Demon’s Souls Now Available for PS3

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The Kingdom of Boletaria is now open to you, brave adventurers/PlayStation Blog readers: Demon’s Souls for PlayStation 3 is now available in retailers across North America.

For months leading up to its release, we’ve emphasized the game’s difficulty level, striving in every instance not to misrepresent the game and to ensure that curious gamers are not caught off guard by the challenges that await them. That said, we don’t want anyone to steer clear of the game because of what they’ve heard. If that is not the perfect segue into some starting tips for new heroes, then I don’t know what is.

Demon's Souls burn baby burn

Demon’s General Warning: Fire can be hazardous to your health

*Mild Spoiler Alert*

Your first task in Demon’s Souls, before even jumping into the game world, is to create your character. Demon’s Souls offers 10 different player classes, each with different starting stats and equipment.

Unlike many RPGs, Demon’s Souls does not punish players for choosing something out of line with their play style. Regardless of which class you pick, you’ll be able to eventually do anything another class is more capable of at the start; all it takes is a little extra work. Therefore, if you want to be a spellcaster, archer, or melee fighter, it will make more sense to choose an appropriate class to start, but just because you do so doesn’t mean you won’t be dabbling in other classes’ strengths later on, and you probably won’t be anywhere near as tempted as in other RPGs to keep creating new characters and playing the first bit over and over again in order to make that perfect build. That simply isn’t accomplished at the beginning; it’s done over the course of your epic adventure (as it should be).

I (and most Demon’s Souls players, it seems) would recommend the Royalty class to most newcomers. The Royalty class begins with a Soul Level of 1, which means that the Soul Point requirement for advancing the first few levels is the least, allowing players the most early stat customization options. Moreover, the class begins with a catalyst (wand) and the Soul Arrow spell memorized, making them a long-range spell casting force to be reckoned with. On top of all this, they start with the Fragrant Ring equipped, an item that offers slow but steady Magic Point regeneration. For more class tips, and other helpful info, consult our newly launched wiki.

This description may make the Royalty class sound like a no-brainer (and I’m sure some Demon’s Souls players would argue that is the case), but the beauty of the game is that the class decision at the beginning ultimately makes little difference to the vast majority of the game experience (contrary to most games). Not to suggest that customization doesn’t matter; in fact, it matters a great deal!

Rather, in Demon’s Souls, it is the choices you make on how to advance and evolve your character that are key, delivering a MUCH more satisfying and rewarding role-playing experience than many other entries in the genre. Also, the Royalty class will initially suffer in up-close combat, something to consider if that’s your style (and consideration of what exactly your preferred play style in such a game actually is is crucial to your enjoyment of the game… again, something that other RPGs don’t really take into consideration).

Demon's Souls lookout

My, how many eyes you have…

Don’t worry when you die almost immediately at the end of the tutorial; death is unavoidable by design. You’ll be revived in the Nexus by the Maiden in Black, who will later on be your means for advancing/leveling your character. The first and only region you’ll initially have access to is the Boletarian Palace (1-1). Don’t be alarmed when you begin this area and find a number of bloodstains (indications of other players’ deaths, if you’re connected to PlayStation Network). The game takes a little getting used to, hence some folks meeting early (and repeated, at times) deaths.

Here are a few important tips:

    1. Watch your stamina carefully – Stamina is crucial to melee fighting in Demon’s Souls. There have been very well-received RPGs in gaming history that have allowed players to simply hack away at the attack button, but this is NOT the case in Demon’s Souls. You will only be able to string/combo attack as long as you have stamina (the green bar) left, and when it is depleted, you’ll just stand there and be open to attack unless you move around intelligently and manage your stamina well. Power swings take more stamina (duh), and absorbing a power hit will deplete you as much if not more (and if you’re already low on stamina, will stun you and open you up to attacks).

    2. Don’t try to get away with more than makes logical sense – That is to say, if you think it would be ill-advised to take on 4-5 foes at once in real life, don’t put yourself in that situation in Demon’s Souls. Rushing ahead foolishly will get a lot of enemy attention. Sound judgment would suggest progressing with a more measured pace, only antagonizing a manageable number of enemies and making your life easier.

    3. Shield if you got’em – If you are a melee fighter, you’d be remiss not to use your shield at every possible opportunity. With most shields, you’ll still take a bit of damage when you absorb a blow using a shield (although the amount varies with shield quality, and some shields negate all damage), but it will be far less than having no shield at all (even faced with fire/magic attacks, a shield can help reduce damage taken).

    4. Pay CLOSE attention to your surroundings (and if you’re playing online, the hints left by others) – The game will rarely warn you if you’re about to make a mistake or head in a path not quite appropriate for your character. It will instead let you make the mistake, die, and hopefully learn from it. That said, the messaging system and bloodstain system built into the game give players connected to PSN an ample supply of hints and warnings for avoiding ambushes, traps, and dangerous foes (for more info, watch our second walkthrough video, which touches on the online features extensively.

