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Demon's Souls review gameplay

GS early impressions


Bluepoint's remake feels like a true showpiece of the PS5 and the power of next-generation consoles.

Demon's Souls on PS5 is a sight to behold. It feels somewhat reductive to focus on how pretty it looks, but having played a handful of hours, it's currently what commands my attention the most. As people around the world invest in expensive new consoles, it's incredibly validating to play a game that is clearly taking a stride forward, so forgive me if I sound a bit superficial--but good grief is it pretty.

There's much more to say about Demon's Souls for PS5, but that can wait for the full review. I am eager to get back to playing it, and that should say a lot. Early signs are good for the game. At this point, we've come to expect Bluepoint to put out top-notch remakes, but this is a game that feels like the studio is flexing its own creative muscles too, and as I venture deeper into Boletaria I'm excited to see what else it has in store.
 
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- New fat minister is awful. The original projects this absolutely terrifying image of an aristocrat that does horrible things for his own amusement.

- Maneater looks like Gary Busey now. I don't understand this design at all.

- Stockpile Thomas looks like a cartoon character with a stupid modern hairdo.

There's something very hacky about a lot of these designs.
 
I've put 5 hours into Demon Souls now and I'm happy to eat crow.

The animations and audio combined with insane viduals really elevate this to another level. There is a sense of Next Gen feeling when you play this and I think that comes down to the audio visual feedback.

The 3d audio is absolutely superb with so much detail. It really makes the game come to life.
 
I've put 5 hours into Demon Souls now and I'm happy to eat crow.

The animations and audio combined with insane viduals really elevate this to another level. There is a sense of Next Gen feeling when you play this and I think that comes down to the audio visual feedback.

The 3d audio is absolutely superb with so much detail. It really makes the game come to life.

You get your console early or are you part of the media?

Does the game make use of the controller features (haptics, triggers, etc)?
 
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You get your console early or are you part of the media?

Does the game make use of the controller features (haptics, triggers, etc)?

I received my console early

The game does make use of haptic feedback but not the triggers. The only time you really notice the haptics is when you strike an enemy or your sword collides with the wall.

It's limited but feels extremely satisfying when you strike an enemy. You can feel the weight of the weapon and feedback. Hard to explain lol
 
- New fat minister is awful. The original projects this absolutely terrifying image of an aristocrat that does horrible things for his own amusement.

- Maneater looks like Gary Busey now. I don't understand this design at all.

- Stockpile Thomas looks like a cartoon character with a stupid modern hairdo.

There's something very hacky about a lot of these designs.

Between the redesigns and voice overs it's lost some of that creepy ethereal feeling. And some of the new music for cutscenes kinda sucks.
 
"why isn't this remake an exact replication?"

Sounds like whoever made these collages really wanted an HD remaster of Demon's Souls rather than a remake.
Second one also needlessly passive aggressive. I'm not seeing any woke elements reflected in the Demon's Souls remake nor have I in any of Bluepoint's past projects. Not a fair criticism at all imo.

There is a certain level of creative freedom that comes with doing remakes. Bluepoint have given considerable care to ensure that the gameplay and level design is honor the original as close as possible. With plenty of configurable options for players to indulge in.

All of this amounts to needless nitpicking imo. Not that I'm saying those opinions aren't also valid, but when taking the scope of the entire project into consideration, it seems to be at the expense of diminishing all the other things the Bluepoint team have accomplished for this remake.
 
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"why isn't this remake an exact replication?"

Sounds like whoever made these collages really wanted an HD remaster of Demon's Souls rather than a remake.
Second one also needlessly passive aggressive. I'm not seeing any woke elements reflected in the Demon's Souls remake nor have I in any of Bluepoint's past projects. Not a fair criticism at all imo.

There is a certain level of creative freedom that comes with doing remakes. Bluepoint have given considerable care to ensure that the gameplay and level design is honor the original as close as possible. With plenty of configurable options for players to indulge in.

All of this amounts to needless nitpicking imo. Not that I'm saying those opinions aren't also valid, but when taking the scope of the entire project into consideration, it seems to be at the expense of diminishing all the other things the Bluepoint team have accomplished for this remake.


The complaints aren't about inexactness. Some of the designs are just egregious downgrades and demonstrate a profound lack of understanding of the source material. If you're gonna go the extra mile, you have to actually go the extra mile and at least try understanding the thing you're trying to improve.

If I were working on this game, first thing I'd do is replay it and keep an eye out for details.
 
