Difficult, this is the word that has characterized the genre we are about to talk about, as is the drafting of this review. It is difficult to try to recreate the atmospheres, sensations he scenery that laid the foundations for what would have been the first "level" of a genre that is universally loved today. Demon's Souls is today probably the maximum expression of the idea of Miyazaki, who revealed his vision to the world more than a decade ago. It will be successful Bluepoint games to keep promises and expectations with his remake? Let's find out together on this journey to the demon's soul!
Boletaria, a world in decline
Humanity is collapsing: Boletaria is the last city that stands as a bulwark of mankind. The danger comes from outside, from a remote place: no one knows how or why it manifested itself but the Ancient One has come - and with him - the evil that devours the world spreads everywhere. Many heroes have attempted the assault on this enemy, many have perished in the attempt, while others have lost track of it, examples are Sint Urbain or the witch Yuria who have searched for answers right in the meanders of Boletaria, losing their way or becoming prisoners. In the manifestation of all this, came the Nexus, or we could say, it turned out: it is not known how it got to us, but it is known that this is none other than the place where the Lady in Black dwells, an ancient demon, older perhaps even than the Ancient that threatens the world.
The Lady's purpose is to heal the world, and to do so she sings a long-forgotten song and brings her champion back to life, to whom she is entrusted. the arduous task of descending into the abyss of Boletaria, find the souls of the greater demons that haunt this universe and reach the final truth, or stop the power of the Ancient. From here begins a journey full of dangers and information scattered here and there, which the player can collect or simply ignore. Many answers will not be given or at least they will not be discounted, while some will be configured as a pure prerogative of the player, who can choose his truth.
Soul and Trend of Demon's Souls
Our hero will move in a devastated world and to do so he can use five Archstones, each of which will take him to a different place from the other, where different demons await him, here we will have to take the courage to face each challenge to the fullest. Each Archstone has three levels of depth, the last of which is always inhabited since Greater Demon that haunts that part of the world. Following his path, our hero will find himself against all sorts of demons, until he reaches the final monster, which is usually huge and complex. A peculiar feature of the title is the World trend: this will not change only based on our choices, made by saving or not characters or dying over and over again for example, but it will be just fate to choose which Trend the place we visit has at that moment.
We may find ourselves in one place from time to time with Luce Full, Neutral, Dark o Perfectly Dark; to each correspond events within the world in question, for example enemies could appear that otherwise would not exist (defined spectra Dark). The possibility of witnessing the presence of stairs leading to a secret level or to invisible doors is not excluded; in conclusion the world changes according to this factor, which leads the player to pay a lot of attention to this part of the game. Grab your weapons, or wands if you prefer to cast spells, in Demon's Souls the impact will be similar to what you've probably experienced with Dark Souls (which is a contradiction, given that the progenitor of the series is Demon's Souls).
With each weapon it is possible to carry out a light and a heavy attack, which vary depending on how it is held (whether with one hand or two hands) and how it happens in these games, each consumes a certain portion of the stamina bar, which will regenerate over time, more slowly if you keep your guard up with the shield. This is a further fundamental element of the title, which in some cases can also turn into an attack weapon if it is large enough or has quills. The magic will force you to use one as your primary weapon baton while miracles will require you a effigy, which works similarly to the first.
Another element not to be underestimated is the weight of the equipment: in fact in Demon's Souls, the masters of Bluepoint have chosen to include a weight limit also for "potions", represented by different types of healing herbs, forcing the player to choose what to take with them into battle and what to leave in the chest inside the Nexus. Making a level-up is easy, just talk to the Lady in Black and give her the souls you have collected. In case you decide to forge legendary weapons instead, you must first upgrade weapons at the blacksmith in the nexus and then bring them to the one present in the second Archstone, together with the soul of the greater demon that you will have defeated.
Anime Blue
The work developed by Bluepoint Games is immense, the studio has managed to make the world of Boletaria more alive than ever, giving voice to those aesthetic elements that may have remained silent in the making of FromSoftware, who on this occasion sing instead. The glance is sensational, the yield on the screen is incredible and all the particle effects are exploited to the maximum thanks to the power of PlayStation 5. The real stroke of genius, however, is the combination Demon's Souls and DualSense. In fact, during the game, depending on the weapon you will hold, the bow you will stretch and the shots you will parry, the controller will vibrate differently and give us the maximum identification in the game. When we are on an elevator, the click of the links of a chain that pull up the mechanism will be reproduced by the DualSense, which will also provide different sensations based on where we are.
So is the game perfect? Well we must say that i 60 FPS promised in the "performance" mode are granite in most sections of the game, except in the third Archstone, where in some cases we have encountered violent drops in frames. In some game sessions, especially against huge bosses like the Tower Knight, the camera does not perform at its best. For the rest, the reconstruction work borders on aesthetic perfection, the only blemish we see is the choice of not having thought about any future DLCs and expansions for this masterpiece, which could be announced sooner or later.
