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Anyone else find Demon's Souls Remake difficult?

For me its the best in the series. Balanced just right to promote cautious exploration. Almost feels like a survival horror game. Just being observant and slow preps you for most of it. Some enemies are challenging but not overkill. And high framerate on ps5 helps.

Felt the difficulty balancing gets worse with each subsequent game for the most part.
 
It's difficult because of bad design, imo. I feel like it never challenges your skills, but only your patience by forcing you to replay the same area 100x times. I tried hard to enjoy it, especially after playing ER, but gave up on the Tower Knight battle.

Bluepoint did an excellent job on the remake though. It's a proper - early gen - PS5 game.
 

lh032

I cry about Xbox and hate PlayStation.
i think is one of the easiest soul game.

I solo the whole game without any summon.

Im struggling at Elden Ring though, some bosses were designed to be coop.
 
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Arthimura

Member
It's difficult because of bad design, imo. I feel like it never challenges your skills, but only your patience by forcing you to replay the same area 100x times. I tried hard to enjoy it, especially after playing ER, but gave up on the Tower Knight battle.

Bluepoint did an excellent job on the remake though. It's a proper - early gen - PS5 game.
Well, if you are skilled enough you won't have to replay the same area 100x times.
 
What most people aren’t telling you is Firestorm is a win button and a lot of people here are acting like they didn’t cheese it to get through the game
 

Nickolaidas

Banned
Breezed through Bloodborne, DS3 and Elden Ring but Demons Souls is driving me mad.

There are hardly any bonfires and it seems you only get them after defeating a boss. Not to forget losing half your health bar if you die which can only return if you beat a boss or use an item which is fairly uncommon. The Cling Ring has helped a little.

I honestly thought it would the easiest of the Souls games from what I have read but so far I am really struggling. The issue isn't the enemy difficulty but the lack of bonfires. Seems a bit unfair to me.

On a side note the Sound and Graphics are the best I have seen on console to date. Puts Elden Ring to shame.
Don't bother with soul farming. Instead, farm for ores at the 2-2 stage - the one with the underground larvae worms that are huge, move slow and take forever to kill. Maximize your weapon and then you'll be fine.

Demon's Souls was my first Souls game and I beat it with the starting equipment (Soldier with shield and spear/sword) just by maximizing the stats on those two weapons.

If you want to farm souls, you're better off getting summoned at bosses gates then help against the boss (the Tower Knight is a great starting choice).
 
I have only fought Phalanx and Tower Knight. Both were very easy.

My issue now is I can't go any further in the first Archstone world unless I kill an Archdemon. The other Archstone worlds are causing issues.

I have no idea what tendency is either lol.
"Tendency" is a super obscure mechanic in the game that makes it harder the more you die in each world. Certain NPCs will invade you in a black world, for example, and you will never see them unless you die a lot. Basically, the game is "easier" the less you die, because you will be closer to a white tendency.
Trying to figure it out beyond that point can get a little confusing tbh. You kind of have to play through and see it in action before you get it.

This game is also harder in the beginning, but gets REALLY easy later on. I think there's really only 2 or 3 tough fights in the game. I will say that the Remake did seem harder than the original version though
 

SlimeGooGoo

Party Gooper
giphy.gif
gonna cry tobey maguire GIF
 
OP, I agree! It's the only Souls game where I couldn't go full melee and resorted to mixing in some magic as well for more ranged attacks and healing. Felt like cheating.

(I played and beat Dark Souls, Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3 before this game, never played the original either. Always 100% melee, warrior style)

That reminds me I need to try to beat this game again without magic.
 

Chukhopops

Member
I found it was the easiest one, finished it with the starter weapon in under 20 hours without really pushing.

Played as Cleric (always do) so no sorcery. Only struggled with the super fast fire boss and the double maneater, everything else felt easy, and the game was really short compared to other FROM games.

But I had the experience of playing all other Souls games before so it helped of course.
 
I've been playing thorugh it. I have done all of the first bosses from the worlds, but I'm standing, alive, outside of the second world mine boss, contemplating whether or not I want to continue playing. It was the first time in the game where I just walked away from enemies because they took 20+ sword attacks to kill, and it felt both repetitive and stupid. The worlds look really cool. It's the only Souls game I have played, and I started it so I wouldn't buy Elden Ring.
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
Not really, I think it's by far the easiest Soulsborne. ER was almost as easy (I got pretty OP just from exploring thoroughly), but not quite.
 

Neilg

Member
It's a test of personal patience and stamina more than skill. It's outrageously boring and punishes any momentary lapse in concentration with tedium.
I didn't play the original but I did beat bb & ds3. I think it sucks shit and I regret buying it.
 

TexMex

Member
I have the platinum for Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Elden Ring and the Demons remake and it is by far the easiest time I had with any of the four.
 

DavidGzz

Member
4-2 I think it is with the reapers, before finding out where they were hiding, was super difficult for me. That's the place I struggled the most.
 

