If you enjoy the sound of weeping and gnashing of teeth (or doing the same yourself), then you owe it to yourself to play Demon’s Souls sometime. If you’ve already played it and are looking for more punishment, look out for Dark Souls later this year.
Dark Souls, the game’s spiritual successor, and it retains much of the same gameplay and difficulty that Demon’s Souls reveled in. We didn’t really get a chance to see much of the story or how the passive multiplayer will function this time around, but what we did see is definitely promising.
The Nexus is gone this time around, as is ‘Soul Mode’. You’ll still lose all your souls upon death, but instead of experiencing an instant reversion to Soul Mode, your character will slowly become less and less human each time you die. In place of the Nexus, there will be bonfires you can visit to restore your health and save your progress. While this sounds like it would make the game easier, I don’t think it will, as using one will respawn every enemy you’ve defeated. It could make for easier soul farming, but it will still be just as risky as anything else in Dark Souls.
In our limited time with the game, it definitely nails the mood and feel of Demon’s Souls, while being just as difficult and punishing of failure as you would expect. Look for it on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this October.
