Demon's Souls

DArtagnan · Post by **DArtagnan** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 6:00 am

I have to acknowledge, it's pretty damn fantastic

It took me the longest time "getting it" - but I think what I like most about it, is that every single thing in the game has been given thought. There's nothing - and I mean NOTHING - superfluous in there.

The more you play, the more it all makes sense.

In the old days, this might not have been such an achievement - because back then we were expecting developers to care about the, pun intended, SOUL of the game.

These days developers are wrapped up in insane budgets and responsibilities - they've more or less completely forgotten what made games truly special, and not just a well produced checklist of popular features.

These developers DIDN'T forget.

Go get a PS3, and then go get this game. Prepare to have the game humiliate you over and over, because you'll be coming back for more until you wear out and need to rest - only to have the cycle start anew.

You have been warned.

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 1:21 pm

Yes this is one of the best games I've played in years. I'm only a quarter of the way through it and need to get back but haven't had time. I just wish I had bought the version with the strat guide since you can't get it by itself.

DArtagnan · Post by **DArtagnan** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 2:15 pm

I got an import version (Korean) - and the manual doesn't exactly make sense to me

I've already spoiled it a bit by reading some of the wiki - but I've discovered that you can actually get through much of it by paying careful attention to your environment and the vital messages left behind by other players. A game with this much care put into making the game fair - even if it's extremely unforgiving - deserves to be played without too much outside help. At least, that's what I've decided. I really want to discover this word and see if I can't figure out how to handle certain challenges by myself.

I really think everyone should try this out, as it might just be the best game in years and years.

Of course, that's if you're into this sort of old-school experience - and I imagine some people will be put off by the harsh conditions. I know I nearly gave up several times myself

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 10:22 pm

For once I agree with you. Demon's Souls is a great game. The difficulty level is harsh at times, but i'm amazed at the overall balance. I played it a lot when it first came out and had to take a break before I burned out on it, but I fully plan on going back to it after the holiday rush of games. I doubt I'll ever really trade it in, it's that good.

Eightball · Post by **Eightball** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 7:45 pm

DS was pretty much the reason I bought a PS3, and was well worth the purchase. Just an amazing game. Very punishing at first, until you realize that you're meant to die, over and over again, and souls are relatively easy to regain. Makes the game that much more playable.

apezilla · Post by **apezilla** » Sat Feb 06, 2010 9:45 am

Like Eightball i bought an PS3 for DS only (well throw in a bit valkyria Chronicles). My first console since SNES.

Hated it at first while playing an royal and wrestling with the pad.
But as soon i restarted with an well armored meele class it suddenly became much more fun.
Levels and enemies are well crafted, wish upgrading weapons would be a bit less obscure.

I always thought i gonna regret buying an PS3 for it, but now i hoping for an DS2.

Reemul · Post by **Reemul** » Sat Feb 06, 2010 10:43 am

I just bought a PS3 and really want DS. However it's import only atm for me so am hanging on.

managed to pick up Valkyria Chronicles today on sale for £15 which is a real bargain.

apezilla · Post by **apezilla** » Sat Feb 06, 2010 10:56 am

Reemul wrote:I just bought a PS3 and really want DS. However it's import only atm for me so am hanging on.

managed to pick up Valkyria Chronicles today on sale for £15 which is a real bargain.

I imported the US version for around 45€ from axelmusic.com. It took 9 days to arrive in Germany but the price was OK.

May be an option for you too !.

Koz · Post by **Koz** » Sun Feb 07, 2010 2:09 am

DArtagnan wrote:Go get a PS3, and then go get this game. Prepare to have the game humiliate you over and over, because you'll be coming back for more until you wear out and need to rest - only to have the cycle start anew.

I was humiliated over and over, but I never came back for more. Honestly I was pretty disappointed with DS. It's more my fault than the game's though, it does what it is designed for very well and it's not the type of game I enjoy.

PRBoricua · Post by **PRBoricua** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 5:22 pm

Having a rough go with this one, picked it up last weekend on the strength of the reviews + word of mouth alone and I guess I "don't get it", so I'm looking for a little help. I created a Thief first, and that went really, really bad as I got my ass handed to me over and over again in the first area before finally quitting and going with a more conventional starting class, which was the Knight. Doing much better now, just defeated Phalanx in B.P, which was cool, but I have to admit I still don't get it.

Kinda confused on what exactly I'm supposed to be doing, I'm kicking ass and chewing gum occasionally but after I defeated the first boss and leveled up, is there somewhere I'm supposed to go next? Back to the Palace? To the next stone, and start in there ... I really want to like this game, but the lack of knowing what I'm doing is really screwin' me up. Maybe I just don't know "how" to play this game, and that's what I need help with?

