to disappear for no real reason, depriving you of certain items. It could be said that the beginning of the game is a bit too hard; there’s no way to level-up in the first stage, and the punishing difficulty is quite bewildering to new players. It could be enough to put a lot of players off the game before they’ve had a chance to get into it. But persevere, and you’ll be rewarded with one of the best gaming experiences in a very long time.
Demon’s Souls is relentless, brilliant, and relentlessly brilliant. If you have even a passing interest in RPGs, you owe it to yourself to pick this game up. It is a breath of fresh air in a genre that has become increasingly stale in recent years. If you live in the UK or Europe, where for some criminal reason it hasn’t been released, go import a copy. It’s well worth it. Demon’s Souls is an utterly unique gaming experience, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
VideogameUK verdict: 9/10
