Hey everyone, hope you're well. The first 1000 people to use the link will get a free trial of Skillshare Premium Membership: skl.sh/writingongames11201 Also, if you enjoy the videos and would like to directly help me continue to make more, consider heading to patreon.com/writingongames and pledging only what you're comfortable with. Doing so gets you access to things like early, completely ad-free video uploads! Your support is what allows me to keep doing this and I'll never be able to thank you enough for that. Stay safe everyone!

@hollandscottthomas

3 жыл бұрын

I was experiencing a lot of anxiety and depression at the time when Demon's Souls first came out, and as you said yourself the specific challenge of it was something that helped me psychologically a huge amount. It's an extremely rare thing that an ethos of a game bleeds out meaningfully into the real world, but I do genuinely believe that some of the FromSoft games significantly helped me to git moar gud at life.

It's odd to feel nostalgia watching a video for a game I played in 2016 and, funny enough, a channel I discovered in 2016. Time is moving so damn fast. This is one of the only games I can't get on PS4 and it's starting to get to me.

@Exigentable

3 жыл бұрын

Nostalgia is a strange mistress. Itll stay exclusive, wait for ps5 price drop in a couple years. Love your retrospectives man, stay inspired brotha. P.s. time only continues to flow faster the older you get.

@WritingOnGames

3 жыл бұрын

It's so strange how 2016 both feels like yesterday and decades ago simultaneously.

I always love seeing Redlettermedia in those screenshots of "lol this is the reccomend videos besides the video" cuts

"Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time."-Max Ehrmann

@johnvak01

3 жыл бұрын

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.[3] Max Ehrmann, 1948

@HxH2011DRA

3 жыл бұрын

@@johnvak01 🧘‍♂️

I'm glad someone finally mentioned the creep towards speedy dodging in these games. To me, it feels like an arms race between players and devs, where the players get too good at Souls mechanics, and the developers try to up the ante and keep things difficult. Feels good taking a look back at square one.

@edgali

3 жыл бұрын

yeah I really hope Elden Ring will change up the combat in an interesting way. As much as I love Souls combat, I don't know if I want a new game with even faster combat.

@Pan_Z

3 жыл бұрын

Bosses became more homogenized as the series went on. Almost every boss in Demon's Souls has some sort of advantageous exploit in their environment or unique gimmick to keep every fight distinct. In bosses like Astraea and Storm King, you can feel the lore of the area permeating into the fight.

@jonbodhi

3 жыл бұрын

I’ve said the same thing, from Bloodborne to now, Sekiro, it’s all getting faster and faster and I don’t see how I can keep up.

@ALocalClown

10 ай бұрын

@@edgali I wished this too. Ah well.

0:47 Demon's Shakeweight

BINGO dude. You nailed it. the souls game's focus on speed and agility as opposed to actual rpg elements of choosing your own play style hit it right on the head. So glad to hear someone voice this opinion out there.

Regarding what you said towards the end of the video about feeling like you're being dragged back into a bad place, I just want to say: Remember to take care of yourself, Hamish! There's help out there if you need it, and while I know it can be really tough to ask for help if you're at a low point mentally, it's absolutely worth the effort.

I’m so glad demons souls is popular now. It’s finally getting the broad recognition it deserves. Dark souls is great, yes, but almost everything it’s praised for was done first in demons souls. In that regard, demons souls might be the most influential game of the past decade or so. It also has the best atmosphere of the series hands down. The only thing I really REALLY dislike about the remake is the new musical arrangements. The original were cheap but perfect for the games tone and setting. I especially miss the original nexus music.

@theatheistbear3117

3 жыл бұрын

The redesigns, lighting, voice acting are all not as good too. Also didn’t like how they barely changed the gameplay or other quirks that plagued the original Demon’s Souls.

