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[tommib]

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.

You’re thinking 4-1. He’s a pain indeed. Super agressive and you can’t avoid him.

But there’s a cheese:

 

[RPSleon]

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.

Dying in DS raises the difficulty. One of their most hilarious ideas.

 

[Jooxed]

So difficult that I bailed on it after 40 hours

Spoiler

Just like every From game, I've still not beaten any of them

 

[=GabrielKnight=]

Same here.
The first souls game I played was Bloodborne, then Dark Souls 3, but I found Demon's Souls remake much harder, like I was almost giving up at a point. This never happened with the first two.

 

[Jooxed]

Demon souls was my first souls game when the ps5 was released. I then developed a crippling addiction and went through all the souls games over the next couple of months. I found demon souls to be the easiest then elden ring.

 

[Ogbert]

You’re thinking 4-1. He’s a pain indeed. Super agressive and you can’t avoid him.

But there’s a cheese:

That’s the fella!

I think he killed me about 50 times. Ended up being the toughest boss!

 

[tommib]

That’s the fella!

I think he killed me about 50 times. Ended up being the toughest boss!

He’s an asshole. I had to kill him for the trophy and was stuck like for an hour. And I was on new game+.

 

[Kssio_Aug]

Demon's Souls was the first game I played in the franchise, since I played it nearly release date. It definitely was the one I had most trouble with, although I'm not sure anymore if because the game was harder, or because it was a totally fresh experience. I miss the game though... whenever I'm able to get a PS5, I will certainly revisit it.

 

[22•22]

Never got to play it so it'll be my first game when I get my PS5!

 

[SkeletonQuays]

I want to but can't find a decent place to farm souls either.

Farm the rolling skeletons in 4-1

 

[Alphagear]

Farm the rolling skeletons in 4-1

Gonna take time. I am at level 30 and need around 5000 souls per level up currently.

Only getting around 300 from those rolling skeletons.

 

[SeraphJan]

If its your first time playing, blind play without any guide or back seating, depend on your preference and your luck, the difficulty could vary between very easy to very hard.

For example, if you don't happen to use magic user and chosen a pure melee, and you somehow manage to miss some of the helpful early game gears (such as flame dragon sword, crescent falcon etc.), and some how you went straight to second stage of a world without knowing you could finish all the first stage first to get better gear. Yeah, the game could be incredibly difficult

For those of people think Demon Souls is easy, from a retrospective view, it is the easiest souls game because of how easily the game is exploitable, and you could became incredibly powerful in early game etc. When talking about difficulty of a game there is this dilemma, once you've beaten a game its impossible to pretend you don't know anything and experience it again like your blind first playthrough. A pure blind play (no guide, no gameplay spoilers, no backseat from friend etc.) its not that common when it comes to souls game, consider these games were likely the hot topic when it was released, some gameplay aspect were spoiled to you without you even realizing.

I remember in 2009, my first blind play, I went straight to Flame Lurker without complete any other world first stage (except 1-1 and 2-1 of course), with starting gears (no upgrade) only, at one time I felt the game was impossible, not because of how hard the boss was, but because of how frustrating to even get there

Same thing happens to me when my first time play Dark Souls as well, I don't know there exist Undead Burg, my first destination after arrived at Firelink Shrine was New Londo, after getting my ass kicked countless times by Ghosts, I gave up and went to Valley of Drakes of course that's not going to went well either, finally I've discovered Catacomb, after getting hours of ass whopping, I've decided this game is enough, thinking what an impossible mess this game was. The next day when I saw other people discussing (Undead Burg), I'm not quite sure we are playing the same game.

 

[Bruno_Arrais85]

Same difficulty as other souls games. The only difference is that some bosses are way too easy.

 

[FrankWza]

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

Maybe there’s confusion to my post but that’s pretty much what I Meant by original release. The PS3 version.

 

[Captain Toad]

It's difficult because of bad design, imo.

Man you're lucky I'm not a moderator here.

