Demon’s Souls Preview

After spending some firsthand time with Demon’s Souls during a recent Atlus press event, Gamervision took the time to share their impressions of the PS3 action RPG.

We first got a look at the Nexus, which is sort of a hub of NPCs where adventurers can access new levels, forge weapons, and level up. The non-playable characters seem not to stay in the same place all the time, so we watched Aram wander around a bit to find the Maiden in Black. She allows you to level up when you redeem souls, which you collect upon killing foes. Souls are both your experience and your currency in Demon’s Souls, so you need to use them wisely. Sure, you could spend a whole lot of souls to get a great new weapon, but it will be meaningless if you can’t level up enough to finish your next quest. That sort of trade-off is interesting, and adds another layer of strategy to the game. Also in the Nexus is the blacksmith, and he is the one to go to if you need a new weapon, or want to combine items. The types of weapons and accessories you equip will depend on how you want to play the game in regards to both your class and your tendency.

Tendency is the Demon’s Souls version of morality, but there are two different tendencies, both of which will significantly affect your game. Character tendency gets lighter or darker depending on how you treat others; for example, breaking into another player’s game and killing him will make you darker, while assisting a friend cooperatively will lighten your character tendency. World tendency is based on story events in your own game, and will affect which areas you can access and items you can use. As I previously mentioned, there is a class system in play as well, with ten different classes to choose from when creating your character; however, no matter how you start out, you can become any kind of player you want to be throughout the course of the game.