[Let's Play] Demon's Souls: The End (kinda)

This is my Let's Play of Demon's Souls, a game that is as hard as it is great. And some say Demon's Souls is the hardest game to come out in 2009. I will be playing through the game to show off its many unique features, including the online components.

The Game In Brief

Demon's Souls is set in the land of Boletaria. An ancient evil is threatening to destroy the world and you must stop it from happening yadda yadda yadda. You don't play Demon's Souls for its story. This is an Action RPG at the genre's finest. You go through dungeons, beat bosses, and once you clear all the levels you face the final boss and beat the game.

The trick is, this game is rather difficult. It wants you to die, and you will most likely end up dead one way or another. The problem with dying is that not only does it send you back to the last checkpoint (i.e. at the beginning of a level), you become a ghost with less hit points than normal. You also lose all of your experience/currency (souls) and can only get them back by running to your death spot.

You can read up on the PA's thread of the game here.

The game is kind of unforgiving, to say the least. But that's not all.

Some Features

If you play online, you will still mostly be playing by yourself, but you can see white phantoms fading in and out of your game. These are other players playing at the same time you are, fighting in their own game. Blood stains will be spattered on the ground; interacting with them shows a red ghost running to its death. Those are spots where other players have died, giving hints as to what dangers lurk ahead.

Sometimes you will see blue signs on the ground. These are Soul Signs left by other players. Interacting with them will summon the other player into your game as a blue phantom. If you beat a level with this phantom he will be resurrected in his own world.

Players don't need to just play cooperatively with you. If they use a certain item, they can invade your world and try to kill you; this also resurrects them.

I will be using the online dynamics in the Let's Play. I will both summon and be summoned by other players, and I will fend off Black Phantoms invading my world (or die trying).

The Layout and Your Involvement

This will be a video Let's Play, and I will be using a mix of voiceovers from both while playing the game and after a playthrough. I will being doing a good amount of editing through boring parts or parts I have already played. This won't be a blind run which is probably a good thing for this game.

Each set is one "level" (see below) of the game; this is usually about an hour of material, though length can vary wildly.

The videos will be uploaded in 720p resolution (it takes some time for them to process though). Watch them in HD!

Demon's Souls features a New Game+, and if I can get through the first playthrough quickly enough, I will also play the NG+ in this LP; the second playthrough changes things around enough to merit going through the grisly environments again. No guarantees on the New Game + through.

Last but not least, I want to involve you all in the playthrough, so I will be doing something slightly weird.

After finishing the first level, the Demon's Souls opens up. There are 5 worlds (as seen in the picture above), and each world has three levels (exception being world 1 with four levels). You have to beat the levels in consecutive order, but you can choose which world to play through, even between levels.

Instead of choosing which levels to play myself, I am going to do a crazy shenanigan and let you decide what I play! Vote on what order in which I play the levels. You can vote on just the next level or on the what order I play the rest of the game (I would honestly prefer you do the latter).

If things get too hard, I may very well go into a level that wasn't voted on, but I will always beat the bosses in order.

EDIT: The voting is over; the game is beat. I'm proud to say I didn't go into a level out-of-sequence

The Worlds and Their Difficulty

There are five worlds in Demon's Souls, each with their own unique theme and level of difficulty.

World 1: Boletarian Palace

Demon's Souls Wiki wrote:

A huge stone castle in the heart of the northern kingdom of Boletaria. Hungry soldiers whose souls have been stolen by demons attack trespassers, and terrible dragons nest there.

Boletaria is a world populated mostly by human soldiers of varying equipment and capabilities.
Most enemies use only Physical attacks, with some Flame attacks thrown in to keep you alert (fire sword dreglings, firebomb soldiers, Official's flame attacks, some exploding barrels, and, oh yes, DRAGONS). You will encounter no magic damage in the world, except from bosses.

This world is a giant castle, and you have to be 1-1 in order to open up the other worlds. Also, access to 1-3 is blocked until you beat the final boss of another world. Level 1-4 is probably the hardest area in the game and intended to be the last place you visit. Difficulty: 1-1 is necessary, 1-2 is easy, 1-3 is moderate, 1-4 is OMGWTF, HE TOOK MY LEVELS.

