For those who played the Original PS3 version, did the Demon's Souls Remake change your opinion of the game as a whole?

[Rommaz]

Thread title says it all.

Did the remake in any way alter your opinion on Demon's Souls compared to when you played it first.

The remake remains very faithful with only a few balance changes, the main difference being of course the overhauled visuals. And while, it plays almost exactly the same, visuals and a different mindset years later may alter the overall experience for some players.

As for myself, I made a thread a year or so back asking which people liked more Dark or Demon's Souls and I normally rated them pretty equally, but after the remake I've really come to appreciate Demon's and all its oddities a lot more, finding myself liking the characters, tone, music and general feel of the game more this time around.

What was the effect if any on you Era?

 

[BackwoodsAltar]

60fps alone made me like it more, even if I found that some of the artistic choices didn't entirely work.

 

[Mecha]

I definitely like it more, Bluepoint's work amplified the amazing experience.

 

[Poldino]

It was a great game then and it still is now. 60FPS and those amazing graphics were the cherry on top

 

[Necron]

It's the better playable version of an already great game.

 

[Huey]

very much feels like the same game at its core, which is impressive. The visuals are amazing but the most transformative part of the experience is the lack of load times, which is a huge detriment to a souls game.

 

[DontHateTheBacon]

The remake is incredible, and playing the original when it first came to the west was incredible as well. Just an amazing game that has now urged me to go beat Bloodborne (just finished it) and the DLC.

 

[ColdLavaBunny]

So as someone who's never been brave enough to take on a soulsborne is this the place to start? Bloodborne is my other obvious option.

 

[daveo42]

I actually got passed the tower knight this time, so I'd say that's a win for the Remake

 

[Urishizu]

They're both marvelous experiences, but the remake with 60FPS, improved resolution and graphics just brings so much more life into the world. I would imagine going forward, the remake is my go-to for experiencing the title, but it by no means diminishes what the original is and accomplished.

 

[Deleted member 5596]

I like it more or less the same.

But it made me realize how well the level design and general gameplay aged. Is a testament of how amazing was that a mid-budget game with such a troubled development became a classic.

 

[StarPhlox]

I am extremely impressed by how faithful Bluepoint was to the vision of the original game and yet I also think that a lot of the aspects of the game (needing to grind seemingly endlessly for upgrade materials, painfully long treks to bosses w/o shortcuts) have aged really poorly. I would call it both an outstanding game and my least favorite in the Souls series. One thing I would really appreciate is a boss rush / boss select mode like the one that was added for Sekiro. I would love to battle these bosses without having to replay the game again and again.

 

[Human Resources]

i'll let you know when i get a PS5 ;_;

 

[Fonst]

Lovely to see that world like that.

The mines actually made me realize how interconnected the whole level really was, could clearly see everything.

 

[Digital Dinosaur]

It doesn't change my ranking for it among From's games. But it does make me enjoy it more thanks to the framerate, responsiveness, and animations.

 

[Deleted member 56803]

Some of the design decisions have aged poorly and the remake changed several things I preferred in the original. I'd say I have mixed opinions

 

[Deleted member 1003]

I love it even more, the ripping fast load times still blow me away.

 

[Porco Rosso]

I still dropped it after a while, but I enjoyed it far more. I get what the first one was going for, but it was just too dark and weird, which made it hard for me to tell what to do. By being brighter and making it easier to identify what exactly I'm looking at at all times, I found it far easier to make my way through the remake (well... make my way as much as I did).

 

[Ewaan]

This is kind of an aside to your question - but I always used to bounce of Soulsborne games and couldn't really get into them. This time I've made a pretty heavy investment in paying £70 for Demon's Souls and I was having a hard time with it again. After I started playing a long with a guide though and seeing how someone who has played these games for years used controlled their character and tackled the fighting in the games I'm absolutely loving it. I feel no shame about playing a long with a YouTube video if it means I get enjoyment out of that game - it also now means that I can hopefully go back to BloodBorne and see what everyone is raving about. I feel now that I've got it down to go and play them myself, I just needed a small nudge in the right direction - but also having someone open up all these games has to offer to you on a play through makes them so easy to appreciate.

