2020-11-18T20:34:57 01:00

Demon''s Souls Tips: The 8 best tricks for the remake

In this guide to the Demon's Souls PlayStation 5 remake you can read:

Which innovations the DS remake contains
The best character classes for the game start
Explanation of the Demon's Souls' gameplay mechanics

To give you a perfect introduction to the Demon's Souls remake for the PlayStation 5, we've compiled all the important information for you here. We explain what's changed from the 2009 original, how the battle system works, give you recommendations for starting classes, and explain Demon's Souls' famous world & character tendency system.

Demon's Souls Remake - Are there any differences from the original?

As a PlayStation 5 exclusive launch title, Demon's Souls will make use of the features of the new DualSense controller. You'll sense when you're hit by enemies, block attacks, attack yourself, or roam areas like the swamp through the PS5 gamepad's new technology.
Demon's Souls Remake includes a new Fractured mode that completely mirrors the game and gives you a slightly different gaming experience. You can activate the mode at the statue in the Nexus, in front of which you spawn after the first death.
Some weapons in the remake will have new movesets, as many weapons in the original had the exact same moveset. So look forward to more variety.
Healing weeds now have a higher weight the stronger they are. This change limits the number of healing items you can carry with you. In the original, even the healing grasses that healed you completely were very light, so you could easily carry 99 of them.
Instead, the load system has been reworked. You can now send items from the level to Stockpile Thomas and not have to leave them if you can't carry anything.
The remake introduces the seed items, a completely new consumable item category that gives you temporary resistances to various elements.
As already announced in our news about the Demon's Souls Deluxe Edition, there will be completely new weapons and armor in the remake. Now it has been officially confirmed that you will only get the armor of the red-eyed knight, the Boletarian King's Armor and the Ceremonial Blade as part of the Deluxe Edition, which costs 20 Euros more. However, all other items, such as the Aspis Shield and the Ring of Longevity, can be found during the course of the game.
The roll can now be performed in eight directions, the original Demon's Souls on the PlayStation 3 only had four directions for the dodge roll.
The World Tendancy system is also included in the remake. However, you'll have a new view that clearly shows you what level the world and the five kingdoms are currently at. Furthermore, some Quality of Life changes have been introduced. You'll now be able to teleport from any archstone to other stones and won't have to return to the nexus first, plus you'll be able to use multiple soul items simultaneously.
The remake has a new dynamic camera with Cinema Mode, which should prevent problems with walls. However, there is also an option for the fixed camera perspective of the original.
Besides the camera perspective, the Demon's Souls remake will include various graphics filters where you can adjust colors, contrasts and much more. There is also a photo mode. Similar options already existed in Bluepoint Games' remake of Shadow of the Colossus.
Demon's Souls makes use of the 3D Audio feature of the PlayStation 5, but this feature can only be used with 3D Audio compatible devices. More info can be found on the PlayStation Blog.

Is the sixth Archstone included in the Demon's Souls remake?

Demon's Souls Remake on the PlayStation 5 does not include any new levels or bosses. The sixth Archstone, behind which is the snowy Kingdom of Giants, was dropped during development of the original Demon's Souls (PS3). However, beginnings of the levels planned for the sixth stone were found in the game data, which you can see in the following video by Soulsborne YouTuber VaatyVidra.

Many fans had hoped that Bluepoint Games would add the sixth Archstone for the PlayStation 5 remake of Demon's Souls (), bringing completely new levels, bosses and items to the game. However, at the end of October 2020, it was officially confirmed that the sixth Archstone in Nexus will remain destroyed and we won't be able to advance to the Land of Giants in the remake either.

The only hope remains that Bluepoint Games will release the final kingdom as a DLC expansion for Demon's Souls. However, the chances of that happening are very slim.

Which is the best Demon's Souls class?

Generally, the choice of starting class only matters in the first hours of the game, and there is no wrong choice. As in other Souls games, you'll be able to skill in any direction later on and find the items that the other classes start with. So consider this choice just a starting point.

As in the original, the Noble class (Royal) is the strongest choice for the beginning of Demon's Souls. This is because you start with spells and also have a ring that slowly regenerates your mana. Especially at the beginning of the game, you'll be able to overcome almost all dangers from a safe distance, but this is also the biggest shortcoming of the noble class.

Here, you run the risk of not learning the Demon's Souls combat system on the easier enemies at the beginning and then getting stuck on harder enemies later because you didn't learn the basics. So if you're playing as a noble or noblewoman, be sure to use a mix of melee combat and spells.

For the most fun, we recommend you choose a pure melee class and learn a few spells or miracles later if needed. If you already have Souls experience and are looking for a counterpart to the Deprived classfrom Dark Souls, we recommend the Barbarian. This one is not completely naked, but you start with very few items and can enjoy every bit of loot that you would ignore with the other classes.

How can I level up in Demon's Souls?

Unlike in other Souls games, in Demon's Souls you can't level up immediately with the black-clad woman in the Nexus. Before she offers you this service, you have to complete the first level in the Boletarian Palace, including the boss Pharlanx. Many players of the original Demon's Souls from 2009 failed especially at this hurdle.

From the beginning, you can spend your souls at the arbitrator and the teachers of miracles and spells in the Nexus, and there is also another merchant in the Boletarian Palace. If you have problems with the Pharlanx boss, you should get firebombs and turpentine for your weapon, because the first boss is extremely vulnerable to fire damage.

Where is the mighty one in the Demon's Souls nexus?

