To anyone who plays video games of any kind this game should give you a 'fight or flight' response at the mere mention of its title. To some this is an ungodly difficult game that was built only for the most hardcore basement dwelling virginal gamers still living at home with their parents. To others it was the supreme test of patience and tactics where every inch of the terrain gained was a major victory and each death was a learning experience. And some hear the name and say ' dis iznt HaLoEz! LOLLololll111!! Ur Gai N luv buttsecks'.
I hate those people. They need to have their controllers taken away and their parents need to send them to their rooms without dinner & take away all electronic devices so they can troll no more.
When I picked up this game I fully was feeling the old school call of proving my hardcore-ness from the glory days of the NES. I wanted something that the masses would deem too difficult and run away from. I could feel the raw testosterone pumping through my veins as I plunked this into the PS3 with the sole purpose of owning this game. I created my character, a knight (high defense & strength) and begin to plunge into the realms of Demon's Souls.
Two minutes into the first part of the first area I died. Respawing at the central hub, I returned ready to face the challenges ahead of me, and then died again.
And again.
And again.
This went on for close to an hour as I kept getting killed by the undead warriors guarding then entrance of the castle I was supposed to explore. I could feel the rage starting to build up. The controller was trembling in fear as it knew I was close to throwing it. Instead I turned off the game and stomped off somewhere to relax.
After such a sound thrashing from this wicked game I started to doubt my abilities. Actually I was quick in pointing out it was the games fault (even though I knew it wasn't true at all). I felt there was something wrong with what was happening. So I decided to change tactics. I was going to move very slowly, picking my targets deliberately, and using my surroundings for any and all tactical advantages I could get. And if that didn't work I'm returning this frakking game cause it MUST be the games fault.
Well I'm pleased to say that my second choice for play style was the correct one. And upon doing so I managed to work deeper into the castle than ever before. On the way unlocking shortcut passageways so I didn't have to traverse the direct paths when I died (and I still did....but not nearly as badly as day one). Over the next two days I traversed deeper into the castle, learning new tactics against the newer and more powerful enemies it held within. My least favorites being the gargantuan red dragon that did fly by fire breathing over the exposed bridge to the next area you had to run over and the infamous blue eyed knights that would chase you down and murder you like it was going out of style.
Every new area opened, every new enemy defeated was a well earned victory. And it felt good. And all I did was fall back into how I played D&D with some of my friends. We planned, we implemented, we learned and eventually conquered. It took time but the rewards was worth it.
I will admit that I never actually finished Demon's Souls. I defeated most of all the bosses in the game (plus 3 of 4 Archdemons defeated!) and reached a battle that I will have to grind for experience to get past. Tactics be damned but I just don't have enough defense and dexterity to avoid its attacks or soak more than 3 hits. So I put the game on the shelf where I will get back to it eventually and finish what I started. Besides, its spiritual successor just came out and I've started that and the craving to return to the dark fantasy world has returned.
Oh and what is the name of its successor?
And its amazing. So amazing I'm thinking that I'm going to convert its world into a tabletop RPG. All I got to wait for is my Tome of Horror Complete and then I can begin.
