Demon's Souls - State of Play - PS5

[Dalisclock]

Ah so there isn't an active cap on healing, despite being able to technically have 100's of vials in your storage. That makes sense then, but also isn't the healing grass like very slow in DS?

It's slow but not significantly slower then Estus is. So the trick becomes finding a large enough window to use it in(which is an issue in all the other games as well).

Granted, the game also has a different Bonfire and level design system which makes it different then DS.

For example, there's a archstone/bonfire at the end of each "level"(behind a boss) which then becomes the starting point for the next level, but some levels don't have shortcuts to balance this out. 1-2, for example, is one long linear push down a bridge with the boss at the end and there's a Dragon that will strafe parts of the bridge. It's possible to go under the bridge to bypass the dragonfire, but that puts you in a long, dark linear tunnel with dogs and archers which isn't much better.

None of the other games have level design quite so hostile, that I've seen. Even blighttown wasn't that painful.

 

[CriticalGaming]

It's slow but not significantly slower then Estus is. So the trick becomes finding a large enough window to use it in(which is an issue in all the other games as well).

Clearly you just get good enough to never get hit in the first place.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Clearly you just get good enough to never get hit in the first place.

It's slow but not significantly slower then Estus is. So the trick becomes finding a large enough window to use it in(which is an issue in all the other games as well).

Granted, the game also has a different Bonfire and level design system which makes it different then DS.

For example, there's a archstone/bonfire at the end of each "level"(behind a boss) which then becomes the starting point for the next level, but some levels don't have shortcuts to balance this out. 1-2, for example, is one long linear push down a bridge with the boss at the end and there's a Dragon that will strafe parts of the bridge. It's possible to go under the bridge to bypass the dragonfire, but that puts you in a long, dark linear tunnel with dogs and archers which isn't much better.

None of the other games have level design quite so hostile, that I've seen. Even blighttown wasn't that painful.

It took me months of procrastination to get through 1-2 in Demon’s Souls. I even made a point of keeping a backup cloud save at the fog gate after a couple attempts fighting him initially, as well as a couple other bosses in other arch stones; something I’ve never done since in SoulsBorne. The training wheels I think came off after that, because it got to be too tedious and I ended up saving over it anyways.

 

[stroopwafel]

First playthrough in 2009 I only donned the iconic fluted armor with purple flame shield and could only defeat bosses with soulray. Never heard of iframes. xD

It's slow but not significantly slower then Estus is. So the trick becomes finding a large enough window to use it in(which is an issue in all the other games as well).

Granted, the game also has a different Bonfire and level design system which makes it different then DS.

For example, there's a archstone/bonfire at the end of each "level"(behind a boss) which then becomes the starting point for the next level, but some levels don't have shortcuts to balance this out. 1-2, for example, is one long linear push down a bridge with the boss at the end and there's a Dragon that will strafe parts of the bridge. It's possible to go under the bridge to bypass the dragonfire, but that puts you in a long, dark linear tunnel with dogs and archers which isn't much better.

None of the other games have level design quite so hostile, that I've seen. Even blighttown wasn't that painful.

The dogs were fucking vicious in DeS. You can cheese the dragon though with like a hundred arrows. Vanguard(atleast in shrine of storms) could be similarly cheesed.

Can't wait to see the makeover they gave Allant. Still one of my favorite bosses in the series. I remember people being pissed thinking Soulsucker went too far. xD

 

[Shadyside]

Demons Souls has the only swamp levels that I liked in the entire series. They're truly disgusting and full of character. Heres a good tour of the game for those who care.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

How is the grass any different from Bloodborne's blood vials?

You could only carry 20 blood vials at a time, and a blood vial wasn't a full heal, but they were fast to use so they were easier to use in combat.

In Demon's Souls you could easily have 100 full heals on you at any time, and also tons of lesser grasses to top up your health between fights. Like estus it was harder to use mid-fight because the animation is slower, but enemies and bosses in general are much less aggressive in DeS than in BB so you still have plenty of openings to heal.

The Grass in DeS is more like a more powerful version of the Lifegems in Dark Souls 2.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

 

[Ezekiel]

Saw this on RPGCodex. Don't know where it's originally from.

Particularly dislike the new Fool's Idol. Americans can't do Japanese art.

 

[Ezekiel]

Yuria's clothes are revisionist too.

Surprising from Bluepoint.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Yuria's clothes are revisionist too.

Surprising from Bluepoint.

I thought they were going to respect the original artwork.

