Demon's Souls

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Brilliant, extremely difficult, violent RPG in bleak world.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Demon's Souls is a game for mature players who love the challenge of an extremely difficult video game. It's not merely the copious amount of blood that's a concern here and the smaller enemies that fall like rag dolls at your feet, it is also that this game has a very depressing vibe. This is one of the hardest games created in recent memory. Because you constantly die, it can break the spirit of even the most seasoned gamer. However, there are hardcore gamers who relish this kind of challenge and for them, Demon's Souls is a game they  will love.

  • The message here is pretty heavy: there is almost no hope. One character says it is almost silly to try to save this bleak world because so many have tried and failed. The generally defeated tone of the characters you meet can be downright depressing.
  • You are the hero means more in this game than in others. You can make your character very precisely in your own image and name him what you want. The story moves forward often not by telling the character’s backstory, but through the stories of other characters. You yourself are the role model here because many of the people you encounter are in a kind of limbo and seem to never to have hope.
  • The level of gaming skill must be very high to play this game. Because automatic saving is rare and there is no pausing, this is one of the most difficult games of the year. If you relish a challenge in your video games, this is for you. If hard=no fun, then this isn't for you.
  • Monsters emerge from the shadows to attack you, making the attack all the more frightening. They stick you with swords and you bleed into a puddle below you. You are hit with fire, too, which burns you. When you slice into your opponent, a misty rain of blood can drizzle the immediate area. Puncture the gut of one particular boss and there’s a waterfall of blood. However, you can turn the blood off in the options menu. 

What's it about?

In DEMON'S SOULS, a drab, encroaching fog full of soul-sucking demons threatens to make an utter wasteland of the already miserable Boletaria. It’s a kingdom which has plunged into an eerie darkness because its greedy king awakened a seemingly unstoppable evil being. In this role playing game, you are the final hope for humanity, the hero who must fix this depressingly bleak world. But you will probably die, many times, while trying. If you're good enough, you'll discover the mystery of the Old One, the greedy king. Along the way, you'll fight gross things like insects with human faces, octopus men, grim reapers and giant, round masses made of human bodies.


Is it any good?

 

It’s not easy. This extraordinary sleeper hit features a short, wham-bam tutorial and a challenging, dungeon crawler experience from the first fight onward. The steep difficulty level itself (you die miserably a lot), makes it an adults-only game and the massive amounts of sword killing, spurting blood, and fleshy gore seals its mature rating. (However, the bloodletting can be turned off.) Dying a lot yields a harder level when you try again. You can’t even pause in this masochistic hardcore gamer’s delight. It’s ingenious nonetheless. Besides a massive world to explore and many classes of characters to try, the fascinating online mode lets previous players leave messages of warning to help for you. You can also beg others to help you defeat an ugly boss in this, the most difficult game ever created for the PS3. Bravo.

Online interaction: By joining you, friends can help you beat a boss online. Players can leave helpful messages. But people can also steal your game, too. There is no ability to text or use audio in the online mode, so there should be no fear of four letter words or worse.


Explore, discuss, enjoy

  • What do you think of this world? Is it too sad and forsaken? Or is it a step forward in games to see these deeply negative emotions?

  • Is it hard to deal with the constant dying of your character? Why or why not?

  • Do you wish the game saved automatically more often or do you like the challenge of getting to the end of the level and fighting the boss without save points?


This review of Demon's Souls was written by
Parent of 8 and 10 year old
October 19, 2009
 
Try it before your kids
The violence the dark tone are the two areas for parents to watch out for. I wouldn't necessarily say NO KIDS. The violence is melee/spell oriented and a bit bloody although not gory from what I've seen. There is no cursing but the atmosphere is very dark and gothic. The appropriateness is really is subjective to you and your kids. Not an adults only game such as Grand Theft Auto in my opinion. Honestly this game seems more rated T than M from what I've seen so far.
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Adult
October 4, 2011
 
One of the highest pedigrees in gaming. Difficulty and content-wise absolutely not for children.
Demon's souls, as fearsome-sounding a name it is for a video game, fits it rather well. This will probably be the hardest video game you have ever played if you have joined the gaming horde in recent years, and you will be tested brutally. This is the game to hand your friend at a party whilst they boast about their immense video-gaming prowess; you can expect their attitude to quickly change when Demon's Souls is brought up. You will be humiliated by death constantly, and almost every time, you will lose your souls (experience for leveling up your character) and placement in the area. That said, when you die, you go back to the start. Thankfully Demon's souls has mercy in the fact that it is very coherent, and you can understand why you die in almost every situation. It is all up to a player to throw the nails in their coffin. When you start out in the game I can near guarantee you that you or the one you buy the game for will die again and again. It will be frustrating experience, at first. Then the player realizes, once their personal skill rises, that this is one of the most satisfying video games they have ever played. Every act you do is so soul-crushingly hard that if you are successful, the feeling of payoff is like no other in any game in recent memory. Past the game itself, it also has some overtones and messages that, if the gamer is unprepared, could actually infringe on their mental health. The world is incredibly dark. Not like a "shoot em up extreme" dark, but more like a "you have no hope" dark. You character is surrounded by disgusting half-humans, killer beasts, and things so horrifying they would be hard to describe in words. Demon's souls can "grip" a person in this manner, up to the point where it can infringe on the player's mental health. So if you or your kid plays this game be sure to have them take breaks often.
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Teen, 14 years old
January 24, 2011
 
