![]() At the heart of most Souslike games is a trial and error component which rewards persistence and forces you to learn the language of every encounter in order to survive. While magic users and some melee builds will be able to play a bit more aggressively, Demon’s Souls just isn’t designed to support that more active style of combat that has defined modern Soulslike games. More of an emphasis is placed on deliberately studying your opponents and playing defensively until the perfect time for attack presents itself. If you jumped into the Soulslike genre with Bloodborne, Sekiro, or Nioh, you’re going to find the action in Demon’s Souls much slower than you’re used to. That last point is going to depend on your preferences. The PS5 remake of Demon’s Souls is, in the ways that matter most, the best version of the game, but that still leaves us with the question of why you should care about Demon’s Souls in the first place. The DualSense controller adds an extra layer of immersion to the experience, while the PS5’s Command Center offers unique challenges for certain battles which allow series veterans to flex their abilities and creative muscles. The PS5’s SSD eliminates Demon’s Souls‘ often crippling load times, which isn’t just a great quality of life improvement but makes soul and resource farming far more efficient. That’s hardly the only way that the power of next-gen gaming improves Demon’s Souls. It could be months before we see a PS5 or Xbox Series X title that comes close to challenging its visual presentation. In terms of visuals, I’d go so far as to call Demon’s Souls the only real next-gen game on the market. Fans have long praised Demon’s Souls for its Gothic architecture and macabre aesthetic, but this remake makes it easier than ever to appreciate how even the game’s darkest corners were carefully designed to display a twisted sense of beauty. The game certainly impresses from a raw technical standpoint (you can really see where all those teraflops went), but what really matters are the ways that the PS5’s power lets you appreciate the timeless beauty of FromSoftware’s artistic direction. ![]() Even if you typically don’t care about graphics, you’re going to be blown away by Demon’s Souls. The remake is developed by Bluepoint Games, who you may know as the team behind the stunningly beautiful Shadow of the Colossus remake.Īnd that’s where any breakdown of Demon’s Souls must start: the graphics. That’s what you get with the PS5 remake of Demon’s Souls: a next-gen version of one of the most important games ever made that impresses with its technical advancements, even as it leaves you wondering whether its developers relied a bit too much on the fundamental appeal of this genre and not enough on their own creative input.Īs you probably know, Demon’s Souls is a remake of the 2009 PS3 game that (spiritual predecessors aside) gave birth to the Soulslike Action RPG genre. ![]() I realized what was happening just quickly enough to turn around and watch a cluster of boulders bowl me over. As the threat neared, the console’s haptic feedback sent the vibrations further up the controller. Specifically, I felt the very bottom of my PS5 DualSense rumble. As I slowly made my way towards them using my shield to block the incoming bolts, I felt my controller rumble. However, the next moment I remember is fairly unique to this next-gen title. It happened when I was walking down a tight corridor packed with enemies wielding crossbows. Stories such as that are fairly common in Soulslike games. It read: “I’m proud of you.” It was a stock message likely meant for those who had just unlocked the first boss, but at that moment, it felt like a personal bit of support in a game that is otherwise notorious for its cruelty. Just before I opened the nearby shortcut, I viewed a note that another player had left by the door. I made my way back to the spot where I had died. It was ultimately a point of pride, and in a Soulslike game, pride and headlong actions are what get you killed. Because I had died before actually unlocking the next shortcut, that meant having to risk going through the entire level again. I could have easily walked into the boss room from the respawn point, but I was determined to retrieve my lost souls. Excited by my progress, I ran down a stairwell to a nearby shortcut, took a wrong turn, and fell to my death. The first happened when I unlocked the door to one of the game’s first bosses. When I think back on my time with the PS5 remake, two moments that occurred fairly early on in the game spring to mind. ![]() You don’t walk away from a game like Demon’s Souls without a few good stories to share. ![]()
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