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
easiest bosses, and no decent bosses imo...they just arent memorable or touch that nail biting excitement of other souls games IMO.

Just my opinion. theres some cool areas to traverse though.
 

01011001

Banned
I beat half the bosses in 1 try and never needed more than maybe 3 for the harder ones.

so no, IMO Demon's Souls is by far the easiest Souls game
 

arvfab

Banned
Before Elden Ring, DS was the easiest Souls game.

Once you explore an area, you either unlock shortcuts or you can easily run pass all the enemies to get again to a boss.

If you want to cheese, you could exit the game in front of the fog gate, upload the save to the cloud and download it in case you lose.
 

skit_data

Member
It is the shortest but hardest in many ways. Bosses are rarely the biggest issue in Demon’s Souls, but enemies and the level itself usually takes quite a while to figure out. Finding shortcuts is also essential and they’re often harder to find (the bridge you kick down in 5-2 for example).

Edit: World tendency is also a factor. If you don’t know how it works and keep reviving yourself with stones of ephemeral eyes you will quickly make some levels (4-2 mostly) very, very hard.
 
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Having completed all the Soulsborne games (except the new one), my advice if you are struggling is one of 4 things:

1. You are not levelled enough for the area.
2. Your weapon is not strong enough for the enemies (either under levelled or perhaps just not suited to their defences).
3. You need to spend some time learning the level/boss attacks (just to recognise what is coming and whether you should dodge/block/run away from it).
4. You may need to consult a map if it is a really tricky, sprawling maze type level, with few bonfires.

The games are not difficult as such, providing you follow these rules. I cannot complete any other games on hard - I usally play on easy/medium difficulty.

For example, I was really struggling against Maneaters - I could barely get the first one to 75% health before the other showed up and destroyed me - I was a melee build. I went away, levelled up a bit, really improved my ranged attacks, equipped the thief ring and went back and managed it in a couple of goes. Other times, the levelling/weapons do not make so much difference, it is just about knowing how to react to a boss attack and you can just wear them down.

I did find that Demons Souls became easier as I went along - I was quite worried about the endgame, but after two thirds of the game, if you have been levelling properly it becomes more routine. I probably found the first third the hardest, if that helps.
 
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kingkenny76

Member
For early game farming go to world 4-1 and take off your weapons and just punch the skeletons :messenger_beaming:.
They are weak to blunt so punching them is the way to go
 

PaintTinJr

Member
Breezed through Bloodborne, DS3 and Elden Ring but Demons Souls is driving me mad.

There are hardly any bonfires and it seems you only get them after defeating a boss. Not to forget losing half your health bar if you die which can only return if you beat a boss or use an item which is fairly uncommon. The Cling Ring has helped a little.

I honestly thought it would the easiest of the Souls games from what I have read but so far I am really struggling. The issue isn't the enemy difficulty but the lack of bonfires. Seems a bit unfair to me.

On a side note the Sound and Graphics are the best I have seen on console to date. Puts Elden Ring to shame.
I've only ever played Demon's Souls and only recently overcame the game on my fourth outing - having got next to nowhere in my first 3 attempts, 2 on PS3 and 1 on the remake - and the problem entirely stems from the game's opening video of guiding me to play as the poster boy, with a strength build, and my previous feelings towards reading game wikis as cheating, I nearly got stuck again on that playthrough having accidentally tipped my world tendency on 4 - 1 beating the optional level-sub(vanguard) using the blue revival stones and dying too many times - I later learned that after each revival - from beating a demon - it is best to die in the nexus to avoid altering world tendancies- after spending your souls - or just recollect them from the bloodstain in the nexus where you leapt to your death when returned to soul form.
Hopefully you didn't consume the Tower knight souls and have kept it for trading for later for the defensive spell - I didn't and regretted it all the way to the game's end.

From your current position, if you have a good weapon with high damage, you can teleport direct to the archstone where you defeated the Tower knight, then walk up slowly behind the knights(and archers upstairs) guarding that area - that your already defeated and farm them for about 1500-2000 souls a time, and just touch the archstone respawn at the same place - with new health and magic- and repeat, which at your current soul level should give you a path to level up.

From here you should have enough to defeat level 2-1, or do the start of 4 -1 to get the Falchon sword, and the amulet - for doing miracles -and the Adjudicator's regenerator shield - which is not bad for doing a defensive blunt attack on the skeletons of 4-1, though not as good as the Steel Shield - which you should have found by now, but probably lack the stats to wield correctly and you definitely need to get the "Ring of Great Strength" from your storage guy in the nexus by cutting down corpses in 1:1 (read the wiki).

