Sony’s more relaxed policy toward exclusives PRG007 Link  doesn’t look like it will be changing anytime soon. Indeed, the remake is one of the only instances where visuals were held in superb regard among the Souls games and is still considered the best-looking despite not being a FromSoftware title. Each Souls game has a stalwart fanbase, but the original Demon’s Souls, entombed on the PS3, has aged the worst graphically. Souls games may have been popularized and iconized via Dark Souls, but there would be no Dark Souls without its predecessor—the humble and singular Demon’s Souls.

While nothing is known about the project, some fans had grown concerned in the near-three years since the announcement as the industry has struggled with mass closures and lay-offs. Thousands have lost their jobs across the likes of Embracer Group, Microsoft, and Sony, with the likes of Redfall developer Arkane Austin being shut down completely alongside Hi-Fi Rush and Ghostwire Tokyo developer Tango Gameworks. Sony recently shut down its London studio and canceled a number of games. The transition to creating original games was a natural “next step in the evolution” of Bluepoint, studio president Marco Thrush told IGN at the time. As reported by Eurogamer, Bluepoint head of technology Peter Dalton made clear the studio is still working on the brand new game it announced upon being acquired by Sony, deviating from its tradition as a remake developer.

As it did with Shadow of the Colossus, Sony and Bluepoint will include a now-standard photo mode in Demon’s Souls. And similar to Ghost of Tsushima, and that game’s “Kurosawa mode,” Demon’s Souls will let players enjoy the whole of the game using visual filters. “We’ve been thinking about doing a remake of Demon’s Souls for years,” Moore said during a video call. But I was always a little afraid of tackling it because it’s so beloved. It wasn’t until we redefined what a remake was with Shadow of the Colossus on PlayStation 4 that we felt that we could take on the challenge of Demon’s Souls and do it justice. Yes, Demon’s Souls is often as difficult as this series’ reputation would lead you to believe it is, but I’m struck by how balanced much of this game feels.

To its credit, the game rarely takes its difficulty curve too far, and most challenges have some option to either avoid them or dispatch them more efficiently. But a handful of levels and bosses really are just as punishing as they first appear, and there’s no way to get past them other than trial-and-error repetition. If you can conquer these challenges, the game usually settles back into a more comfortable rhythm, but I wonder how many people will simply give up in frustration instead. Even with an established formula for the genre, coupled with constant experimentation to add freshness and borrowing elements from other genres, other studios often lack the same level of imagination as Hidetaka Miyazaki’s team. When it comes to unique settings, rich lore, and boss and combat variety, nothing quite matches FromSoftware aside from rare exceptions. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the best soulslikes as of 2025, ranked by their OpenCritic scores.

Demon’s Souls players can also leave messages for each other, either to be helpful or to trick players into traps. Bluepoint’s Demon’s Souls remake is almost the same exact game that released in 2009 in terms of core gameplay. Movement is a bit more precise and it’s not as rough around the edges, but for the most part, the gameplay is the same. Demon’s Souls players create a character and are immediately thrust into an unforgiving, bleak world where everything is out to kill them and death has severe, lasting consequences. On the topic of smaller changes to the gameplay, all items have a carry weight. Unlike the original, players can only carry a set amount of items in the remake.

Realistic lighting is something that has proven difficult even for top-tier developers, and it’s only now that the hardware has enough headroom to start doing it properly. The PS5 event made no mention of a PC port for the Demon’s Souls remake, and the aforementioned rumor says it’s launching as a PS5 exclusive. It’s possible it’ll be brought to PC at some point in the future, but for now Demon’s Souls PS5 is looking like an exclusive. The World Tendency ranking system is on a spectrum, with eight possible rankings ranging from Pure White to Pure Black. You can check a particular world’s ranking by going to Tendency from within the Options menu.

While the sequel scored a bit lower, currently standing at 85, it’s hard to say that Nioh 2 is inferior to the original in any way, so almost any player who enjoyed the first Nioh will likely enjoy the follow-up. Now it’s up to Nioh 3 to match its predecessors and push the series to new heights in 2026. Two years later, Shadow of the Erdtree solidified Elden Ring’s unmatched status in the genre, scoring an average of 94 and offering as much content as some major standalone RPGs.

