I think being an exclusive was a big part of it(I played all the FROM games beside BB and DeS on PC) but for whatever reason, Demons Souls didn't hit with nearly the same Impact as Dark Souls. There are arguably some things Demons Souls did that just didn't gel with the gaming populace in general(World Tendency is the only one I can think of off the top of my head). I know I've had a hard time getting into like I did with Dark Souls(to the point I still haven't gotten very far but I didn't play it very long).
I know plenty about it from reading about it and watching stuff on it, I just haven't been able to actually get into it. Why don't I go back and try to play through it? Mostly because I'm still behind on the games(I finished Sekiro after 4 months of playing like a month or so ago) and have yet to even start DS3, so DeS keeps getting shuffled to the back because it's the one that feels the least engaging of the choices I have at any given time. And being difficult and taking a while to get though means that when I finish one I normally take a long break before starting the next one means I'm very, very slowly making any progress on the series.
And chances are, by the time I finish DS3, Elden RIng will be out and I'll be more interested in that.
Like J. Nov I started with Demons Souls, and pretty much played all the SoulsBorne games in order. All I’ve left of DS3 are the endings and The Ringed City. Aside from some of the game systems being less streamlined like health and having less ring slots available, Demon’s Souls still seemed one of the easier to play through, imo. Not to Platinum mind you (that personally would be the first Dark Souls by a decent margin), but just getting through it.
I had no idea what I was doing originally, but if I had played it last I would’ve had a much easier time with the actual level of challenge. It also seemed like it had the most exploits for the tougher bosses. The dragons are pretty much the same deal throughout the series too, but playing them in order was cool to feel the incremental refinements to the gameplay mechanics and combat encounters. It’s like there was a direct correlation for the series ramping up in playability and core challenge, which benefited longtime players.
That’s not to say Demons isn’t playable by any means though either. In fact it still in some way feels more...idk, organic than Dark Souls 1 and 2. Maybe physics and hit feedback were handled differently or my build was slightly different too, and I’m sure the equip burden ratios worked differently. I went back to play it before the servers were shut off and started another NG. The tutorial boss was nothing like the struggle I remembered originally. A lot of tactics transcend the entire series and it still felt pretty dang good to play. I’d love to go through it again if I didn’t have such a huge backlog. Revisiting the good ol’ Valley of Defilement and Tower of Latria with more skill and experience under my belt would be a real treat.
It’s of course your complete call what game to tackle next if you still plan on playing through both, but this post is basically to say don’t let Demon’s Souls’ age turn you away from it. I still consider it the most thoughtful entry in the overarching series in terms of general design (sans level; that still goes to Dark Souls) and most bosses, and that’s not because it was “first” or an exclusive; although like Bloodborne that might’ve helped its focus. Each Souls game had its eccentricities to learn whether it’s world/character tendencies, hollowing, etc. Since the servers are off now that aspect would be much less of an issue, and there is a ring to offset most of the health bar penalty from dying a lot of you want to save Ephemeral Eyes (equivalent of Humanity). Perhaps the biggest reason that would have me holding off if I hadn’t already played it would be the possibility of a remaster next gen, but that’s a big ?
