The PlayStation 5 is set to launch on November 12th in many territories, leaving gamers less than two months to decide which day one titles to play this holiday season. Highly-anticipated offerings likeAssassin’s Creed: Valhalla,Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, andCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold Warwill be no-brainer purchases for many looking for some titles to get them acclimated to their new hardware. But there’s another big title that you may be looking to steal you away.
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Sony recently shocked the world with the unexpected announcement that the long-awaitedDemon’s Soulsremake would bea launch title. This upcoming remake of the 2009 PlayStation 3 trailblazer is poised to be one of the most fascinating launch games ever for fans of the ultra-difficult Souls-like genre, and it’s actually one of the smartest choices almost anyone could make for a day one buy.
10It’s The Original Souls-Like From The Mind Of Hidetaka Miyazaki
When Hidetaka Miyazaki joined FromSoftware in 2004, he was a fledgling game designer with huge dreams but little experience. He was eventually assigned to help rescue a failing fantasy game for the company, which with his new direction, went on to become 2009’s devilishly difficultDemon’s Souls. The game went on to spawn the Souls-like sub-genre, which has becomefilled to the brim with spiritual successorsand copycat titles of varying quality ever since.
9It’s A Great Starting Point For New Souls-Like Players
While any Souls-like brings with it tremendous challenge,Demon’s Soulsremains one of the genre’s best titles for teaching new players the ropes. This is largely because later games in the genre focused on open-ended, interconnected world layouts with cryptic objectives and branching paths, whereasDemon’s Soulsopts for a more linear level-based structure with a clear beginning and end. This adds direction for newcomers and allows them to discover some of the game’s esoteric elements without feeling that they’ve completely lost sight of their primary goal in the process.
8It’s A Deep Role-Playing Game
Demon’s Soulsis a true RPG filled with dozens of unique weapons to be upgraded and armor sets to collect, each with their own benefits and trade-offs, and you’ll spend a lot of time leveling stats to improve your character’s health, stamina, damage, and more.
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Additionally, you’ll collect tons of items to help you on your quest, explore intricately-designed levels with tons of secrets, uncover magical spells to use against your enemies, and meet plenty of uniqueNPCs that offer services or exposition. It’s easy to get overwhelmed – in a good way – by everything the game has to offer.
7It’s A Lengthy Experience
While certainly not the only large and sprawling game releasing on day one, you can count onDemon’s Soulsbeing anextraordinarily difficult and lengthy titlethat will last you at least 30 hours on your first run. Its hazardous areas, brutal enemies, and unique mechanics all make for a perilous journey that will ensure you’re forced to take things slow, make good use of experience farming, and find any and every item that might be able to help you through.
6And It’s Oozing With Replayability
Playing throughDemon’s Soulsis already a lengthy affair, but it’s built to be replayed over and over using itsNew Game Plus mode. Once you defeat the game’s final boss, you can carry over all of your levels and gear to a new playthrough featuring enemies and bosses with increased health and damage capabilities. Even better, you can keep playing through the game this way to your heart’s content, though if it remains like the original, the increase in difficulty caps around the seventh cycle.
5It’s Also Ridiculously Addictive, Provided You Have The Patience
A New Game Plus mode is a great thing, too, because while Souls-like titles have been known to turn off those seeking a more casual time, most people who are willing to tough outDemon’s Soulsinitial hurdles will find that it quickly becomes addictive.
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The genre’s formula provides an enormous sense of satisfaction from crafting builds for your character, discovering secrets, and overcoming obstacles – so you may want to use some PTO for this one.
4Co-Op Can Be Beneficial, And PvP Can Be Exciting
Should you choose to embrace it,Demon’s Soulscan be a very social game. It features the ability to summon in random people or friends to help you if you get stuck at a particularly frustrating spot, though they’ll have to be re-summoned each time one of you dies or you defeatan area boss. Meanwhile, people can invade your world and attempt to kill you in the middle of your exploration, adding an extra threat to your progress. Of course, keep in mind that you may invade others, too, if you’re looking to pay that extra challenge forward.
3It’s A Faithful Remake From Bluepoint Games
TheDemon’s Soulsremake is being handled by Bluepoint Games, best known for their PS4 remake ofShadow of the Colossus, which left the original gameplay intact while adding gorgeous new graphics and a handful of minor but appreciated quality of life changes. What we’ve seen so far shows that they intend to do the same with Demon’s Souls, offering jaw-dropping visuals and lighting without changing much about the style or functionality that made Miyazaki masterpiece so special.
2There Are Some Quality Of Life Changes, Though
There have been a few quality of life improvements to help ensure Miyazaki’s vision is more attractive to modern audiences. Alongside the obvious graphical overhaul, the most notable changes include animations that have been cleaned up or redesigned, an increase in total player count for co-op or PvP sessions, and at least a few items.
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There may be a few additional improvements added to the game to modernize it, too, but rest assured that it is not expected to contain any changes that would impact the integrity of the originalDemon’s Soulsexperience.
1It’s A Visual Showcase
The development team has truly done wonders withDemon’s Soulsvisuals, setting what is arguably the current next-gen standard for graphics. While the original PlayStation 3 game wasn’t easy on the eyes, it was incredibly atmospheric with its foreboding art style and oppressive level design. This remake manages to maintain that dark, ominous mood while using new assets that bring the game up to nearly photo-realistic standards. It’s a sight to behold and an incredible way to show off the power ofSony’s new hardware.
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