Support NeoGAF

[GermanZepp]

I'm more interested in the graphics changes of the levels. All the world but specially Valley of defilement and tower of latria are fucking awesome in the original. The sound design is key to the atmosphere too. Hope they nail it.

 

[Nickolaidas]

Nah, that thing is as generic as he can get, he is literally a buffed generic fire demon, the original one had this particular face who make it more diverse.

Not saying that ds2 boss are great but not less original than that.

I'll let you in on a secret. I'm a SUCKER for generic fantasy - which is why project awakening makes me rock hard.

Also, why I vastly prefer the ds remake to the original's artstyle.

Can't wait to see how they'll design the mind flayers in Latria.

 

[GymWolf]

I'll let you in on a secret. I'm a SUCKER for generic fantasy - which is why project awakening makes me rock hard.

Also, why I vastly prefer the ds remake to the original's artstyle.

Can't wait to see how they'll design the mind flayers in Latria.

I'm the opposite, i like horror stuff, that's why i enjoyed the art design in bloodborne far more than any dark souls (i still think ds1 is the best soulslike tho)

 

[Fbh]

Really looking forward to this but I do mostly prefer the original designs. The new ones look a bit...I don't know, is overdesigned a word?
But I don't need or want a remake to be a 1:1 recreation

 

[kiphalfton]

Wow, the PS3 graphic is still impressive.

Saw a comparison video on YouTube, comparing the original to the remake, that seemed to intentionally be downplaying how good the original Demon's Souls looks. Pretty sure they were running the game at the lowest settings on RPCS3, as it looked awful in comparison to the remake. Probably a lot of those videos going around, to push some sort of narrative that the old game looks like garbage and you need to get the new game.

Edit:
Said video:

 

[itsjustJEFF]

I'm impressed most by Ratchet & Clank. That thing looks as good in stills as it does in motion, something that I don't think usually happens. Yea, those other games look good, man they look realistic, that's cool. But, I've always like style/art direction over the realistic looks. I'm surprised Kena isn't on here, that thing looked like a Pixar movie.

 

[Aion002]

Great thread, I really enjoyed your observations. I can't wait to play it!

Very good thread. It is increasingly clear to me that the graphic jump is minimal, this seems like ps4 pro, if they told me a year ago that this was going to be the difference on PS5 I would have been under no illusions.

You forgot to say that Ryse: Son of Rome will look better on SX.

Then it would be a complete gamefaqs console wars level post.

 

[Nickolaidas]

I'm the opposite, i like horror stuff, that's why i enjoyed the art design in bloodborne far more than any dark souls (i still think ds1 is the best soulslike tho)

I loved Bloodborne's artstyle too. It was like, a love letter to Ravenloft.

Basically, any artstyle which resembles a D&D setting always gets my seal of approval.

 

[nordique]

Incredible graphics

 

[Oddspeak]

People are bitching way too hard about style and color temperature and shit without remembering that the Shadow of the Colossus remake had FIFTEEN color filters, including some that ARE reminiscent of Demon's Souls' original color grading.




Stop freaking out about things being bright before we get confirmation on whether or not the filters come back.

 

[laynelane]

Oh ok I forgot about the human form thing. I just remember reading reviews about them not being able to finish it because of how unforgiving it was.

I wonder if they will add the content that was cut from the original. Didn't they cut out a world or something like that?

There's six arch stones you go through to access various words. In the original, the one that led to the land of the giants, was broken and could not be used. It will be interesting to see whether it will accessible in the remake.

 

[DeepEnigma]

I love it!

I like both the old and the new! Can't wait!

 

[Joshmyersbv]

There's six arch stones you go through to access various words. In the original, the one that led to the land of the giants, was broken and could not be used. It will be interesting to see whether it will accessible in the remake.

I think that could be a good selling point and allow bluepoint to flex its creative muscle.

 

[laynelane]

I think they did.

I phrased that poorly. According to my memory and the wiki, gold skeletons don't roll.

 

[laynelane]

At this point though I'm wondering if the skeleton's won't be as color-coded as they used to be? The one in the new trailer doesn't exactly scream "gold", I just assumed it would be a silver (here grey) one. But maybe it's just the light in that particular shot, or they will be made more distinct in some other way other than the weapon.

I really hope they keep the colour coding. It made it easy to tell who was who at at distance - silver for fast rolling, gold for slow and smacking me off cliffs, and black for fast, samurai action. Other ways to tell were eye colour and weapon type. The one you pictured has the weapon and blue eyes, but the body is not so clear-cut. It could be described as goldish, maybe? Or it could just be gray as you said.

