Welcome to “Gaming Memories,” a blog series where I reminisce about my favorite video games. I will slowly but surely get to every game on the list, and speak to why each holds a special place in my heart. That not only means I’ll talk about why I think each is a great game that speaks to my tastes, but also where and how it affected me in a larger context. I hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading.

What do you mean my experience points are also my currency, called “souls”? And I lose it all when I die? Which is autosaved immediately, with no option to create or load a manual save? What are these messages on the ground with incorrect grammar? Who wrote these? Why do all the NPCs act as if they know something I don’t, and then laugh about it? And apparently I can kill them permanently too? There are no tutorials, no waypoints, enemies respawn when I die or rest, and I can’t pause the game? What if I have to step away for a minute? What do I do? What is up with these crystal lizards??

What. Is. This. Game.

Demon’s Souls was weird. It can be a little difficult to remember just how weird it was now, in 2019, as we’ve seen so many similar games in the decade since. But in 2009 there was nothing like Demon’s Souls. It took all of the widely accepted design lessons of the previous decade and chucked them right out the window. It came out of absolutely nowhere too. In one of the boldest moves for a AAA studio, much less for a Japanese game trying to make an impact in the west, Demon’s Souls had no marketing behind it whatsoever. Nobody had any clue what this thing was until we were playing it for ourselves, and the fervor slowly built after launch as we all collectively tried to figure it out. Genuine surprise and mystery almost never happen to that degree in video games anymore, which made Demon’s Souls one of the most memorable and affecting gaming experiences I’ve had. The game was littered with moments, both big and small, unlike anything I had encountered in a game before: a dragon swooping down and setting an entire bridge worth of soldiers on fire, a seemingly friendly thief stabbing me in the back after I gave him my trust, another human player invading my world as a required boss fight, or simply trying to swing a sword in a tight corridor, only to have it bounce off the wall in futility. Demon’s Souls made its own rules, which made for a true and special vision.

More than its uniqueness, however, Demon’s Souls quickly became known for being “that hard game”. Where most games of the time strived to protect players from themselves as much as possible, Demon’s Souls let players screw up, often, and punished them when they did. You couldn’t take anything for granted here; all of your actions counted, and there was no getting around it. You lost your experience points and currency when you died, you couldn’t save scum, you could accidentally kill important NPCs, there was nothing telling you where to go or what to do, and you couldn’t even pause the game. Most importantly, levels and enemies were designed just so to make you consider every step and every swing you took. But those opportunities for failure were also opportunities for thoughtful, engaging play, and I might argue you can’t have one without the other. There was an intentionality to everything Demon’s Souls did, which encouraged you to pay attention and consider your actions every step of the way. And if you got a little careless? Yeah, you’d suffer some setbacks. But you could also go back and give it another shot with a different approach. Demon’s Souls demonstrated the value of letting players define their own victories as well as their own failures, and overcoming its challenges were infinitely more rewarding thanks to such intentional and thoughtful design.

Demon’s Souls’ design was not just to make it different and difficult either; this was also a very smart and forward-thinking game in a number of subtle but striking ways. It was a robust, exciting, and just plain good action RPG across the board. Its open-ended character creation and stat growth allowed for seemingly limitless, creative builds that felt meaningful. Combat was precise, yet varied dramatically depending on what weapons and spells you used. Every level was cleverly designed to incorporate the environment, and each felt aesthetically and mechanically distinct. The enemy variety was equally dynamic, including some awesome boss fights. Those enemies were subject to the same rules you were too, an important part of the game’s philosophy. Boletaria's atmosphere was thick and effective, and the pacing was just right. Demon’s Souls' biggest innovations, however, may have come in its online features. While it was predominantly a single player outing, you were anything but alone when connected online. First, players could leave (potentially) helpful messages on the ground just about anywhere, which added a communal feel to deciphering the game’s cryptic nature. Second, you could see the bloodstains of fallen players, which gave warnings of impending danger. Finally, players could join each others’ worlds as willing assistants in a tough fight, or devious invaders looking to steal your souls. Demon’s Souls cultivated a sense of camaraderie among its players, and let us experience the adventure, in all its ups and downs, together.

In 2009, there was nothing like Demon’s Souls. It came out of nowhere to turn the industry on its head, and presented an entirely new way of thinking about video games. It feels rarer than it should, but that kind of genuine surprise is one of my favorite things about this entire medium. Playing Demon’s Souls in 2009 was like venturing into the great unknown, a messy and mysterious and perilous quest where no prior gaming knowledge could help you. It was a singular artistic vision I’ll never forget, and remains one of my most personally transformative gaming experiences. I’m not sure the world was ready for Demon’s Souls, and we ended up all the better for it.

You've written a pretty great encompassment of how weird it is that only a decade ago we were approaching Souls games like they were myth and hearsay. Now in 2019 a game as outright cruel as Sekiro is treated as the most commonplace thing in the world and a series as niche in the West as Monster Hunter (arguably one of the bigger influences on Souls) is Capcom's best-selling game of all time.