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"why isn't this remake an exact replication?"

Sounds like whoever made these collages really wanted an HD remaster of Demon's Souls rather than a remake.
Second one also needlessly passive aggressive. I'm not seeing any woke elements reflected in the Demon's Souls remake nor have I in any of Bluepoint's past projects. Not a fair criticism at all imo.

There is a certain level of creative freedom that comes with doing remakes. Bluepoint have given considerable care to ensure that the gameplay and level design is honor the original as close as possible. With plenty of configurable options for players to indulge in.

All of this amounts to needless nitpicking imo. Not that I'm saying those opinions aren't also valid, but when taking the scope of the entire project into consideration, it seems to be at the expense of diminishing all the other things the Bluepoint team have accomplished for this remake.

Some can be valid, some give me a chuckle since they are comparing the CG scene and not in game models.

My favorite too, complaining "we Bloodborne now!!!!" then they complain about the change of the very Bloodborne (Victorian) looking Yuria the Witch of the original to be a little more "Middle Ages" in look.
 
The complaints aren't about inexactness. Some of the designs are just egregious downgrades and demonstrate a profound lack of understanding of the source material. If you're gonna go the extra mile, you have to actually go the extra mile and at least try understanding the thing you're trying to improve.

If I were working on this game, first thing I'd do is replay it and keep an eye out for details.
Do you actually know they ported the PS3 game on PS5 first... and enabled god mode so any dev could traverse the world freely to see all the details?
 
Is it possible to change the camera so it's closer to the character? like in the first gameplay showcase of the game? Any footage where this is shown?

There are apparently two camera option.
One that's closer to the character and one that's further away. I'm not sure if there's any footage comparing the two camera options though.
 
Game looks great, but that woke character creation system stands out. "Body type A/B" instead of gender, default black guy in a game with a European setting, female head presets on male bodies.

inb4 I'm accused of white supremacy: I'm not European. The politics bleeding into gaming are just obvious.
Eh, whatever. Are you offended by a character creator?

Because if so, you're as much as a snowflake as the ones that you probably hate

"default black guy in a game with a European setting"

The first fucking NPC that you talk to in the game is black, for your information
 
I'd think Miyazaki would be somewhat happy that they've put their own visual spin on it, rather than slavishly copying everything down to the tiniest detail. Its not supposed to be a clone, what its supposed to be is an updated version that respects the original as a game.

At the end of the day, its a cover version of an old tune. The aesthetic does not need to be identical.
 
Eh, whatever. Are you offended by a character creator?

Because if so, you're as much as a snowflake as the ones that you probably hate

"default black guy in a game with a European setting"

The first fucking NPC that you talk to in the game is black, for your information

"Body type A and B" is ridiculous though. It's literally male vs female. It's not like it's "body type a, b, c, d, e, f" or anything. It's just "let's say female and male without saying it".

Default black or whatever doesn't matter though. Though character creators should always default to random and not any specific gender/ethnicity. However, what first NPC are you talking about? None of the first NPCs are black. Your first NPCs are last time I checked Thomas, Boldwin and Crestfallen Warrior. Neither who are black? Could you please clarify?
 
I've put 5 hours into Demon Souls now and I'm happy to eat crow.

The animations and audio combined with insane viduals really elevate this to another level. There is a sense of Next Gen feeling when you play this and I think that comes down to the audio visual feedback.

The 3d audio is absolutely superb with so much detail. It really makes the game come to life.

did you get the 3d headset or what do you use?
 
The majority of the changes highlighted in this picture are objectively neither better nor worse, they are just different, sometimes barely so. Unless you bring forth an actual argument on why one is better than the other, what is even the point of this passive-aggressive kids shit.

If your whole argument is "If new thing different, then new thing bad!", good for you, but I think it's a very shallow way to look at the world around you.


Apart from that, the instant you touch a cult classic with a cult following, people will be bitching. It doesn't matter what you do, how or why, somebody will be bitching.

You changed that; why? It was better before.
You didn't change that; why? You should have improved it.
This was darker, why is it lighter now?
This is too dark, why didn't they make it clearer?
Why is there so much vegetation where there was just a flat dead wall?
Why does this environment look so empty and plain?
I want the game to remain exactly as it was!
I want them to fix all the exploits and the jankiness!
Don't make a 6th Archstone!
Come on, make the 6th Archstone already!

These "gotcha"s make even less sense once you realize that you can fabricate one no matter what decision was taken on pretty much anything.
 