Edit: Typo

 

[Vae_Victis]

EDIT: a high quality version of the trailer can be downloaded from here: https://mega.nz/folder/qZYzAQhB#jia_nkofJ4M8x0_IK8wWKA/folder/LYBwEKjC .

It's actually at more or less the same bitrate as the YouTube video at full quality, so there is no real improvement from that one. But I figured people might find it more practical to download it directly like this than manage to get an uncompressed download from YouTube.

---------

A new trailer is here, and with it a lot of interesting stuff to analyse!




DREGLING

Spoiler

Original:

Remake:

Yep, it's him. There used to be some piece of bandage or bolted metal strip stuck to the forehead, which seems to be gone, but I can't spot any other difference.

There was also another variant of Dregling model in the orignal, we haven't seen it in the remake yet, but it appears on the game cover.

BOLETARIAN SOLDIER

Spoiler

Original:

Remake:

Very similar overall. The lack of a shield is not a change, the soldiers found in the tutorial area of the original game also didn't have one.

We also saw the crossbowman in the remake, but as far as I can tell it's identical to the swordman apart form the weapon.

BLUE EYE KNIGHT

Spoiler

Original:

Remake:

The biggest difference is in the helmet design, where the central holes portraying some sort of stylized face have been replaced with a simpler vertical line, I think meant to look like a third eye. The armour and shield are also now decorated with golden marquetry, and the tight protections are a bit different.

RED DRAGON

Spoiler

Original:

Remake:

We don't have a clear shot of the new design, but going by the silhouette I think it's basically identical to the old one.

SCALE MINERS

Spoiler

Original:

Remake:

It's hard to be precise because we only see the new design from behind, but the overall idea seems similar enough. Now they have some kind of braids, or perhaps tentacle-like growths at the sides of the head? The general head shape is not very clear, we need a shot from the front.

ARMOR SPIDER

Spoiler

Original:

Remake:

Very, very similar to the original, down to the claw coming out from the back.

MAIDEN IN BLACK (not really an enemy but get the point)

Spoiler

Original:

Remake:

I think the biggest difference is in the candlestick, now the head is a lot larger. I can't see anything else worth mentioning.

VANGUARD (new shots from behind)

Spoiler

Original:

Remake:

It still has the stubby tail, now it ends with a spike. The whole creature looks a bit more spiked overall, the wings in particular.

FLAMELURKER

Spoiler

Is it just me, or did they change the face? It looks a lot more open and segmented on the mouth compared to the last trailer. From the little that we can see, it's actually a lot more similar to the original now.

 

[GymWolf]

Yeah i don't know, i still prefer the old style for some creatures.

 

[ToughestSoul]

Not sure the newer designs are really better.

Take Flamelurker for example: The original looks really unique compared to the more generic "fire demon" design of the remake.

 

[GymWolf]

Not sure the newer designs are really better.

Take Flamelurker for example: The original looks really unique compared to the more generic "fire demon" design of the remake.

Yes exactly, everything feels more generic in this remake.

 

[CrysisFreak]

They're trying to sell us a PS3 port for 80€.

 

[cormack12]

amazing work Vae_Victis

 

[Patterson]

Props to Bluepoint. They do amazing work, as always.

 

[Nickolaidas]

They're trying to sell us a PS3 port for 80€.

You have absolutely jack shit idea of what you're talking about.

 

[N30RYU]

the Flamelurker is the only one I understand ppl complaining about... since it's a total new redesign (LotR Balrog copy/paste)

 

[Quezacolt]

They're trying to sell us a PS3 port for 80€.

You are either trolling or need glasses if you can't see that this isnt a port, but a full remake.

 

[CrysisFreak]

You have absolutely jack shit idea of what you're talking about.

You are either trolling or need glasses if you can't see that this isnt a port, but a full remake.

Sorry guys but you took the bait lmao.
signed, timdogxcloud

 

[scydrex]

Where can we download the new video? I see the videos in the link are from june? Need to see this in real 4k...

 

[GaviotaGrande]

You have absolutely jack shit idea of what you're talking about.

You are either trolling or need glasses if you can't see that this isnt a port, but a full remake.

Guys, guys. But Shadow of The Colossus also was a full remake and that was sold for 40 EUR / USD.

 

[Yoboman]

People are bitching way too hard about style and color temperature and shit without remembering that the Shadow of the Colossus remake had FIFTEEN color filters, including some that ARE reminiscent of Demon's Souls' original color grading.