I came to Demon's Souls in 2014 right after I'd finished Dark Souls II. From that perspective, it didn't quite do it for me. That's not to say Demon's Souls is bad, far from it, but it's way more of a weird, obscure, janky Japanese action RPG than its successors. A lot of the more frustrating edges, like World Tendency, disappearing crystal lizards, soul/human form were sanded down in later games. Magic sure is good though!

Well said! I still remember seeing pre-release coverage of this game on X-Play, buying it, and giving up after a few levels despite a general fascination with the game. I could see it was cool and unique in some really special ways, but I just couldn't handle tougher games back then. I came back to it years later (2014 I think) and now it's an all-time favorite of mine along with Dark Souls 1. I also think it's aged well conceptually because it has a much stronger emphasis on an oppressive atmosphere and the level-based structure feels pretty distinct from the Dark Souls series. Mechanics feel a bit more clunky but I'm still happy to go back to it every now and then. I mostly have my PS3 around for Demon's Souls specifically. Oh, and I think Demon's Souls won GameSpot's GOTY, right? I remember that being a shock to a lot of people, especially for an experience so weird and bold back in 2009. That was the same year Uncharted 2 and Batman: Arkham Asylum came out.

I've written a lot about this game in the past so I'll just reiterate that for many converging reasons it still holds the softest spot in my heart out of the entire "Souls" discography. I remember getting it based on some random snippets of info here and there and more than anything loving the look. There was nothing out there like it on the market, no reference you could latch onto so the experience was bizarre and disorienting. I distinctly recall trying to play it like a classic western RPG and could not really get why armor wasn't dropping and how I was supposed to find better weapons, on top of all the other confusing elements that are now so ingrained in the mind of anyone that has dabbled with that style of game.

It is actually really funny how much the Souls games have seeped into common gaming vernacular - at least to those that play and enjoy them. Seeing coverage of The Surge 2 I noticed that the first game was on Game Pass - the service that literally keeps on giving - so I decided to check it out before the sequel arrives to have some narrative context going forward. The way the game is just different enough, but still retains all the key DNA of "Souls" is remarkable because it really does feel like riding a bike. Sure it's a bit like going from a BMX to a track bike because there are a lot of different systems at play, but the ease with which you just instinctively know how the world works is astounding.

I think it really is remarkable how this unsuspecting and quirky japanese RPG has ushered in an entire generation of games and a brand new language of gameplay. Demon's Souls should definitely go into some sort of hall of fame, history of gaming type compilation as the progenitor of what is now an entire genre.

EDIT: Demon's also has some wonderful music which is important to point out. From the intro cinematic to the haunting Nexus loop, it is really some of the best classical arrangement I've heard in gaming.

@amlabella: Thanks! It really was a weird and unique game at the time, and even as someone who played and liked it when it came out, I was shocked to see it win Gamespot's GOTY. I think it was well earned though, and if anything it's proven to be one of the more influential games from 2009. I feel like games have trended more towards Demon's Souls than Uncharted in the past decade.

@arbitrarywater: @humanity: Thanks! It really is crazy how different the landscape is now than it was when Demon's Souls came out. We take all of those quirks and specific details for granted now, but in 2009 it was completely unique. It's one of those rare games that came to more or less define a new sub-genre, which doesn't happen all that often. Regardless of how well it holds up compared to its successors, I would definitely vote for Demon's Souls in a hall of fame for its influence :)

Demons Souls is the only Souls game I haven't finished. At the time I hit a wall with the Flame Lurker. I felt I had specced myself into a corner and was so intimidated by that boss that I stopped and never went back to it. I have since seen most parts of the game played through and even listened to some podcasts about it. What I like about it's sense of styyyyyle over the Dark trilogy is the notion that you the player are an invading force and Boletaria's military are actively trying to repel you. I like how many of the bosses, as opposed to largely being crazed demons and hollows that just attack whoever gets close, are instead various military machinations and great heroes of the kingdom who serve as a line of defense for the king. While I was somewhat sour on these games out of the gate for the philosophy of obfuscating so much game play information I have since come around to it and think it ultimately will be what make these games age much better than a lot of modern stuff when looking back. I love these solo D&D campaigns, even the weaker entries in the series. Anyway good write up duder.

Ahhhh Demons Souls.

Read the review in EDGE magazine and it scored a 10. If you know EDGE you know that's a big deal, so I picked it up. Played for about 5 hours and wholeheartedly agreed with the score EDGE gave it but couldn't power through the hard parts. Wasn't until I'd finished Dark Souls a couple years later that I went back and finished it. Tremendous game!

@mezmero: Thanks! Man, flamelurker. I have played all 4 "Souls" games + Bloodborne + Sekiro. Between the bosses across all 6 games, flamelurker is still the one that scares me the most. He's just so fast and intimidating. Maybe that's just because that was the first of these games I played, but still.

It's so fascinating how the nature of these games being intentionally confusing (or mysterious if you'd prefer...) has become more accepted over time. When Demon's Souls came out, the expectation was that games weren't supposed to be obtuse anymore, they were supposed to make everything very clear. One of the many ways this game turned things upside down, and now plenty of games have a similar philosophy.