{"id":1123,"date":"2026-04-10T21:33:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T21:33:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/5fb2e744e4b0d3ea05ca5cdd"},"modified":"2026-04-10T21:33:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T21:33:16","slug":"demons-souls-ps5-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/demons-souls-ps5-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Demon’s Souls (PS5) Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

In prep for this review I dusted off my PlayStation 3 and spent about a week replaying through the original 2009 Demon\u2019s Souls<\/a>. My main takeaway from that experience was, \u201cMan, as fantastic as this game is, it feels old.\u201d And I don\u2019t just mean graphically: you can only roll in four directions, character controls feel loose, and just overall, there\u2019s a lot of jank. But Bluepoint \u2013 the team that so expertly remade Shadow of the Colossus in 2018 \u2013 has addressed just about all of those major issues and more in the absolutely gorgeous PlayStation 5 remake, resulting in a game that feels much tighter to control and one that brings FromSoftware\u2019s neglected original Souls game back to the forefront, reminding us what a strong foundation the Dark Souls series was built upon.<\/p>\n

Like the rest of the Souls series, the appeal of Demon\u2019s Souls is that it\u2019s an action-RPG that prides itself on difficult, cerebral, and methodical combat, as well as extraordinarily deep character build customization. In combat, every action poses a risk, whether it\u2019s committing to an attack and leaving yourself vulnerable in the start-up and recovery of it, or committing to defense and sacrificing a portion of your stamina to avoid taking damage. Rather than relying mostly on reflexes, Demon\u2019s Souls relies more on making smart decisions both in and out of combat, and making the right decisions in order to overcome its many tough challenges feels incredibly rewarding in ways few other games can match.<\/p>\n

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Demon\u2019s Souls may be the game that kicked off the Souls subgenre of action-RPGs, but it is the ways in which it\u2019s different from the Dark Souls games that really make it stand out. The biggest is that rather than being one contiguous open world, Demon\u2019s Souls is split into five isolated worlds<\/a>, each made up of three to four sublevels, each offering their own unique rewards and challenges. The thing I love so much about this structure is how easy it becomes to just pack up, leave, and try out a new area if you find yourself struggling in the one you\u2019re currently in. Each level is difficult, but in very different ways, and never for reasons as simple or as boring as the enemies simply just being stronger.<\/p>\n

Each level is difficult, but in very different ways, and never for simple reasons.<\/p>\n
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World 1<\/a> is tough because you frequently have to contend with an obnoxious dragon that spends its whole day roasting each of the bridges you need to cross in order to proceed; World 2<\/a>\u2019s enemies are resistant to most damage types outside of piercing; World 3<\/a> is a labyrinth that\u2019s easy to get lost in and is guarded by tough mind flayers that can kill you in just one or two hits; World 4<\/a> has highly aggressive skeletons that are also resistant to most weapons outside of maces and hammers; and World 5<\/a> has a ton of enemies that are easy to kill, but have a nasty habit of swarming you with rapid hits and wild attack patterns. Not to mention the whole \u201clake of poison\u201d thing.<\/p>\n

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Every IGN FromSoftware Game Review<\/p>\n