Stop freaking out about things being bright before we get confirmation on whether or not the filters come back.

I hope they add back the colouring of the original and name it piss filter

 

[Hunnybun]

I don't really get the fuss about this game's visuals. Particularly given the small scale of the environments and all the stone materials, which have already reached something close to photorealism in something like God of War. Am I missing something?

For me Miles Morales looked more impressive, and that's cross gen. And Ratchet looked WAY better.

Just me?

 

[Vae_Victis]

amazing work Vae_Victis

Thanks

Where can we download the new video? I see the videos in the link are from june? Need to see this in real 4k...

Sadly, I couldn't find it yet. For the second batch of comparisons I downloaded the YouTube version and used that; it's pretty high quality for a YouTube upload, even though things in motion tend to be more faded. Luckily, for every enemy type there were some frames where the image was stable enough to take a clear screenshot.

 

[Nickolaidas]

Sorry guys but you took the bait lmao.
signed, timdogxcloud

You bastard. You got me good.

 

[Vae_Victis]

Oh boy, here we go again.



A few enemies from this new trailer have appeared before; where I feel we see nothing we hadn't already seen and there is nothing new for me to add, I'll just skip those.

Scale Miner

Spoiler

Old design:

New design:

We finally get a good look at those. I feel like there are some subtle differences to make them look just slightly more inhuman than before; for example, the skull has a more goblin-esque shape and the feet are disproportionately large. Apart from that, scales now are much more subtle and organic in their complexion, and of course they have hair.

All in all, still, a sightly different design in execution, but not in concept.

Rock Worm

Spoiler

Old design:

New design:

There is a new frill of spikes pointing backwards to make them look a bit fancier, but apart from that it's pretty much identical.

Flamelurker

Spoiler

Old design:

New design:

Well, they definitely went back and changed it. It's still not identical to the old one (it lacks the eyeball, and those "bars" passing in front of the mouth have been converted into steches of sinue that connect to the mouth), but now it's a lot more obvious what it's supposed to be: a flaming skeleton encased inside a rock shell.

Considering how weird and undefinable the original was, personally I'm pretty satisfied with the end result.

Old Hero

Spoiler

Old design:

New design:

The body and dress are basically identical, but the "spectral" effect is quite different. The old one looked almost "energized" starting from the neck and with the light dimming the closer it went to the end of the limbs, while I feel the intent with the new one is to make it somewhat resemble a coop/invader ghost, with the yellow light being more uniform and mostly a hue. Also, in the original the sword was completely un-lit, while now it's by far the most glowing part of the model.

Mind Flayer

Spoiler

Old design:

New design:

The only obvious anatomical difference is that now the left hand is gone, and is completely replaced by tentacles. But the head itself, even though are meant to be squid-like, is quite different: the original was, precisely, squid-like, but it didn't really look like an actual squid, it had no eyes, and the tentacles were attached around the mouth pointing sideways, almost backwards. The new one looks a lot more like a real squid stuck on a human body, plus possibly additional random tentacles protruding in all directions from the neck.

For further analysis of why I think this is, see the Maneater.

Maneaters

Spoiler

Old design:

New design:

The Maneater was always described by the game as a hybrid creature created artificially with the use of magic; not it also looks a lot more the part. The old design was a beast containing the components of different creatures, but it looked like a much cleaner fusion, and it could be mistaken as a natural being. With the new one there is zero room for error: it's a botched patchwork of very distinct body parts poorly stitched together.

Again, the Mind Flayer trend continues here. What is begging to become clear is that for the whole Latria enemy roster a decision was taken to make them all more obvious in what they are supposed to be. All the hybrid creatures are very blatantly hybrid creatures, with very distinct parts that would make sense on their own. The creation process is implied to be a lot less magical and a lot more surgical. Is it better? Is it worse? I don't know, it's just very different, I think you can come up with pros and cons for each design direction frankly.

Giant Deprave One

Spoiler

Old design:

New design:

The mask is now a LOT more obviously a mask. The original didn't even look like it was made of wood, to the point that without taking a very good look at the model you would imagine it was part of the actual head.

Overall though, in the new trailer the creature is visible only for a couple of seconds and is very blurred, so before I can say more I'd wait for better footage.

Penetrator

Spoiler

Old design:

New design:

Extremely similar overall in the model, but the sword now has red swirling energy around it instead of an azure generic "enchanted" hue, and the secondary colour of the armour has also been changed from blue to red. Not sure exactly why they changed it (maybe to make it more distinct from Tower Knight, whose thematic colour was also blue?), but it's not like there seemed to be a particular design implication to begin with.

