Demon's Souls

Beyond the initial threat of difficulty there waits a remarkable combination of accessibility and challenge, of risk and reward, punishment and empowerment.

It's stoic, uncompromising, difficult to get to know, but also deep, intriguingly disturbed and perversely rewarding. You can learn to love Demon's Souls like few other games in the world. But only if you're prepared to give yourself over to it. [JPN Import]

All-in-all, Demon's Souls is a game every PS3 RPG fan should buy just to say that they own it, just to say that they've played it. It's up to you as the gamer to figure out if an incredibly difficult, incredibly unique game is the game for you.

For every moment I spent screaming at my TV and throwing my controller I had four moments of awe. [JPN Import; May 2009, p.86]

Demon's Souls is difficult. Really, really difficult. [JPN Import; July 2009, p.100]

All those who love the dungeon crawling genre, may find in this From Software's game a large number of interesting elements and carefully developed details, while those who prefer a more narrative structure and a more rich gameplay, should perhaps approach the game only after careful considerations. Waiting a more understandable english version, we can only hope that the existing defects can be fixed.

Its appeal may be niche, but for those who appreciate a challenging and ultimately very rewarding game in a genre that's poorly represented not only on the PS3 but in this entire console generation, Demon's Souls is an absolute must have. [JPN Import]

Quotation forthcoming.

Tough and unforgiving, Demon's Souls is nevertheless a breath of fresh air in a very stagnant games market. [Issue#182, p.72]

Demon's Souls is one for the history books. It simply improves the recently stale action genre, and is way ahead of its time with its vision of online play.

Nightmare difficulty makes you die a thousand times but every death teaches you how to get further. True masterpiece of dark fantasy RPG. [Sept 2009]

For what it wishes to be, Demon's Souls hits the mark. Perhaps the audience in question is too niche to yield huge sales, but I'm confident in expressing my praise for this production and I expect many gamers to reward Atlus for this effort.

Without question, Demon's Souls is one of 2009's finest titles, and an amazing, challenging journey without equal.

If you are not a hardcore gamer or a gamer who can play your average action RPG on a difficulty above easy you probably will hate yourself for putting a single dollar out for this game. But if you are a gamer looking for a true challenge with plenty of extreme action, fun replay value, great multiplayer and a unique twist on everything then this is a game you must own.

That said, Demon's Souls is a terrific game. It sets such a high standard for dungeon crawling titles that can only be matched by the best of them.

This is a truly exceptional RPG experience that hasn't been offered by any other game in its genre. It all comes down to whether you're brave enough to explore its savage environments, but if you are I can promise that you won't be disappointed.

In short, you'll have a blast but you'll pay a heavy price for it sooner or later.

Between its active battle system and its online functionality, there is a whole lot that separates Demon's Souls from other games in the dungeon-crawling genre, bringing it into the current generation.

The enemy design is, simply put, wonderful, and so many different elements of Demon's Souls call out to me, demanding love and affection. Sadly, I cannot return its calls. It just goes so far out of its way to be difficult that it misses some key, important elements that would have made it a vastly better game.

Demon's Souls is everything we've been looking for on the PS3 - a stellar action RPG boasting a killer online component. The game's uncompromising difficulty may not be everyone's cup of tea, however.

I found Demon's Souls to be very addicting, especially when you make full use of the multiplayer features. There's no way to sugar coat the difficulty though, and even I had to put the game down for a couple days just to take a deep breath before going back to it. But, the things that draw you back in are the superior level design, morose artwork, and engaging gameplay.

The game is very hard, but not unfairly so; each time you die, you'll learn a bit more about the level, and you'll be able to progress a bit further. I was very surprised with what I found in Demon's Souls.

It's a solid and competent RPG with some innovative and really cool online features, and it goes highly recommended.

For those willing to put in the effort, Demon's Souls is perhaps the most rewarding RPG available on the PS3 and easily a must-have for any PS3 owner who doesn't mind a bit of difficulty and death.

The word of mouth on this game is going to be great, unless your friends only play WiiFit. Demon’s Souls is what an 8-Bit game would play like if it were popped open and dumped out in your lap. Gorgeous, thoughtful, and complete unto itself, it’s the second-best title I’ve played this year. Maybe even better.

Demon's Souls is a fantastic game, with great environments and amazing boss battles. Unfortunately, most gamers will never see most of them. The bottom line is that this game is for the hardest of the hardcore.

Demon's Souls knows that winning is something to be earned, and the satisfaction of living up to the challenge it presents is its greatest reward.

