Demon's SoulsBy Chris Vavra - October 05, 2009 Print  EmailThe RPG genre is not what it once was. Back in the late 90’s, the RPG was at its zenith. On the Playstation, it seemed you couldn’t go a month without another RPG being released. Not all of them were great, but most were modest hits and they represented the gaming culture at the time. To an extent, they still do, but they are more focused on MMORPG’s. The traditional turn-based RPG is all but dead now. Gamers want something more proactive and exciting. Keeping that in mind, developer From Software and publisher Atlus have delivered Demon’s Souls, a compelling RPG that is a faithful combination of the elements that have worked so well in RPG’s from then and elements that work today. The story itself functions as standard-fare material. A kingdom called Bolteria that used the power of souls for life has fallen under a dark fog that has turned its people into demons. Your character (a customizable one) is killed very early on, but is saved in the Nexus (purgatory) and is ordered to save this world from a mysterious creature known as the Old One. You will go through five worlds in this game as you venture deeper and deeper into the kingdom and no two worlds are alike. You’ll go from catacombs to the streets to the sewers to the underworld. The art direction certainly owes a lot to Lord of the Rings and other fantasy-inspired material, but the game is no pastiche. The dark palettes and monstrous characters you’ll encounter feel very real and believable in the world you’ve entered. The ability to customize and pick your character is nothing new. As it is with past games, you’ll likely fall into one of two camps: Magic or melee. While neither will make the game that much easier, magic does have the inside track early on while melee will come in handy later on in the game. There are also ranged attacks, like a bow-and-arrow. Perfect for the curious FPS fan looking to show off their sharpshooting skills. Demon’s Souls is a very difficult game and it will tax your skills. Death is quite common, especially when going face-to-face with the giant bosses that you’ll encounter throughout the game. The combat system, I suppose, is part of this. If you prefer melee to magic, you will have to watch your stamina bar with your two attacks: fast and slow. Fast attacks are more effective, for example, if you’re fighting multiple enemies, but you’ll lose stamina. Slow attacks are more powerful, but probably best used in solo combat or a 2-on-1 situation. Knowledge and judgment are a strong factor in your next move and you will have to be careful. Magic, of course, is dependent on your magic bar (what else?). Just be careful. Once you’re out of magic, well, you’re toast. Defense is also important in this game, especially if you’re a melee character. As you fight your way through countless hordes and demons you will need to know how to deflect enemy attacks as well as strike back. Magic users will also need to be able to use the level design to their advantage with ranged attacks and good timing to inflict the maximum amount of damage possible. Ranged fighters also fall into this camp, but they lack the ability to kill multiple enemies at once with a spell. Either way, you’re going to die a lot in this game. You have to figure a lot of this stuff out for yourself and the game’s steep learning curve means that Atlus and From Software aren’t interested in babying you. While the game isn’t unfair that often, the average RPG gamer may find the initial experience to be overwhelming and taxing. On the other hand, utilizing all your skills in a successful boss fight is most satisfying. Another interesting component is how your actions will dictate how the game turns out. If your actions are more evil than good, the world will become black. If your actions incline towards good, the world will become white. This can be important. Enemies in a white world are weaker than those in a black world. On the flip side, enemies in a black world might be tougher to defeat, but the rewards you yield are greater than those in a white world. The online play will also garner a great deal of notice, and with good reason. While you are still responsible for doing much of the grunt work yourself, that doesn’t mean you’ll be entirely devoid of help. As you go along, you may find helpful messages pertaining to treasures, tricks, traps, and secrets. You can also revive dead characters and have them assist you throughout the level. If they survive, that’s more experience for you. You can also fight in a campaign against a player that “owns” the world you are in. While you will be a phantom (or soul) in this particular mode, it is worth looking into and is a lot of fun to play. If you want to play offline, you can, but playing online and using the helpful hints and strategies left by your fellow online players will help you unlock more and more of Demon’s Souls and give you the full experience that would not be possible just playing by yourself. If the game has one serious drawback (aside from the brutal difficulty, which we could use more of, I think) it’s the voice acting. This game really doesn’t have much going for it in terms of plot aside from the prologue, but along the way you’ll encounter various characters and most of the dialogue delivered sounds awful. The soundtrack is quite good, though, and you can just pretend that no one is really talking. Demon’s Souls is one of the most interesting titles I’ve played thus far in 2009 in part because it reminds me of the days when RPG’s forced the gamer to figure out the game on their own. While it isn’t quite as punishing as that, the difficulty and the combat system are faithful throwbacks to a time when skill, knowledge, and a little help from Lady Luck were the rule. The online component of the game is also a tremendous asset that the hardcore fans will enjoy using to explore the game as much as they possibly can. This was designed for the RPG fanboy and it delivers. Ratings |
 Select Choice Award |
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