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 8:03 pm

PRBoricua wrote:Having a rough go with this one, picked it up last weekend on the strength of the reviews + word of mouth alone and I guess I "don't get it", so I'm looking for a little help. I created a Thief first, and that went really, really bad as I got my ass handed to me over and over again in the first area before finally quitting and going with a more conventional starting class, which was the Knight. Doing much better now, just defeated Phalanx in B.P, which was cool, but I have to admit I still don't get it.

Kinda confused on what exactly I'm supposed to be doing, I'm kicking ass and chewing gum occasionally but after I defeated the first boss and leveled up, is there somewhere I'm supposed to go next? Back to the Palace? To the next stone, and start in there ... I really want to like this game, but the lack of knowing what I'm doing is really screwin' me up. Maybe I just don't know "how" to play this game, and that's what I need help with?

There's a pretty extensive thread over at gamingtrend that should help.
http://www.gamingtrend.com/forums/index ... ic=36346.0" target="_blank

jwalter · Post by **jwalter** » Fri Mar 12, 2010 7:09 am

Eightball wrote:DS was pretty much the reason I bought a PS3, and was well worth the purchase. Just an amazing game. Very punishing at first, until you realize that you're meant to die, over and over again, and souls are relatively easy to regain. Makes the game that much more playable.

I would agree to o this. The game does come really hard on you, but if you need to stick in there and have some good time out there checking out different things. This would help you as you progress with the game. This was a game that took a long time to get over it, but I do not regret that as I enjoyed every moment of my gaming. I would say that the game was worth the time spent playing it.

MythicalMino · Post by **MythicalMino** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 7:38 am

I really want this game....but I have difficulty getting my PS3 online (for some reason, I cannot get a wireless router set up on my pc, no matter what I try). Is the internet a "must-have" for this game?

Chris

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Sat Mar 20, 2010 9:31 pm

I don't think it's must have but it certainly adds a lot of flavor to the game. Seeing ghosts of other people running around is really neat but doesn't change the game.

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Mon Mar 22, 2010 4:16 pm

Just picked this up again after a short attempt a few months ago. Got my ass handed to me as a Royal but tried a Knight and was able to power my way through the place (although got roasted trying to sneak into the dragon nest).

I may try another class, but need recommendations. I need to be able to block and take a bit of a beating. How is a priest compared to a Knight?

Giles Habibula · Post by **Giles Habibula** » Sun Mar 28, 2010 7:14 pm

I made it up the first stairs back when this first came out. I should probably get back to it someday. Sad. I think I've got around a half-hour into the game. I'd ordered the Deluxe Edition from Amazon back when they were normal-priced. Couldn't wait for it to arrive, so went downtown and picked up a regular edition, which is the one I "played". The DE sits there on my shelf, still unopened. What a waste of money. I do this a lot though.

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Tue Mar 30, 2010 12:37 pm

I'm convinced this game is psychotic....or it's making me psychotic...

I also hate the fact that I love this game.

Canuck · Post by **Canuck** » Fri Apr 02, 2010 6:50 am

Giles Habibula wrote:I made it up the first stairs back when this first came out. I should probably get back to it someday. Sad. I think I've got around a half-hour into the game. I'd ordered the Deluxe Edition from Amazon back when they were normal-priced. Couldn't wait for it to arrive, so went downtown and picked up a regular edition, which is the one I "played". The DE sits there on my shelf, still unopened. What a waste of money. I do this a lot though.

Umm when you go and buy a game for normal price and then it shoots up in value you call that "a waste of money"? That's what I call an investment!

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Fri Apr 02, 2010 11:38 am

The Tower Knight can go to hell.

Yes, i'm talking about you

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Fri Apr 02, 2010 1:20 pm

The tower knight isn't that hard once you figure out what you need to do. If he's giving you a ton of trouble there are videos on youtube of people fighting him.

How I beat him

Spoiler:

Giles Habibula · Post by **Giles Habibula** » Fri Apr 02, 2010 2:53 pm

Canuck wrote:
Giles Habibula wrote:I made it up the first stairs back when this first came out. I should probably get back to it someday. Sad. I think I've got around a half-hour into the game. I'd ordered the Deluxe Edition from Amazon back when they were normal-priced. Couldn't wait for it to arrive, so went downtown and picked up a regular edition, which is the one I "played". The DE sits there on my shelf, still unopened. What a waste of money. I do this a lot though.
Umm when you go and buy a game for normal price and then it shoots up in value you call that "a waste of money"? That's what I call an investment!

It's a waste of money when I can't bring myself to sell it now while it's still worth something. Theoretically, I could have made enough to have got my regular edition basically for free. But see, then I wouldn't have my DE anymore, and I'd miss it. Being a collector has cost me a ton of money over the years, and hasn't made me a dime. But so far, having a huge collection has been worth it....Damned if I know why though. Admittedly, it makes no sense.

