Demon's Souls review

Demon's Souls - PS3

Hack and slash and die, a lot.

Demon's Souls does something to me which I feel has been missing from games for a while. When entering a new area or blindly stumbling through tight corridors, I get a real sense of anxiety. Setting off a trap or wandering into the sight of a new enemy whose attack patterns are still a mystery usually spells death, and having to go back and retread the level again. Each new area is entered slowly, methodically, and tensely - should I go back and make use of the souls I have collected? Or press on and risk losing them?


Souls are the currency of the game, used not only for equipment and item purchase, but also repairing, upgrading and levelling up. A good run through a level culminating in a defeated boss returns you to the central hub, allowing you to spend these souls, but more often it takes a good few tries to get through the level, learning enemy attack patterns, avoiding previously sprung traps and making use of the innovative ability for players to leave messages dotted around the place to warn each other of what's around the corner and how to deal with it. Or, for the more mischievous, trying to coerce players into throwing themselves off high platforms to their death... You can also occasionally see bloodsplats formed by the recently dead, and use these to see a brief reconstruction of thier death, hopefully giving you the information needed to avoid going the same way. Add to this the ability to 'invade' another player's game and hunt them down (and of course be invaded yourself) and we have a set of unique multiplayer ideas.

This game is hard, and after an initial tutorial, the first real level doesn't hold back, throwing increasingly hard enemies at you from all angles, and several devious traps and hard enemies if you stray too far from the main course. The learning curve here is high, and you will die, over and over again.  Luckily the game lets you keep any new equipment you have, but you will have to battle back through to where you last died to regain your dropped souls. Through trial and error, and some luck, you gradually figure out the ins and outs of each enemy type, how to best utilise your weaponry and magic, and the best routes through levels. Then, just as you think you are getting the hang of things, you come face to face with more terrifying enemies, smaller platforms on which to fight them and more and more death. Surprisingly though, rather than being frustrating the game is so well designed that you just want to keep going back for more, getting inches further each time, and each small victory feels amazing.

Initially the story is kept on the backburner but after meeting a few people throughout the world and defeating a few bosses you will discover what's going on. It's hardly Shakespeare, but this is made up for with decent voice acting and an incredible depth to the gameplay itself. Upgrading weapons and spells is well handled, and the level design is brilliant, from the castle of the first world, to a gigantic prison, and a desolate poisonous marsh, each level is well put together, believable and a joy to explore. Well, I say joy, more like harrowing tense trek, but you get the idea. Also You can't technically pause it, as the game continues even when you're in your menu, and attacking NPCs leads them to attack you back, until one of you dies- so be careful where you swing your sword, lest you be left without any wa to upgrade your weapons or buy new magic!

This game is not for the faint hearted, but if you are up for a real challenge I highly reccomend it. It has a brilliant depth and is really rewarding when you finally get past bits you have been stuck on!

5 Stars!


Thanks for reading! Andrew