Shout out to YouTuber FightinCowboy for opening the door for me.

 

[Deleted member 10795]

I loved the remake, but my perception of the game as a whole was totally different this time. I'm not sure if that's because of the remake itself, or just time.

Demon's Souls seemed like a completely obscure and impenetrable nightmare to me in 2009. 11 years (and completing Dark Souls and Bloodborne since) later, and it's now my most completed Souls game and I have the Platinum trophy.

 

[Hotbug]

I like it equally! I'm glad some of the sound mixing isn't as grating (the heartbeat in Latria), but they boffed up several of the music scores and they don't sound right anymore.

 

[Ashler]

PS3 OG was a masterpiece.
PS5 Remake is just as much of a masterpiece.

 

[ZeroCDR]

The QOL of the SSD and 60fps mode really do the game a lot of favors, and the new graphics and art direction knock it out of the park 90% of the time. Very much enjoyed revisiting the game and likely to do it again sooner rather than later.

 

[Batatina]

I think I was able to appreciate the inventiveness and variety even more, as Bluepoint really pushes those aspects and brought them to life. I now think that game stands above Dark Souls as it's just so full of ideas, only Bloodborne edges it out.

 

[TransEuropaExpress]

I love it even more, the ripping fast load times still blow me away.

Click to shrink...

The load times and load screen somehow add to the atmosphere for me. It really feels like your character is traveling to these places, especially the way the worlds manifest in front of you out of the haze and slowly come into full view. It's such a small but awesome detail.

I honestly think it's a fantastic remake but, and I've bitched about this in the OT, the changes to the OST and some of the sound design really isn't my cup of tea at all. There are many times the OST veers way too far across the 'Hollywood remake of quirky Indie movie' line for me and I strongly dislike some of the changes like Prison of Hope not being this eerily quiet place where you could only hear the sound of cicadas (or whatever they are), the bells and the echo-ridden screams of HELP ME. The new take on it is very cool in its own right but it's nowhere near as unsettling as the original. That's just one example, there are quite a few areas where I noticed the ambient sound design is quite dialed down.

Now the sound effects themselves, swords and especially magic, goddamn. Every slice feels so visceral (yeah I know) and magic is just fucking dope.

To actually answer the topic, the QOL improvements, loading speed, insane graphics and many other aspects are just so good, I like this just as much as the original despite some shortcomings I don't agree with.

 

[Xtortion]

Even better than before. The smooth 60FPS and near-removal of load times is miraculous. Sound design is also A++

 

[vixolus]

So as someone who's never been brave enough to take on a soulsborne is this the place to start? Bloodborne is my other obvious option.

Click to shrink...

Both are fine starting points imo. These are the only two I've played, myself. Bloodborne is harder in general, but has a much more aggressive gameplay style. There are lots of ways to cheese through Demon's Souls if you kind of want a lighter first experience. Something you can't really do in Bloodborne as far as I know.

 

[Flevance]

Not at all, if anything, it only confirmed that it's the weakest Souls game but I was already aware of that

 

[Oreiller]

Nah, it's still the same game with the same strong and weak points except for graphics/framerate and sound design.

 

[MrNewVegas]

I've never played OG Demon Souls but I went back and watched let's plays of it afterwards. Jeez, it's incredible what Bluepoint has done. The graphical upgrade is such a big deal on atmosphere of the game.

 

[lost7]

I enjoyed it even more personally. Some of the later sections in particular looked absolutely stunning in the remake, like straight out of a fantasy book, which made the whole experience so immersive.

Also load times alone made the game so much less miserable

 

[-Le Monde-]

For me personally. It surpassed the original in every way. Good job BP.

Would love to see them make the broken archstone. Or better yet, a prequel that covers the events that led to Demon Souls.
That would be a freaking trip.

 

[Yoshimitsu126]

So as someone who's never been brave enough to take on a soulsborne is this the place to start? Bloodborne is my other obvious option.

Click to shrink...

I'd just played BB and started Demon's souls ps5 last year.

I say play BB first if you have ps plus since its free. Honestly only the first two check points in BB is hard but the rest of the game is easier but still challenging. Watching a guide for the first area in bloodborne wont ruin the rest of the game if you get stuck.

