I'm not a PS3 gamer, so Demon Souls, the first entry into the "Souls" series, eluded me. The 360 is a fantastic system, but I had yet to find the game that really defined the generation for me. I saw an article on the game, speaking primarily of its difficulty, and decided to give it a whirl.
The game starts off with a new created character that ends up being horribly insignificant, you pick a class (which is also insignificant for most) and a starting gift, with little to no guidance as to what exactly you're doing. That lack of guidance ends up being the defining characteristic of this game: there is no hand holding and you're on your own. The story is there, but you have to look for it and piece everything together through interacting with the various characters.
Anywho, you begin in a prison cell and are given very basic guidance about your character's basic actions, like attack, block, and movement. As I progressed through this opening stage, I felt like this game was special. I fought enemies that really didn't pay attention to me (pretty sure they couldn't even attack...), but I felt a depth in the combat still. I found a few items, was running around casually, only to be crushed by a boulder on a flight of stairs. Well, that certainly was surprising, and taught an early lesson: pay attention and be careful. You eventually fight an enormous girthy demon and the game officially kicks off. Side note, but they must have loved this fat cretin because you fight him three different times.
I'll explain the basics of the game, then go into some detail about what I liked about the game.
The game is a semi open-world, which we're mostly used to, where the game opens up new avenues as you progress. One important caveat is you can encounter some REALLY hard areas early on by accident and just get mauled over and over again. The difficulty scales with the areas, to a degree, so if you're dying over and over again, chances are you're in the wrong area. I went on a nice sojourn only to be greeted by these enormous smelly fat men beating me mercilessly with clubs. That's when I got the sneaking suspicion that I was either lost or at an Oakland Raiders game. The game brags of its difficulty, which really is there; you will die a ton. However, it is not Battletoads jet-ski impossible, it simply requires you to be patient and learn your enemies. My first playthrough I died countless times, the second time, less than 5. It was still difficult, I just knew what I was doing.
The game centers around a bonfire system, with the bonfires replenishing your spells, health, stamina, and allows you to change items, level up, and later warp.
Stamina...about that, you have limited stamina, meaning you can't spring endlessly, nor can you just swing haphazardly. If you play this game as a button masher, you will die. There is no "herp derping" your way to victory. Once your stamina depletes, you cannot attack until you get enough stamina to swing again. It does replenish automatically, so it's not like you're limited to 5 swings a run. Your magic does not replenish automatically, and you're limited to a set amount of castings per run from the bonfire. Your health also does not replenish; you are limited to a set amount of "estus flasks" each run that will replenish your health. There are other ways to regain health, but estus flacks will be your main source.
Your character collects souls through your adventure, which works as your currency and also allows you to level up. There is no automatic leveling; you purchase them with souls. The main way to get souls is by defeating enemies, which automatically go to you, but there are also some consumable items that give you them and you can eventually sell extra items (but this is not very helpful). Now the fun part about souls is that if you die, all of your souls will be where you died. You revive at your last visited bonfire, and can either abandon the souls and move on or attempt to get them back. If you die on the way there, the souls are gone forever. Your level allows you to add a permanent increase to a category, like strength, dexterity, faith and endurance. Weapons have parameters you must meet before wielding it correctly, usually a strength or dexterity requirement. Miracles have faith requirements, magic has intelligence requirements, and so on. Also your equipment burden allotment increases every level, which allows you to equip more without being physically burdened. You want to stay below 50% of your burden to have good movement, otherwise you're a slug.
Combat and the inventory options are what makes this game great. The combat is simple at first but extremely deep. Every weapon class has different attacks, and some weapons within classes have special attacks. There is a "light" standard attack, and a "heavier" slower attack. You can block, and also parry your opponent's attack to get a free attack, as well as an unblockable backstab. There are also magic, sorcery and miracles, which spice up the combat with extreme variety, and ranged weapons like bows and cross-bows. This game is full of options with combat. In terms of items...just wow. For armor you have helmets, chest pieces, leggings and gloves, with a plethora of options for each. You also have two ring slows, which allow for various enhancements. For your weapon, you have even more options. There are many types, ranging from greatswords to giant hammers, and most can be enhanced with an element, ranging from lightning to occult. In addition, you can equip a catalyst, a flame, or a talisman, which allows you to use its associated spells.
Weapons, armor and items can be found or purchased from merchants, who are strewn about the land. One important note about Merchants and NPCs in general...DO NOT attack them. If you do, they will remain hostile until you either kill them (for good) or have your sins absolved by some creeper in a bell tower. If you kill them for good, they're dead until your next playthrough. So don't attack them. The best way to not kill them is...
