Demons Souls

[CyBeR]

No one here said it was a particularly easy game hehe, now did we? And Dark Souls will simply be the same, if not more challenging from what I've seen in the trailers.
The objective of Demon's Souls is to make you into a cautious gamer that knows the value of armor weight, stamina economy, slow advancement (the Tower of Latria has some really obnoxious pitfalls hidden in the darkness and it's almost impossible to spot them if you don't advance really carefully) and an equilibrium of magic and mellee.

And I disagree about the looks. It may not sport the most amazing engine out there, but this game has a very unique and consistent visual style that helps build the oppressive mood of the world it takes place into.

 

[Lemmy]

I know it's not supposed to be easy, but this is ridiculous. When I think 'difficult', I think enemies I have a channelge beating, traps that requires precise timing and so on. If you play a game like Street Fighter on a high difficulty level or against people that's better than you, you will have a hard time winning, but it's still a fair fight. No one can do anything you can't. (except bosses, of course.) Demon's Soul felt more like giving the enemies unfair advantages and removing most of the few advantages you have just to make it artificially difficult. That's not fun at all. I don't mind endless waves of enemies, but I want a chance to fight back. I don't want enemies swarming in, beating them by chance and being kicked back the entire level if I fail. So sorry, but Demon's Soul wasn't for us. I'm sure it's a great game if you get into it, though.

And btw, unique and consistant visual style? Sure, I agree with that. Unique? It's endless stone corridors in stone castles. Consistant? Sure, once you've seen one, you've seen them all. Most people would call that repetitive and boring, but I guess 'consistant' works too.

 

[CyBeR]

I highly doubt you can come across an RPG with as much sense of self as Demon's Souls. I respectfully disagree on your assessment that the game is repetitive or boring, visually.
The very first castle is wonderfully built to be just what it should be: an imposing fortress rendered dark and dank by the disaster that has befallen Boletaria. If you look across the empty walkways towards the valley you can see the giant city state nestled between the hills, almost peaceful and unknowing of all that takes place; smoking carcasses and vestiges of human activity litter the whole castle, showing a glimpse of what affairs there may have been before the whole colorless fog incident.

Stonefang Mountain is a series of tight underground corridors where miners and mining equipment continue their droning for valuable minerals, almost unaware of you, an intruder, among them. Once you battle your way through the upper levels and then down the narrow, rickety walkways, you reach the galleries of the Bearbugs, tight and branching into several directions, littered as well with their shed exoskeletons.

The Tower of Latria is one of the best RPG experiences I can honestly say I've ever had. Tight walkways surround a gigantic pitfall and dangerous, otherworldy guards patrol between the cells, their ominous bells telling of their positions. Prisoners reach out their arms and moan after you for release, crowding you in hope of either ripping a valuable trinket off you or simply for sweet release from their endless torment. The cries of the unjustly imprisoned follow you from floor to floor and the Fool's Idol waits for you at the very end, a vision of dangerous beauty.

About the other two worlds I will not comment. Suffice to say, Demon's Souls knows what it is and it never breaks character. You may find it boring to look at but the story of the game lies in its subtle details and how it shows you a world that you can believe in.

And I never considered the game unfair. After the first few tries where enemies have showed me a quick way back to the Archstone I began playing quite carefully and slowly. I was rarely ambushed again and, death by death, I've learned the patterns of my enemies and their weaknesses. You can never win at SSF IV online if you turtle it out, but Demon's Souls demands it of you that you do turtle it out and be careful of each shadow, of each next corner, of each stroke of your sword. You are not invulnerable, you are not invincible, you are less than nothing for the demon hordes, but you can outwit them, you can outmaneuver them and you can outlast them.
All it takes is patience and planning.

 

[Lemmy]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Demon's Soul is a bad game. It just wasn't for us.

Mind if I ask how long you have been playing roleplaying games? (on computer; pen and paper doesn't count.) I've been a big fan all my life, from the early Might & Magic and Ultima-games up to today's sorry excuses for games. Sadly it seems roleplaying games are getting more and more streamlined and feels more like action games with roleplaying elements than actual roleplaying games. Even Demon's Soul is just an action game. Sure you pick a character, change your equipment and all that, but it doesn't change the fact it's an action game.

When I talk about roleplaying games, I mean games like Baldur's Gate, Elder Scrolls and so on. Games where you have great freedom and can do whatever you want, and even the main story is optional. Games where you get to explore everything from forests, hills, cities, graveyards, caves, sometimes even sending you to the underworld. And all because you want to, not because you have to.

I guess the problem is I'm too spoiled with games like that. They let you walk around wherever you want and see all sorts of scenery. Being stuck in a linear castle got a bit underwhelming, caves or no caves.

 

[CyBeR]

RPGs...welp...about 13-14 years I assume...tad more if you count the Heroes of Might & Magic games (not technically RPGs, but the elements are there). I love a good exploration game as much as I love a good action game, but I wouldn't put Demon's Souls on par with a simple action game. The growth of the character is too extensive to just call it a simple action game and that's that.
The elder scrolls, the last 2, hold your hand too much. Demon's Souls to me is like the Gothic series: has a unique flavor and the combat is as difficult as you are prepared for it.

Indeed, it's not am ample game. Exploration is there if you want to go off the main path, but there's indeed little of that and it usually leads to handsome rewards. The Valley of Defilement comes to mind, where if you time your falls correctly through some rather dark corners, you can come out in a very difficult little area, but with high rewards and a shortcut to the end boss.

Indeed, to each their own fancy.