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As the studio responsible for 2018’s Shadow of the Colossus remake, Bluepoint Games knows a thing or two about modernizing a beloved property while preserving its core appeal. From the reveal trailer and released screenshots, the Demon’s Souls remake seems to have been created from the ground up, with a new “Fractured Mode” even being announced. Here are five things that will hopefully be included in the remake, along with five changes that should not happen.
10 Want: Archstone Of The Giants
Although this might prove to be nothing more than wishful thinking, most fans of Demon’s Souls would presumably say that access to the Land of the Giants is their most wanted addition.
The original game featured five worlds that could be accessed through Archstones in The Nexus, with a sixth broken one closing out the pack. Known as the Archstone of the Giant, rumors circulated suggesting this broken gateway was meant to be the focus of a DLC package; however, that never came to fruition. The remake could finally fix this Archstone and allow players to visit the Land of the Giants.
9 Don’t: Bonfires
As the game revolves around a hub world that players are expected to frequently visit, there are no Bonfires in Demon’s Souls. Once a boss is defeated, an Archstone appears that opens a link to The Nexus; therefore, players need to clear a level before accessing a rest point. This should not be changed.
Bonfires/Lamps might be synonymous with Soulsborne titles, but neither of them would make sense within Demon’s Souls world. Bonfires would feel out of place in the kingdom of Boletaria.
8 Want: Quality Of Life Improvements
Remakes face a tough challenge of trying to please newcomers to the franchise expecting a modern experience and preexisting fans seeking something heavily reminiscent of the original. Demon’s Souls is a great but flawed game, so it naturally needs its fair share of Quality of Life improvements.
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Along with small changes like a faster animation cycle when climbing ladders, the remake can also expand on the enemy NPCs’ attack patterns, as they were quite simplistic in the original title. Magic should also be seriously nerfed.
7 Don’t: NPC Summons
Atmosphere is one area Demon’s Souls eclipses the rest of the Souls games, with Bloodborne serving perhaps as the only exception. While all the campaigns are defined by isolation, none of the other titles quite manage to replicate Demon’s Souls’ crushing sense of loneliness.
Demon’s Souls does not feature NPC summons, although a couple of characters do show up for certain fights and other players can also be summoned to lend a hand. The remake should keep NPCs limited to fixed scenarios, as the knowledge that in-universe help is just one summon away would lessen the campaign’s desolate tone.
6 Want: Item Burden Removed
Demon’s Souls has a couple of mechanics that should be tweaked for the remake, but Item Burden should simply be removed. Like Dark Souls, Demon’s Souls included a weight limit for the equipment worn by players. Going over that limit results in reduced movement speed.
Item Burden was an additional mechanic that limited the number of unequipped items players could carry. If exceeded, an item could not be picked up unless something else was left behind. This mechanic was just an annoyance that added nothing positive to Demon’s Souls. Stockpile Thomas can still be kept around as a bank to store unnecessary items to avoid having a cluttered inventory.
5 Don’t: Streamlined Experience
In terms of difficulty, Souls games have a habit of peaking during their early stages. Demon’s Souls was arguably an exception, as the campaign’s structure and level design presented more freedom in the ways areas could be tackled.
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Combat wise, Demon’s Souls is easier than Dark Souls, especially when it comes to the boss fights. However, the former’s difficulty comes in its lack of player guidance and unforgiving level design, which should be mostly kept intact for the remake.
4 Want: Reduced Grind For Farming
Farming is a pain in the original Demon’s Souls. Healing Grass items are primarily limited to World 1, requiring players to head back to these levels to grind for Crescent Moon Grass and its better variants.
As frustrating as that can be, it is nothing compared to farming Marrowstone or Pure Bladestones, items that are crucial for upgrading weapons but have astonishingly low drop rates. The remake should not be giving these items away but the grind should be reduced so players do not spend a dozen hours trying to fully upgrade an item. It is simply boring.
3 Don’t: A Too Bright Boletaria
The Demon’s Souls remake will present a familiar but still wildly different Boletaria. Bluepoint Games looks set to take full advantage of the PlayStation 5’s specs, resulting in detailed environments with a surprising amount of greenery. Demon’s Souls has a great art style but it is not exactly a graphical powerhouse, something the remake will fix.
That said, the remake’s world appears to be considerably brighter than the original’s. While this partially comes down to the improved lightning and effects, going too far in this direction could result in a version of Demon’s Souls that is far less intimidating and atmospheric.
2 Want: Revamped World Tendency System
World Tendency is Demon’s Souls’ karma system, as Boletaria adapts to the player’s actions. This can impact things like enemy difficulty and NPCs can change from friendly to hostile Black Phantoms.
It is one of the original game’s defining mechanics and must be retained in the remake, although changes should be made to simplify the system. Not only should it be made clearer on how to shift the World Tendency, but dying while in body form should not be punished with the game becoming harder. It is a system that needs a thorough overhaul.
1 Don’t: Dark Souls
Despite sharing many common elements, Demon’s Souls is not the same thing as Dark Souls. That does not mean the latter should not be used as a basis for inspiration, but the remake should limit the number of things it takes from Demon’s Souls’ spiritual successor.
The remake should keep the hub world, preserve the World Tendency system in some form, and retain the original’s brutal level design. Estus Flasks and Bonfires are also not necessary. Ultimately, the remake should update Demon’s Souls rather than make it more like Dark Souls.
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