Demon's Souls is the first game to have the tactical real time combat, great world building, deep RPG mechanics, distinct play styles and mix it up with difficult experience system which serves as currency, together what I will call the hallmark of a Souls game. Being the first game of this kind it has some problems but its incredible how From Software nailed down so much in their first try, some of the magic they didn't capture with alter games. I'm not saying Demon's Souls is the best Souls game but it does some things better than others and they are the following:
1. Atmosphere: Demon's Souls just oozes atmosphere. Every level you go has its own charm and style that stays consistent yet feels fresh no matter how many times you've visited the world. The towering castles, grand hallways and pale sun of Boletarian Palace, the heavy smoky air and claustrophobic tunnels of Stonefang Tunnel, the dark and grandiose Tower of Latria, the calm before the storm feel of Shrine of Storms and the dirty feel of Valley of Defilement really gives the game a distinct favour. Each area of the game is more memorable than any particular areas in any Souls game.
2. Magic and Miracles: Dark Souls added lots of new magic and miracles and separated magic and pyromancy but one thing it took a big step back on was de wae you get them. Demon's Souls required you to make a decision on how to put your precious demon's soul to use by either consuming it for lots of souls, buying magic which can only be bought for a Demon's soul or buying miracles. This was good for many reasons. One is that it encouraged multiple playthroughs of the game if you wanted all the magic and miracles which is good because not every other player grinding for souls would just buy all of them and become crazy powerful but rather had to prove himself on NG+ to get them. Second this gave demon's souls credence as they could be used for souls, magic, weapons and miracles but in later games the dark soul obtained from bosses was only good for souls and weapons and those boss weapons are never the best weapons in the game anyway so the dark souls don't feel that special.
3. Less reliance on i frames: Demon's Souls was the first Souls game so people went in with no knowledge and got pummelled by enemies. As the series went on players got to know about i frames which is that dodging at just the right time gives you the ability to go right through the attacks making you invulnerable for some time. From Software saw people take advantage of this so they made bosses that had more punishing routines but in doing so they really just made i frame bosses that require precisely timed dodges rather than any real combat skills. This is bad because these rolls are firstly not immersive as going right through someone's sword never feels real and the later games in the series really pushed you to do that with the more difficult bosses, Midir being one. Its also bad because it takes some of the tactile feel of the combat away and that's pushed further by the huge stamina you have in Dark Souls 3 where you can keep rolling for a long time.
4. Soundtrack: Demon's Souls has the best soundtrack of the series. The HA HA HA of Tower Knight and Penetrator theme, the beautiful rhythm of Maiden Astraea theme, the mourning of Flamelurker theme and the main theme of Demon's Souls are the best soundtracks in the series.
5. Design: The individual levels in Demon's Souls are the best designed levels in the series in atypical sense. Dark Souls relies heavily on its interconnected world but as a result each area in itself feels undercooked and later games in the series throw level design to the bin in favour of something palatable. This shows really in Painted World of Ariamis which I feel is the single best designed level in the series and that's because its not connected to the rest of the world. Demon's Souls just has lots of great levels like 1-1, 1-3, 2-1, 3-1, 3-2, 4-1, 4-2 and 5-2, that's like most of the levels in the game.
6. Nexus: Demon's Souls has the best hub world in the series and From made a better Nexus than Google. Nexus has an amazing atmosphere like the areas in the game with an epic sense of scale with great music playing in the background that gives it an ethereal feel. It also feels warm and safe unlike any other hub in the series and has enough room for hidden quests like the Mephistopheles quest. Its beautiful and charming like no other place in the series.
Last edited by GOWTLOZ - on 07 February 2018
