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Rating 4
4
Great

Demon's Souls - Review

Demon's Souls Review
Score: 4/5
Reviewed by Oliver VanDervoort on PS5 - January 24, 2021   

The first descriptor that should come out of anyone’s mouth when describing Demon’s Souls is “gorgeous.” The game is one of the best looking games on the market today.

Perhaps that’s not all that surprising considering it launched alongside the PlayStation 5. This is a game that absolutely takes advantage of everything the next generation console has to offer when it comes to power and tech.

One of the most interesting things that stands out with the appearance of Demon’s Souls is that there isn’t a ton of color. The landscape is supposed to have a depressing look. This is, after all a world where evil has taken hold. It’s a world where the dead have risen and are trying desperately to add to their ranks.

The Beauty of Despair

The world is grey and brown and yet, somehow Demon’s Souls manage to make that breathtakingly pretty. When there is a bit of color that pops up, it’s also plenty breathtaking. Most of that color is red.

That’s thanks to the little fires that are burning everywhere or the hints that you’ll run into from time to time. They stand out because of the background of the game. It was obviously a conscious choice to go with this style and stick with the original themes.

Bluepoint Games is picking up where From Software left off for Demon’s Souls. They changed some things here and there, but they also left quite a bit of it seemingly untouched or just slightly improved. The color and background decisions are certainly something they managed to improve just a little bit. Pairing that with upgraded graphics and power on the PS5 and you’ve got a game that is the best looking game of the newest, youngest generation.

Visuals Aren’t The Only Upgrade

Yes, this Demon’s Souls is better looking. But that’s not the whole story. The game’s soundtrack and voiceovers were also totally redone, but they paid homage to the first edition by using the same voice actors from the original. The soundtrack is now much deeper  than it was on the PlayStation 3, and, thanks in part to a more powerful console, feels much more cinematic. This will undoubtedly strike a different chord with different players, as some will definitely prefer the more subdued soundtrack in the original, but I absolutely loved how much this new score complemented the gorgeous visuals.

The DualSense also gets a nice spotlight here, showcasing some truly great mechanics that mimic the rolling around, or swinging your big battle axe or nimble sword. Several of the new PS5 games have been very nice tech demos for the DualSense. This game isn’t quite a detailed as, say, Sackboy but it does offer different haptic rumbles combined with an associated sound effect from the controller. They all combine to help with immersion. If there’s one spot where this could have been better it’s that it doesn’t really utilize the adaptive triggers.

Deeper Mechanics Still A Bit Confusing

If there’s one big portion of the PS5 remake that could have used a bit of touching up, it’s the World Tendency system. The main points of this are the same as they were in the original. 

In its most basic form, the more good deeds a player does, including going out of your way to help friendly characters or taking out Demons and freeing the populace from their evil reign, you shift each world to a White World Tendency. Doing bad acts such as killing those helpless NPCs instead of helping them will push the world's tendency to Black. While it sounds simple at first glance, you don’t get a ton of feedback from one act to another.

Perhaps the game wants you to go black. Because it doesn’t feel as though it takes much to go there. On the other hand, it feels like it takes quite a bit to take the world white. It wouldn’t hurt to get some feedback on what does what, or how much. Of course, that would undermine the bigger picture for the game, which is always to be as hard as possible.

Great Version of Multiplayer

The multiplayer in Demon’s Souls is different than what you expect from a game in 2020 and that’s a good thing. This isn’t one of those games where you squad up and try and take down a demon. However, the approach they do utilize is very, very good.

Players can be invaded by others and if you’re playing at the right time, it can happen multiple times throughout your adventure. When you’re invaded, you’ll want to fight them off and I’ve had good luck on that score, with many of the invading players dying a terrible, painful death at the end of my sword. 

While multiplayer is never going to look like Destiny 2, the game does have a co-op feature that can make this a standout experience buddies who might not be as experienced with Souls games as others are.

Like in other Souls games, you and a buddy can set the same password in order to see each other’s Summon signs. From there you can bring them into your world or they can bring you into theirs. This allows people to play how they want to play. If they are suddenly having a hard time with a certain boss, one who their friend has easily taken out, you can bring them in and get some help. Some purists might say that’s not how a Souls game is supposed to be played, but the look and feel of this game makes it all the more fun when you and a friend are both hacking away at a giant demon. The PS5 also seems to offer a better experience when dealing with online play. Bringing someone into my world, or going into theirs was pretty seamless.

Difficulty Is The Point

By now, you’ve probably heard how hard Souls games are. Demon’s Souls is certainly an unforgiving title, but there’s a definite sense of accomplishment when you complete a level. There’s also a sever feeling of frustration when you have to start over.

The final word on Demon’s Souls is that Bluepoint delivered big time. This was a game that has been one of the most hyped of the PS5 launch and it absolutely didn’t disappoint.

 

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