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Fri Apr 02, 2010 2:57 pm

Octavious230 wrote:The tower knight isn't that hard once you figure out what you need to do. If he's giving you a ton of trouble there are videos on youtube of people fighting him.

How I beat him
Spoiler:
First make sure you are in human form as you will get hit a few times so being a spirit is going to be rough. When I first enter the area I ran straight ahead and up the stairs and went right clearing out all the soliders. Make a loop around the whole top area clearing everyone out. Then it's time to square off with the big guy. I just ran right at him and locked onto his legs. You need to get behind him and hit his feet until he falls over. When he starts to fall clear out of the way as it will hurt you if he falls on you. Once he falls smash him in the head until he gets up. Rinse and repeat.

I know what do to, I just can't seem to do it. Maybe twitchy controller type games aren't for me. It doesn't seem like i have the split second reaction time it takes to do it.

Koz · Post by **Koz** » Fri Apr 02, 2010 6:34 pm

You can also shoot him with (a lot of) arrows from up on the battlements. Just duck behind the wall when he shoots his spear thing and then pop back up and shoot him in the head. Takes a while but it's real easy and you won't get hurt once you get the rhythm down. Just make sure you bring a lot of arrows.

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Fri Apr 02, 2010 8:00 pm

Koz wrote:You can also shoot him with (a lot of) arrows from up on the battlements. Just duck behind the wall when he shoots his spear thing and then pop back up and shoot him in the head. Takes a while but it's real easy and you won't get hurt once you get the rhythm down. Just make sure you bring a lot of arrows.

What's alot. 100? What about enchanting my bow? Would that help?

apezilla · Post by **apezilla** » Fri Apr 02, 2010 8:43 pm

Jag wrote:
Koz wrote:You can also shoot him with (a lot of) arrows from up on the battlements. Just duck behind the wall when he shoots his spear thing and then pop back up and shoot him in the head. Takes a while but it's real easy and you won't get hurt once you get the rhythm down. Just make sure you bring a lot of arrows.
What's alot. 100? What about enchanting my bow? Would that help?

You should have found an component bow by now, upgrading it makes a big difference. I think i had an +3 or more when dealing with the tower knight.

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 11:25 am

This game just keeps getting better and better. I had to stop in 3-1 last night because my nerves were so frazzled. While going melee is fun, I needed to incorporate ranged into my strategy as well. So with the short bow, soul arrow and armored to the teeth, I've been able to clear an entire level (sans boss) without a single death.

So far my biggest challenge is how to spend souls. I think I'm just going to burn most of my soldiers souls at once and just uber level my stats, saving some for weapon upgrades when I have the stones.

Koz · Post by **Koz** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 11:52 am

Jag wrote:
Koz wrote:You can also shoot him with (a lot of) arrows from up on the battlements. Just duck behind the wall when he shoots his spear thing and then pop back up and shoot him in the head. Takes a while but it's real easy and you won't get hurt once you get the rhythm down. Just make sure you bring a lot of arrows.
What's alot. 100? What about enchanting my bow? Would that help?

I think it's like 30 or 40, but I went through about 70 with missing and getting the rhythm down.

I don't remember what bow I used but I didn't go to any other levels first.

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Fri Apr 09, 2010 10:43 pm

I now hate Flamelurker more than Tower Knight. Notwithstanding the fact that I wanted to go for the compound longbow and spent no less than 3 full nights dying to the rolling silver skeletons. I swear I'm shaking when I turn this game of (or when it locks up, which it does alot).

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 1:14 am

Soul arrow makes the flamelurker a breeze. Otherwise he's a major pain in the ass. I really need to get back to that damn game..

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 7:54 am

Flamelurker dead. I love cheesing the landscape.

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 11:25 pm

In a game that hard you take what you can get. Started playing again today after a long break and didn't get much of anywhere.

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 11:59 am

Dragon God dead. I love this game!

I realized why I don't care about dying in DS. When you are in a new area, basically you are learning the landscape, the enemies, the tricks,etc. You try to go as far as you can until you die. If you make it to the boss, great, it will take substantially less time the next time you have to go back. Everytime you go back, it goes faster and faster until you are flying through places you used to crawl behind your big shield. That's an accomplishment.

The other reason I don't care about dying is the souls you get from most of the enemies are are a pittance compared to the big boss souls. So I lost 5k souls running to the boss, I'll get 30k when I kill him. I just wouldn't run around with the souls earned from a boss kill. Which leads to the next clever mechanic. Forcing you to spend the souls, is like getting XP, you have to spend them on some form of advancement (spells, stats, gear, etc) otherwise the risk of losing it is too much.

