Demon's Souls

Developer(s)	From Software
Designer(s)	From Software Hidetaka Miyzaki (director) Masanori Takeuchi (producer) Eiichi Nakajima (executive producer) Sony Computer Entertainment Takeshi Kaji (producer) Takahiro Kaneko (executive producer)
Composer(s)	Shunsuke Kida
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3
Genre(s)	Role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single-player, Online multiplayer

Demon's Souls (デモンズソウル, Demonzu Souru) is a fantasy action RPG developed by From Software exclusively for the PlayStation 3. It was released in Japan on February 5, 2009 and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, and in North America on October 7, 2009 and published by Atlus. The game has yet to be released in Europe.

The game is described as a spiritual successor to the King's Field series, set in a dark fantasy world where the lands have been ravaged by an accursed fog that brought forth demons that laid waste to humanity. The game is notorious and well known for its high difficulty yet being a positive aspect where it was released in both Japan and North America to a positive response from critics and gamers, even being named Game of the Year for 2009 by GameSpot.

Gameplay

The player confronting a red dragon.

Demon’s Souls is a action role-playing game where players engage in combat with demons across a variety of fantasy worlds. Players take control of the main character in a third-person view who from the start of the game can be customized in their gender, appearance, name and starting class. There are up to 10 starting classes ranging from knights and barbarians to thieves and magicians, each with their own set of character statistics, starting gear and weapons and type of magic used that emphasize certain approaches to combat depending on the player’s preference.

As players kill demons, they gains souls that is an all purpose in-game currency that can be used in exchange to buy, repair and upgrade weapons along with increasing player statistics such as strength, luck or endurance. Along with souls, players can also retrieve items such as weaponry and ore for upgrading. When a player is first killed in combat during a level, they are sent to the beginning of the level once with all non-boss enemies re-spawned, with the player returning in a soul form with lower maximum health and loss of all unused souls. If the player manages to return to where they were last killed, they regain the lost souls, but if they are killed even before then the souls are lost permanently. Upon defeating a boss, player can re-spawn where it once was being further into the level than before it’s defeat. When not engaged in levels, players reside in the Nexus, a realm of souls that acts as a hub where players can exchange souls, store items and move between regions, along with major developments in the story. After completing the initial portion of the the first region, player can choose to progress through any other of the newly made available regions.

The gameplay can change depending on both the "World and Character Tendency", which can be either white or black. Tendency depends on the actions of the player such as helping or killing NPCs. When white, enemies are easier yet the soul and items rewards are less, yet when black enemies are stronger but the rewards are greater. Players can manipulate their tendency to suit their current needs. Character tendency affects the player throughout while World only affects the region any action was taken.

Online

When connected to the PlayStation Network, online play is integrated into the single-player experience. Throughout levels, players can briefly see the actions of other players as ghosts in the same area that may show hidden passages or switches. When a player dies, a bloodstain can be left in other player’s game world that when activated can show a ghost playing out their moments, indicating how that person died, potentially helping the player avoid the same fate in advance. Players can also leave messages on the floor that can also help others such as forewarning safe or hostile positions, trap locations and tactics against enemies or bosses, among general comments.

When playing with other players, co-operative play allows up to three characters team up in the host’s game world where visiting players appear in soul form that can only be returned to their bodies when a boss is defeated. In competitive play, players can invade a player’s adventure as a Black Phantom to engage in combat with the host player. If the Black Phantom kills the host, they can be returned to their body in their own game whereas if killed themselves, the host gains a portion of the Black Phantom’s souls.

Story

The game surrounds the search for power and prosperity of King Allant XII who channeled the power of souls. He brought unprecedented prosperity to his northern kingdom of Boletaria. That is, until a thick and colorless fog covered the land's outskirts, cutting off the kingdom from the outside world. Those who entered the fog never returned. Vallarfax of the royal Twin Fangs broke free from the fog and told the world of Boletaria's plight. The aging King Allant XII had awakened the Old One, the great beast below the Nexus, from its eternal slumber and that a dark fog had swept in, unleashing soul-craving demons. The ones that lost their souls also lost their minds. Chaos reigned, the mad attacking the sane. The Demons grow more powerful with each soul they devour. The legend was told from man to man; mighty warriors entered the cursed lands, but none have returned.

Development

SCEJ producer Takeshi Kajii described the game to Famitsu as a spiritual successor to King's Field. "I am a fan of From Software, but naturally that also means there are parts of their games I'm not satisfied with, too," he said. "If this was a new King's Field game, there would be areas we wouldn't be able to touch since they're part of the series; working together like this, we can try to make something really new."

Versions

There are four different versions currently available:

• Japanese: English voiceovers; menus and subtitles in Japanese.
• Asian (Hong Kong/Singapore): Both full English and Chinese voicework, menus and text.
• Asian (Korean): English voicework; both English and Korean text and subtitles.
• North American: English voice and text. New text translation by Atlus.