@Glassandcandy

3 жыл бұрын

@@theatheistbear3117 it’s a good thing they didn’t change the gameplay imo. That’s part of the charm of the original. It’s a janky masterpiece and I wouldn’t have it any other way. And while I agree that the art design is worse, how can you say the lighting is worse? The original lighting in demons souls was terrible, especially since they were using bloom to overexposed everything (you can hardly even read flamelurkers attacks because of it). The lighting in the new one is great, it’s just that the art design is considerably worse imo

@theatheistbear3117

3 жыл бұрын

@@Glassandcandy That it’s so janky is a problem. This is a PS5 exclusive intended to sell consoles. Some QOL additions, graphics and animation upgrades and new audio isn’t enough. The AI should’ve gotten an upgrade, the moon grass and World Tendency systems should’ve been revised, and so on. When I talk about the lighting I mean how the lighting affects the mood of the areas. Fire is pure orange and the areas are often too bright in places such as Boletaria and Stonefang, the latter being so bright it hurts the eyes. Both Stonefang and Latria are also the worst offenders when it comes to the orange tint. There is supposed to be a fog swept over the land, but you don’t really see that. In the original game the fog had this unnatural green hue that made it clear something wasn’t right. That’s gone.

@hardwatergaming7965

3 жыл бұрын

The new voice recordings aren’t as good as the original either, the new ‘you died’ font is a downgrade from the original, and the most irritating change in this version is that invaders can’t kill enemies (and you can’t roll through them like later games) so you can be prevented from getting to the host if an enemy blocks your path, with your only options to suicide or leave world (both of which make you lose a level) or quit to main menu.

@esssss8415

3 жыл бұрын

@@theatheistbear3117 You don’t seem to understand that if they did this they would be cancelled.

First time I played it I walked the whole game shield up. Later saw people on KZread rolling through attacks like "that's cheating, that's an exploit"

My favorite thing about Demon's Souls is that it rewards smart play a lot more than any of its spiritual sequels rather than simply playing good. Enemies have exploitable weaknesses and very hard strenghts, there's always a rock paper scissors approach to enemies and levels. You can always bruteforce it but the game wants you to think about your loadout, like the way it gives the player hp regen equipment for the poison swamp for example.

I've only discovered your channel a few months ago, but what a discovery it was. Excellent videos each time around, truly! Had a blast playing Demon's Souls for the first time on PS5. Will absolutely go back through it again in NG+. What an amazing launch game.

The seamless connection of setting and mechanics is what makes Demon's Souls so admirable. The greater sense that world and gameplay are inextricable from each other is still what Demon's Souls does best. Not Dark Souls, not the later games, not even Demon's Souls' own remake could recapture this to the same degree.

Demon’s Souls is my ultimate favorite game and it’s the main reason I want a ps5. Great video, very much appreciated!

My brother bought me Demon’s Souls on PS3 back when I was a bit sickly in my school years, it was a game I almost immediately became obsessed with and absolutely loved it. This remake on PS5 has been one of the best things to happen for me in many years, replaying this masterpiece is such a joy. I absolutely praise Bluepoint for doing this, I’d love to see them do more remakes of the souls games. Picturing Bloodborne with these kind of visuals... oh man.

Started playing this game today, will definitely watch this vid when I'm finished!

really cool to see how far things have come for this series-turned-genre and for you personally. So cool how this remaster of a sort of touchstone can mean so much, love the comparison to the feeling of coming home. Really sorry to hear that you’ve been feeling down life’s been ass and all... but glad that this game is fulfilling something more for you once again man 🙏 Take it ease big time hamby 👑🪐

Awesome vid! As always!

Thinking back to the start of the last decade and how gaming content and content guides have changed always leaves me feeling melancholic, it's comforting to hear I'm not alone in missing the magic that was around during those days.

@EggBastion

3 жыл бұрын

same, al least now we have pannenkoek2012 ;P

I remember first discovering this back on the PS3 as an "undiscovered gem" at the time and just getting so lost in it, even before Dark Souls elevated the worldbuilding and design to god-tier. It's so awesome that people (well, those few lucky enough to snag a PS5) are getting to experience it in such a faithful, loving recreation. I hope BluePoint gets the chance to take a swing at Dark Souls 1 at some point, I'm excited for the people who would get to experience that for the first time in ultra-hi def.

@theatheistbear3117

3 жыл бұрын

I’d rather not. If it gets a Remake it should get major overhauls and not just a new coat of paint.

@hollandscottthomas

3 жыл бұрын

@@theatheistbear3117 Yeah, remake not remaster.

Ah, to venture forth onto Boletaria once more... Good luck braving the mists, Hamish.