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"Body type A and B" is ridiculous though. It's literally male vs female. It's not like it's "body type a, b, c, d, e, f" or anything. It's just "let's say female and male without saying it".

Default black or whatever doesn't matter though. Though character creators should always default to random and not any specific gender/ethnicity. However, what first NPC are you talking about? None of the first NPCs are black. Your first NPCs are last time I checked Thomas, Boldwin and Crestfallen Warrior. Neither who are black? Could you please clarify?
It's just "let's say female and male without saying it".

I agree, its just the same. So thats why I dont care. Its not like their "artistic vision" was compromised or something.
If this is what it takes so that some people wouldnt say shit about the lack of representation and etc., eh, whatever

And about the black NPC, im talking about the black dude sit in front of the first archstone at Nexus. Clearly black.
 
It's just "let's say female and male without saying it".

I agree, its just the same. So thats why I dont care. Its not like their "artistic vision" was compromised or something.
If this is what it takes so that some people wouldnt say shit about the lack of representation and etc., eh, whatever

And about the black NPC, im talking about the black dude sit in front of the first archstone at Nexus. Clearly black.

It's the same, but it's a subtle language change to get you to agree with something. It's dystopian, especially if you've read Orwell's 1984. So it definitely is something people should care about. If you agree it's the same, then the change should matter to you.

Dude, he's not black. You might claim middle eastern, but definitely not black.

OIP.NF-WeM1Dh5J3-HenbzMIWQAAAA
 
It's the same, but it's a subtle language change to get you to agree with something. It's dystopian, especially if you've read Orwell's 1984. So it definitely is something people should care about. If you agree it's the same, then the change should matter to you.

Dude, he's not black. You might claim middle eastern, but definitely not black.

OIP.NF-WeM1Dh5J3-HenbzMIWQAAAA
I actually read 1984. Great book.

But reminding me of 1984 for this is kinda overreacting imo, but you do you.

I'll play the game and proceed to not give a fuck about gender A or B, but if it bothers you enough to not play it, then sure, its your money

About the NPC: middle eastern would fit the european setting but not a black dude? lol

He has the blue aura around him, so who knows his real color

In the Remake he is definately black tho (too lazy to put a screenshot here, but you can watch it on Youtube for yourself)
 
It's the same, but it's a subtle language change to get you to agree with something. It's dystopian, especially if you've read Orwell's 1984. So it definitely is something people should care about. If you agree it's the same, then the change should matter to you.
I don't think that word means what you think it means.

Also, Orwell is rolling over in his grave at the thought of his book 1984 being compared to changing male/female to A/B. This is not the kind of thing he was trying to warn about in his books. No one is forcing you to consume this media.
 
Do you actually know they ported the PS3 game on PS5 first... and enabled god mode so any dev could traverse the world freely to see all the details?

They must have forgotten the "try understanding what you're looking at" part. Their vision of maneater is this:

los-angeles-jan-22-gary-busey-at-the-dead-ant-los-angeles-premiere-at-the-tcl-chinese-6-theatres-on-january-22-2019-in-los-angeles-ca-2CAYFPA.jpg



"Body type A and B" is ridiculous though. It's literally male vs female. It's not like it's "body type a, b, c, d, e, f" or anything. It's just "let's say female and male without saying it".

Default black or whatever doesn't matter though. Though character creators should always default to random and not any specific gender/ethnicity. However, what first NPC are you talking about? None of the first NPCs are black. Your first NPCs are last time I checked Thomas, Boldwin and Crestfallen Warrior. Neither who are black? Could you please clarify?

Crestfallen Warrior is black now. I don't know why it was brought up as if it contradicted my point. If anything it makes my case stronger.
 
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About the NPC: middle eastern would fit the european setting but not a black dude? lol

He has the blue aura around him, so who knows his real color

In the Remake he is definately black tho (too lazy to put a screenshot here, but you can watch it on Youtube for yourself)

Eh, yes. Middle Eastern would fit in a European setting, if you know your history and geography.
Even as early as during the Viking Age, Vikings from Norway travelled all the way to Istanbul and were royal guards there. That said "middle eastern" is usually in its essence "white" and it's a difference that overall doesn't make sense in a grand European context. These terms are overall american terms, seeped in a racial prejudice of the past.
So they've changed him in the remake? Why? I'd have hoped they'd introduce new characters rather than spending time changing up characters. I would like to add that I didn't subscribe to the reasoning of the person you first responded to, so I'd love if you didn't seemingly ascribe it to me. My only shock was the discrepancy between what we know from Demon's Souls original and your statement that said person was black. I'm European, so I haven't got a PS5 yet, thus I would have no idea why you'd think the person was black.