 

[DeepEnigma]

He’s an asshole. I had to kill him for the trophy and was stuck like for an hour. And I was on new game+.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

It’s the most unwelcoming, for sure. No new checkpoint before beating a boss. Health below 100% unless you use consumables. Lots of tight spots. Very stingy with souls. And you can’t even level up before beating the first boss IIRC? I remember 1-1 taking me more than 3 hours to beat on my first playthrough, and 3-1 and 4-1 absolutely ravaging me with one-hit-kill Mindflayers and those skeletons depleting my stamina in one hit. Just one of the most brutal games I’ve ever played, took a long time to click. Still the best atmosphere in all of Souls though, one of the most atmospheric games of all times. Stonefang, Laria and the 5-2 swamp are unparalleled.

 

[DeepEnigma]

It’s the most unwelcoming, for sure. No new checkpoint before beating a boss. Health below 100% unless you use consumables. Lots of tight spots. Very stingy with souls. And you can’t even level up before beating the first boss IIRC? I remember 1-1 taking me more than 3 hours to beat on my first playthrough, and 3-1 and 4-1 absolutely ravaging me with one-hit-kill Mindflayers and those skeletons depleting my stamina in one hit. Just one of the most brutal games I’ve ever played, took a long time to click. Still the best atmosphere in all of Souls though, one of the most atmospheric games of all times. Stonefang, Laria and the 5-2 swamp are unparalleled.

There's an archstone before every boss.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

There's an archstone before every boss.

?

I mean, the archstone you get after beating a -2 boss is technically “before” the -3 boss, but otherwise the only one that kinda applies is the 1-1 archstone where it’s a short trek to Phalanx.

 

[K2D]

 

[DeepEnigma]

?

I mean, the archstone you get after beating a -2 boss is technically “before” the -3 boss, but otherwise the only one that kinda applies is the 1-1 archstone where it’s a short trek to Phalanx.

Yeah, one just down the stairs of the Monk, one right outside Flamelurker, etc..

Have not played Dark Souls yet, but don't remember being able to respawn right outside some bosses on Bloodborne, at least not all. Maybe I am misremembering.

 

[Black_Mamba]

Man you're lucky I'm not a moderator here.

Lol. I guess the whole forum is lucky for that.

BTW, even Elden Ring, which became one of my favorite games ever, has a lot of bad design (mixed with a lot of brilliant design of course).

If its your first time playing, blind play without any guide or back seating, depend on your preference and your luck, the difficulty could vary between very easy to very hard.

For example, if you don't happen to use magic user and chosen a pure melee, and you somehow manage to miss some of the helpful early game gears (such as flame dragon sword, crescent falcon etc.), and some how you went straight to second stage of a world without knowing you could finish all the first stage first to get better gear. Yeah, the game could be incredibly difficult

For those of people think Demon Souls is easy, from a retrospective view, it is the easiest souls game because of how easily the game is exploitable, and you could became incredibly powerful in early game etc. When talking about difficulty of a game there is this dilemma, once you've beaten a game its impossible to pretend you don't know anything and experience it again like your blind first playthrough. A pure blind play (no guide, no gameplay spoilers, no backseat from friend etc.) its not that common when it comes to souls game, consider these games were likely the hot topic when it was released, some gameplay aspect were spoiled to you without you even realizing.

I remember in 2009, my first blind play, I went straight to Flame Lurker without complete any other world first stage (except 1-1 and 2-1 of course), with starting gears (no upgrade) only, at one time I felt the game was impossible, not because of how hard the boss was, but because of how frustrating to even get there

Same thing happens to me when my first time play Dark Souls as well, I don't know there exist Undead Burg, my first destination after arrived at Firelink Shrine was New Londo, after getting my ass kicked countless times by Ghosts, I gave up and went to Valley of Drakes of course that's not going to went well either, finally I've discovered Catacomb, after getting hours of ass whopping, I've decided this game is enough, thinking what an impossible mess this game was. The next day when I saw other people discussing (Undead Burg), I'm not quite sure we are playing the same game.

This is precisely what my experience was like.