I suck at fromsoft games but am decent at soulslikes like the surge series, hollow knight. I threw my head at dark souls 2 and sucked and gave up. Played bloodbourne and sucked and I could t get past the starter areas. I just don’t have the patience for from souls games. But this video sold me on the idea of going back to the original to get a foundation and give this game a chance. When I get a PS5 I def will pick this up.

Consider the fact that Miyazaki the director of demon souls was inspired to quit his job and enter the video game industry by team Ico with their game ICO and Shadow the Colossus it really shows in Demon Souls the influence team Ico had on Miyazaki

Kudos for the Mike Stoklasa cameo. 10/10.

@motivelacking

3 жыл бұрын

Glad I didn't have to scroll long to find the shout out

@Exigentable

3 жыл бұрын

Mike is my personal jesus.

Great video

Such a beautiful looking remake, you just don't get this type of quality in a launch game usually.

I bought a PS5 after seeing a DF tech review of this game. I never thought I would like a Souls game but this remake looked so good I could not skip it.

Tried to post this on Patreon but didn't seem to be working so I thought I'd do it here. This was a really beautiful video Hamish. I recently properly, actually, seriously got into Dark Souls for the first time this month in what was very much a response to your video about it years ago regarding mental health. After dissociating as a result of this hellscape of a year, a game I've tried to get into multiple times absolutely clicked with me and I smoked straight through the Asylum and the Taurus (with a little bit of cheap). From this place, I've then accidentally weirdly fallen in love with roguelikes, absolutely banging my hours away into Hades and Risk of Rain 2, this odd fascination with perseverance seeming to mean more to me than it ever has done before (I wonder if you enjoyed these games?) This is all to say, Merry Christmas, Hamish. Much as your posts here always end thanking us, I'd just like to again thank you for your wonderful content, which has always been a home and grounding for me on the Internet but has been even more poignant this year especially. All the best, Tommy CC

@WritingOnGames

3 жыл бұрын

This comment really brightened my day. Glad to provide some comfort in these wild times. As for your question about roguelikes, I usually don't jive with the genre much at all-as much as I recognise the genius of the interlocking systems of a game like Spelunky, the complete reset upon every death with zero feeling of actual progress between runs leaves me feeling completely cold on it (and that's a totally personal thing, obviously). ...which is why Hades is definitely up there in terms of my games of the year. Manages to make death truly meaningful in a game like this-an actual part of the emerging narrative-and gives you just a slight enough nudge towards greater power between runs to make it feel like I'm actually working towards something, which has seemingly made all the difference. Really, really love that game. Thanks again for your lovely comment!

You can tell how they decided to go forward with making the bosses in the souls(borne) franchise more challenging and less forgettable by adding phases instead of being locked with the same movesets throughout the fight. The old school gimmick design of the bosses is great on a first playthrough and as an experience but once you figure out their shtick, it's pretty simple to exploit (just need a lot of patience). Fights like the penetrator (if you don't have Bjorr) and King Allant seem like they'd fit right at home into the DS series. That's why I really liked the fight with King Allant and it seemed a bit more challenging (and fun) as it's just a focus on the player's skills as a fighter. Can you imagine if he had phases?? That would've been so cool. I also feel like the experience getting to the bosses are the most challenging part. As you've mentioned the grass system instead of the estus flask means you're basically unkillable (unless you get one shotted/ganked) which also makes the game way easier than it's future titles. There are no checkpoint systems. Bosses feel like a bow on top a whole package (the levels) rather than the whole package itself. They feel more like they serve a thematic and narrative purpose more than anything else. All this reminds me of some of the old school design of games and something like Crash Bandicoot. Which also revolved around different worlds you can warp to that have gradually difficult levels for each setting. And the bosses also have that gimmick nature of 'jump on them 3 times to defeat them' that's charming but not super challenging. Which is fine. Again, there are reasons why they decided to take their design aspects and gameplay philosophies further which is what makes the franchise into what it is today. It is cool to see how far we've come and ended up. Thank yo u to Bluepoint for giving us what is essentially revisit and a window to the past.

