Shane
A demon plague has befallen the lands, it is up to you hero to reap in the souls of the underworld and save humankind.
But Demon Souls is a punishing play and likely you’ll struggle to save yourself.
The action RPG that first released exclusive to PlayStation 3 in 2009 has had a full 4K do-over complete with haptic feedback especially designed for the PlayStation 5’s DualSense controlpad.
First off you will need to create your hero from a wealth of options.
From the appearance, tattoos, scars and varying classes: Knight, Soldier, Magician and more. All up there’s 10 classes to choose from and once you decide who you’re going to be, there’s no going back.
But taking out demons, monsters, dragons and bad humans doesn’t begin straight away. First you select your Starting Gift.
There’s a few on offer, my advice is take whatever is going to boost your life, or your stamina.
Yep your character has a stamina gauge and you need to keep that in check. Combat is heavy and light attack melee with a few hand projectiles thrown in but given that you will face some large other worldly foes pretty much instantly in to play you need to keep your stamina reserved as much as you can. Pausing to take a breath allows your opponent(s) to throw in a few sneaky hits and ultimately kill you.
You do die. and you will alot.
But you’re never really dead. You enter the Nexus, an inbetween and it’s there you can gain advice from other fallen NPCs and get back to the real world.
But until you replenish your soul count you’re only really half there in the land of the living, with half the health bar too. And even in this state, you can die all over again, if not quicker than before.
There are a few collectables around if you keep your eyes open, and eventually you will acquire better armour, weapons, both one and two handed, aswell as potions and supplements to keep you going.
The health, power and stamina reserves can be assigned to hot-keys on the D-Pad.
You Inventory is a very robust and thorough system that not only details the items you have in Equipment, but ‘Inventory’ is a tabbed area and it’s here you’ll see how many pick ups you have left. Your current character’s status is also viewable here aswell as places that you have been and the varying shrines you have touched.
Finding and touching a Shrine records in your play history and can be a fast travel. The last Shrine that you were near is also where you’re likely to restart after you die.
Demon Souls is like the more player friendly version of Dark Souls. Both games are of the same ilk.
I loved Demon Souls back in 2009 and remember forging through, at a frustrating pace, and now I get to do it all over again in glorious 4K 60fps on PlayStation 5.
If you have already got your PlayStation 5 and looking for a game with depth, a narrative that is just as epic as a fantasy blockbuster film and an unforgiving challenge this summer down under – build up that hero you know you are and get in to Demon Souls.
Released: November 2020
Rating: R16
Platforms: PlayStation 5
Genre: RPG
Developer: FromSoftware, Inc., SIE Japan Studio, Shirogumi
Publisher: Sony