World 2: Stonefang Tunnels

City of the burrowers, keepers of the huge tunnel. Most of the stubborn excavators who supported the soldiers of Boletaria had their souls taken. Lacking their own will, they mindlessly continue working.

Stonefang is an easy world for planning equipment strategy since almost all the enemies have similar attacks and weaknesses.

This world is probably the easiest of the five, but does have a particularly nasty boss in the second level. It's all about fire and tunnels and lava. Difficulty: 2-1 is easy, 2-2 has a hard boss, 2-3 has the easiest final boss of any world.

World 3: Tower of Latria

Latria, land of the Queen's ivory tower. An old man took revenge on the Queen by locking her family in a prison with inhuman guards. All that escapes the place are the prisoners' cries.

Besides Physical attacks, you will encounter several enemies which will use potent ranged Magic attacks, and also some which will Poison you. There are no sources of Flame attacks here.

One of the creepiest places in the game, and also one of the harder ones. Very difficult for beginners. Difficulty: 3-1 is the trickiest first level of a world. 3-2 is no picnic and has the hardest boss(es) in the game. 3-3 has the coolest use of the online component in the game.

World 4: Shrine of Storms

The island shrine of the Shadowmen, who worship storms & mourn the dead. Here, the Storm Beasts fly above and the souls of the dead inhabit empty skeletons to move about freely.

This is a challenging location with a lot of risk, but also a lot of reward. There are some very nice treasures and drops here, and the souls earned is quite high relative to enemies in other worlds.

This is probably the toughest area to start out in, but also the best place to farm souls. The enemies here are a pain the in the ass sometimes. BLACK PHANTOMS LOVE THIS WORLD. Difficulty: 4-1 is possibly hardest area for beginners (easy boss though). 4-2 is worse than 4-1 (easy boss though). 4-3 cuts out the hard level and just has the easy boss (really cool fight though).

World 5: Valley of Defilement

This damp valley is the resting place of those who have been thrown away. Overtaken by poison and plague, the dwellers attack anyone who wanders into the valley hoping to offer soul to the woman who showed compassion.

The environment is as much a challenge as the enemies. All of 5-1 is traversing platforms to descend along both sides of a deep rift, where falling is of course, deadly. Most of 5-2 is a poison swamp, where you get poisoned just to say 'thanks for stopping in', and also you cannot roll and can only sprint at low speed although enemies move freely. Part of 5-3 is a plague swamp, because they wanted to give you something to hate more than the poison.

Oh boy, people really hate this world. It looks vile, hits you with plague and poison, and the second level is a giant, poisonous swamp. I think it is better than world 4, but it definitely a mean area. Difficulty: 5-1 has a crap-ton of pitfalls but easy enemies. 5-2 has a poisonous swamp and is one of the most hated areas in the game. 5-3 is just a boss fight but what a fight!

Trynant · June 2010

Set 1 is being rendered and uploaded as I post this. It includes the intro cinematic, character creation, introduction, tutorial, the first level, talking with the Monumental, and the World 1 White Tendency Event. Expect it to be ready later today.

pyromaniac221 · June 2010

Oh my god yes
yes yes yes yes yes

Mumblyfish · June 2010

Don't grab any items except those in 1-1. Head straight to world 5.

To any readers who have not played Demon's Souls: This is what you want.

Trynant · June 2010

Mumblyfish wrote: »

Don't grab any items except those in 1-1. Head straight to world 5.

To any readers who have not played Demon's Souls: This is what you want.

I forgot to mention that I reserve right to explore other worlds, but never to beat a boss that was not in my designated area.

However, this seems like an interesting idea and I hate you for it.

Dox the PI · June 2010

Oh god here we go

Kaseius · June 2010

I was thinking about LPing this myself but hadn't gotten around to it yet. Good luck!

Trynant · June 2010

By the way guys, you get to decide where I go next!

The options are:

1-2 (die from fire-breathing dragon)
2-1 (die from a bunch of miners and dogs)
3-1 (die from mind flayers)
4-1 (die from skeletons and black phantom invasions)
5-1 (fall to my death)

The first set is still being processed. Slow rendering is slow

pyromaniac221 · June 2010

1-2.

I remember how much that place ruined me. I was so bad at that game...