This video is basically Hamish Character Development haha! Great examination, man

We are better at these games now. We know their little quirks and how to trigger and watch for enemy movesets. Our reaction times are faster, we're confident in facing powerful enemy. But I think that's why Demon's Souls is different because playing the Dark Souls remaster I put a parry shield on my back and never touched it again as I iFramed the game because that's how I played Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3. Barely died to enemy or bosses, swept whole areas without an issue. My mates who'd played the game on its original release kept saying, just wait, fat boy and lightning, that's where the real Dark Souls begins... but it never materialzed. I absolutely love the game, map design, world design lore is god tier. But I definitely didn't consider it hard. Demon's Souls is different. Its difficulty isn''t in the bosses (unless janky, glitchy bosses, bad AI and terrible pathing was designed as difficulty), it's in the exploration, the real lack of short cuts and save points. Die in 5-2's swamp settlement and that's a long assed way to get back. Fighting The Old Hero isn't hard (even easier with Thief's Ring on) but just getting to that boss is a nightmare where you fight multiple enemy on ledges while being sniped at, where Shadowlurkers fire beams of magic, scythe wielding Reapers hide behind corners and fire magic from their fingers... Getting through the Depraved Chasm is probably one of the toughest gauntlets in any Souls game imo (especially if you enter early). And while I prefer the later games by not being reliant on difficult bosses or enemies they put difficulty into something that doesn't really age. That's a long post lol, I wasn't planning it write it. Love your videos though and I hope you're doing well.

I wouldn't mind a return to this boss design. In fact I welcome it as much. True older heads of the Demon's Souls and Dark Souls 1 should get a game like this one with a different aesthetic. It would still sell really well because it's From Software and the mainstream would eat it up, but older ones will feel more targeted and some of the newer ones might welcome it if boss design is focused alongside levels but it's core is still Soulslike but not in a "dodge roll" way.

I just played Demon Souls but it is my second favorite Souls game, behind BB. The bosses are less interesting, but the worlds feel so much more mysterious and interesting than any of the other souls games aside from BB.

This game does look incredible. Every aspect so intricate. Though, I still do feel the musical heart has been pulled in a strange direction. However, I haven't had the chance to play the game and experience it in motion with the soundtrack, so I can't truly comment. Though, tonally they are so distinctly contrasted. Hearing how people say every aspect of everything else has been maintained... Makes me wonder if, even then, it'll have been slightly amiss. Either way, it's only a small part of what makes such an amazing game, I'm extremely happy this remake looks as good as it does!

@theatheistbear3117

3 жыл бұрын

Flamelurker’s new boss fight feels really bland and uninteresting with the new aesthetic and music in the Remake. The original felt so tense and anxiety inducing. It’s just gone in the Remake.

@hardwatergaming7965

3 жыл бұрын

Yep, the new soundtrack is a step backwards from the original for sure, as is the voice acting. Still a great remake though.

@jd61215

3 жыл бұрын

@@theatheistbear3117 nah cmon man bland isn't what it is, it's grandiose and feels like a fated duel, which isn't what the original felt like at all, but I wouldn't call it bland

@theatheistbear3117

3 жыл бұрын

@@jd61215 Maybe not, but it still feels so unengaging and tedious.

Wish I had a Ps5.

@SpongeXtermiat0r94

3 жыл бұрын

Me too

Sure wish I had a ps5 to play this

Having come to the Demon's Souls Remake having never played Demon's Souls, but having beaten every other From Soft game since at least twice each, it does feel like an easier game overall, but also it approaches difficulty differently. A key thing I noticed is that the designers of Demon's Souls seemed to build around it being a game where you could have anywhere between no healing and effectively unlimited healing, so it's set up in a way where it rewards care quite strongly, and generally grinds you down with attrition if you aren't careful. That is, the challenge of Demon's Souls I found was in getting through the entire level without using much grass, generally with a boss that is a bit of a speedbump rather than a challenge wall. By contrast, in later games (particularly Bloodborne and DS3, which I was bouncing between during my first playthrough of Demon's Souls Remake, partly as a comparison of game speed (surprisingly close), and because I was in the middle of a playthrough in each) you were basically given a checkpoint right before the area boss, and as a result the devs built the bosses expecting you to be able to heal frequently, without running out of healing items, and knowing that since you aren't going through the entire level to fight them, which means the bosses can be very immediately challenging without making the game a complete slog. Biggest evidence of that to me being how the Shrine of Storms bosses are so easy while the areas preceding them are major challenges, while by contrast the Stonefang Tunnels bosses are the hardest ones, but they either give you unlockable shortcuts to the archstone (Armorspider) or build the level with a massive skip straight from the archstone to the boss (Flamelurker)

@Pan_Z

3 жыл бұрын

Demon's Souls healing system unfortunately led to some frustrating and facile moments. You could lose all grass and need to go grind or buy some. Or you could have 99 grass on top of HP regeneration apparel, turning healing into a thoughtless decision. The Estus system in Dark Souls was an amazing refinement. No more farming and a more consistent difficulty.

