Almost like a survival-RPG.There's something about it's sadistic/morbid world and gameplay that I like.
Demon's Souls is like no other RPG I've played.It feels like it belongs in a different subgenre(perhaps it could be labelled a survival RPG).The reason I say this is it makes you work very hard to survive in the game.It's an action RPG,but carelessly hacking and slashing at enemies will get you killed quickly for sure.You'll need to block or dodge enemy attacks or die quickly.Another thing that makes Demon's Souls(which I'll refer to as DS)difficulty level so brutal is the fact the game's environments don't have save points nor does it have check points.If you die,you must restart the level.To make things worse,when you reach the end of a level,there's a boss waiting for you and the bosses can kill you quite easily.But it's the fact the game makes you earn the right to survive and makes you avoid getting hit by enemy attacks that makes the game a satisfying experience,and everytime you defeat a boss and move on to the next environment,you'll feel like you earned it and you'll feel like your progression through the game is earned by you and is not handed to you on a silver platter by giving you lots of save points or check points like with other games.
Don't get me wrong,you can save your progress but if you die or restart a level,all the enemies you've killed will come back and you'll need to make your way past all of them before you can face the boss at the end of that level again.
As for the gameplay mechanics,it's almost like a real-time mechanic but also has a stamina system.If you want to swing your weapon or use your shield to block,it will use stamina and you have a limited amount of it.Your stamina gets replenished quickly but enemies with more powerful attacks or blocking repeated attacks from numerous enemies will see your stamina drained quickly and you being left vulnerable.
You can choose to be 1 of a number of different classes and they really are quite unique.For example,a barbarian has very powerful melee attacks but he wears no armor.A knight wears armor and can do a decent amount of damage with his melee attacks but not quite as much as what a barbarian does.A royalty knight is a specialist at shooting magic at enemies from a distance but he has weak armor stats.A solider has well-rounded combat abilities whether it's melee(spears and swords)or ranged(he can use a bow quite well)but he isn't as heavily armored as a knight nor as his attacks as powerful as that of a knight or barbarian.There's a few other classes but I forgot what they are or what they can do.But some classes have better luck stats meaning they'll be able to find better items that get dropped by enemies or laying around the place.
You'll create a character from scratch(you choose their facial features,hair style adn color and skin color).You can select their gender and you can even blend male and female physical features together(you can create a man who looks like a cross dresser if you want).You can even make your character have green skin,or make them look like a deformed,buck toothed humanoid if you want.
A big reason I love this game is it's atmosphere.It's world looks and feels morbid but it's beautiful in a way too.Some of the creatures look very large and horrifying and the world has a dark,eery feel to it.The environments and skies just make you feel like you're in a place that's associated with death,whether you're in a dimly lite castle or outside in the open or near some hills where dragons are waiting to scorch anyone who goes near them or who tries to cross a bridge that's near them or even if it's some dungeon or murky swamp.Many of the enemies you'll encounter are quite grotesque too.
The enemies start of simple,slow and predictable,but later you'll encounter enemies that run/roll towards you very quick,or savage dogs that catch your off guard if you move into a room too quickly or archers trying to pick you off from a distance or flying beasts that shoot projectile attacks at you from above you.And this is not counting the bosses.And yes you can fight the dragons in this game,but don't expect to defeat them with a sword and shield,you'll need to find cover from their flames and try to slowly bring down their health/kill them by shooting them with lots of arrows and they fly very fast and at angles so it's not as easy as it sounds.As you would expect,
Another reason I say this game is like a survival RPG(just like we have survival horror)is because your weapons and armor wear out(which I found to be more annoying than a test or skill)and everytime you use an item(whether it's a healing item or a powerful but rare arrow for you bow or something like that)after you die you will not get it back,in fact the game saves you progress automatically after you die.So it's not like other RPGs where you can attempt to defeat a boss and use up many of the healing potions you've stocked up on and even if you die you can just have another attempt at defeating that boss and you'll get all your healing items back,in DS once you use an item you don't get it back.
The story is presented with beautiful but disturbing cinematics and talks about demons stealing the souls of humans and the music is very chilling.
The animations are very smooth and besides just being beautiful/morbid,the environments are quite detailed and have a nice realistic style to them.There's some beautiful mountain scenery during the cinematics and during the gameplay the wooden staircases and buildings made from stone have good detail and you'll see places on fire and damaged caravans and I like how different levels of darkness are used when you're inside buildings which allows you just enough visibility to see enemies.The castles have tall towers with many stairs to climb.
I like how you'll hear loud bashing sounds when weapons hit shields.
The game does require a lot of patience but it's a very satisfying experience because you'll feel like you accomplished someting everytime you make it to the end of a level and defeat a boss.
The only thing I don't like about the game are some of the trial by error segments it has,such as when you cautiously move across a bridge looking out for archers in the distance or enemies that might rush and it looks safe but then a dragon comes from above and breathes fire everywhere and you lose a lot of health/die and the only way to avoid it is to run accross the bridge right from the start(but rushing through areas can leave you vulnerable to enemies that might be hiding somewhere or that might roll explosive barrels at you).
Overall,this game is unique and a very rewarding experience but you'll need a lot of patience and determination to get anywhere in this game.