Adus · June 2010

Played this game for 2 hours. Never went back. I'm okay with hard games and with challenges. I'll play any game on its hardest setting, but only after completing it once on normal. I am just not a fan of the 'start over at the beginning with all enemies respawning' form of death. Maybe if you didn't die often, but of course in this game you're dying every five minutes. Ten if you're good.

It was not fun. I can see why some people might like it, but it wasn't for me.

MetaHybrid · June 2010

I should get back to playing this game. I think I stopped after dying 15 times to the boss in 2-3. That one just blew me away in terms of size when compared to the other bosses I faced.

RisenPhoenix · June 2010

Oh hell yes. I've been waiting for someone to LP this - I eagerly await the cries of frustration and anguish.

ecco the dolphin · June 2010

RisenPhoenix wrote: »

Oh hell yes. I've been waiting for someone to LP this - I eagerly await the cries of frustration and anguish.

I wonder if we can get Trynant to record all of his deaths, and set it as a montage to the Benny Hill theme on fast forward?

Edit:

Mumblyfish wrote: »

Don't grab any items except those in 1-1. Head straight to world 5.

To any readers who have not played Demon's Souls: This is what you want.

Yes! Especially if he's a melee character.

Boo-urns to those who use magic!

mr weenis · June 2010

!

I was thinking about picking this game up...I am eager to see it in action and to see the online components...

And for kicks and giggles, apparently I want you to go to World 5

a puddle · June 2010

3-1 is much more vicious, in my opinion, than 5-1.

Yes, in 5-1 you can fall to your death if you aren't careful, but even as a priest in bind armor with a generic mace I was able to stumble my way through without dying the first time.

Upon my first encounter with a mind flayer I was immediately stunned and brain devoured.

Go to 3-1 first.

Edit: Also, 3-1 is hilarious because you have to navigate a nightmare of narrow staircases and perilous ledges where everything can stun + one-shot kill you, or just outright one-shot kill you. And then you have to run a gauntlet literally full of arrows that will most likely cause guaranteed death you if you get hit by one. And then you get to fight an invisible black phantom with a Baby's Nail. Woot woot.

For reference for the uninitiated: a Baby's Nail is a dagger that inflicts plague, the worst of all status effects.

Trynant · June 2010

Here's my impressions from when I last played Demon's Souls.

Lehman · June 2010

Is it just me or did anyone else think the game was going to be a lot harder than it was when they picked it up? I didn't import so I had read a lot about the game on the forum and in reviews about the difficulty but after about 4 hours with my first character who was a Strength character and figuring out that it was better to block than to try to parry/riposte everything and figuring out that I could roll faster if I had 50% equip burden or less the only boss fight that I can remember giving me fits was Flamelurker and I am pretty sure I killed him within 5 attempts.

Ever since my first play through I have always finished 1-1 and then headed straight to 4-1 so I have the option to farm the reaper in 4-2 for some easy souls. After that I just pretty much head to what area has the equipment I need for my build. For a first playthrough I would recommend doing 2-1,3-1,4-1,1-2 etc. Valley of Defilement is up to you its not so much that its hard its just a pain in the ass because its basically one giant pitfall with a bunch of poison and plague.

Also, most bosses can be easily defeated with a Compound Long Bow or whatever bow you can get your hands on but I suggest trying your normal equipment setup on them first because using the bow does take the fun out of learning how to defeat a boss that at first seems impossible to take down.

I play the game a good bit and have a couple of SL120 characters which is what most of the PvP community uses for tournaments and to keep everyone around the same range so you always have people to invade or fight off. If anyone is maybe getting back into the game and is rushing their character to the SL100 or 120 limit so they can focus on PvP I have a bunch of stones and spare weapons or if you are just playing the game and have any questions feel free to add me on PSN because I lack people on my friends list that actually play the game.

Trynant · June 2010

After beating Demon's Souls I actually thought it was much easier than people hyped it to be. The hardest part is getting used to the game and the first level. You just have to learn the ropes before the game lets up on you.

An update on the first set: I'm still rendering the videos and then uploading to YouTube. Once it's all done I should have eleven parts to the first set (D:) thanks to the fact that I covered the game intro, the tutorial, the first level, and the white tendency event afterwards. The other sets should be about half as long (hopefully); this one just covered a large amount of content. Each part is taking about an hour to an hour and half to get on YouTube; I hope to have it all done later this evening.

