Demon's Souls Remake Review: A Next-Gen Showcase

The arrival of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X marks what many are calling a new era in gaming—however, a lack of truly innovative titles designed specifically for these consoles has tempered that excitement. Demon’s Souls stands out as the first game that genuinely showcases the capabilities of this new generation, a remarkable feat considering it’s a remake of a PlayStation 3 classic… a point that also underscores its significance.

The original Demon’s Souls exerted a profound influence on the gaming landscape. Its successor, Dark Souls, achieved even greater popularity and refined many of the elements that made the first game so compelling, but the core foundations of this now-prominent series were already firmly in place. The “Souls-like” subgenre has become widely recognized, and the original titles remain unparalleled in their design.

Those fortunate enough to experience Demon’s Souls initially were thrilled to learn of its remake, particularly with Bluepoint—the studio renowned for its exceptional restoration of Shadow of the Colossus—at the helm. However, concerns arose regarding whether the game would resonate with contemporary audiences.

Is it possible to revitalize an older game, whose fundamental mechanics are a generation removed from its successors, with stunning visual enhancements and still present a compelling debut experience for next-generation hardware? The answer, in this case, is largely affirmative—it was a necessity, and thankfully, the game holds up remarkably well, delivering a captivating and immersive experience despite some inherent limitations.

This isn’t intended as a comprehensive review of the game itself; suffice it to say that while the presentation and performance have been dramatically improved, the underlying gameplay remains largely unchanged. Existing reviews from the past decade remain relevant, including observations about the potency of magic and the challenges of inventory management.

However, as a demonstration of next-generation gaming, Demon’s Souls is currently unmatched. It serves as a compelling showcase for the PS5’s graphical power, as well as its advanced sound design, haptic feedback, processing speed, and operating system.

Image Credits: Sony

The graphical fidelity is immediately apparent, as Sony and Bluepoint clearly aimed for a lavish and detailed remake. The game’s structure—comprising five extensive, largely linear levels—provides an ideal canvas for breathtaking visuals meticulously crafted to enhance the player’s experience.

The environments are exceptionally detailed, and the diverse enemies are convincingly rendered, but it’s the lighting that consistently impressed. Achieving realistic lighting has historically been a challenge for even the most skilled developers, and only now does the hardware possess the necessary capacity to deliver truly convincing results.

Demon’s Souls does not employ ray-tracing, the computationally intensive lighting technique that has long been anticipated, but the real-time lighting effects are nonetheless striking and deeply immersive. The game unfolds within a remarkably dark world, and the player has limited access to personal light sources, meaning the environmental experience is carefully orchestrated.

While the intricate armor, props, and creatures are visually appealing, it’s the realistic lighting that truly elevates them, creating a sense of novelty and beauty. Dynamic range is effectively utilized, allowing for genuinely dark areas to be illuminated dramatically, as exemplified by the still-intimidating Tower of Latria.

Image Credits: Sony

Although the game doesn’t represent a massive leap beyond the capabilities of current PC hardware, it does inspire anticipation for game designers eager to leverage light and shadow as integral gameplay elements.

(As a note, the “cinematic” visual mode offers minimal improvement over the “performance” mode. The latter maintains a consistently smooth framerate, which is crucial for Souls games, while the former noticeably impacts performance without a significant visual gain. It’s best to avoid the cinematic mode unless you’re solely focused on capturing screenshots.)

The sound design is equally impressive, though caution is warranted regarding excessive hype surrounding Sony’s “3D audio”—games have incorporated similar techniques on various platforms for years. A quality pair of headphones is the most important factor. However, the PS5 may offer enhanced tools for spatializing sound; in any case, the audio in Demon’s Souls is exceptional, with excellent separation, localization, and clarity. I was able to reliably evade an enemy attack based on the sound of its distinctive grunt, and the chilling screeches and roars of dragons and boss monsters (along with the overall atmosphere of Latria) were particularly effective.

Image Credits: Sony

This synergy was further enhanced by the improved haptics of the DualSense controller, which provided a unique “sensation” for each event. A dragon flying overhead, a demon stomping the ground, a blocked attack, an elevator ride—most of these sensations enhanced immersion, though some, like the elevators, felt more like an irritating vibration than a rumble, akin to holding a power tool. It’s hoped that developers will exercise restraint and identify vibration patterns that are genuinely enjoyable. Fortunately, the intensity of these effects can be adjusted globally within the PS5’s settings.

The adaptive triggers were also a welcome addition, providing helpful feedback—such as indicating when an arrow was ready to be released while using a bow—but weren’t utilized to their full potential.

Perhaps the most immediately noticeable improvement was the drastically reduced load times. The Souls series has historically been burdened by lengthy loading screens during travel and after death—an occurrence players can expect frequently. Now, it’s rare to count to three before reappearing at a bonfire.

This significantly diminishes (though doesn’t eliminate) frustration in this notoriously challenging game, and actually alters the way I approached it. Previously, I might have hesitated to briefly travel to another area or the hub to accomplish a minor task, but now I know I can return to the Nexus, adjust my equipment, and be back in Boletaria in just 30 seconds. Dying now results in a five-second respawn rather than a 20-second wait, and that difference is substantial. (Load times are also improved in PS4 games running on the PS5.)

Complementing this is the new pause screen implemented by Sony on its new console. Pressing the (somewhat awkwardly PS-shaped) PS button brings up a set of “cards” displaying recent achievements and screenshots, as well as ongoing missions or game progress. Pausing in Latria to collect my thoughts, the menu offered the option to instantly warp to another world, sacrificing my souls but bypassing the usual Nexus stop. This will undoubtedly influence speedrunning strategies and provides a useful, albeit slightly immersion-breaking, option for less organized players.

The pause menu also provides access to tips and hints, both in text and video format. This is a curious choice for a debut title, as one of the Souls series’s defining features is the player-generated notes and ghosts that alternately guide and mislead newcomers. In other games, I might have relied more on the PS5’s hints, but for this particular title, they seem somewhat superfluous.

As arguably the sole “genuine” launch title for the PS5, Demon’s Souls is a unique and impressive achievement. It effectively demonstrates the new console’s capabilities in several areas, but the game itself—while still exceptional—is dated in many respects, limiting the scope of what can be showcased.

The remake is undoubtedly the best (and for many, the only) way to experience this classic, and that alone warrants a recommendation—though the $70 price tag (and higher in some regions) is a considerable investment. One would hope that the new, higher price point would include both next-generation visuals and next-generation gameplay. For now, we must appreciate what is available.