@dominiccasts

3 жыл бұрын

@@Pan_Z Indeed, I prefer the estus system, but bouncing between Demon's Souls and Dark Souls 3 I noticed a significant difference in design that felt motivated by whether the developers knew exactly how much they could grind down your resources.

Wish I could play this, but no ps5 for me 😭😭😭 hopefully I can get one early on in 2021 Edit: managed to get one from gamestop and I'm loving demon's souls. Also returnal is pretty good

I played Bloodborne and the Dark Souls trilogy before going back to Demon's Souls so I had a somewhat similar experience the first time I played this game. (I also played all of them and their DLC in a three month span so there was a lot of "compare and contrast" going on in my head). No PS5 yet, but this is on the "to buy" list for sure.

They made it shinier. How far it's come!

@theatheistbear3117

3 жыл бұрын

Not much. It’s a technical achievement but it lacks what made the original special.

@WritingOnGames

3 жыл бұрын

I keep seeing people say this and wonder, in actual concrete terms, what they mean. Enemy designs maybe? I was skeptical of that stuff at first but upon actually playing it I found the redesigns didn't matter at all. As far as I'm concerned they perfectly captured the atmosphere of the original. What specifically made the original special that the remake didn't carry over?

@theatheistbear3117

3 жыл бұрын

@@WritingOnGames The enemy (Fat Official, Maneater and Adjudicator’s designs were changed to be more grotesque for instance. Vanguard’s design was a refrence to Armored Core and the Remake’s redesign removed that aspect of the game to make him a Doom demon) and NPC designs were altered (Old King Doran’s redesigned armour looks horribly over the top for a gritty dark fantasy game and Satsuki looks like a Chinese stereotype...his name is Japanese), the major misuse of lighting (the color palette is dominated by teal and orange. The flames are all pure orange, for instance. Stonefang and Latria are the worst offenders when it comes to the overuse of orange. Additionally, the light is so bright that it sometimes hurts to look at. The game barely uses darkness. The original bathed in it, and it made the atmosphere thicker. You can put filters on, sure, but it doesn’t change how the lighting works or the colors), and the music is barely unrecognizable (it sounds like God Of War mixed with Bloodborne, which isn’t Demon’s Souls. Compare the original themes of Flamelurker, Old Monk, Tower Knight, Fool’s Idol, or any of the other bosses, to the Remake’s. The latter barely fit the intended mood of the fight.). The original game combined the designs, lighting and music to create a game that had verisimilitude, nuance, grittiness and horror. Demon’s Souls is a dark fantasy game, the Remake made it a high fantasy game. The original game is far from perfect, it has major issues, but the atmosphere was thick and layered. I don’t feel that way with the Remake because of the aforementioned.

what is the music?

Cool

Here is an interesting fact about the loading times. If you play the original on the RPCS3 emulator on pc the loading times are just as fast as the PS5 load times even when playing from a mechanical HDD. Just like all the Dark Souls games on pc the load times are so fast they may as well just be a fog like in the remake. The game was always coded in a way that alowed for really fast loading but that never happened on the PS3(or 360 if we consider Dark Souls) because the games were loading from discs.

@zackbuschmann9005

3 жыл бұрын

This is just straight up not true lol. I've played DS1 and DS3 on PC and PS4 and the load times are not at all comparable to the remake, and both games are installed to the HDD in that case. If memory serves, the load times were usually in the neighborhood of 10-15s. Which is about 3-5x slower than DeSR. I also think you're kind of forgetting the difference in the sheer volume of data that's being streamed in in the remake. I would image most assets are at least an order of magnitude larger in size.

@nomercy8989

3 жыл бұрын

@@zackbuschmann9005 Not sure what you are playing on but on my pc Demons Souls on an emulatro, Dark Souls PTD, Dark Souls Remastered, Dark Souls 2, Dark Souls 2 SotS and Dark Souls 3 all load within 5 seconds. You even said it your self. If memory serves. I literally played 3 of those games in the last 2 weeks. I know what I'm saying is true.

