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Review by jiggs
November 01, 2009

What would happen if Godzilla and the Alien from Ridley Scott's movie had gone to hell to merge together, then came back as a hideous demon with a lean eight-pack(yes I said eight since it's not human..) and a mean punch that Captain Falcon would be proud of? Why you would get the towering monstrosity known as the Dragon God! Its roars are deafening even from far away. Your heart is beating fast. Its rage is seething uncontrollably that it never stops moving. Yet all you can do is wonder how you can even begin to approach this monster, but you do anyway and you'll pay dearly for it...with your life! Before you manage to raise your blade...Ka-pow! You skid about a hundred feet or more face down on the floor. You lie there lifelessly in a crumpled heap.


YOU DIED - Your body has been trapped by the Nexus
(screen fades to black)

This is the reward you get for completing the opening tutorial of Demon's Souls. It is one of many memorable moments from From Software's epic tale of death and soul-starving demons. What immediately grabbed me when playing Demon's Souls for the first time was its unconventional approach to the tutorial. Where other games force you to learn moves before moving onto the next section, in Demon's Souls the game doesn't need to hold your hand. You have free reign over how to play the game at your own pace. In other words, the game encourages you to explore and experiment with the controls. There are glowing red glyphs on the ground that contain hints or instructions but you aren't required to read them. They are only there for clarity. Fortunately, the controls for the most part are intuitive to learn without the help of hints and the button placements make sense for this style of gameplay.

The other interesting thing about the Tutorial is that it isn't just there for you to familiarize with the game's controls. It is also designed to kill you! No matter what the outcome is, your first death in Demon's Souls will, in fact, take place right here in the Tutorial. Regular enemies here in this elaborate ruse won't pose a threat to you. They are only fighting at half-strength. You'll fight Zombie men, Swordsmen, Blue-eyed Knights and Archers along the way. You could run away from them all because the tutorial doesn't care or you could let them drain your life completely and you'll still live because they are only fodder for the real battle that's ahead. Up the stairs and into the chamber you will meet Vanguard, the actual boss of the tutorial. The Vanguard is a huge ogre with a huge axe and it likes to swing at things. If you are unlucky one swing will kill you instantly, two if you are lucky. Most players will likely die on their first try because this stubborn beast takes more than several dozen blows before it goes down. Those who persevere will get to meet the aforementioned Dragon God himself along with some spoils that will be helpful to you in your next life.

The next life I am referring to will be life as a soul in the Nexus. This is where the real game begins. The Nexus, as some of you are wondering, is the hub that connects to the rest of the stages via Arch-stones. It is also a purgatorial chamber where souls with a purpose linger. Your real, physical body has been trapped by the Nexus. When you are a soul, you have half the HP of your human form. Only when you defeat a major demon or use a stone of Ephemeral Eyes can you reclaim your humanity back! Players will spend the majority of the game traveling between the Nexus and each of the five worlds conquering demons and gathering souls. Souls are the game's currency. You'll need them to level up, buy items, learn spells and upgrade weapons from the NPCs lounging around the Nexus but be careful. If you harm them they won't look at you the same way again and if you kill them? They will be gone forever except for the Maiden in Black of course.

Unless you've figured out the annoying trick to abuse the system all your actions will be auto-saved at random moments. Personally, I wish this was an optional feature, but I can see what the developers were trying to do with this "actions having consequences" schtick. This is important to know because when you die you lose all your souls but there is a catch. You can go back to the spot where you last died and touch your bloodstain. Only then will your hard-earned souls be saved. If you were to die again before you retrieved your bloodstain you will have created a new one thus, your old stain will be lost along with all your souls for good! The damn fault is your own. You simply weren't careful enough because at least you were given a fighting chance. It's an interesting risk/reward mechanic that puts fear and determination in the player, because in Demon's Souls death can claim you at any given moment when you least expect it. Death can only make your will grow stronger.

That isn't to say this game is hellishly hard. Challenging is more appropriate. You will die and you will die a lot more than any game you've played in recent memory. Dying in a video game feels ordinarily routine, but in Demon's Souls death is a transcendental out-of-body experience. While going through the cycles of life and soul form time and time again, the world's environment can change based on the World Tendency. This mechanic can change the stage by turning it into pure light or pure dark triggering specific events. If you die repeatedly, the stage will turn dark. What this means is certain items and demons will only appear and enemies become stronger. Suicide is an option! If you rid the stage of all demons, it turns white and enemies weaken. Completionists will have to successfully balance both tendencies to gain all items.

By default, you can only go to Boletaria Castle in the beginning of the game until you have defeated the first major demon. Then you are free to go wherever you want. The oppressive atmosphere of Boletaria Castle is unsettling. It once was a glorious castle now turned to ruins. A menacing red dragon swoops over and onto the bridge to greet you. Its hospitality is unwelcoming, then it ominously flies back to its roost. The smell of death is everywhere. Here is the chance to test your meddle and redeem yourself after the humiliating loss earlier. This is your time to shine..in glorious, gratifying combat! You will get your fair-share of hard knocks though. Those zombie men I mentioned earlier called Dreglings will haphazardly leap at you like maniacs with sword in hand. Enemies will gang up to surround you. They'll flank you from shadowy corners. Dragons will roast you. Red-eye Knights will fatally impale you with their spears and the list goes on.

You will meet even more repulsive and daunting opponents later on but with enough resilience and might, Demon's Souls' methodical approach to combat is flexible enough to take on any challenge. Lunge at your opponents with a strong attack taking out three-fourths of their health then finish them off with a quick standard attack. Double-hand your weapon for a powerful blow to knock out their defenses leaving them open to strike. Encircle a defenseless enemy and fatally stab them in the back. Alternate between casting a fire spell and sword attack, or you could play it safe from the sidelines and shoot them with arrows. The strategy is up to you. All this power comes with a price. Your stamina meter will indeed go down. Will you have enough left in you to defend yourself? There's no pausing during the action for a breather either. You must play it cool or otherwise you will die.

Demon's Souls has earned its ranks among the console epics along with Ocarina of Time and Shadow of the Colossus. Hell it even gives the Survival Horror and Action genre a run for it's money. Why is it that I find this game more scarier than the last Resident Evil game? Rarely has the idea of death been so meticulously thought out that it permeates the fabric of game design as Demon's Souls perfectly demonstrates.

Rating: 10/10

Most recent video game reviews written by jiggs

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (Wii) [March 01, 2010]
No More Heroes (Wii) [February 01, 2010]
Zone of the Enders (PlayStation 2) [January 03, 2010]
Modern Warfare 2 (PlayStation 3) [November 26, 2009]
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64) [November 24, 2009]

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