Demon's Souls is the antithesis of the fashionable approach to gaming. It encourages mastery over mere perseverance and every reward is so hard won as to make it almost unattainable. But if gaming's ultimate appeal lies in the learning and mastering of new skills, then surely the medium's keenest thrills are to be found in its hardest lessons. For those who flourish under Demon's Souls' strict examination, there's no greater sense of virtual achievement.

If you crave true innovation, a fair but relentless challenge, and gripping exploration in which every step has consequences, then you crave Demon's Souls.

Anyone weaned on Zelda and tempered by Diablo will have a strong attraction to the wonders of Demon's Souls.

Demon's Souls uses sprawling, atmospheric worlds, haunting game concepts and mechanics, an unconventional control scheme, and formidable difficulty to envelop players in an experience that is easily one of the best of the year.

Demon's Souls may make you throw controllers. It could possibly make you hate everything you've ever loved. It will probably make you yell curse words very, very loudly. It's also some of the best fun to be had on the PS3.

It is unyielding and relentlessly unmerciful. A single stage will take hours of repetitious practice and cautious progression to complete. The reward is pride.

Every single person that owns a PS3 should at the very least rent this game to see what all the fuss is about, and those that can remember the good ol' days when games taught through the highly effective use of negative reinforcement and a heavy price for not playing it carefully should scoop this up instantly. It's utterly unique among the offerings on any console right now, and absolutely, positively should not be missed.

The combat system is robust, the amount of exploration is amazing, and the game looks and sounds beautiful. Combine all this with the game's masterful storytelling without hours and hours of dialog, and you have what's probably the best and most frightening role-playing game this generation so far-just in time for Halloween.

If you like RPGs in general, though, you'll find one of the better, most challenging quests of your life -- one well worth picking up. But you may want to clear off any games in your backlog beforehand.

A game best left to the most masochistic, hardcore game. [Dec 2009, p.80]

As is, it'll likely be adored by those who go out of their way to embrace it, but ignored by anyone intimidated by old school difficulty.

Despite its uncompromising attitude, Demon's Souls is a rare and unexpected treat.

The forced repetition and steep odds could've been a disaster. But the mêlée combat, mapped primarily to the PlayStation 3's rear triggers, is so beautifully precise, it demands to be mastered.

This game is tough, but also rewarding, interesting, evocative, and, in its own special way, brilliant.

A deep and complex action RPG, hard but rewarding.

Souls is a top notch title that is impossible to put down.

While it is hard to give the advice to run out and purchase this game, it deserves a rental and a couple of hours of play. If you can make it through inventing curse words during that time, it is a clear purchase.

Demon's Souls is an obsessive title, a masochists dream, and an utterly amazing RPG.

Demon's Souls is undoubtedly a tough nut to crack, but if you're prepared to dig beneath its hard shell, you'll find a game that is compelling and deeply rewarding in equal measure.

A startling, yet satisfying experience - if you can handle it. [Christmas 2009, p.86]

It's a shoo-in for Game of the Year contention and will likely go down as one of the crown jewels of the PlayStation 3's exclusive lineup.

Demon's Souls can do no wrong in my eyes. It reinvigorated my love of RPGs and video games as a hobby, not just a job. Its punishing difficulty is a throwback to the brutally unforgiving games of my NES childhood, and the feeling of accomplishment in the face of innumerable odds is truly unlike anything I've experienced with a controller in my hands.

Never have we played a game that punishes so much while constantly providing a reason to keep pushing on and see what brilliance lies beyond the next hurdle.

Demon's Souls asks much of you. For some it may ask too much, but, if you are prepared to rise to the challenges it presents you will be rewarded with one of the most satisfying gaming experiences of this generation.

Demon's Soul is a hard game that becomes an obsession after first few minutes of play: with a true feeling of danger and immersion in every moment, a innovative online game and a good level of challenge. One of the best PlayStation 3 games of the year.

In a world where multiple save points, extra lives and cheat codes dominate, it's down-right refreshing to see a title step up and proclaim "I am difficult, and that's all right." Demon's Souls is that title, and for that I commend it.

One of the best games of 2009 and arguably the best RPG on the PS3 so far.

There's nothing you haven't seen before. It only takes a bright solid, arch-depressive medieval world, mixes it with a fantastic battle system and pushing the limits of your patience to the extreme. The result is unique in all the right ways.