@Tekeysix

3 жыл бұрын

@@nomercy8989 doesn't change the fact that the remake is much more detailed and much bigger in information to load.

@felipetartas5434

3 жыл бұрын

There are other key factors too: memory ram and CPU speed.

Got Gud

You're late on your dose of Mike Stoklasa!

For me Ithey could make Demon's souls/Dark souls games for the next 20 years and I would still play them.. On the other hand I never really got into Sekiro's mechanics

Advice on life - just try to surround yourself (if you can, at least a little) with positive people. Easier said than done, I know.

May I ask why Do you hate your "Dark Souls helped me cope with suicidal depression", now?

@EggBastion

3 жыл бұрын

Maybe it's a bit personal ... but I wouldn't mind knowing either

At 1:17 that's an unfair comparison, deflecting in Sekiro is miles easier than parrying in Souls games.

While Dark Souls brought the franchise to the public I think Demon Souls made the foundation

Masterpiece of a remake

I'm pretty sure From soft could have made boleteria have some ferns and shit if they wanted. Bluepoint's handling of the art and music are by far the worst parts about the remake. Demon's souls should be demons souls. Not bloodborne/ds3

sorry one of your Patrons is called spike jones? please let it be true

This felt like an atomic bomb was being dropped on the gaming world back in 2009/2010. It's crazy to think that THIS would go on to spawn an entire genre, and so, so many copycats... some of which would become critically acclaimed themselves. People might ask 'what was the best game of the previous decade?' and while I can't really say for sure, you would be incredibly hard pressed to argue that Demon's Souls, and it's direct progeny, did not DEFINE the 2010s when it comes to gaming.

Good video, but I'm afraid I completely disagree with one thing: at 2:40, your pronunciation of FAQ as "fack". It'll always be "eff-ay-queue" for me - even if it does take longer to say! :) (I feel a lot more strongly about this than I do about the animated GIF hard G/soft G thing, where I don't really mind either.)

Damn, I came and saw that first like and comment

Cool! Now I'll just buy a ps5...

It's pretty af and hard as hell.

@samuelbormett5629

3 жыл бұрын

I thought it was hard as well then I played through it a second time with what I learned with the first time about how to properly deal with bosses and it was a surprising breeze compared to the first time.

@Hoopla10

3 жыл бұрын

@@samuelbormett5629 Yep, same. I do a normal playthrough, then any NG+ for the plat'. After that I do a SL1 run. And this is by faaaaaaaaar the easiest SL1 run of any of the Souls games. I tend to love that run as it's the one that gets me into the weeds when it comes to enemy/boss movessets and timings. It's basically break the game time as I learn everything I need to learn. Then I go and do speedruns. But you quickly see there's not a whole lot to learn in SL1 in Demon's Souls. It took me just under 6 hours and at one point I died (fighting the skelly's on the cliff between the Adjudicator and Old Hero bosses) and lost over a MILLION souls simply because I hadn't died and didn't need to spend them until that point.

I dont think demon souls was ever that hard. Its more that it was janky and came out in a time where the industry was fully commited to acessible cinematic experiences.

☝Where did you found a ps5?

yeah. ok DEX builder.

Do you still make music these days?

@WritingOnGames

3 жыл бұрын

Yup! For this one I remade the track I did for the original Blighttown video back in 2016-felt appropriate somehow.

@WritingOnGames

3 жыл бұрын

Realise you meant generally as opposed to just for the videos - still playing, not nearly as much as I used to though.

So I had never played Demon Souls but I finished every Soulsborne game, i found the remake amazing, the areas are really good and some hard, but the boses are really easy, i think the last 5-7 bosses were all in one or 2 trys. Gundyr I'n DS3 harder than any Demon Souls boss. I hope they remaster bloodborne

@theatheistbear3117

3 жыл бұрын

I hope they don’t tbh. Someone other than Bluepoint needs to do it.

I never like the idea of giving the player half hp after dying from the previous attempt at full hp. It's not hardcore it's just bad game design.