So, after reading comments in this thread I decided to give it another chance and the game transformed from pure frustration to almost perfect in terms of balance. What changed? Instead of following what seemed like the natural next step, which was to explore area 1-2 and defeat the knight, I decided to visit 4-1. Not only I could level up easily there but the regeneration ring totally transformed the experience for me, at least for now. After putting some points into vitality and strength (playing melee), I returned to the tower knight and humiliated it. Finished area 2-1 and killed the spider on my first try, but for this one I decided to check YouTube to learn a bit about the fight first.

In sum, I know that leveling up is important in every RPG, but in DS every small detail seems to make a huge difference in difficulty. The regeneration ring in particular is revolutionary at this stage. Before that, I was spending my money on herbs and still running out of them. Now I can't even carry more herbs.

I know from ER how much these games are intended to be played by sharing tips and knowledge, but I still think it's a bad design choice to leave the player on his own and punish them this much so early. All seems easy after you know what to do, but if you miss that small detail, like a weapon, a ring, level allocation or where to go next, the game can be a nightmare.

 

[Kokoloko85]

Tbh not compared to the others. The bosses seemed alot easier or had easier routes to beat them.
Dragon God was kinda annoying at first and obviously bosses werent easy but compared to Bloodborne, Dark Souls I found them a bit easier.

The levels themsleves… maybe not so much. But nothing the good old Git Gud method wont fix.

Unless you just dont enjoy it. Then maybe its not for you. If your finding it hard, is the reward worth it?

 

[Edgelord79]

Yes. I found it difficult.

 

[Ghost of Caelid]

Found it to be the easiest souls game...#dexmasterrace

most of the bosses felt more like puzzles than fights...once you figure out how to beat them it was pretty easy.

 

[Hobbygaming]

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

Damn I need to get that. I'm beating everything with a melee build and this game is hard as hell. I've killed 11 bosses so far

 

[Hobbygaming]

It really depends on if the person is using magic or not, it's way tougher without

And how far you've leveled up from grinding

 

[Yoda]

Game is different from its spiritual sequels. A large % of the bosses/NPCs have tricks which make them very easy. Ex: using strike damage on NPCs in the mines level (name is escaping me) removes the deflection and does a massive damage increase. Mechanics like this are present in current "souls" games, but the effect is never as pronounced as it used to be ex: mines are annoying in Elden Ring w/o a strike damage weapon, but not to the point where you'd turn around and go try something else. This type of "uncover the weakness = effortless win" is much more common than in later games. I think FROM dialed it down due to it impacting re-playability (it's only cool the first time you discover it).

In general, if you're struggling and know the basics of the FROM souls formula. I'd take a minute to analyze your tactics/weapon load out. Chances are you're missing something.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Yeah, one just down the stairs of the Monk, one right outside Flamelurker, etc..

Have not played Dark Souls yet, but don't remember being able to respawn right outside some bosses on Bloodborne, at least not all. Maybe I am misremembering.

There isn’t an archstone right outside Flamelurker, at least not in the original DeS. Fastest way to get to him after Armored Spider is to drop down that long shaft. Any other “level” requires you to go through everything and unlock a shortcut to reach the boss faster upon defeat, and that still requires you to walk for a while (1-4 being the most stupidly long trek to the boss every time). Like I said, after every -2 boss it’s a short and easy walk to the -3 boss, with the exception of 3-3 where you do get some enemies on the stairs to the Old Monk (and 1-3 being its own thing ‘cuz Boletaria goes by its own rules).

Dark Souls still requires you to run for a bit to reach a boss from the nearest bonfire, yeah. But the bonfires in Dark Souls are usually a bit closer to each other than the archstones in DeS. They started putting checkpoints closer to boss fights in Sekiro, and the walk to the boss is often nonexistent in Elden Ring most of the times.

