Demon's Souls (12th November 2020)

[Julius]

Quote

From JAPAN Studio and Bluepoint Games comes a remake of the PlayStation classic, Demon's Souls. This remake invites players to experience the original brutal challenge, completely rebuilt from the ground up and masterfully enhanced with a new “Fractured Mode." In addition to beautiful shadow effects and ray tracing, players can choose between two graphics modes while playing: one focused on fidelity, and one focused on frame rate.

 

Edited November 11, 2020 by Julius

[killthenet]

Did not expect it to be quite so beautiful. If it plays as well as the original I might have a new favourite Souls game.

[Sheikah]

Did not expect it to be quite so beautiful. If it plays as well as the original I might have a new favourite Souls game.

Yeah, very excited about this one. When you remember what Bluepoint did with SoTC, we can almost expect a reimagining to be done here. I remember playing Demon's on an import copy I got all those years ago; I remember me and [mention=3394]dwarf[/mention] sharing strats for PvP back in the day. Meat cleaver with clever rat's ring in low health for the win. [emoji6]

[Fierce_LiNk]

Really excited for this. Missed out on this back in the day, and I'm sure that this will be a good port/remaster/reimagining. Looking forward to the first few hours being rage inducing. 

[Julius]

Guess this answers the question of where I'll be jumping into From Software games!  more than happy to give this a try and jump aboard the From train, and @killthenet those screenshots look fantastic. Bluepoint are absolute wizards. Shadow of the Colossus blew me away, but honestly I recently played some of their HD remasters on the PS3 (MGS2 and MGS3) and I was blown away by how well they those games were brought up to scratch too. 

[Insert wish here for them to reimagine the Metal Gear Solid games next] 

[dwarf]

28 minutes ago, Sheikah said:

Yeah, very excited about this one. When you remember what Bluepoint did with SoTC, we can almost expect a reimagining to be done here. I remember playing Demon's on an import copy I got all those years ago; I remember me and [mention=3394]dwarf[/mention] sharing strats for PvP back in the day. Meat cleaver with clever rat's ring in low health for the win.

Had a couple of hilarious moments on it with you for sure, weird to think how novel a concept PvEvP was back then.

Unlikely to get a PS5 this year - would've probably been interested in this if they added new environments and whatnot but as it is I don't feel too compelled. I'd only get pissed off at reinforcing my weapons too much and missing out on an upgrade again  (and there's plenty of other bullshit in Demon's besides!)

[Goron_3]

Wow, the screenshots look amazing. Much better than the trailer which looked a bit off to me.

I hope it's a year 1 game.

[Julius]

Technical breakdown and comparison from Digital Foundry:

 

[Julius]

So it's little surprise that Miles Morales was rated recently in South Korea, seeing as that's lined up to be a PS5 launch title, being one of the few titles with a date or release window in the presentation back in June. 

What is surprising is that Demon's Souls was rated recently in both South Korea...

...and Japan. 

Maybe it's a little early and is actually coming in the early parts of 2021. Or maybe it's in that launch window. Either way, hopefully we'll find out soon! 

Edited August 20, 2020 by Julius

[Julius]

Two new screenshots:

Amazon.au has put up a potential cover for the game, as well as some more details in the description:

Quote

From Bluepoint Games comes a remake of the PlayStation classic, Demon’s Souls™. Entirely rebuilt from the ground up and masterfully enhanced, this remake introduces the horrors of a fog-laden, dark fantasy land to a whole new generation of gamers. Those who have faced its trials and tribulations before, can once again challenge the darkness in stunning visual quality and incredible performance.

In his quest for power, the 12th King of Boletaria, King Allant channelled the ancient Soul Arts, awakening a demon from the dawn of time itself, The Old One. With the summoning of The Old One, a colourless fog swept across the land, unleashing nightmarish creatures that hungered for human souls. Those whose souls were stripped from them, lost their minds – left only with the desire to attack the sane that remained.

Now, Boletaria is cut off from the outside world, and the knights who dare penetrate the deep fog to free the land from its plight, are never seen again. As a lone warrior who has braved the baneful fog, you must face the hardest of challenges to earn the title “Slayer of Demons” and send The Old One back to its slumber.