@LivingGuy484

3 жыл бұрын

I think it's dumb too, but I believe it's actually a subtle way to adjust the difficulty for players that don't know what world tendency is. A streamer I like kept using the stone to regain full health, and ended up with Black World Tendency (which makes the difficulty much harder in some ways) But anyways, without the temptation to raise one's health, there would be less motivation to play in human form (if you figure out that dying that way makes the game harder). Since the game adds physical changes based on world tendency, I think they probably wanted to make the game feel a little more fleshed out and immersive (since the original game came out way long ago, and was a super unique concept for its time) But, I dunno, I don't know if they gave any explanation for it in interviews or anything, this is just what makes sense to me. I thought I would hate the mechanic more that I did, but it actually made me try to play more carefully and not just rush into things. So, I think it's not too shabby. If you don't like the mechanic, but would like one of their best games, I'd recommend Sekiro. It's super interesting, and still challenging, but more stealthy based. If you like hardcore action and fast motion, I'd say to look into Bloodborne (although that game is much more gritty looking)

@unchartedrocks1

3 жыл бұрын

@@LivingGuy484 i already own both Bloodbourne & Sekiro bro. Sekiro is by far in my opinion their best game mechanically. Fast & beautiful with a great art style & lore. Looking 4ward to Elden Ring.

@LivingGuy484

3 жыл бұрын

@@unchartedrocks1 I would agree with that, Sekiro is definitely one of my favorite games. Hopefully we can see Elden Ring before the end of 2021!

Great video as always, but people, could we stop saying that "Souls games already have an easy mode"? I understand the idea behind it, but it just comes across as even more patronozing way of gatekeeping. Those games have mechanics in them that make them easier, yes. But to access those mehanics, you already need to be efficient in the game, meaning people who actually need to make the game easier probably won't even get to them. That's not an easy mode. That's a helping hand to those who are already quite good but don't enjoy the hassle all that much. If we want to explore the idea of easy modes in punishing games, I'd take a look at Hades' God Mode. That's how you do easy mode for this type of game: actually letting players of all skill levels enjoy it without robbing them of the integral experience that makes the game what it is.

@porassrivastava8242

3 жыл бұрын

I completely understand as a dark Souls noob but the thing is that the difficulty is part of the narrative that's why it's so important, if you give up on the game because of the difficulty you turn in a metaphorical sense "hollow" Consumed by the dark.

@WritingOnGames

3 жыл бұрын

I just think at a certain point people are trying to argue between "an Easy Mode" and "methods of play that make the game markedly easier" and, I dunno, it just feels so semantic to me at that stage. Difficulty and struggle *is* the "integral experience that makes the game what it is"-a mage build, for example, still gives you that, but also gives you the advantage of being able to get damage in from further away (and does more damage upfront than most melee builds). Takes away a massive part of the barrier to entry right from the start. I think a lot of the rhetoric that comes out of the Souls community is unhelpful at best, but when they describe the Royalty class as Demon's Souls' "Easy Mode," ya know... I can't exactly disagree. It's an Easy Mode by another name.

@pabaa13

3 жыл бұрын

@@porassrivastava8242 that's why I am mentioning Hades' God Mode. In Hades, you HAVE to die. It's even more important there than in any Souls game, the game pretty much narratively breaks without it. And they still found a way around it with a well designed easy mode that makes you stronger everytime you die. This is such an elegant way to make it playable for less skilled players. Cause they'll still die. A lot. And they'll still get the intended takeaway. But it gets easier for them with every death and God mode helps compensate for their slower skill growth so they can eventually overcome the difficulty. Which is the point. With some tweaks, Souls could do something like this too. They don't, which sure, alright, no problem, but I don't think calling what Souls do "an easy mode" is appropriate. If players are asking for an easy mode to get to the intended easy mode, maybe it's not working as an easy mode should.