I don't think that word means what you think it means.

Also, Orwell is rolling over in his grave at the thought of his book 1984 being compared to changing male/female to A/B. This is not the kind of thing he was trying to warn about in his books. No one is forcing you to consume this media.

It literally does, though, meaning your reply is a further mystery.
"Dystopian" means either describing a dystopia OR relating to a dystopia. It's also often attributed as "grim" or "dark", as per the overall view of what a dystopia entails.
Also, I wasn't speaking in only the context of the game itself individually, but about the wider patterns of cognitive dissonance. George Orwell himself noticed this dissonance amongst his own on the left during his time (and what was perceived as being left), which is what inspired him in regards to writing 1984. There's even letters detailing this.
George Orwell in his own time was trying to make his own predictions on how society would potentially develop and there were many things he tried to warn about.
It's interesting to see you say that Orwell would "roll over in his grave", but even that isn't necessarily important, because the point is the concepts and ideas. Not whether they serve Orwell's own interests exactly. Displaying a higher level of understanding would entail deconstructing and analysing different parts of a text. Not merely utilizing them in the context of the author's intent.

Crestfallen Warrior is black now. I don't know why it was brought up as if it contradicted my point. If anything it makes my case stronger.


It was brought up because I'm European and it made no sense to me as a Demon's Souls veteran. It wasn't an attempt to contradict your point, just as a weird disrepancy as PS5 isn't available here until 19th. So they've racially changed a character for no reason, lol. Also, nah, it doesn't make your case stronger. The strong case is for a character creator to randomize its characters. There's no reason to have any "default", whether it's a black or a white or an asian person. There's no logic behind "Crestfallen warrior is the first guy you meet, thus default should be black".

Because the gameplay was already good from the original. BP have improved it with rock solid 60fps. The graphics and sound add to the experience

Sorry, I love Demon's Souls, but it definitely wasn't perfect (I generally put DeS, DaS and BB on the same level, ahead of the others). Otherwise why would the later Souls game exist? Bosses were immensly improved from later titles onwards, though possibly a bit too far in term of avoiding puzzle bosses. Levels I'd personally say were slightly weaker in later titles (and most would probably disagree with me, as they generally love Dark Souls 1 in that regard). Overall combat, improved in later titles. From Grass to Estus, there's some contention, but overall most of fandom think Estus > Grass.
Seeing the review thread, where it's currently beating Dark Souls in metacritic score, tells me that either it was all a way down from Demon's Souls (which makes no sense considering the overall Souls community's concensus) or the scores are definitely overdone for a pretty much straight remake. Either due to next-gen hype or just the graphical spectacle (and my opinion is that graphics are a smaller part of a score for a game).
 
Played it yesterday at my friend`s place for a bit.
Even on a 1080p tv, it looks beautiful, definitely the most "next gen" game in terms of visual.
The lighting and density of elements are screen are something else.
 
It was brought up because I'm European and it made no sense to me as a Demon's Souls veteran. It wasn't an attempt to contradict your point, just as a weird disrepancy as PS5 isn't available here until 19th. So they've racially changed a character for no reason, lol. Also, nah, it doesn't make your case stronger. The strong case is for a character creator to randomize its characters. There's no reason to have any "default", whether it's a black or a white or an asian person. There's no logic behind "Crestfallen warrior is the first guy you meet, thus default should be black".

We're in agreement then. My point was that the game was "woke."
 
So far this game is the "killzone shadowfall wow factor" of the next gen (and the only unfortunately), if the start is this good the future looks promising, this is a primary example of a next gen leap, especially regarding geometry and richness of details of the environment, geometry models are really next gen, no more squared objects but fully rounded (at least from what I can see from videos), this is the most important aspect of a next gen title finally, geometry engine will be very satisfying in future

Anyone having this game can post some screenshots of cinematic mode please?
 
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Besides the art changes though they have made a lot of small changes to the gameply too that I don't know haw to feel about. There are some changes to game difficulty and now the game is much easier. Enemies hit you for less damage, you lose less stamina when you block (Depraved Ones with daggers in 5-1 drain NO stamina when you block their combo attack, not sure if this is bug or intended), slight bugs and changes in enemy patterns and hit boxes for example getting stuck in the enviroment or hitting you though solid walls or not engage at all. Also crystal lizards are much slower and easier to stagger.
 
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