Anyways-

Demon's Souls PS5 Early Review Impressions

Bluepoint's remake feels like a true showpiece of the PS5 and the power of next-generation consoles.

www.gamespot.com

 

[stroopwafel]

I particularly dislike the Fat Official redesign. They completely missed the mark on that one. The glassy eyes, the artificial grin, the sinister expression. Now it's a random bulbous fat bloke with exposed belly. Do westerners not understand subtlety? The maiden looks like one those hot cosplayers cosplaying as the maiden. The elegance is lost. Espescially the pale skin and black hair and finer features, why change that?

Bluepoint is exceptional at technical performances but obviously not at redesigning original character models or reinterpretating the original artwork. Ofcourse From Software is the best in the business and I wish they had left those designs well alone. Strangely the technical aspect and enemy A.I. have been kept intact which is where I think Bluepoint could have made the biggest difference in really elevating the game. But whatever, I kinda expected it. Still looking forward to playing it. xD The lighting and environments look absolutely stunning.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

I’d say from an art standpoint yeah, characters took the biggest hit.

The Adjudicator basically looks like the Vanguard demon now.

Fat Official went from a carnival looking character to just a grotesque slob.

What’s up with the Fool’s Idol’s new snobby teenager-looking face?

Stockpile Thomas looks like a cross between Big-Boy and Chaz Bono


Ehh...I think Miyazaki might’ve found some of these design liberties undignified.

 

[Shadyside]

Saw this on RPGCodex. Don't know where it's originally from.

Particularly dislike the new Fool's Idol. Americans can't do Japanese art.

fat official, fools idol, and gargolye suck. the rest is decent.

 

[Shadyside]

 

[Shadyside]

I actually think the chtulu guard is an upgrade. they messed up stockpile thomas, the oufit of yuria, and crestfallen knight.

 

[Shadyside]

The UI is ugly.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

I find it kinda funny that people seem to be having an easier time with the game, even though supposedly the combat is a direct import from the original. I guess constant framerates and better controllers make that much of a difference.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I think most of those changes are fine, but yeah, fat minister took a big hit. Really unfortunate that they missed the mark so badly with that design.

 

[Bartholen]

Judging from everything I've seen from it thus far, my interest in this game (which was only slight to begin with) has actively plummeted with the new gameplay videos. I watched one video which said the game has "a gorgeous new coat of paint", and that's what it looks like, and not in a good way. The approach Bluepoint seems to have taken with this remake is "warts and all", which is truly baffling considering how the original had some serious issues that were later ironed out with Dark Souls and Bloodborne.

• Keeping item weight and inventory limit. WHYYYYYY??? This is easily the most aggravating aspect of Demon's Souls and it was gone by Dark Souls for a good reason. Who in the world asked for this to remain?
• Health is still halved upon death, meaning most players will spend the game with half (or 75%) health. This is one of those aspects that never felt like it added anything to the game, instead feeling like a constant middle finger to the player. What makes it worse is that DS3 did essentially the same thing with Embers giving you extra health, yet it never felt aggravating.
• Grasses are still the healing system, but I don't know if there's a cap to carrying them now. Still, it was a clunky system at best and borderline broken at worst in the original, so keeping it unaltered after so many better systems were implemented seems totally bonkers.
• The absence of the Land of Giants, which was cut from the original. This would have been the perfect opportunity to see the "true Demon's Souls" as it was originally intended, but again, the approach here was "warts and all", so no snowy mountains for any of us.
• The darkness, as in literal lighting conditions. I replayed Demon's Souls this year, and realized that the reason why so many of the environments are so hard to remember is that they're literally too dark to see anything. Stonefang Tunnel and Prison of Hope being the worst offenders. Here they seem to have taken it a step further and reduced the player's field of vision to about 3 feet in front of you. Which is just stupid. The game looks gorgeous as hell, so why are we barred from appreciating the visuals?
• World tendency is back, and again I ask: why? It remains one of the most obtuse and confusing mechanics in gaming history, and there's no reason its effects couldn't have been implemented into sidequests with NPCs or something. The only thing I've heard thus far is that it's easier to tell what tendency the worlds are in now, which is definitely damning with faint praise.
• The XP balancing seems to remain exactly the same as in the original, ie. fucked. In the same area mob enemies grant single digits worth of souls, while others grant triple digits, leading inevitably to farming the few enemies that grant XP worth a shit.

So yeah, this definitely isn't a console seller for me. Gonna wait at least a while, and maybe pick it up like a year from now if I decide to get a PS5.

Edit: God, I even forgot about them keeping even the absolutely awful upgrade system! Seriously, did anybody on the dev team even play the original???

 

[Shadyside]

Bluepoint lacked the dignified aesthetic of the soul games. And they really messed up with the atmosphere of the boss battles. They shoehorned in lots of unnecessary noises and background music that goes against the somber tone of the original. They messed up on the fools idol, Maiden Astrea, False King Allant, and Adjudicator jsut to name a few. I will still get it and play it, but it is a shame that from software didn't give them guidance.