Z-targeting! Well, it works like the famed Z-targeting from the Zelda series. If you can't ZT them, they're not an enemy (with a few very small exceptions). This is a great system that aims your attacks and allows you to focus on an enemy and not lose sight.
Covenants are basically little clubs you join and affiliate yourself with in the game. There are 9 in total, and you can only be in one at any given time. I'm not going to go into the intricacies, but they all have their different advantages. I personally enjoyed being a Sunbro and engaging in jolly cooperation. Basically in this covenant you help people beat bosses, give them medals, and glow gold. It's a real treat.
One more thing...multiplayer. It's there but it's freakin' weird. In a nutshell you can only do multiplayer with those on the same server as you (or bots before certain bosses) and if you're in human form, which requires burning a humanity at a bonfire, no pun intended. Also, if you're human and online, other humans can invade your world and attack you. You can also set up duels and invade other people and take their souls. If you're not the murderous type, you can set up peaceful co-op in most areas and for the bosses.
Now that I've explained 1% of this game, I'll detail why I liked it and why it perfectly fit my criteria for a great game. I would define this game as the true spiritual successor to Symphony of the Night, a "grown-up" version to say the least. Far more difficult, but with the same depth that sucked me in initially.
First off, the world is sprawling and geniusly interwoven. You'll be exploring the Parish, pull a lever and end up at the first bonfire, and I'd constantly say to myself "Ohhhh so that's where I was??" You don't really appreciate how linked the world is until you progress more. There is no map, so you really don't know where you are relative to other areas until you fully explore. There are also plenty of secret areas and little quirks to keep you guessing.
I also look for a game where I can burn an insane amount of time (being the social winner that I am). My first playthrough lasted 90 hours, my second 40 and I thought I rushed it a bit. The level cap is around 700...I finished at 109. There are infinite new game +, that raise in difficulty each time through 7 +s. It caps at 7, and all of your stats and inventory carries over. Most people have a soft cap for leveling at 120 to keep multiplayer battles even, but you can go as high as you want, potentially maxing out all stats. Grinding for souls isn't the only way to kill time, I spent about 10 years just farming rare items from Darkwraiths, a late game enemy. In order to upgrade your weapons, you need both souls and materials. The game doesn't force you to farm to be competitive; there are people who did a naked run at level one through the whole game, but it's great for killing time or if you're trying to get the best weapon.
The weapon system is what really engrossed me, as I sought to a chunk of my weapons and make one of each elemental type. The options are just insane, and the depth of the system is overwhelming. There are stats for each weapon, requirements, scaling with your stats, elemental upgrades to add, and levels of the weapon. Armor also has levels, but cannot be given elemental properties. To be honest, I just love collecting weapons and having a ton of options, and this game really provided it. And it's not like most Castlevanias where weapons just become useless and outclassed, there are a lot of viable weapons and no clear cut "best-weapon," so the collecting doesn't feel pointless once you find a certain one. There are also Wolverine claws....that allow you to do Shoryukens. That alone was worth the price of admission.
What good is a game without good boss battles? While this game has some duds, it also has some absolutely epic battles. In the dud category...the leader has to be Pinwheel. I don't even know if he attacks, he's never made it past 3 hits. The dude is depressing, which is why I assume he lives alone in a giant tomb collecting masks. But then there is Sif, who is a giant wolf with a sword in his mouth. I mean who doesn't want to fight a giant wolf eating a sword? It's just a treat. And there is also a joy to defeating the bosses, as most you really have to learn them before you can kill them. It's rare to just walk in and maul them unprepared, but once you get them down, you're aces. Oh, and if you're a new player...prepare to hit a major roadblock with the Capra Demon. You're going to want to hurt those you love to take out your anger, but please refrain.
The difficulty is a hurdle and a positive, as it deters some from ever progressing, but also keeps people because there is always some challenge. If you mess up, any enemy could kill you. You'll get to the point where you're on autopilot, but it's still a rare find to always have some semblance of a challenge, and it really makes the experience more enjoyable because you're rarely just "going through the motions."
It's hard to really nail down what made this game amazing for me and at what point it hit me that it was going to be an all-time great for me. The world is just engrossing, and as you learn all of its secrets, you get more sucked in. The gameplay is a blast, and you know each death is your own fault. The world itself is diverse, as are the enemies. The loot system is good, definitely not the best but exists enough that it's worth mentioning, but the overall weapon and combat options are just fantastic. You can grind, you can level up...you can make yourself more powerful. It's everything I've ever wanted in a game.
This is the first review I've ever written, so any criticism is appreciated. If it sucked, tell me why. I hope all 3 potential readers enjoyed it!
Next up: Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions
Dark Souls
Dark Souls
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