Once you get the hang of 1-1 and defeat the area’s boss, Demon’s Souls opens up to you—literally. You’ll be able to access the initial area of all of the five other archstones AND you’ll receive the Blue eye stone, which lets you drop Soul Signs on the ground and, when you’re dead/in soul form, you can be summoned by living players into their games to assist them in their quest.

Demon's Souls strat guide

You could have helpful information like this if you pick up the Deluxe Edition, which is selling rather briskly, and snag yourself the strategy guide, which is not sold separately…

I’ll suggest beginners proceed to 1-2 or 2-1 after completing 1-1, or, at the very least, leave the fifth archstone for a little later. It’s a bit more challenging (relatively speaking) and will be more enjoyable a little later on.

Demon’s Souls is a very hard game to sum up or describe in a short amount of space, as evidenced by this rather lengthy blog entry. As deep and nuanced as the game is, as much as there is to get out of it, players will find the actual game mechanics incredibly simple and intuitive. It’s breaking out of the run-and-gun (or hack-and-slash, rather) mentality of other games that can be a challenge. Once you manage to, though, expect one of the most rewarding, satisfying, time-sucking roleplaying experiences you’ve ever had, complete with beautiful visuals, haunting music, and some of the most immersive stages ever.

We’re really excited to join you in the Kingdom of Boletaria and perhaps fight alongside you as you confront a towering boss (or help you fend off another invading player from your world), but don’t only take our word for it; plenty of critics agree:

9/10, Editor’s Choice Award — “Brutally challenging and utterly engrossing, this innovative role-playing game is one of the year’s best.” — GameSpot

95 — “Gorgeous, thoughtful, and complete unto itself, it’s the second-best title I’ve played this year. Maybe even better.” — Play Magazine

5/5 — “Demon’s Souls is the best game I’ve played all year.” — RPGamer

95 — “Without question, Demon’s Souls is one of 2009’s finest titles, and an amazing, challenging journey without equal.” — GameCritics

94 — “This is a truly exceptional RPG experience that hasn’t been offered by any other game in its genre.” — GameZone

Demon’s Souls is out now for PlayStation 3…see you online!

As a thanks for all your interest and support of Demon’s Souls, we’ve got 10 signed posters (by Mr. Takeshi Kajii, producer) to give out to folks. All you have to do is comment about this blog post and tell us what class you’ll be when you finally get the game (for more info regarding classes, visit the official game site at www.demons-souls.com). We’ll choose 10 winners and send them one of these ultra-rare collectibles!

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255 Comments

32 Author Replies

  • I absolutely LOVE this game. I decided to be the Knight class as it was the most balanced. This game is amazing, and man when you die, you have to go through it all again….it’s going to be a challenge, but I’m up for it.

  • I am a returning player, former, royal and soldier.. I think i will be trying the thief this time, a different style.

    I got the import asian version back in june, after a 2 month wait as it was sold out from being imported too much. Shortly after falling in love with this game, atlus announced thier publishing the game, i swiftly went to the store and preordered fully paid the deluxe edition to show my support to both from software and atlus. The game is that good! I will gladly buy two copies of this game, just for the strategy guide and goodies….

    I hope it gets the sales it needs as a sequel (ps3 only of course!!!!!) would be greatly appreciated. RPGs are what PlayStation was founded on, not shooters why has Sony forgotten? Thankfully Atlus publihsed this title and are bringing this to the states. Now how about 3D Dot heroes Atlus, you already have relations with from software, make it happen!!! Oh yeah please announce persona 5 ps3… and some more rpgs!! Love you guys!

  • Just bought two copies of the game [1 deluxe ed, one standard] (one for my brother on his brand new ps3 slim and one for myself)! I’ll probably be Royalty as well.
    Can’t wait till my copy arrives! Hopefully by Thursday. I’m going to be a Temple Knight. My bro will either be Hunter or Magician.

  • Oh, and thanks for the tips! I’m a fresh player to this game. This info will definitely cut down on the “initiation”. Heheh.

  • And thanks for the tips (didn’t mean to split into two comments)! I’m a fresh player to this game. This info will definitely cut down on the “initiation”. Heheh.

    • Oh, you\’ll still be \”initiated,\” if you know what I mean…

      Oh, you\’ll still be \”initiated,\” if you know what I mean…

  • I got mine sometime at noon and I haven’t stopped playing. Wow! Thanks for bringing this one over to us. And give From Software high fives for making the best RPG this year. Back to the Nexus I go.

  • Good good Mr Aram. Finally my North American friends can play this game.