After you complete the first Demon's Souls level, the woman in the Nexus will ask you to talk to the Mighty One. However, he's already very easy to miss in the original, which is why we'll explain where you can find "The Monumental".

As shown in the video sequence, you have to climb up the stairs in the Nexus. You have to go to the penultimate floor, where you will find sitting monks. In front of one of these monks a candle is burning and his head is looking up.

This monk is the Monumental, who you need to talk to in order to progress in Demon's Souls.

Demon's Souls: Tips & tricks for the combat system

Respect every opponent: As in all Souls games, you should let the opponents strike first before attacking yourself. If you just attack blindly, you'll quickly perish. You can block the enemy's attacks, but it's even better to let them hit nothing, since this way you won't use up any stamina.
Stamina Management: Your stamina bar regenerates very slowly if you keep your shield up. So try to only press the block button when you really want to block an attack, or when you have full stamina anyway.
Backstab: In Demon's Souls, you can run around most humanoid enemies to attack them in the back with a special attack. To do this, you need to stand very close to the enemy's back and press R1. In later Souls games like Dark Souls 3, it's significantly harder to circle around enemies as they rotate more with you. To perform constant backstabs, we recommend you virtually run into the enemy's back before pressing R1.
Shield Breaker: As in Dark Souls, you can break the shield of blocking enemies by simultaneously pressing the right stick up and the light punch attack (R1). However, you can't hold the stick up to do this; you have to perform both commands at the same time. You can practice this input even without enemies*, since your character will perform a different animation if you do it correctly.

Parrying in Demon's Souls - tips for the counterattack

In general, we want to tell you that parrying is not necessary to play through Demon's Souls. It's a "High Risk - High Reward" mechanic, where you have to press the L2 key at the exact moment when an enemy would hit you. After a successful counter, you'll have to perform a light punch with the R1 button to perform an attack animation with increased damage. By the way, while performing the backstab, you must not hold down the block key (L1), otherwise you will just perform a normal attack.

If you perform the parry with wrong timing, you will be hit by the enemy attack. Also, some normal enemies and bosses cannot be parried. In most cases, you can parry enemies that use normal punching weapons.

If you want to use this mechanic, you'll need to develop a sense of timing, which only works if you try it over and over again. The best thing to do is to find some easy enemies in the first levels and practice parrying.

World tendency, character tendency & ephima eye stone explained

Demon's Souls world tendency & character tendency system is the biggest difference from the other Souls games. In short, character tendency determines whether you have sinned or done good deeds. The world tendency, on the other hand, determines how strong the enemies in the five archstones of Demon's Souls are, with each stone having its own tendency.

How do I change the character tendency in the Demon's Souls PS5 remake?

The Demon's Souls character tendency can evolve into the light and dark through various deeds. Character tendency affects your health while playing in Souls form. With lighter character tendency you'll have more life points and with darker character tendency you'll have less.

There are also three special weapons that scale with the respective character tendency and thus deal more damage. With an all-white character tendency, you can talk to the Mighty One in the Nexus to get the Ring of Friendship. With an all-black character tendency, a special NPC will appear in the Nexus, but you'll have to get Yurt in the second level of Latria.

How do I get the black character tendency?

Haunt and kill enemies as a black phantom (online mode)
Kill friendly NPCs

How to get the white character tendency

Defeat another player who is haunting you as a black phantom (online mode)
Defeat the black phantom versions of NPCs that appear in completely black world tendency

Each of these actions moves your character tendency a bit in the respective direction. You can see your current character tendency in the menu. Also, keep in mind that character tendency does not change until you are back in the Nexus.

How do you change the world tendency in Demon's Souls?

A lighter world tendency makes for weaker enemies, but they also drop less loot. When the world tendency gets darker, the enemies are stronger and drop better items. More importantly, certain events only happen in completely white or black world tendency. Through the world tendency system, you'll get access to items, quests and weapons that you can't get otherwise.

As already described, each of the five worlds has its own tendency, which you can influence as follows:

White world tendency: killing normal level bosses will make the world tendency brighter.
Black World Tendency: When you die in living form, the world becomes darker.

Also, as with character tendency, you can use the online mode to change the world tendency. If you invade other worlds and kill the host, your world will become darker, but if you help via co-op mode, it will become lighter.

How do you use the Ephima Eye Stone?

The Ephimia Eye Stone is a particularly important consumable item that helps you manipulate the world's tendency. As in other Souls games, your character can be in two different forms. In Demon's Souls, these are referred to as body form and soul form. You can switch from soul form to body form with the Emphima Eye Stone.

In the normal body form, you have your full life bar, but you can be haunted by Black Phantoms in online mode, but you can also call other players to help you as Blue Phantoms. However, even if you play in offline mode, in body form there is a risk that your world tendency will darken when you die, making the game harder for you.

Therefore, one trick to control world tendency is to die in the Nexus once you are in body form and play Demon's Souls mostly insoul form. This is because when you die in Nexus, no world tendency is affected.

In soul form, you won't have access to the online features and will have to deal with a halved life bar. However, you can die without darkening the world tendency. To make playing in soul form easier, you can use the Cling Ring , which increases your life points in soul form. You can find this right in the first level of the Boletarian Palace, at the first shortcut with the fire enemies.

The Ephima Eye Stones are so important because you'll have to die in body form on purpose at some point to bring the five worlds to a completely black world tendency, as that's the only way you'll experience everything in Demon's Souls.

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