 

[DeepEnigma]

There isn’t an archstone right outside Flamelurker, at least not in the original DeS. Fastest way to get to him after Armored Spider is to drop down that long shaft. Any other “level” requires you to go through everything and unlock a shortcut to reach the boss faster upon defeat, and that still requires you to walk for a while (1-4 being the most stupidly long trek to the boss every time). Like I said, after every -2 boss it’s a short and easy walk to the -3 boss, with the exception of 3-3 where you do get some enemies on the stairs to the Old Monk (and 1-3 being its own thing ‘cuz Boletaria goes by its own rules).

Dark Souls still requires you to run for a bit to reach a boss from the nearest bonfire, yeah. But the bonfires in Dark Souls are usually a bit closer to each other than the archstones in DeS. They started putting checkpoints closer to boss fights in Sekiro, and the walk to the boss is often nonexistent in Elden Ring most of the times.

Could have sworn in the remake, if you turn around outside the Flamelurker fog gate, there is an archstone added.

 

[tommib]

Could have sworn in the remake, if you turn around outside the Flamelurker fog gate, there is an archstone added.

Nope, the quickest way to get to him is as before: drop down from the right tunnel which is quite quick when you know what you're doing I have to say.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Nope, the quickest way to get to him is as before: drop down from the right tunnel which is quite quick when you know what you're doing I have to say.

Hmm, need to boot it back up.

 

[Jooxed]

Lol this made me crack up. Love some of that guys videos

 

[Spukc]

huuuuuuuuuuuuuur gIt GuD
Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuur

 

[DeepEnigma]

huuuuuuuuuuuuuur gIt GuD
Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuur

See that, even special people are telling the OP to git gud.

 

[Alphagear]

Update guys. I am starting to make some progress.

Just beaten the massive Spider and Flamelurker in Archstone world 2.

The bosses aren't so tough. Its the exploration, normal enemies and lack of bonfires that poses the most challenge.

Had more trouble against the multiple miners with pickaxes in narrow spaces than the flamelurker in open space.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Update guys. I am starting to make some progress.

Just beaten the massive Spider and Flamelurker in Archstone world 2.

The bosses aren't so tough. Its the exploration, normal enemies and lack of bonfires that poses the most challenge.

Had more trouble against the multiple miners with pickaxes in narrow spaces than the flamelurker in open space.

 

[Spukc]

Update guys. I am starting to make some progress.

Just beaten the massive Spider and Flamelurker in Archstone world 2.

The bosses aren't so tough. Its the exploration, normal enemies and lack of bonfires that poses the most challenge.

Had more trouble against the multiple miners with pickaxes in narrow spaces than the flamelurker in open space.

Well done

 

[rofif]

I found it easier than replaying original ds1

 

[Spukc]

I found it easier than replaying original ds1

Prolly because you better understand souls games now.

I had the same with elden vs DS

 

[Hobbygaming]

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.

Wait the Tower Knight is only like the 2nd level, I need you to try again bro lol

 

[Hobbygaming]

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!

I just started a new playthrough yesterday and I'm finding that grinding souls a little for vitality and endurance makes the game so much easier

I'm at 26 vitality and 26 endurance and I can take damage as long as I'm not surrounded by too many enemies at one time and I deal a good amount of damage too from upgrading my sword

Also watch your footing especially in the prison area there's multiple pits you can fall from

Alphagear

 

[Hobbygaming]

This is how I get the King's armor which is some of the best in the game, I don't do everything in the video but the armor is good

 

[Alphagear]

I just started a new playthrough yesterday and I'm finding that grinding souls a little for vitality and endurance makes the game so much easier

I'm at 26 vitality and 26 endurance and I can take damage as long as I'm not surrounded by too many enemies at one time and I deal a good amount of damage too from upgrading my sword

Also watch your footing especially in the prison area there's multiple pits you can fall from

Alphagear

This is how I get the King's armor which is some of the best in the game, I don't do everything in the video but the armor is good

Thanks. Will get these today. Already have that key.

Beaten Dragon God and managed to open Archworld 1-3.

Game is getting easier but Elden and Bloodborne were far easier for me.

 

[Hobbygaming]

Thanks. Will get these today. Already have that key.

