Artists and designers have tried their best and skillfully recreated all the scenery from the original game. Walking through the expanses of castles, underground cities and various poisonous swamps, although dangerous, is very interesting. The beautiful and bright interiors of the Boletaria Castle are pleasing to the eye, and the attention of the remake developers to various trifles saturates the picture with details and makes it truly alive. What are the slowly smoldering standards after the next flight of a fire-breathing dragon or ash flying on the way to the lair of the Dragon God. A huge number of different special effects and luminous objects make the picture more cinematic and natural. As for the animations of enemies, they also changed in places. The behavior of some soldiers outside of combat seems more lively than before. If in the original they just stood, now, based on the context of the scene, they can look around and be frightened by every roar of a dragon coming from somewhere from afar. The gargoyles that live in the vicinity of the False Idol Obelisk and crumble after death into pieces, as befits stone creatures, also delighted. In general, the visual component of the remake is really impressive and pleasing.
It’s worth noting that in contrast to subsequent FromSoftware games, the locations feel more compact and tightly intertwined here. To open the door “here”, you need to pull the lever “there”, and it is at the opposite end of the map and is guarded by strong enemies. In general, the classic system of “metroidvania”, embodied on a small scale. However, there are no additional bonfires – except for those that remain after defeating the main bosses. So you have to storm one or another area of the game, saturated with strong enemies, over and over again, before opening a shortcut or entering a location with a boss. Considering that in some zones healing items are not given out, you have to carefully measure your every step or blow. Sometimes, fighting a powerful demon seems less difficult than navigating through the army of his minions. In this regard, the Tower of Latria is especially distinguished. This prison in the original was my favorite location, and in the remake with increased detail it became even better. The terrain is more a kind of horror puzzle and a kind of game in the game. By analogy with the classic Resident evil here it is necessary to look for keys in the dark and preferably not to be seen by the merciless Mind Eaters. Each fight with this enemy feels like a battle with a mini-boss, because he has a paralyzing projectile at his disposal, and attacks can kill your character in no time. In addition, along the perimeter at the location there are a large number of traps and dead ends, which at certain moments can be fatal. Due to the gloomy surroundings and the lack of healing herbs in the Tower of Latria, an atmosphere of danger is created, which grows in proportion to the greenery disappearing in the inventory. It is moments like these that make this game unforgettable and make you continue to conquer the unfriendly world over and over again, despite all the difficulties.
One of the interesting features of the original Demon’s Souls was the trending system. Despite the fact that many did not like this element of the game, the developers from Bluepoint decided not to remove it, but to make it more understandable. Now the menu has a separate tab that shows the state of affairs in each of the worlds. A golden icon means that the player is on a light path, and a black one, accordingly, indicates a dark path. If you kill bosses in your world and call on other players to help them in battles with powerful demons, the world icon will brighten. And if you die all the time in human form and invade other players to kill them, the emblem will turn black. After getting the lightest or darkest tendency, new characters or enemies appear in some locations, and secret doors open behind which useful items can be found.
Another important element of the game is the extraction of special stones to enhance weapons. Glittering lizards have long been a symbol of the Souls series, but in the original Demon’s Souls, killing them turned into pain. If the player missed the lizard the first time he met, then it did not appear again until “New Game +”. However, in the remake, the coveted lizard appears until the player kills it. Moreover, after each change in the tendency of the world, it is shown again even where you have already killed it. This approach helped to get rid of unnecessary stress and frustration. By the way, the reptiles themselves sparkle so beautifully that you want to drop everything and run after them.
It is impossible not to mention vibration feedback DualSense… She is not as advanced here as in Astro’s Playroombut, for example, when a dragon attacks or a bomb explodes nearby, the feedback in tandem with some sounds coming from the controller creates a certain effect of presence. The same can be said about the resistance of the L2 and R2 buttons, which make it difficult to press while aiming with a bow. This is especially noticeable during dragon shots. The moment this huge creature flies by, the controller begins to vibrate in time with its fire, and the closer it flies, the more effort it takes to fire.
In addition to the updated graphics, the developers did a great job on the sound. In headphones Playstation platinum the volume is well felt, as well as the positioning of various audio effects. Standing near the passage behind which the “blue-eyed knight” is hiding, one can hear his languid breathing. When he starts moving towards the hero, a multi-layer noise of armor appears. These are not just sonorous steps. Each element on his armor emits a certain sound, and measured breathing is replaced by sobs puffing through the helmet. Even without seeing the picture, you can understand that a heavily armored knight is moving towards you, and not a simple guard. Something similar could be heard in Red dead redemption 2, but adjusted for the fact that the audio stream here seems to be more discharged and cleaner. Almost every action that takes place in the vicinity of the character we control has its own sound, which also changes depending on the location. Raindrops, a ferocious roar, or the very breath of a knight is perceived differently depending on the terrain. A slight echo will be felt in the building, and in an open space, the noise will diverge as widely as possible.
