The Outlaw's Least Favorite Game Moments: Dying in Demon's Souls

Well everyone, we're smack dab in the middle of the game drought and we are literally dying over here at the O and E. Game news has slowed to a crawl and if it wasn't for super secret projects we've been working on we would have nothing to bring you. Errr, bring you in the future. But, until those things are done, we're making due with what we have available. Thus, I've gone shopping for old games, and if you've bothered to read the title of this article then you probably know what game I recently bought. Yep, it's that practice in sadism Demon's Souls.

 You see, I was lured in by it's promise of great and difficult gameplay. I needed something to hold me over until the possibly fantastic Deus Ex. But apparently, no one told Atlus that there's a difference between challenging and flat-out unfair. This game is beyond a ball-buster and it all revolves around what happens when you die. And you will die. You will die a whole freaking lot.

Well shit

 So why is it so easy to die? Well, the combat is a tad stiff despite how many options you have. There's a button to dodge, one to block, one to parry, one to attack, one to heavy attack, ect ect. Then, of course, you can use magic and arrows depending on what class you choose and what you spec into in the future. All pretty standard RPG stuff. What isn't standard is how unforgiving everything is. You will get hit plenty and it will do lots of damage. And what happens in this game when you are dealt enough damage?

You basically become the undead.

In a manner of speaking that is. You see, when you die you basically become a spirit who can still hurt things and be hurt in return. Sounds kinda cool actually. Well, not if you take into the account that the price of being dead means you have less health. Yes, if you die, the game punishes you by making itself harder. You can resurrect yourself with certain stones that you can buy or find, or you can do it the hard way and defeat the next boss. Either way, it all sucks. Oh, and that's not the only punishment. Dying means all the souls you've collected that can be spent on items, upgrades, and leveling up are now lost... sort of. If you can find the blood spot that marks the place of your death, well hooray! You can get all of your stuff back! If you die before you do, though, another blood stain will appear, and aaaaall your original souls will be lost. That's the video game equivalent of giving you the finger.

Greetings, traveler! Remember rule number 1: Have fun!

Anything else? Well in the training level you are also sent back the Nexus (main hub) when you die. That means when you enter the level again you are dropped off at the very beginning and all the enemies have respawned.  AND THIS IS JUST THE TRAINING LEVEL. The saddest part is that the game is actually really cool and has some awesome set pieces. It's just too unforgiving for me to really get into. But some outlets gave it game of the year so what do I know? At least it's not Ghosts N' Goblins. Fuck that game.