• Experience the original brutal challenge, completely remade from the ground up. All presented in stunning visual quality with enhanced performance, this is the world of Boletaria as you have never seen it before.

• Venture to the northern kingdom of Boletaria – a once prosperous land of knights, now beset with unspeakable creatures and ravenous demons. Meet strange characters, unhinged and twisted by the world around them, and unravel the unsettling story of Demon’s Souls.

• Perfect and hone your skills in combat – know when to push forward and when to bide your time, as with each missed swing and careless mistake, you risk losing the very souls you’ve worked so hard to collect. The rewards for slaying the strongest foes are immense though, and death does not mean the end – it’s just another state of being.

• With online invasions adding to the danger of your quest. Or play cooperatively by summoning allies to aid in your fight against the demons.

• Active PS Plus subscription required for online multiplayer.

All I'm saying is, with that and the ratings, there's a whole lot of noise around this game. Could it make launch? 

Edited September 9, 2020 by Julius

[Julius]

Gameplay trailer from today's Showcase, just some raw gameplay:

Looks incredible. Great job by Bluepoint, this is what I wanted to see! 

[drahkon]

AWESOME!

[Julius]

Just now, drahkon said:

AWESOME!

Whaaaaaat. 

WHY NOT SAY THAT IN THE SHOWCASE THEN?! 

[drahkon]

Awesome. The more people get to experience where it all started, the better

[Fierce_LiNk]

Fantastic. Never played this, so looking forward to diving into it.

[Julius]

22 minutes ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

Fantastic. Never played this, so looking forward to diving into it.

Neither, I cannot wait, looks so good.

But I literally don't know where to start. 

November 19th will have Demon's Souls and Miles, sure...but there's still Cyberpunk 2077 on the same day too 

EDIT: I forgot Age of Calamity on the 20th. Oh. My. Goodness. 

Edited September 16, 2020 by Julius

[Map]

Cannot wait to replay this, looks incredible.

Edited September 16, 2020 by Map

[Julius]

33 minutes ago, Map said:

Cannot wait to replay this, looks incredible.

Yeah, so this is probably the biggest reason why they should have clarified it during the Showcase  I'm sure it'll all be cleared up in the next few hours, going to be a weird time for now though! 

[drahkon]

8 hours ago, Map said:

While mistakes can happen, this is quite a blunder. The person(s) responsible will clearly be in a bit of trouble

Still, great that they cleared it up quickly.

Edited September 17, 2020 by drahkon

[Happenstance]

This looks so good that it makes me wish I liked Souls games so I could play it. Absolutely gorgeous.

[Ronnie]

Can someone explain the appeal of Demon Souls for someone who's never played it, nor played any Souls games?

All I saw in the gameplay demo was the main character running through corridors taking foes out with a boss at the end.

Is it a metroidvania? Are there puzzles? Lots of fun items to use?

[gaggle64]

1 hour ago, Ronnie said:

Can someone explain the appeal of Demon Souls for someone who's never played it, nor played any Souls games?

All I saw in the gameplay demo was the main character running through corridors taking foes out with a boss at the end.

Is it a metroidvania? Are there puzzles? Lots of fun items to use?

The 'Souls games are their own very unique thing, so while some love them others will bounce straight off. I played a chunk of Dark Souls and decided it wasn't my thing but it still deepened my respect for the series. There isn't really anything you can compare them to outside of the series. 

The core of it is an extremely dark, European medieval fantasy with deep Bible-scale lore and supernatural elements. It's most basic premise is you are a soul literally fighting your way out of a gothic hell where nothing is quite what is seems and the game play is designed to reflect that. It's a gruelling journey. Every enemy can kill you easily if you're not careful and death can be a significant setback, so the stakes of most encounters are high.

You can approach the challenge with a wide variety of character classes but you are not a nimble, indestructible fighter - you're a slow & clunky knight in armour, or a physically feeble wizard, or a lock-picking thief in a loincloth. Weapons degrade. Experience collected as "souls" from slain enemies can be lost when you die. Save points and opportunities to level up are sparse. Bosses are powerful, frequent, & radically different each time. You will die many times. 

