Right from the start, you grapple with cruel mechanics, such as navigating mostly in soul form, limiting your HP to just half of its total. Additionally, forget about using any armor heavier than light leather sets due to the equip burden system. Anything weightier leads to cumbersome fat rolls and sluggish stamina recovery, making it nearly impossible to evade enemy attacks. That same Nara4d philosophy applies to the levels leading up to bosses too.

Polygon recently spoke with the game’s creative director, Gavin Moore, who is overseeing the project at Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios. Moore said that the PS5 remake of Demon’s Souls will retain what players love about the PS3 version, while improving aspects of the original — and making a few small, but surprising changes along the way. That depends on who you ask, but there were times when I was begging for Bluepoint to take the wheel and make this game its own. That’s hardly the only way that the power of next-gen gaming improves Demon’s Souls. The PS5’s SSD eliminates Demon’s Souls‘ often crippling load times, which isn’t just a great quality of life improvement but makes soul and resource farming far more efficient. The DualSense controller adds an extra layer of immersion to the experience, while the PS5’s Command Center offers unique challenges for certain battles which allow series veterans to flex their abilities and creative muscles.

Top Guide Sections

While the sequel scored a bit lower, currently standing at 85, it’s hard to say that Nioh 2 is inferior to the original in any way, so almost any player who enjoyed the first Nioh will likely enjoy the follow-up. Now it’s up to Nioh 3 to match its predecessors and push the series to new heights in 2026. Two years later, Shadow of the Erdtree solidified Elden Ring’s unmatched status in the genre, scoring an average of 94 and offering as much content as some major standalone RPGs.

Demon’s Souls Review: Verdict

Its ideas have been re-iterated, but it still has a rawness to it that has been unmatched. It has the unforgiving World Tendency system that can make the game harder if you die, and it also has the possibility of getting de-leveled by a boss or even from certain situations in PvP. There’s a certain boldness (or lack of hindsight) on how brutal some of the mechanics were, but the game still managed to be alluring and never insurmountable. BluePoint has confirmed that certain items have had their drop rates tweaked to alleviate some of the late game grinding for certain rare items and materials that players need for maximum upgrades and difficult trophies.

One way that Demon’s Souls may actually be easier than Dark Souls is with its healing system. Instead of using a rechargeable flask, Demon’s Souls has players carrying around plants that they can use to restore some health. Dark Souls limits the number of times players can use their flask before they need to rest at a bonfire, but Demon’s Souls players can lug around a significant amount of healing grass with them at all times. The game is still incredibly challenging, but it does alleviate the pressure a little bit. Exploring Demon’s Souls’ world, the ruined kingdom of Boletaria, is immensely rewarding, with players constantly finding helpful items whenever they stray off the beaten path.