Demon's Souls (2009)

Hmm, I wonder how a Soul Level 1 run of Demon's Souls would play. Sounds like a fun challenge!

You'd have to start as the "Royalty" class, the only class that starts at level 1. Utilising the OP magic might be the ticket.

I think Flamelurker might be irritating but the run would probably be fine otherwise. Although Demon's Souls doesn't really have bonfires/checkpoints, so the punishment for mistakes is more severe. Also, this game doesn't really have much in the way of armour. D:

I've had a strange experience with Demon's Souls. So, I hadn't played it for a while and 2 weeks ago I started a new game with a new character. I figured I'd try something a bit weird so I went for a STR/INT Battlemage. Magic wand in one hand and my gigantic Claymore in the other. So I can shoot pixie dust at my enemies while and also two-hand my gigantic 7-foot sword and one-shot pancake enemies with it.

I always thought Demon's was the most brutal of the series, but I don't think that any more.. I think I've only died once or twice during this entire run and it was almost always me being clumsy and falling off ledges. It was weird a breeze through Valley of Defilement, swatting away enemies like flies, not using any healing grass and owning all the bosses without even breaking a sweat.

I knew the magic in Demon's was OP but gosh, this build is really just intense easy mode. It's funny too, perhaps it's also because I've put probably more than 1000 hours into this series (if you include all the iterations).

Even though I'm crazy busy with my life I'm thinking I should try and re-play the whole series before DS3 is released in April.

As much as I love Bloodborne I've arrived at the conclusion that Demon's Souls is still my favourite game of the entire series. After playing Bloodborne for months on end, I returned yesterday to Demon's, and I've put about 6 hours in.

Upon arriving in the Nexus and then moving on to Boletaria the feeling hit me immediately. Demon's Souls has this strange, ethereal gloom about it. I am unable to put it into words but the atmosphere is so dark and ominous it's unlike anything in any other game I've ever played. It's this sensation of despair and isolation but it's breathtaking.

I've realised that Demon's Souls is also extremely brutal and cruel. In Demon's Souls there are many parts in the game where the developers made design decisions that are intentionally ruthless toward the player: just when you start to feel confident you will suddenly face a merciless adversary and the ambience of despair returns. I don't know why I like this so much, perhaps it's masochism but it makes this the best in the series. I find myself chuckling that the developers had the audacity to be so intentionally cruel. Combined with the world, the sound, the characters.. there's just something unspeakably beautiful and special about this game, it's a humbling experience, almost a spiritual experience.

Ultimately I adore all of From Software's games. But Demon's Souls definitely has the special sauce.