Beaten Dragon God and managed to open Archworld 1-3.

Game is getting easier but Elden and Bloodborne were far easier for me.

Yeah I remember hearing Demon Souls is the easiest Souls kind of game a lot before release, boy was I in for a surprise and I beat Bloodborne twice but it wasn't harder than this game imo

 

[MALpractice311]

Demons' Souls was simultaneously both harder and easier than most of Fromsoft's other games.

I'll start with the easier parts first, which are the bosses. The majority of bosses are essentially puzzles and once you know the solution, there's no challenge. For the minority of bosses that are combat-based, their movesets are significantly more limited than anything from From's other games, so if you started with Dark Souls or Bloodborne and went back to Demons' (like me), it shouldn't take more a handful of attempts to beat them.

The part of Demons' that was harder to me was trying to figure out in what order you should be playing the levels due to the enemy resistances and damage. A pure physical build is just not feasible in Demons' due to how many enemies have high physical resistance, so you have to know (1) exactly where to find each type of elemental weapon and that means (2) knowing exactly which order to play the levels, some of which seem like they're way out of your level range when you're dying in one or two hits to normal enemies, and then (3) learning exactly which enemies are weak to which element. This is incredibly time-consuming and frustrating if you're going in blind for your first time.

On subsequent playthroughs, this becomes less of an issue because you typically have a strategy and can by-pass some of those early game struggles, BUT that just makes the game relatively boring, because there's really only one optimal route (go to 4-1 to get the Crescent Falchion, go to 2-2 to get the Dragon Long Sword and craft a Lava Bow). The game progress just becomes so rigid and unforgiving. There's no real flexibility in how and when you tackle challenges in this game, unlike From's follow up. You (or maybe it's just me) can't really go outside the optimal route without every level being either (a) a gigantic pain in the ass due to enemy resistances or (b) a sprinting contest to avoid all the enemies.

So now having played the game about five times, if I ever decide to go back to Demons', I just don't see any reason to start the game as any class other than Royalty to have immediate access to magic. I don't care if it's "easy mode," according to some Souls elitists. To me, Royalty is the only class that gives you flexibility in how you play the game and eliminates a lot of the tediousness of the early game.

 

[killatopak]

It's not a shame to find Demon's Souls difficult. A lot of people in 2009 did me included. If you're new to souls it may take a while to get used to but it gets easier the more of the series you play since you already have preconceived expectations when exploring or fighting enemies.

 

[wOs]

I thought the areas were challenging, but the bosses mainly didn't give me Trouble. That said it wasn't because of choosing order I did 1-1 then 1-2 , once I saw I couldn't progress I started doing the -1 versions first.

 

[Black_Mamba]

Exploring area 4-1 in the beginning can turn this game from extremely frustrating to rather easy, almost boring at times. With the Crescent Falchion, the Regenerator ring and a little bit of farming, I've completed 4 areas now with almost zero deaths. Only died at 3-1 boss because I didn't know what to do.

I'm loving the game, but I still think there're some very bad design choices, mostly related to the checkpoints and forcing you to replay whole areas just for the sake of punishment. I'd much prefer to be able to save near the boss arena and feel tension because of a more challenging enemy, that requires strategy and skill, than the risk of having to replay or walk through a whole area again. I'm still not feeling the "I did it!" moment like in ER. Looks like FromSoftware fixed this with the other games.

The idea of world tendency and turning you into a ghost with HP punishment also doesn't make much sense to me.

Demon's being my second Souls game, I'm starting to realize that they're not that difficult in terms of skills and reflexes. The real challenge is exploring the ultra-hardcore layer that hides all the tricks and knowledge required to play them right.

 

[Shifty1897]

So I got some birthday money on Friday and was looking for something to play after finishing Bloodborne and ended up getting Demon's Souls remake. It's uh... Hard. I've probably played for 12 hours and I've only finished 1-1, 1-2, and 2-1. I got to the boss of 2-2 and got annihilated. Guess I'm moving onto 3-1 for the time being.