Demon souls may also have a lot of QoL (i wouldnt know, never played the OG) but BB is more stream lined than demon's souls without having its quality suffer.

 

[Thagirion]

I platinum demon 3 times (three versions so 3 trophy lists) and I think the remake makes everything better not even nostalgia I have, after cyberpunk i will chase the fourth platinum

 

[CannonFodder52]

Doesn't change anything for me. Demon's Souls is one of the all time greats and still the most innovative and probably also most creative of the Souls formula games.
To be honest I stopped playing the remake halfway through as I had just gone through the PS3 version six months prior and didn't really feel like doing it all again so soon.

 

[eXistor]

It's the same game, so no real opinion change for me. Obviously the graphics and especially 60fps are neat, but they don't change the core-game.

 

[EntelechyFuff]

I like the game more now.

This has nothing to do with the various technical and graphical improvements, and a lot more to do with comparing the game design of Demon's with later Souls games.

Over the years, I've remembered Demon's Souls as "baby's first" Souls games: the germ of an idea that would only truly mature later. That's turned out to be not totally true.

Upper Latria still has an ambitious level flow that still hasn't been touched by any later Souls games. The Valley of Defilement is easily the best "shitty hovel town" of any souls games--it looks and plays like navigating a genuine fucking shitheap, as opposed to a videogame environment. It's also the best Swamp level Souls has ever done, both in terms of game justification and level design.

Also From has yet to match the wonder of falling down to meet the Old One, finally seeing what it really is, and capping that off with a fight against the helpless real Allant.

Demon's Souls is also the only Souls game that gave genuine encouragement to dropping your soul sign in random places in a zone, and making those co-op activities feel meaningful even if you didn't fight a boss. The stakes of death are higher since archstones are so limited, and the value of foreknowledge and gaining "safe souls" is therefore also higher.

Lastly, and this is a small thing, Demon's always had the best justification of the in-game quest. Souls-as-currency never really made sense in Dark Souls: it always felt like a holdover from Demon's while the overarching story is about relinking the flame. Demon's Souls is literally about gathering Souls.

This list was longer than I intended.

 

[Xeonidus]

I like it even more. Looks fantastic, plays better at 60fps, and no dips in performance. I was also better prepared this time because I understood builds and played more souls games since.

 

[APOEERA]

After Platinuming Demon's Souls on PS3 for three different regions, it was nice to not worry about the weapons trophies and just enjoy the game. There's a lot to like about the PS5 version and I really think this is what FROM Software would have done if they had the backing and more advanced hardware to produce the game.

The rings trophy took a bit of work to get but except for the Foe's Ring it was fun.

The PS3 version is still an amazing achievement even today and I think games like Destiny and The Division would not exist if it weren't for it.

 

[Noisepurge]

The remake is amazing, I'll still keep the original on my shelf but I'll never replay it. So in that sense my opinion has changed :D

 

[Petruccis Biceps]

I liked playing it more in the remake due to 60fps and the updated graphics and presentation. But in terms of Demons Souls in general, I still enjoyed Dark Souls wayyy more, especially the environment/world design.

FYI, I played the games as they released, except for Demon Souls original which I played and beat 2 months before Dark Souls came out.

 

[Khasim]

I played about 1/3 to half of the original before getting bored since I already played Dark Souls at that point. Demon's just felt like the blueprint for Dark Souls at the time, I did not find myself enjoying it as much as Dark Souls.

The remake, however, has some things about it that elevate it above most of the previous Souls games that I played:

1. The graphics and artstyle are absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, and while I recognize that Bluepoint either misinterpreted or intentionally changed some original designs, I still love it and I think it surpasses the original in almost every way, with only some minor exceptions (like the fat officials, I understand the blackface argument, but my problem is with the fact that the original had a 'creepy' vibe, while the new ones have a 'disgusting' vibe instead - the original was far more interesting IMO).
The fact that they added like 20 new animations for ripostes and backstabs makes it even better. Bluepoint did a really amazing job with this game technology-wise.
2. Almost rock-solid 60FPS in performance mode (what is up with that consistent drop every time you warp to the first archstone in Latria?)
3. Almost instant loading
4. Haptic feedback, while used sparingly, is amazing.