You should have also found your first wooden wand by now in 1:1 IIRC(check the wiki) and should be considering adding necessary magic stats and buying a spell or miracle (or two) from the guys in the nexus. Then when you can hold your own and complete level 3:1 - which is tough without range attacks or health/magic regen sword/shield already mentioned - you can free the Sage and the game should be a normal souls game to by then, if it wasn't much sooner from something I mentioned
 

Keihart

Member
Some people love to ignore it, but i think it's pretty obvious.
Demon's Souls is all about the levels difficulty wise, up until the last boss probably.
Later souls games have been turning the difficulty more and more onto the bosses, specially DS3 and Elden Ring.
Bloodborne is right on the middle i think, you still get a lot of the survival feel during the levels but you can play more agresively.
 

BbMajor7th

Member
Level design is definitely more punishing than the games that came after - the big run through 5-2 really is the stuff of nightmares and the worst poison swamp FromSoft ever devised. Some of the boss runs are rough too - luckily none of them are especially tough fights.
 

trikster40

Member
I want to but can't find a decent place to farm souls either.
I always used 4-1 to farm the first few skeletons as soon as you feel you can kill then, helps you level up decently pretty early. A decent weapon is close to the start too once you can make it past a few of them.
 

iorek21

Member
Not very hard, but sometimes as janky as Dark Souls 1 with those long bonfire runs to bosses.

World tendency events and grinding stuff for trophies suck hard as well. No wonder they haven’t returned ever since DeS.
 
Well, if you are skilled enough you won't have to replay the same area 100x times.
Only 50x times if you're skilled enough, right? Say what you want, the game was designed around suffering, learning and replaying whole levels. Even the creators will admit this.

I love a good challenge. In fact, it might be the most important thing in a game for me right now. But Demon's Souls is a different kind of challenge. I feel like it's much more about controlling your frustration than testing your skills.

In my recent experience with the remake, first area was ok and the first boss was easy once you know learn it's weak to fire. Reaching the tower knight though, it starts to test your patience too much with trial and error. Like 5 deaths to learn where you need to avoid the dragon, 2 more to learn how to avoid the dogs, other 2 for being reckless with regular enemies, 2 more for finding you'd better defeat the archers before the boss knight, 5 more to learn the patterns of the knight...
 

Arthimura

Member
Only 50x times if you're skilled enough, right? Say what you want, the game was designed around suffering, learning and replaying whole levels. Even the creators will admit this.

I love a good challenge. In fact, it might be the most important thing in a game for me right now. But Demon's Souls is a different kind of challenge. I feel like it's much more about controlling your frustration than testing your skills.

In my recent experience with the remake, first area was ok and the first boss was easy once you know learn it's weak to fire. Reaching the tower knight though, it starts to test your patience too much with trial and error. Like 5 deaths to learn where you need to avoid the dragon, 2 more to learn how to avoid the dogs, other 2 for being reckless with regular enemies, 2 more for finding you'd better defeat the archers before the boss knight, 5 more to learn the patterns of the knight...
Honestly even on my first playthrought on the PS3 I didn't experience that much frustration. The game is challenging but it has a good sense of fairness.

Try to explore another worlds if you are having that much trouble with 1-2. This way you can level up and get some better gear, and then you come back to the Tower Knight.

You only have to attack Tower Knight feets until he falls and then you can attack his head to do increased damage
 

Crownttano

Member
If you can get a your worlds to pure white, stay Soul form. That's at least 40% increase in all damage.
Far as I remember you can one shot every thing outside of Flame Lurker and Storm King with less than 60 strength

Also for anybody fighting Tower Knight, go for the low blows 😆



 
I thoght demon souls remake was easier then the ps3 game but still a difficult game compared ro the others, only reason remake is easier is stable fps and the new camera
 

FrankWza

Member
I thoght demon souls remake was easier then the ps3 game but still a difficult game compared ro the others, only reason remake is easier is stable fps and the new camera
Don’t discount how used to the style everyone became. At the time of original release DeS was jarring to most people
 
I definitely had to approach it a bit differently than Dark Souls I feel like, but aside from some sections I didn't have too bad of a time with it.

Dark Souls 2 is still the most I've struggled.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
When I first played it in 2009, yes.

Playing the remake after platting the original in 2018 (by going back to it after Bloodborne plat), nah.

Breezed through the remake.
 
Don’t discount how used to the style everyone became. At the time of original release DeS was jarring to most people
Wasnt that jarring if youve played monster hunter, knowing what items do what was the hardest thing about the game because it was so vague, im not trying to be one of those cringe git gud peeps but the remake is 100% easier then the ps3 version simply because its near enough 60fps while ps3 hit 20fps max, id still say its the hard souls game to date
 

skneogaf

Member
I didn't struggle on the first play through but I booted it up yesterday on new game plus and wow I'm getting absolutely annihilated, so many enemies are one hit killing me.

I will have to farm souls to boost my vitality to a level where I can at least survive one hit.

Elden ring made me soft!
 

Ogbert

Member
No, not at all.

And I’m not trying to swing my epeen. I’m average at games. I just found DS remake much easier than other Souls games, to the point that it felt more like an action adventure, than a traditional souls.

That said, the samurai dude that invades when you die too much in 2-1 (I think) was a pain in the ass.
 
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