Blue Dragon

Spoiler

Old design:

New design:

Basically the same, just... more blue? Jokes aside, the old dragon was much more contrasted, with some parts very light blue and others dark grey. In the new one the colours are more blended, and it's more blue overall.

Bonus Round: Crystal Lizard

Spoiler

Old design:

New design:

It's not very clear at all from the video, but from what I can gather I think they went with a slightly more "Dark Souls" design; the original looked like a skink with shiny scales, this seems larger and rounder around the torso, like a bearded dragon, and the crystals are full-on prisms protruding from its back.

 

[Danjin44]

Other than Flamelurker and Vanguard, I'm fine wth other designs. It just those two re-designs that I really, really dont like.

 

[SCB3]

Other than Flamelurker and Vanguard, I'm fine wth other designs. It just those two re-designs that I really, really dont like.

Really? I though the Vanguard redesign is the best one, glad to see Penetrator is somewhat similar

 

[The Wheel of Fortune]

The original Flamelurker always reminded me of Sir Daniel (from MediEvil) lol, so the fact that it doesn't anymore is a win in my book.

Everything looks perfect to me, can't wait to play it!

 

[BootsLoader]

Why this seems obvious to me?

 

[Danjin44]

Really? I though the Vanguard redesign is the best one, glad to see Penetrator is somewhat similar

To me looks a demon that just came straight out of Doom, which I personally not really fan of.

 

[Kikorin]

I never played the original, just seen some gameplay on YouTube. Graphically the new one looks insane, but I think the old design looks more creepy IMHO. Can't wait to play it anyway.

 

[Astral Dog]

ugh so generic why can't Bluepoint just leave the fucking graphics as they are but in 4k with Rays instead of clumsy attempt at updating From's fantabulous vision!

 

[Nickolaidas]

ugh so generic why can't Bluepoint just leave the fucking graphics as they are but in 4k with Rays instead of clumsy attempt at updating From's fantabulous vision!

Because they wanted to.

 

[Alexios]

Er, what?

 

[Nymphae]

The OG Vanguard looks goofy as fuck you people are on crack

 

[mortal]

To me looks a demon that just came straight out of Doom, which I personally not really fan of.

I've seen some people make this comparison, and I just don't see it.

DOOM creature designs have a very peculiar body horror aesthetic of flesh & tech.

The only distinguishable design change from the original here are the shape of its eye.
Most of everything else is what one would expect from a more detailed higher poly embellishment of a PS3 game released in 2009.

 

[Danjin44]

he only distinguishable design change from the original here are the shape of its eye.

What I personally liked about original design is that it had over size teeth and eyes and feels like there is something off about him which I really liked.

The redesign looks really like just another generic monster.

Same with Flamelurker, if you look at the original design you see the skull of his head but the his skin just melted because of the heat.

but in redesign it just looks another fire demon.

 

[Cyber_hunter026]

I'm liking the redesign of the vanguard personally. When I first encountered him, he really didn't look intimidating to begin with. Is the design creepy? Yes but it's not exactly something that comes off as sinister in tone. The little tiny wings and small legs aren't helping. Looks like something out of nightmare creatures which is high compliment as nightmare creatures has some great creatures in terms of designs imo.

 

[BlueXImpulse]

What I personally liked about original design is that it had over size teeth and eyes and feels like there is something off about him which I really liked.

The redesign looks really like just another generic monster.

Same with Flamelurker, if you look at the original design you see the skull of his head but the his skin just melted because of the heat.

but in redesign it just looks another fire demon.

This is the new re-design though and it looks very close to the original. Only Vanguard looks completely different and that's probably because the old design is rather unsalvageable with the new realistic artstyle.

 

[The Alien]

Not really a Souls game kinda gamer (though info enjoy watching streams)....but this game looks awesome.

Out of everything that Sony or Microsoft has shown for upcoming next gen, this is the only game that has impressed me.

 

[Danjin44]

This is the new re-design though and it looks very close to the original. Only Vanguard looks completely different and that's probably because the old design is rather unsalvageable with the new realistic artstyle.

At least this much better than the old trailer.

 

[FunkMiller]

Very good thread. It is increasingly clear to me that the graphic jump is minimal, this seems like ps4 pro, if they told me a year ago that this was going to be the difference on PS5 I would have been under no illusions.

This comment brought to you by the

THIS AGED EXTREMELY WELL COMPANY