I finished DS1, DS3, BB and Sekiro before playing Demon's on PS5 and I still loved DeS, while previously I did not care for it after finishing DS1. The PS5 version is so good I didn't even feel any Souls fatigue despite the dated mechanics. Souls fatigue makes it impossible for me to finish DS2, for example (because of how terrible some of the zones were in that game I never managed to get further than Drangleic Castle).

I can't wait to see what Bluepoint does next.

 

[Kamagii]

Probably sac religious but Demons is the only souls game I whole heartedly enjoyed.

 

[kitler53]

i won't vote because i have not played the remake yet. ...i need a ps5 first lol.

but i expect i will enjoy it less the second time though. the discovery is such a big part of what makes all of these games soo good and i just dont' think i can enjoy it as much the second time through when i already know its secrets. i have a ton of nostalgia to this game because it was such a new experience for me but i think the interconnected world in dark souls was an improvement overall. still,.. i have fonder memories of demon's souls and i don't think the remake will do anything to diminish those memories.

 

[Hippopuncher12]

It made an already amazing game better.

 

[Kromeo]

The original game was pretty ugly even at the time so it definitely improved from that point of view but other than that I enjoyed it about as much as I ever did

Spoiler

I still think it's the worst Souls game

 

[joeblow]

I like it a lot better than my first attempt at DeS eons ago on the PS3, but I think I had a unique experience as to why.

Since I prefer to figure out stuff myself instead of go online for help, I started off just fine playing my first Soulsbourne title and really got into its more deliberate combat style (compared to most frantic action games). The problem though happened in the first world. I make it halfway up the castle and when I came to the first foggy gate on the right, I bypassed it and continued straight until I reached a miniboss soldier guarding what I now know is a dead end with a special item.

I was determined to beat him after he beat me down a dozen times, and eventually got good at the basic parry of his mighty attacks (with the L1 button, not L2), but my riposte did only a sliver of damage to him. So with each restart after dying, I'd make it allll the way back to him just to make a little more progress with this pattern of a basic parry into a simple slap until I got his health down to a few ticks left... and then I died again. Since that last attempt took a ton of time just to get him close to death, I gave up from boredom. In my head, I thought if I had to beat enemies with that much patience to get to the end of the game, then I'll pass.

Many years after that I played Bloodbourne with a neutral expectation about the gameplay flow compared to what I experienced with DeS. For whatever reason, when I came to the same situation in BB by reaching that alley in the first world to fight the miniboss for a special item, I realized I wasn't ready for him after dying a few times and simply nope'd out by making progress in the rest of that area, Eventually I leveled up enough (and learned the proper combat and defensive skills) to go into that alley and take out the miniboss. That approach stuck with me until I completed the game using no guides or videos. Later I beat Dark Souls I on the PC, so of course I now fully understand the general approach to success in the series.

Here we are now with Demon's Souls remake on the PS5. It's kinda funny that when I reached the miniboss in the corner that made me ditch the game before, I still dies a few times but was able to cheese him pretty easily in the first time defeating him. It was never as bad as it looked, but I had the wrong idea of the game back then, and am actually glad that I'm now enjoying my first full play through of this title not knowing what to expect as I soak in the purdy visuals and awesome audio / haptic effects of the remake. The game would be far less impactful today had I stuck with it on the PS3.

 

[MonadL]

Yeah it actually might either be right behind Bloodborne or tied with it as my favorite Souls game. There are some levels I wasn't too hot on like Valley of Defilement and Shrine of Storms that I absolutely love now. The bosses being more puzzle-like felt oddly refreshing after 13 years of duel-style bosses.

 

[Deleted member 9584]

Playing the remake, though very beautiful, reminded me just how much Dark Souls did to make that series what it was. Demon's Souls needed to exist so that Dark Souls could shine.

 

[C.Mongler]

I like it more now, but I don't know if that's because of the remake or simply because I have gotten a lot better at FromSoft games than I was when this game first came out, and I never revisited it since then.