    Kudos to you and Atlus =)

  • As a new player to Bolataria i thought this post was freaking awesome! :)

    as far as class goes im gonna go thief or hunter probably :]]

  • If I buy the Deluxe Edition from Canada, will I be able to play it in a UK version of PS3?

  • Awesome game, glad it finally got released in NA as well!

  • What an AWESOME game. Wow. This is seriously the most fun I’ve had in a videogame in loooong time. Thank you SO MUCH ATLUS!!!!

  • Here’s a crazy question, why isn’t the game showing up in my What’s New feature under “recently played”?

  • I live in UK but I’m going to import this.

    +1 for Atlus US!

  • PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make the strategy guide available for purchase separately. I was not aware there was a deluxe edition when i bought my copy last night at eb games….

  • What the…????

    Looked for the game at several locations and not a single one had it ir even knew what I was talking about. Including Best Buy, Gamestop, Target, Wal-Mart, and Sears.

    Hell, it’s not even available to purchase online at 4/5 of those places.

    Looks like my $$$ is going towards something else.

  • Temple Knight. Already took down 1-1 and loving it.

  • i’d like to be the hunter class, since im always the hunter :-P
    can’t wait to try this game, been waiting for it since the very first review.

  • I went from thinking this was a game that would be terrible to pre-ordering (something I’ve only ever done twice now). Hopefully my gamestop gets it tonight…can’t wait, and thanks for the tips – sounds like I’ll need them!

  • Okay, I give up! This game is impossible to find. Toys R Us, Best Buy still doesn’t have it. None of these major retailers knows when they will have it available. I’m not even going to bother anymore at this point. I’ll just wait until next week and buy Uncharted 2.

  • Oh, and after looking at the classes, its a tough choice. I’ll probably go with the Royalty, but the Temple Knight and Magician are calling out to me as well. Looks like multiple playthroughs will be happening!

  • I’ve always been a melee person so I will probably be starting with a Knight.

  • Got my copy, Amazon deluxe with release date delivery. I’m guessing a lot of people are dying in the intro level, where you finish with the Phalanx. There were ghosts and bloodstains and messages everywhere, but once I got to the other worlds I didn’t see anybody :)

  • Started as a Priest, but soon abandoned that in order to reroll a Knight when it became clear is was never using the Heal Miracle anyway even though I technically didn’t have to. Remember guys, once you beat 1-1, you can use those souls to level up your attributes and even return to areas you’ve beaten for extra paths or challenges based on your World Tendency. Wouldn’t have even noticed Executioner Miralda otherwise.
    Which, by the way, was one of the most intense fights I’ve ever had in a game, and it’s only the first bloody level! It lasted several minutes of back and forth combat. Super fun, plus, the item rewards were well worth it even though the satisfaction of taking her down was reward enough.

  • Hey, Aram, thanks for the post – I can’t wait for my Deluxe Edition to show up. I hear it smells great!

    In terms of play style, I tend to favor a mix of ranged attacks and stealth, so I may give the Thief a try at first.

  • Yeah Baby … I got my copy… Though i selected super saver @ Amazon…. Cant wait to finish my work then Go home & Rock my baby (D’s S)!! Yeah!

  • Its kool that its out, but I just wish they would of came out with some home items like in JP.

  • I heard this game is harder than it is good. But that been said I heard this game is extremely good. Looking forward to checking it out.

  • I am going to take the risk!! With all the good memories I had with Gothic as a Wanderer (unnamed hero)…. I will be a wanderer….!! I get knocked down, but I get up again
    You nay ever gonna keep me down!!!!

  • Wow awesome reviews. I think this game might be too hard for me to buy it until its cheaper. Then again with reviews like this (and PS3 having NO rpgs whatsoever lately) maybe I will.

    It’s a shame Uncharted 2 (as awesome as it is) stole all the hype. I never even heard of Demon’s Souls until now.

  • wow I can’t wait to play this game I am definetly going to make a Royalty class. I can’t wait to play co-op and to beable to see how another play died. The competitive part sound really cool to! Awesome

  • Started out as a soldier named Robin. I’m kicking ass and taking names, do you hear me red dragon, I’m coming for you!!!

  • I f’king hate you for not releasing this awesome game in europe. I still rated it 5 and I ordered the game from the US. Can’t wait to get it.

  • Please release this game In Europe/UK!!

    Why can’t SCEE publish the game in Europe?
    like they did with Ghost-busters.

  • Just reserved my copy over the phone at Gamest**p. It sounded like they do not have many copies so I would do the same! I can not wait to get into this game.

  • I’ll start out as a Knight. Plus the armor looks cool and its on the cover of the gamecase.