Sword and sorcery has never been so satisfying, every reward in the game have to be earned. The action RPG is so hard that it feels like it has been made in 90s. [Feb 2010]

This game will steal your soul, and comes highly recommended.

There's no gain without pain in this unusual and atmospheric, but incredibly punishing, action RPG.

We've been waiting for Demon's Souls to come to Europe for what seemed to be an endless time, and the wait was well worth it!

Challenging with great controls and engaging battles. This one almost lasts forever, and we've lost track of the hours spent fighting.

It might take a while to get used to the gameplay of Demon's Souls but once the game has you in its grasp, it will not let you go!

Demon's Souls shatters all Action-RPG conventions with its unique gameplay. A must-have for every RPG fan in PlayStation 3.

A surprise hit par excellence! The charm of it lies in the dark, atmospheric levels, tough enemies and intensive, demanding combat mechanics whereas the unforgiving level of difficulty will drive you nuts. But we promise: After defeating the first cruel boss-encounters, you'll definitely come back for more since Demon's Souls is as satisfyingly great as it is insanely challenging!

Demon's Souls is a very good game. It's not a fabulous game. On the one hand, it's hard to recommend to anyone who isn't a hardcore RPG fan or who doesn't have a mountain of patience at their disposal. On the other hand, Demon's Souls rarely puts a foot wrong – the game mechanics are tough but fair.

Even though it does not introduce any innovations compared to its original counterpart, the European edition of Demon's Souls confirms itself as one of the best exclusives currently available on PS3. Its hard but rewarding gameplay will in fact engage any fan of the genre, assuring a fun and long lasting experience.

Demon's Soul is it. It will kill you, cap your health, break your sword, make you replay the same half hour ten times over and then kill you some more. But, because of this its rewards are infinitely more exhilarating and satisfying. However, the game isn't completely heartless.

Demon's Soul provides a great RPG to the PlayStation 3. It's as simple as that.

Horribly, sadistically tough but equally rewarding. [Aug 2010, p.102]

Demon's Souls is an addictive and challenging role playing formula that offers tons of hours of entertainment for those who aren't afraid to dig down and invest hours of effort. With tons of content, a battle system that rewards player skill and great online functionality you really shouldn't miss out on this great role playing experience.

Demon's Souls is a pitch-perfect example of how great risk can make the rewards taste all the sweeter.

21st Century standards such as midlevel checkpoints and an inventory system that halts the action so you can equip yourself are eschewed in favour of, well, death. You can't even pause the game, so if you're in for this you're in it for the long haul, hours at a time. [August 2010 p76]

Once it sinks its claws in, you'll find it nigh on impossible to escape until the Kingdom of Boletaria is free from the horror of The Old One. In short then – Demon's Souls is a modern classic.

It is an almost perfect game in what it offers. Although it might be further polished in the visual aspect, or have a better adjusted difficulty curve.

Demon's Souls is an amazingly deep RPG which every true gamer will fall in love with. The high addiction factor will make you put hour after hour into this unique adventure. But especially the mysterious atmosphere, crazy challenging gameplay and grand bosses make this game an experience for which you'll sell your soul to the devil.

Demon's Souls offer plenty of satisfaction to players that don't want to be guided through every challenge they encounter. The rich, deep gameplay make this a pure action-RPG.

It's hard not to rant about Demon's Souls, while trying to figure out how it really works. Hard to put up with its intense difficulty, which can make you turn off the console and kill your desire to come back to the game for quite a while. Hard not to curse its incredibly unforgiving death penalties, its try-again-from-the-start philosophy, and punishing systems. But if you do, the gameplay finesse, subtle exploration vibe, well-thought customization system, and fulfilling power grinding proposed by its dark and enticing world are reason enough to dive back in and try to master the game. The online gameplay is brilliant and fresh, and all in all, if you can put up with the first few punishing hours and figure out how to work the game correctly, its multiple endings, old school vibe and memorable boss battles will reward you with this beloved feeling of being a real achiever. Thank you From Software, for this gift to hardcore gamers.

The difficulty level is just right, it's enough to keep your entertained that is sprinkled with enough frustration to keep you going. The environments are well designed and the gameplay is pretty much flawless… this is how RPG's should be made!

One of the best experiences on this generation, with the best online mode we've seen in ages.

Demon's Souls is a pretty hard RPG, but besides the difficulty it's a great game. The graphics are very good, the audio is great and the gameplay is genius. The release in Europe is far too late, but the game is totally worth your money. Only the story isn't very interesting, but that's just one point, the rest of the game is great.