The North American version runs on separate onlinesservers, not being able to interact with people playing other versions. Save games from the non-North American version will not be able to be transferred to the North American version.

Merchandise and other media

Untitled

An exclusive strategy guide "Demon's Souls Official Perfect Guide" was released in 2009. The softcover book is 192 pages and published by Enterbrain. The guide contains complete data of weapons, armor, items, area maps and secrets.

In North America there are two versions of the game. The Deluxe edition costs $10 more and includes a 160-page guide book along with a slipcase that will house both the game, guidebook and soundtrack. This edition is only available to North American residents, although pre-ordering either version will net gamers an art book.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed and arranged by Shunsuke Kida. Despite being developed in Japan, the soundtrack was only released to the public in North America, bundled with the Deluxe Edition of the game.

Track List

# Translated English title 1. Demon's Souls 2. The Beginning 3. Tales of Old 4. Maiden in Black 5. The Nexus 6. Phalanx 7. Tower Knight 8. Penetrator 9. Old King Allant 10. Adjudicator 11. Old Hero 12. Storm King 13. Fool's Idol 14. Maneater 15. Old Monk 16. Leechmonger 17. Dirty Colossus 18. Maiden Astraea 19. Armor Spider 20. Flamelurker 21. Dragon God 22. The Old One 23. One Who Craves Souls 24. Return to Slumber

Reception

Reception

Aggregate scores

Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	90.02%
Metacritic	89/100

Review scores

Publication	Score
Edge	9/10
Eurogamer	9/10
Famitsu	9/7/7/6
GameSpot	9/10
GamesRadar+	9/10
IGN	9.4/10
Dengeki	95/85/85/85
Official PlayStation Magazine	8/10
Game Trailers	8.9/10

Upon its first release in Japan, Demon's Souls was received well by critics and gamers. Dengeki scored the game 95/85/85/85. Famitsu gave it a more fair review of 9/7/7/6. Famitsu reviewer Paint Yamamoto rated the game 9, stating "This is a game you learn how to play by losing – you'll face sudden death frequently. But! Keep playing... and you'll realize how deep it really is. If you're looking to experience rich RPG elements, by all means play Demon's Souls!" In contrast however, "casual" reviewer Maria Kichiji rated the game 6, finding the difficulty "unforgiving" at times, concluding "Demon's Souls is far too stoic... it's not a game for everybody."

Upon it's release in North America critical response was very favorable with an average critic score of 90% at Game Rankings and 89/100 at Metacritic. Despite the game's high difficultly, many reviewers actually found it to be a positive aspect, allowing the game to be more rewarding to play. GameSpot relected this view calling the difficultly "fair", telling players will "undoubtedly take a lot of damage until you learn the subtleties of fighting each enemy, but combat feels just right." IGN echoed this view encouraging players who "can remember the good ol' days when games taught through the highly effective use of negative reinforcement and a heavy price for not playing it carefully should scoop this up instantly." Game Informer called it "one of the first truly great Japanese RPGs of this generation, and certainly the most remarkable." Official PlayStation Magazine however, while commending the overall game, called it "a game best left to the most masochistic, hardcore gamer."

GameZone commented on the online aspect as being "innovative" and "perfectly blended into the game", while Game Revolution felt it "turns a solitary experience into a surprisingly communal one." On the technical and design side Games Radar called it "graphically stunning, too, looking more like the old Ultima games than anything that’s ever come out of Japan," while Game Trailers said the game "nails the dark fantasy look" along with what they considered "music from actual instruments", although they mentioned certain issues with the physics engine being "jittery". Shortly after its North American release, ScrewAttack named Demon's Souls eighth best PS3 exclusive to date.

Despite yet not having been released in Europe, numerous European critics reviewed import copies due to PS3 games being region free. Eurogamer called Demon's Souls "stoic, uncompromising, difficult to get to know, but also deep, intriguingly disturbed and perversely rewarding" while Edge Magazine explained some critic's positive views on the difficulty by stating "if gaming’s ultimate appeal lies in the learning and mastering of new skills, then surely the medium’s keenest thrills are to be found in its hardest lessons" concluding "for those who flourish under Demon’s Souls’ strict examination, there’s no greater sense of virtual achievement."

Sales

The game sold 39,966 copies in its first week in Japan, and boosted PS3 sales in the region. It has sold 134,585 copies in Japan as of December 2009. In North America, Demon's Souls debuted at the eleventh place of the October 2009 charts according to NPD, with over 150,000 copies sold.

Awards

GameSpot and GameTrailers both gave Demon's Souls the title of RPG of the Year. GameTrailers also gave it the "Best New intellectual property of 2009" award, and GameSpot awarded it both Best PS3 Game and Game of the Year. IGN awarded it Best PS3 RPG.

External links

• Official Japanese Website at SCEJ Template:Ja icon
• Official American Website at Atlus Template:En icon
• Official Forum at Atlus Template:En icon
• Official North American Wiki at Atlus Template:En icon
• Demon's Souls at GameRankings