  • I ordered my copy yesterday from Amazon and I have to wait till the 13th to get it in the mail.. I’m picking up U2 the same day so it’s going to be awesome, but then I have to go away for a few days and don’t get to play till I pet back (bummer). I’m on an emotional gaming roller coaster at the moment.

  • Greets from Finland, importing this from canada =) … Now if only the postal slave caravan could arrive a bit faster..

  • I pre-ordered the deluxe edition off Amazon, just gotta wait for shipping. I’ll be going with Royalty.

    I’ll start with the healing mircale, then work on his melee stats and geting the 2 INT and 4 Faith required for his second magic slots (these two slots will be used for some enhancement spells).

  • This game deserves more hype. No one has even heard of it and its getting rave reviews. It’ll never reach it’s sales potential this way. Sony should throw it up on “What’s New” at least. Getting tired of only hearing about Uncharted 2, the graphics are amazing but the multiplayer demo really isn’t very amazing, I like Socom better.

  • I picked up my Deluxe Edition yesterday and began playing soon after. This game.. is so fun. Although I died a few times in 1-1 and got a bit frustrated, I began to learn from my mistakes. Last night I was up until roughly 2AM since I only had a chance to play for a little during the day.

    Anyways, I chose the Hunter class since I wanted an Axe.. and I pushed through 1-1 and 1-2 with brutal efficiency. I then tried 1-3 and turned off the game soon after. I don’t think this is the best game for me to be playing at 2AM. :P

  • I always like games with powerful Mages but I’m hearing that class is too hard in this game. If I get it I guess I’ll go with the recommended starter class. After watching several video reviews I’m most likely getting it.

  • Thank You, Atlus, From Software and Sony.

    I had been running around manhattan new york yesterday looking for this game. it was almost no where to be found except for amazon and i did not want to wait for delivery. couldnt find a deluxe edition anywhere. :( I know i should have pre ordered, but lately deluxe/limited edition games are usually in abundance, i can normally walk in without a pre order and get the limited edition game releases. Not so with Demon’s Souls. :( I might have to buy it later even though i bough the standard edition already.

    Finally found a gamestop with ONE COPY left. After I made dinner, got clothes ready for work the next day, talked to my girl so I wouldn’t have to call her again that night :)

    I loaded up Demon’s Souls and I have to say i was pretty much blown away from the moment i started the tutorial.

    The Enemy AI, the Scenery, the Difficulty, attention to detail, the monsters.. etc

    This is why I’m a gamer and most of the time an RPG gamer.

    Thanks again. Can’t wait to get home and play again. (now i just hope i saved properly yikes)

  • :( I pre-ordered the game at GameCrazy, I wanted to get all the nifty bonus stuff ya’ll included. I went to pick it up yesterday just to hear them say “We’re going out of business, we wont be getting anything in.” What a great heads up that was. A call way before hand would have been awesome from them. So I picked up my $20 I put down on the game. Anyway.. the purpose of this comment is to ask, is there anyway I could still aquire the bonuses? I really wanted the guide & art book. :(

    • Tragic_Nightmare,

      Check online retailers. The last time I looked, one major online retailer was still offering both versions of the game with the items, but time would be of the essence.

      Sorry about your troubles!

  • This game is even better than I expected. Thanks for bringing it over here.

  • Im playing the offline campaign now as a temple knight. I bought the standar edition, but comes with artbook and soundtrack because i preordered at amazon.

  • Still waiting for my copy to arrive, I really want to play it =(

    UPS has delayed it a second time, i hate when this happens, gonna have to wait till tomorrow.

  • It’s more than challenging, this game will take everything you can throw at it. It will grind you down to dust and spit you out. I’m on the Tower Knight right now after barely dipping into the beginning of a few worlds and decided I had better venture into the first world. Well, it’s a little easier than the others, but it’s no cakewalk. This Tower Knight is seemingly impossible. It’s bad enough he’s over a 100 feet tall but then the archers surrounding you?! Seriously what is the deal? Grind until I’m leveled up then try try again? I inevitably will but this is one hellacious ride. If this is an early boss I can only imagine what’s coming..

  • Nice already getting my copy today can’t wait and I am going to be a wanderer/wandr. because that class looks cool and I always like being Rouge

  • Played for 4 hours last night.

    One of the best games I’ve played in years.

    awesome.

  • LOL, It appears that Gamestop has screwed many people over, what a shock(sarcasm) with the pre orders and deluxe editions. People you should know that most Gamestop employees know nothing and even if they have no clue about stock they will still promise you things just to get your money. They also tend to blame the game companies just so you aren’t mad at them for being ignorant and come back to them.

    I got mine from Amazon and get all my games from Amazon since they are cheaper and always keep their word in my experiences. Getting my copy on Friday. I wanted free shipping and now have to wait till Friday.

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