The uniqueness of DS is another place it wins. Compare DS to a traditional RPG like Dragon Age and then against an MMO like WoW. In DA you go through an area, kill the bosses and almost never return, that area is done. In WoW, you farm the same crap over and over and over hoping for a drop or farming for badges, rep, etc. DS forces you to run the area enough times until you learn and master it. Too little and you probably won't make it. But by the time you master it, it is time to move onto the next level.

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:51 pm

I HATED the dragon god. I'm amazed that I didn't give up after getting killed a billion times by that guy.

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 1:36 pm

Octavious230 wrote:I HATED the dragon god. I'm amazed that I didn't give up after getting killed a billion times by that guy.

I admit I read the walkthrough first, which makes the fight laughable....

Spoiler:

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 6:59 pm

My problem was I kept on getting burned to a crisp when trying to run to the second gun. It took me like 20-30 tries... Killing him after shooting the second gun was easy as I just used the bow.

msduncan · Post by **msduncan** » Wed Apr 14, 2010 3:02 pm

I'm TRYING to get back into this one. Let me explain:

I sold my 60GB noisy PS3 for $300 and bought a slim PS3 to replace it. Apparently you can't transfer Demon Souls save games over like most other games, so I'm totally starting over.

You can imagine having to start from scratch. The first run through I played a knight because I love the look of the full plate armor. Instinctively I started over with a knight as well... but I wonder.... should I try a different class or something this time?

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Wed Apr 14, 2010 3:14 pm

Interesting question. What I learned is there ultimately is no class, just what you start with. Class is just a different selection of attributes and gear. The attributes can be adjusted as you go up and you can easily get the starting gear for most classes pretty early on. Another clever thing about DS.

For example, I initially started with a Royal except I kept getting killed in melee (mostly b/c i didn't know how to play). I then restarted as a Knight and plowed my way through a good part of the early game with no problem. I was a tanking terror!

Then I starting getting creamed again because I used no magic or ranged and I could barely dodge. So I put away the heavy armor, put more pts into magic and now I have a good hyrbid of magic and melee.

I don't currently use a single item from the starting Knight. At Soul Level 32, I'm wearing Rogue armor, using a spear and shield and bows/magic for ranged. In other words, I don't really think it matters what you start with since you can easily design yourself to mimic any other class in the game.

The best hint I can give is if you go melee is to buy a spear from the merchant in 1-1. You thrust with your shield raised and hit from further away. Makes a huge difference. Just a bit slower than a sword.

msduncan · Post by **msduncan** » Wed Apr 14, 2010 3:33 pm

On my original playthrough -- I got through several bosses with just the long sword. I got really good at timing and dodging. So I guess I need to see how it goes. I'm certainly zipping through the levels faster this time through.

Koz · Post by **Koz** » Wed Apr 14, 2010 6:45 pm

Royal is generally the easiest class to start with because they get Soul Arrow right off the bat.

Peacedog · Post by **Peacedog** » Wed Apr 14, 2010 6:48 pm

Jag wrote:Interesting question. What I learned is there ultimately is no class, just what you start with. Class is just a different selection of attributes and gear. The attributes can be adjusted as you go up and you can easily get the starting gear for most classes pretty early on. Another clever thing about DS.

For example, I initially started with a Royal except I kept getting killed in melee (mostly b/c i didn't know how to play). I then restarted as a Knight and plowed my way through a good part of the early game with no problem. I was a tanking terror!

Then I starting getting creamed again because I used no magic or ranged and I could barely dodge. So I put away the heavy armor, put more pts into magic and now I have a good hyrbid of magic and melee.

I don't currently use a single item from the starting Knight. At Soul Level 32, I'm wearing Rogue armor, using a spear and shield and bows/magic for ranged. In other words, I don't really think it matters what you start with since you can easily design yourself to mimic any other class in the game.

The best hint I can give is if you go melee is to buy a spear from the merchant in 1-1. You thrust with your shield raised and hit from further away. Makes a huge difference. Just a bit slower than a sword.

IMO, the game is easier if you ditch armor earlier on. Granted, I got to the huge tower boss dude without much in the way of ranged ability (I didn't have that many arrows and shit for a bow I couldn't upgrade). I found plinking him unpossible. People at Qt3 urged me to remove my armor (uhhh. . . I can't remember the class I started as. But it had heavy armor), and I Found then I was able to dodge his attacks and circle around in melee to hit his heels or whatever it was you did. Before that I was finding the game increasingly frustrating. I haven't picked it up in awhile, but iirc I was still going sans heavy armor. The plan was to get enough endurance (I think?) to eventually put it back on but I was leveling more important combat stats.