My God, This Is Hard

Coming to this particular party a little late, but better that than never.  Demon’s Souls has now been added to the collection, and it lives up to its reputation so far.  Released late last year, it’s a call-back to old school action RPGs like King’s Field (and was made by the same people, in fact) where it’s just you in an incredibly hostile fantasy environment that’s out to kill you at every opportunity.

It’s a bit of a splash of cold water to the face to suddenly find myself in a gaming situation reminiscent of the 80′s and 90′s hardcore scene.  Today’s games are so much “friendlier” with their checkpoints, recharging health, and other mechanics designed to keep you moving forward in a game without actually playing it for you.  Demon’s Souls basically says “I am an old fashioned sadistic game, and I will kill you.  Often.  BUT, I have certain rules in place that I will never, ever break.  If you can figure them out and exploit them, you will live.  If not… BWAHAHAHAHA…”

I mean seriously, the game doesn’t even have a pause function.  NO PAUSE!  Holy hell.  It’s like someone over at From Software was reading all the gamer forums where people bitched that today’s games are for wusses, and rolled up their sleeves, struck a deal with Satan himself and cranked this mother out to inflict misery and humiliation on all the people that were bragging.  It’s fun.  Brutal, but fun.  And NOT recommended for the “average” gamer.  Old school gamers will find a lot to like here, but guys who think Halo or Grand Theft Auto are hard games will go crying to their metaphorical mommas after an hour or two of this beast.

I like it.  I also fear it.