Like I said, it's not my thing. However if you want a genuine challenge with interesting lore, phenomenal art, and some brilliant monster design, I would definitely give one of them at least a go. I'd honestly recommend everyone at least try to play one at least once, even if you then walk away, just to see what it is. 

Edited September 17, 2020 by gaggle64

[Ronnie]

1 minute ago, gaggle64 said:

The 'Souls games are their own very unique thing, so while some love them others will bounce straight off. I played a chunk of Dark Souls and decided it wasn't my thing but it still deepened my respect for the series. There isn't really anything you can compare them to outside of the series. 

The core of it is an extremely dark, European medieval fantasy with deep Bible-scale lore and supernatural elements. It's most basic premise is you are a soul literally fighting your way out of a gothic hell where nothing is quite what is seems and the game play is designed to reflect that. It's a gruelling journey. Every enemy can kill you easily if you're not careful and death can be a significant setback, so the stakes of most encounters are high.

You can approach the challenge with a wide variety of character classes but you are not a nimble, indestructible fighter - you're a slow & clunky knight in armour, or a physically feeble wizard, or a lock-picking thief in a loincloth. Weapons degrade. Experience collected as "souls" from slain enemies can be lost when you die. Save points and opportunities to level up are sparse. Bosses are powerful, frequent, & radically different each time. You will die many times. 

Like I said, it's not my thing. However if you want a genuine challenge with interesting lore, phenomenal art, and some brilliant monster design, I would definitely give on of them at least a go. I'd honestly recommend everyone at least try to play one at least once, even if you then walk away, just to see what it is. 

Interesting, thanks for the insight, I knew about the punishing difficulty but didn't know about being able to choose from a variety of character classes. The premise kind of intrigues me and I think I'd like to give one of these games a go, so maybe will make it this one.

[gaggle64]

11 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

Interesting, thanks for the insight, I knew about the punishing difficulty but didn't know about being able to choose from a variety of character classes. The premise kind of intrigues me and I think I'd like to give one of these games a go, so maybe will make it this one.

Yeah, it's a very popular series in the "Let's Play" sphere partially because people are interested to see the different ways different people approach the challenge. I might one day give one another try, it's definitely one where the struggle is the reward. 

[Goron_3]

12 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

Interesting, thanks for the insight, I knew about the punishing difficulty but didn't know about being able to choose from a variety of character classes. The premise kind of intrigues me and I think I'd like to give one of these games a go, so maybe will make it this one.

Get Bloodborne. It's the perfect entry into the series. The Victorian, H.P Lovecraft inspired setting is incredibly well put together and the gameplay is much faster and aggressive that Dark Souls.

Gaggle summarises many of the great things about the Soulsborne titles, but it's the small things that really make the games so great. Using Bloodborne as an example, you're exploring a rich and diverse world without a map or markers to help you get your bearings. A big part of the experience is not just becoming skilled enough to defeat the enemies /  bosses, but also in unlocking shortcuts in the environment to help you get between areas quicker (for example, opening a one way gate or activating a lift that let's you easily connect between the area in which you spawned in and the area in which you just spent an hour trying to reach). 

The Soulsbourne games also use a unique mechanic whereby the experience you gained by killing enemies (which you can use to level up) are lost if you fall in combat. When you respawnn, the enemy that killed you will hold that experience, but if you die again before you retrieve it, it's lost forever. It's creates these really tense scenarios whereby you'll have immersed yourself into an area and are pushing forward (often against you're own best judgement) because you're hoping you will unlock a short cut to connect you back to the save point. Do you back track to save area, cash in your experience and level up (which respawns all the enemies you just killed) or do you keep venturing forward knowing that if you die, you've lost all that experience?

Furthermore, the bosses are universally loved in each of the games and they are designed to really test your ability to hold your nerve and make crucial decisions. Most enemies in Bloodborne and the Souls games, even the weak guys you saw in the trailer, can easily kill you in one or two hits if you're not careful. The experience is about understanding what move they are about to use, whether to block/roll or whether to attack. Honestly, even after putting 100 hours into Bloodborne, I've gone back to earlier areas and got wrecked by a relatively weak enemy because I wasn't focused enough. 

Give Bloodborne a go. It's just a brilliantly woven game. I can't praise it enough.