Fishing for Metaphors

I am playing Demon’s Souls Remake (Ps5) and Demon’s Souls (Ps3) side by side for fun. Okay, I lied. I only beat the first boss, Phalanx in the first level of the remake. The majority of my time is spent on the Ps3 version. I am not abandoning the remake completely, though. I just don’t know if I will ever finish it.  So far, the atmosphere feels different. I prefer the cinematic opening to the original Demon’s Souls to the remake. The remake makes me feel as if I am about to play a brutal arcade game.  Demon’s Souls was never designed to be difficult just for the sake of being difficult. If you destroy the art, you destroy its meanings. The lines below become meaningless:

On the first day, man was granted a soul and with it, clarity

On the second day, upon earth was planted and irrevocable poison

A soul devouring demon

Of course, I am not here to talk badly about a remake that I have not completed. It’s still a decent game if you don’t mind the new cosmetics look, that is. Clearly, the immersive atmosphere of the game is destroyed. On the positive side, I must say, the gameplay feels fluid to me, and the new soundtrack is not bad. My favorite soundtrack from the new OST is the hero creation menu. However, I still prefer the original soundtrack. I think back in the day, I listened to One Who Craves Souls the most. Does that make me a demon?

This is why I spent more time with the Ps3 version. Revisiting this game made me realize why I liked it so much back then. I still like it. It’s like a pragmatic bible on how to live. If you are not careful, you could lose your soul. You might turn into a servant of the demon, trapped in the nexus for all eternity. Of course, Dark Souls is more of a polished Souls game than Demon’s Souls in terms of world building. And yet, the game is still very endearing to me. The atmosphere of Demon’s Souls has always been quite comforting to me. It feels like I am inside a twisted cathedral. It’s something the remake seems to fail at capturing.

I noticed the Demon’s Souls‘ official guide doesn’t include a map of the levels. It also lacks item locations compared to the other Souls games. I am not complaining, though. I only use a guide as a reference because I like to see a list of armor, weapons, items, and enemies.

The guide gives you enough information on how to play the game and build your character. It also put the walkthrough toward the end of the guide, which makes sense to me. Teach me what I need to know then send me off into the fog. Let me make mistakes and I’ll learn from it. There is also a perfect run walkthrough, but I don’t see the point in it. It’s not fun if you don’t explore things on your own. However, I can see someone doing it for speedrun. There is so much content, but it’s worth every dime.

P.S.

The Demon’s Souls deluxe edition also included the artwork and the original soundtrack for anyone who is curious.