More than 10 years ago, FromSoftware released the action RPG Demon’s Souls for PlayStation 3. The 2009 game had a mixed debut but quickly found a dedicated following. When it eventually made its way to markets outside of Japan, it proved to be a commercial and critical success. Winning praise for its difficult but rewarding gameplay, it led to a series of Souls-like games.
Nowadays, most players are probably much more familiar with the Dark Souls franchise. Launching in 2011, it took a similar approach to Demon’s Souls but introduced a new setting and gameplay mechanics. But many people still consider the initial game to be the best, despite the Dark Souls series being more successful.
With a Demon’s Souls remaster in development for the PlayStation 5, now is a good time to examine why Demon’s Souls is the perfect game to remaster.
Demon’s Souls has amazing attention to detail
One of the best things about Demon’s Souls is the attention to detail shown in practically every part. Whether it is the buildings that people have lived in or the dungeons you explore, everything feels authentic. That’s mainly because of the amount of detail the developers included in each section. It gives the world a feeling of being lived in, like it is an authentic place. This extends to the enemies as well. All of your opponents make sense in terms of where they are located and what weapons or abilities they use.
Demon’s Souls has incredible levels and environments
If there is one criticism of the Dark Souls games, it is that they are rather dreary. The bleak story led the developers to create a rather depressing world that has little variety in terms of color. That’s very different in Demon’s Souls, which gives each level its own character and distinct features. What really makes Demon’s Souls stand out is how the developers designed each level to play differently. They contain unique challenges for players to overcome that never repeat. Rendered in stunning detail on the PlayStation 5, the Demon’s Souls remaster will be even more impressive.
Demon’s Souls is such a thoughtful experience
The Souls franchise is well-known for being fiendishly difficult. One mistake in combat will likely result in death and boss battles are not something to take lightly. But Demon’s Souls takes this idea to the extreme. Every single enemy and boss has their own set of unique strengths and weaknesses. Even the environments play a role in coming up with strategies for how to defeat them. Demon’s Souls requires you to carefully examine each encounter and actually think about how to be enemies. It is a thoughtful experience unlike almost anything else available.
Demon’s Souls has an unmatched soundtrack that deserves remastering
When people think about the Souls games, the soundtrack is not something most people will immediately jump to. That’s largely because the scores of the Dark Souls games are not that memorable. But that is not the case with Demon’s Souls. Each track is beautifully written and has a sort of mystical feeling. They also perfectly match the environment and bosses they accompany, building the atmosphere. Taking advantage of the new hardware in the PlayStation 5 to create even more impressive sounds is something worth doing.
Demon’s Souls has excellent and diverse enemy design
Compared with later games like Dark Souls, Demon’s Souls has an impressive array of enemies. Each opponent feels unique and distinctive, something that few games manage to do effectively. Because no two enemies are the same, it keeps players constantly on edge, forcing them to analyze them. While many games have great enemy design, the variety and complexity of the characters in Demon’s Souls are unrivaled. Seeing them brought to life on new hardware will certainly be worth seeing. If only so that players can get a better idea of how each should look.
Demon’s Souls had a somewhat troubled engine
Although it is hard to argue against Demon’s Souls being a great game, it did have some drawbacks. Most notable among them was the title’s engine. FromSoftware proprietary software had a number of issues that affected the technical performance of several Souls games. This was a particular problem during battles with several enemies. Things like physics could be jittery and not perform as expected, making battles fiddly. A remaster could help alleviate these issues and help Demon’s Souls run more smoothly.
Demon’s Souls can no longer be played properly
Like the later Dark Souls games, Demon’s Souls had an online component. Though not a strict multiplayer experience, it introduced previously unseen mechanics that enhanced the game. Unfortunately, Sony turned off the servers in 2018. This effectively removed an important part of the overall experience. Remaking Demon’s Souls will bring back that concept and let players go through the game as the original developers intended.
Demon’s Souls’ specs and visuals are not great
Despite the large success of Demon’s Souls, it was not all that impressive from a technical standpoint. Its resolution was capped at a measly 720p. Meanwhile, the visuals themselves were very rough around the edges, with a lack of depth to many textures and models. There were also issues with the frame rate. It was not uncommon to see it drop below 30 frames per second. The new developers can fix all of this in a remaster and make it look and run as well as it plays.
What are you most looking forward to about the Demon’s Souls remaster? Tell us in the comments below!
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