@pabaa13

3 жыл бұрын

@@WritingOnGames granted I don't know much about Demon's Souls, but I've recently finished Bloodborne and that one illustrates my point pretty well. You can't level up or call for a coop help before you clear the first area and encounter a boss for the first time. And I have friends who would love to play this game for its story and atmosphere, but none of them has made it through Central Yharnam to get that first insight. That's the "easy mode" being locked away from players who actually need a "proper easy mode" to even get to it. (Also, considering certain classes being an easy mode is.. eh, I get it as a figure of speech, sure, but, cmon. If we're talking about accessibility, are really conditioning it with such an extensive knowledge of meta as to know which class / items / starting background is considered easier to play as?) As I've mentioned in a response above, Hades and its God mode do this perfectly: they make the game easier without sacrificing the identity created by difficulty and frequent game overs. It can be done. Souls could do it too. They don't and I perfectly respect that, but it seems to me that "Souls actually have an easy mode" is quietly followed by a "but not for those who actually need it." I guess I'm a little pre triggered about gatekeeping in Souls community (which isn't even your case, you barely mention it in your video! I guess I just heard it one too many times today) so sorry if my comments are jading, I definitely mean no offense and I enjoy your content very much :) But if it peaks your interest, check Hades and its God mode. Since it came out, everytime somebody says that "Souls couldn't work with an Easy Mode" I think of Hades and wonder "Emm, why nof?"

@WritingOnGames

3 жыл бұрын

But I'm specifically talking about Demon's Souls. Bloodborne you could make that argument because there really is so little that game does to make things any easier for players (even though you could also argue that's kinda the point of that game's Lovecraftian horror to a certain extent). But it seems like you're arguing for the stuff that Demon's Souls provides to be labelled as an Easy Mode, and like, sure? I guess? But again, difficulty, struggle and discovery are a key part of the identity of many of the Souls games. I bounced off of Dark Souls many times until I found a guide to get me through the starting area. Just because something isn't presented to players on a platter as an out and out easy mode... doesn't make it less of an easy mode. I'm not saying people have to have an extensive knowledge of the meta-I'm saying that, ya know, guides are freely available to tell people this stuff if they want to look it up. Looking up a guide for Dark Souls' opening parts didn't make the joy of getting through those hours any less satisfactory, it felt like I'd just broken through to what the game was trying to convince me of all along-you put in a little effort to meet the game on its terms, and the game will reciprocate. I've played Hades and love it but, from what I've heard about the God Mode, it kinda doesn't help much in alleviating what little frustration is in that game to begin with? Like, I actually don't think it's that different from the Royalty class in Demon's Souls? Doesn't make you invulnerable but makes things a bit easier for starting players. Again, seems like a labelling issue more than anything else. Look, trust me, as someone who has a bunch of old Souls videos and even all these years later still deals with a frankly weird amount of comments a week telling me how shite a person I am for having some view or other on any of the Souls games-I profess zero allegiance to the Souls community. I think it's rough to say the least and so this is definitely not coming from some place of wanting people to "git gud" or some such bullshit. I just think that to label the Souls series as one that does absolutely nothing to provide players an on-ramp should they wish for it is pretty disingenuous to say the least. You say "it can be done, Souls could do it too" and, again, I argue Demon's Souls already has done it. It's just called something different.

The fact that this is a game that doesn't respect your time is what keeps me from playing it. I don't have a ton of time to play games these days, so the idea of being punished/weakened for dying holds no appeal to me. This game's design is very rough. There are so many cheap deaths that the later games don't have. The elitist mindset of not allowing an easier mode is ridiculous and doesn't move video games forward as a medium, especially for people who might have disabilities. I usually play games on the hardest difficulty, but have no interest in being punished for dying. I'd rather just be able to retry until I learn. I shouldn't have to grind too.

@PadreMaronnolo

2 жыл бұрын

just don't be human when roaming, when u become human by killing a demon just die in the nexus and stay in non human form.

I feel like an old grumpy dude now, but seriously; I think the game looks really good, but it lost all of the soul of the original game. I think this remake really missed the charm and aestetic of the original, both in looks but especially in the music department. The original soundtrack had its own expression, this remakes music sounds like its trying to make the music sound like the later titles more grandious sound. Great that this game is possible to play for New generations, but for me it doesnt feel like the same game

barely even feels like demons souls, just generic fantasy

@kytsunee6324

3 жыл бұрын

Ahhhh, shut the fuck up

4:38 how exactly is the darkness of tomb of the giants bullshit? there are 3 different ways to light it up and you are guranteed to get at least one of them given you arent just running past enemies, also the enemies have glowing eyes so you can see them before they agro. its hard sure, but straight up calling it bullshit with no explanation to compliment dark areas in the demon's souls remake by contrast is poor writing imo

Demons souls doesn't exist, merely a beta for what it's successors would do better in every facet possible. Embarrassing game in FS library to be honest.