Demon's Souls is a relentless game and will spare no efforts to test your limits
Set in a medieval and gothic atmosphere, the game is called by some the spiritual successor of King's Field series. Both Japanese and American markets was critically acclaimed and received significant praise from the specialized press. But is Demon's Souls worth the effort to prevent extreme difficulty for most players to find out what this PS3 exclusive has to offer?
The plot unfolds in the Kingdom of Boletaria, a place ravaged by darkness and forgotten by God. An ancient evil dominates the region, where hundreds of brave warriors tried unsuccessfully to bring peace back. Demons and zombies lurk everywhere, skeletons and ghosts plaguing catacombs, hungry dogs leap in the dark, anonymous cries can be heard through the shadows and transform the giant dragons of Boletaria ruins to ashes. Why the hell somebody wants to go there? This is an answer that only those who play Demon's Souls will respond, and it takes so long to discover that there is a price and a reward for everyone who venture into its mazes and countless challenges.
The kingdom of Boletaria consists of five worlds: Boletaria Palace (Palace Boletarian); Stonefang Tunnel (Tunnel Stonefang); Latria Tower (Tower of Latria) Temple of Storms (Shrine of Storms) and the Valley of Desecration ( Valley of defilement). These regions reflect your behavior in the game through a morality system (Tendency), heroic actions and help lost can bring light and alleviate the difficulty; excess deaths, attacks on innocent or villain (how to kill someone asks you to help) and the region is beset by even more darkness and difficulties. However, the more darker is a stage, the best items can be found. It is a difficult decision. Spread across these worlds, besides enemies,you'll find opportunistic traders, lone heroes and what remains of the boletarian nobility, lost souls of men and women consumed by evil mist.
These phases are connected from the Nexus, a sort of lobby, where the players return to improve attributes, learn spells, buy and repair equipment as well as storing items. The Nexus is the only place where there are no hazards and works as a micro-city within a large cathedral. There, you spend the collected souls which are the currency for both the purchase of artifacts, weapons and spells and for the attributes improvement. Collecting souls, you also increase your level of Souls (Soul Level), which determines the evolution of the character. In the Nexus, you'll learn a little more about the mythology of the game and about the demon that plagues Boletaria.
The medieval-dark atmosphere in Demon's Souls is obviously bleak, inhospitable and often frightening, where fog, fire, solitude and silence the tone of the steps. You navigate through swamps, caves, dungeons, narrow stairs, dimly lit corridors, unsafe land, abandoned castles, among other scenarios that make up a rich universe to explore. Only one thing is shared by all of these locations: the sense of urgency and danger around every corner.
There are few times when you feel your heart beating while exploring the scares and surprises in the Demon's Souls. Monsters leap from dark rooms, with gleaming red eyes riders advancing in your direction, bridges crumble under your feet, and destroying you with one blow. It seems difficult, and indeed it is. Very! Due to the high difficulty, dying in Demon's Souls eventually becomes common, even banal and expected.
This difficulty is just probably the main challenge and the great success of the game. Because it provides a competent system of trial and error that encourages strategic thinking and makes the players are mere peons of a gothic opera in which the most important thing is not to win but to survive. In the realm of relentless Boletaria, no room for heroes. Who wants to win will need, before any weapon or magic, possessing the gift of perseverance.
The first thing to do is create a character. With a robust customization system, Demon's Souls allows you to create an avatar, the physical attributes and their profession (who played any traditional RPG like Elder's Scrolls IV - Oblivion will feel at home). Altogether there are 10 classes available, each with advantages and disadvantages: Knight (Knight), Priest (Priest), Thief (Thief) Magician (Magician), Templar (Temple Knight), Soldier (Soldier), Nomad (Wanderer ) Barbarian (Barbarian), Noble (Royalty) and Hunter (Hunter). The wisest thing to start the game is to pick a character with reasonable attributes, a good shield, a spear and a healing spell that can be very useful.
A rushed player can attempt to build a more specialized character, whether in combat or magic. However, it was clear from the beginning, that specialization will not take you very far. The ideal is to create a balanced character. That is, it can attack and defend effectively (shields will be the guardian angels here), cast spells (healing, mainly, and a good attack as "Soul Arrow") and have at least one good weapon for distant attacks (bows and crossbows work very well). The most important thing is that no final decisions. If you create a warrior, nothing will prevent him/her from learning spells. If you create a wizard or a thief, naturally more vulnerable, you can also arm them and improve their attributes for a fairer fight.
