Demon’s Souls

Posted by pookzilla on October 8, 2009

Truth be told, Demon’s Souls flew entirely under my radar.  In fact, were it not for the strange endorsement from Tycho of Penny Arcade I probably would have skipped it entirely.  I’m glad that I didn’t though because I would have missed out on a really unique experience.

To say this game is difficult is an understatement.  I don’t recall a more difficult gaming experience in recent memory.  Not only is it difficult, it’s malicious in how it punishes you for your failures.  Being forced to redo hours of gameplay upon death is just plain cruel.   I’m usually turned off by extreme difficulty but in this case the game itself is compelling enough to keep me coming back for more.  In fact, I’ve put in 3-4 hours already and I’ve yet to get past the first level.  There has to be something special there to keep me going.

Also, I have to comment on the online play although I’m not entirely clear on the particulars.  I understand one form takes the ability to enter other peoples games and torment them as ghosts.  It’s only fitting that a game that exhibits monumental cruelty would find a way to codify, enable, and ENCOURAGE griefing.