9.0 Presentation
The game adopts a dark, hostile atmosphere. Levels ooze hostility and vary from abandoned castles to wind-battered cliffs, to poisonous swamps. There's great variety in the enemy designs, and all foes are universally menacing.
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8.9 Gameplay
The controls are uncommon to the typical action game, which will result in some early awkwardness. The game cannot be paused or quicksaved, and the only checkpoints are at the beginning of a given area. The difficulty alone will be enough to turn off many of the less-willing.
9.0 Sound
The utter lack of background music outside of boss fights only amplifies the chilling sound effects and feeling of isolation. You'll need to pay close attention to the shuffles and sounds nearby to catch hints of what face-eating horrors lie in wait.
9.5 Longevity
The game lasts as long as you can stomach the challenge. Its technical level cap (all attributes at 99) is a whopping 712, and the game can be replayed over and over, its difficulty increasing somewhat every time. The "World Tendency" system alters level composition and certain events based on your successes and failures, leading to new equipment and characters to encounter.
9.1 Overall
Demon's Souls is perhaps the most satisfying game of its generation, but its uncompromising nature will only appeal to players of a particularly masochistic bent.
das Game sollte sich kein RPG Fan entgehen lassen.