Although Demon's Souls has 5 worlds, there is no order to follow and all the portals are immediately available after completing the tutorial. However, after several attempts, it is evident that the game does not encourage you to approach the world of Boletaria randomly. Each world has subphases with increasing levels of difficulty and is best overcome them in stages and without haste. Therefore, it is difficult to measure the time needed to beat the game. Everything will depend on the pace that you impose. The adventure is yours. But Demon's Souls, definitely is not a short game and will consume many hours.
The first stages of each world (1-1, 2-1, 3-1 etc..) are less difficult, so players can familiarize themselves with the controls, gain experience and earn better equipment. This is not a rule of course, and there remains the challenge for those who want to jump head. But be warned, when everything seems under control, you enter a hall where a Knight of the size of a building is waiting anxiously, And before you even have time to understand what is happening ... "You Died". This sentence is almost a red wallpaper on your TV while you play Demon's Souls.
However, dying is not the end. At least not in the Demon's Souls. When you die, the game takes you back to the Nexus. Your warrior takes the form of a spirit (with limited HP) and all equipment items and progress in the phases are kept. Unfortunately, the most valuable treasure is lost, the souls you've collected so hard. But there is still a light at the end of the tunnel if you can return to the exact spot where you died, you can retrieve all your valuable souls back. But if by chance you die along the way (and it is quite likely to happen) then, yes, all is lost and you have to start from scratch.
Demon's Souls is a great experience and will move all the time with your ambition and curiosity. Picture this: you are strong, confident, well equipped and with thousands of souls collected. The problem is that there is always a new corner, a new door, a new ladder. And you'll want to explore them to find a better sword or stronger armor. Then, you end up facing a powerful enemy and everything is lost. "You Died".
It seems unfair, unnecessarily frustrating and in some ways, it is. However, this is the real beauty of Demon's Souls. Because when you can swallow the frustration and try again, you become more familiar with the map, knows by heart the location of enemies and traps. Your character is stronger and more resilient and what seemed impossible soon will materialize before your eyes. The feeling of dominating the game is tasty and you'll feel proud of yourself for having resisted.
Demon's Souls also offers an interesting online experience. When connected, you can see other players venturing (and dying) in Boletaria. There is also the possibility to leave and read messages on the ground about treasures and enemies ahead. For example, "beware of the dragon" or "White Arc forward." Throughout the stages, you can find marks of other players and see how they died, which also serves as experience. And yet, you can play cooperatively or even invade another game. Interesting aspects that make the game more attractive. Who can not connect or discouraged: Demon's Souls is a phenomenal experience offline. The creators know this potential, because they made a perfect game to play alone.
The controls are nice, fluid and respond well. At the bottom left there is an analog representation of the D-pad (up, down, left and right). The left and right arrows to change weapons, shields and artifacts. With the bottom arrow, herbs and items. With the up arrow, spells. Defense and attack are conducted with the buttons L1 and R1 and specials with R2 and L2. If using a shield (and will be very good if you are) you can block some strikes, destabilizing the enemy, leaving them vulnerable to a withering attack.
In the top left corner, there are three bars: life, magic and stamina. The latter should always be observed because it affects your ability to attack, defend, run and roll. The bar is gradually regenerating, but if it isn't, your character is a helpless target. Mastering this aspect of the game is essential to survive in Demon's Souls. It is also noteworthy that the game does not offer a screen to pause and all administration of items and status is done in real time. The game literally does not give you a break.
It may seem contradictory, but Demon's Souls is a beautiful game. Each piece of weaponry, each new weapon changes the character. The backgrounds are detailed and nothing seems out of place: stones, boxes, chains, torches. Everything seems built meticulously to offer an immersive and unforgettable experience in a gigantic and realistic medieval world very well done.
The game runs fine, no dropped frames with beautiful textures and great fluidity. There is almost no load screens, except when the player travels between two worlds. The camera follows the character's back, full body, like in Zelda. It responds well and is often confused in the frame.
Aside from the iconic opening music and main boss fights, there is music in the game, except for occasional notes that give the suspense atmosphere. The rest of the time, swords and armor clanking, water running, breaking wood, fire, trembling, falling stones and cries of rage and pain. Demon's Souls is a game of sounds and whispers.
Demon's Souls is a relentless game and will spare no efforts to test your limits. At the same time, is one of the richest games, unique and rewarding in recent years. The experience is unforgettable, immersive and highly addictive. However, it has its flaws, though insignificant.
Definitely not a game recommended for everyone and brutal difficulty will deter the more casual players. The target audience here is without doubt the hardcore. However, it is a game that deserves to be played, even for five minutes, more or less the time it takes until you see for the first time, the two words that will follow you until the last minute: You Died.