I managed to lose two allies to Yurt, the Silent Chief, before exposing his crimes. The Elden Ring DLC needs to fix issues like artificial difficulty and reused optional bosses. However, Elden Ring didn’t exactly prepare me for what awaited, and I quickly realized that Demon’s Souls is possibly one of the most unforgiving games I’ve ever played. Sony is preparing to launch its new and improved PlayStation Plus subscription service in June. This new service will essentially combine PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now into one subscription that consists of three different tiers. The Essential tier offers the same basic services that PlayStation Plus has now, while the two higher tiers, Extra and Premium, give customers access to hundreds of iconic and classic games.

World 3-3 (the Ivory Tower)

Japanese studio FromSoftware is responsible for its creation, and the entire series is inextricably linked with Hidetaka Miyazaki, who served as production director for most installments. Demon’s Souls is a remake of the cult action game from FromSoftware, which is the protoplast of the Dark Souls series. The new version, prepared by Bluepoint Games, offers, above all, a completely refreshed graphic design and improved control. My first playthrough of the Remake took me roughly 24 hours, and that was with having played the original about 6 years ago, and having a ton of Souls experience. I expect this number to be a lot higher for souls veterans who have not played it before, and even higher still for newbies to the franchise.

You will need him for the next boss fight if you want the additional trophy. From here, follow the new stairs down, go east and you will reach Yurt, the Silent Chief in the cage. Beware, if you free him (and you should) and he goes to Nexus, he will start killing people there. If he falls down by any chance, save and exit the game and the loot will be in front of his cage.

Demon’s Souls Remake was also a launch title for the PS5, so it takes full advantage of the DualSense haptic feedback system. Almost all the player’s actions, such as rolling, striking, and casting magic, are seamlessly translated into vibrations. That’s the main difference that’s made the Demon’s Souls remake my favorite FromSoftware experience to date. My final playtime wasn’t padded out by hours spent bashing my head against a wall.

Mode(s)

Once you die in physical form, the game will put you in soul form, which is noticeable by the blue aura around the player as well as the shortened health bar. While in soul form, players have less of a health pool unless they use the Cling Ring, which increases soul form health. Some of these reworks in Demon’s Souls have been somewhat controversial, but the overall experience has been dramatically improved through quality of life fixes and updated graphics. That isn’t to say that longtime fans of the original game are wrong to their opinions if they don’t approve of these changes, but many players will be receiving a more streamlined experience built on FromSoftware’s initial vision. Bluepoint Games’ new Demon’s Souls remake has quickly taken off as one of the top picks for the PS5’s starting lineup with the console’s recent launch. With veteran players transferring over from the PS3 version and some Dark Souls fans coming to Demon’s Souls for the first time, fans are quickly exploring and recording every major change made to the game.

Rumor: Is Demon’s Souls Remake Ever Coming To Pc?

Before fighting the boss I suggest you return to starting teleport and open that locked door and free Yuria. Do so, enter west hallway where the wolfs are, reach the top of the tower, loot corpses for Ring of Magical Nature and Ring of the Accursed. Kill him, change to your regular clothes and talk to Yuria to recruit her and get the Witch in the Tower Trophy. Your next boss in the Old Hero – no additional trophies, just equip the Thief’s Ring and he will not be able to see you. From here (or if you prefer from teleport 3-2) enter the tower where the hearth is.

There are different scale rankings, from S to E, with S being the most effective, and E being the least. Many players — even the experienced ones — will opt to focus only on upgrading strength or vitality. While these are useful in keeping your health and damage output high, you should not neglect to put some stat points into Endurance, which determines your stamina. Pretty much every type of movement will deplete your stamina, from running to swinging your sword and rolling. Your stamina quickly recharges, but can put you in a bind if you don’t know how to manage it properly.

Make sure to get that one and make sure to grab Master’s Ring from the corpse after shooting the boss with second arrow. Not much else to say here, you can explore the area for some items, but nothing here is at this point important for future trophies. Leechmonger boss is quite easy and he will give you automatic trophy, no additional trophies on this one.