I only finished the fist level after dying a total of 11 times, most thanks to that dragon at the end of it. From what i've seen so far, this is fine for 10-11 year olds (except for the torturous dificulty). Kids might not like it, but if your older and want a challenge, this game is great
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Kid, 12 years old
June 13, 2010
 
Great game but its dark and depressing.
This is one of my all time favorite game. But its dark, depressing, and downright HARD! this will be the hardest game you have ever played. you play as a knight going into bolitaria which has been taken over my demons. as you go along some of the bosses can be frighting to a little kid. I was once playing a boss called the armored spider and my 5 year old brother said he was scared. over all this is a good game but your child cant be scared of monsters in there closest or can be frustrated really easy.
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Teen, 15 years old
December 29, 2009
 
WARNING! Hardcore Players Only!
Those who value your television screens, do not get this for a child without a level head because controllers will be flying. The content isn't anything an eleven year old couldn't handle, you can turn off the blood, but I'm recommending this for fifteen and up because the game is so hard that it kicks every last inkling of enthusiasm out of the player; then it commences to pick up the remains of the player's shattered psyche and drop it in a blender. Then the game takes the player's psyche liquid and commences to drink it as a bitter yet refreshing beverage of pain and hopelessness. If you've played the game, you know what I mean. Every time a player dies, they respawn at the beginning of the level with half their health and lose all their souls (the in-game currency). As far as gameplay goes, it's extremely fun, but sometimes it gets repetitive doing the same thing again and again. I'm saying it's alright for 15+ just because I'm going for mental maturity but content-wise 11+ is okay.

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Teen, 15 years old
July 10, 2010
 
An Amazing game for Those
This game is downright one of the hardest of the current console generation. The online play is perfect though, as the game was designed to be hard so that players will leave helpful advice and messages in the world to prepare for attacks, find hidden items and such. The game is one of few that have been Overrated by the ESRB though. Another one being Oblivion. Having played the game as an import before it's US re;lease i am quite familiar with and can say this: It is at hear a dark fantasy game, meaning there is no whimsy in it and is outright serious, much similar too the film "The Dark Crystal" in it's tone. For children, even adults the game can and might make you break your controller in frustration. That said the game only saves when you beat a level, or when you unlock a shortcut by pulling a lever to save time and advance. And saving also doubles as check points. When you die you go back to the beginning of the level and all enemies regenerate, and none of your items are restored. The enemies and bosses in the game can also be somehwat disturbing. And the nos pause feature of the game is to allow seamless integration into online play. For the hardcore teenage gamer son of yours? Yes. For your casual gamer son whom plays every now and then? No. For lack of better analogy, god forbid, rather than you being the pimp in charge of the game AKA you woman of ill refute in you hire, the game does role reversal. The educational value is obtained by having one master rationing out supplies strategically and problem solving to complete a level or boss.
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Teen, 16 years old
May 17, 2010
 
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Teen, 15 years old
April 9, 2010
 
DO NOT BE TRICKED BY DISTURBING GAME TITLE... THIS GAME IS FINE
This game is amazing. Flat out and simply amazing... But when my parents first saw the name, then looked at the rating... it was "no!" for several months. Once I finally convinced them to let me get it, they found it wasn't that bad. My family is made of very strong christians so the whole demon idea made my Mom think it may be a little against god. It really is not though... It is simply a humble game idea and a good idea at that. ALSO, NOTICE THERE ARE NO LANGUAGE PROBLEMS!!! Nowadays it is almost impossible to find a game with no cussing in it, but here is one! There is also no sex or drugs! The violence is pretty bad though. Blood can be turned off but that kind of makes the game less realistic and not as thrilling... There is lots of stabbing and slashing that can make you say "oh oww" but it is all very satisfying. The review says the game is bleak and hopeless, but when you're playing it you do not feel hopeless or bad in any way. Playing it makes you feel in control, powerful, and awesome... Not sad or depressed so don't get the wrong idea. Overall, this game is so much fun! AND THIS GAME WAS VOTED GAME OF THE YEAR 2009 BY GAMESPOT* (one of the biggest online game review sites). This game will take your child through many awesome adventures and is very exciting... I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!! Unless you are like below age 10 or you do not like violence, then you should get this game.

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Teen, 13 years old
March 20, 2010
 
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Teen, 13 years old
February 20, 2012
 
A very challenging and fun game.
Although I found this game a huge breeze for me,not dying a single time in the entire game,I do agree many people may have less blessed in gaming skills than me and it can be nauseatingly hard at time,for those with low patience and tolerance,this game is a big no no.Frankly,the blood and gore is very high with lots of atmosphere making a very good game,Take that and the huge difficulty and you get mature players only.
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This review of Demon's Souls was written by
Platforms:PlayStation 3
Available online?Available online
Genre:Role Playing
Developer:Atlus
Release date:October 5, 2009
Price:$59.99
ESRB rating:M for Violence, Blood (PlayStation 3)

This review of Demon's Souls was written by

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