I have some of the videos up already; I will post the full set once it's all ready.

EDIT: BTW I really screwed up the voiceovers on the live part of this commentary; it comes in really damn quiet. And I sound really unenthusiastic for some reason. Hopefully the videos are still tolerable despite this.

RisenPhoenix · June 2010

Your voiceovers are quite informative - I really enjoyed the videos up so far and am eagerly awaiting the next few.

The whole 'Short Message' system is quite interesting, I really like the playerbase interaction without it being full of 'OLOLOL FAGS' and 'BUY CIALIS bit.ly/mahwang'

Dox the PI · June 2010

Trynant wrote: »

EDIT: BTW I really screwed up the voiceovers on the live part of this commentary; it comes in really damn quiet. And I sound really unenthusiastic for some reason. Hopefully the videos are still tolerable despite this.

They were fine, I enjoyed it (b:_:)b

cj iwakura · June 2010

I say 1-2. Get it over with.

Also, the dragons are awesome. (I'm as far as 2-1, doing everything in order. I hate the miners.)

Drez · June 2010

I hate to be a begz0rs here but I'd like to make a sticky compound long bow. Any of you guys have any spiderstones/chunk of spidey/pure spiderstone you'd be willing to give up?

How does trading even work in this game?

a puddle · June 2010

You need to summon someone as a blue phantom, and have the person giving the item drop the goods.

There's probably a guide on the Something Awful Demon's Souls wiki for this, including the best places to drop, etc.

Trynant · June 2010

Drez wrote: »

I hate to be a begz0rs here but I'd like to make a sticky compound long bow. Any of you guys have any spiderstones/chunk of spidey/pure spiderstone you'd be willing to give up?

How does trading even work in this game?

To be fair, that's a better question for this forums thread on the game (click).

But basically you get a friend in chat, make him place a soul sign somewhere where you can pick it up, and drop the items you want to trade and have the other player pick it up.

Lavender Gooms · June 2010

This game actually looks really fun.

Too bad I haven't got a PS3.

What did you get for beating Vanguard? Just more souls? I couldn't hear that part.

Antihippy · June 2010

Awww.

You know, it would probably be pretty entertaining to watch a blind run of this game.

cj iwakura · June 2010

Then these sets would be six hours long.

Antihippy · June 2010

But i want to hear all the cursing and hate in full glory.

Especially for worlds 3 and 5.

edit: also, the boss in 2-2 is nasty? I find him really easy.

Drez · June 2010

Trynant wrote: »

Drez wrote: »

I hate to be a begz0rs here but I'd like to make a sticky compound long bow. Any of you guys have any spiderstones/chunk of spidey/pure spiderstone you'd be willing to give up?

How does trading even work in this game?

To be fair, that's a better question for this forums thread on the game (click).

But basically you get a friend in chat, make him place a soul sign somewhere where you can pick it up, and drop the items you want to trade and have the other player pick it up.

Sorry, forgot this was an LP. :P

And thanks. I'll check out the other thread.

Trynant · June 2010

Antihippy wrote: »

But i want to hear all the cursing and hate in full glory.

Especially for worlds 3 and 5.

edit: also, the boss in 2-2 is nasty? I find him really easy.

Most of the cursing I've spent towards this game comes from fighting Black Phantoms, and that's about it. Player vs. Player frustrates me more than anything. I actually kicked my T.V. after losing a 30 minute fight against a Black Phantom in 1-2.

I will be playing in body form as much as possible

And if it makes you feel any better, I have never started with world 5 (or 3) first, so in essence that's almost like playing blind.

Flamelurker is notorious but I personally think he's easier than most take him to be, so I agree with you there. But hey, maybe taking him on at low level will result in some pain >.>

Aistan wrote: »

What did you get for beating Vanguard? Just more souls? I couldn't hear that part.

For beating Vanguard you get punched by the Dragon God, but before that you get a bunch of items including ones you can consume for souls, materials for upgrades, and potent healing items. All of this gives you a nice head start.

Antihippy · June 2010

It's not really cursing or hate really, except for world 5. Especially seeing that I went straight to 5-1 after 1-1 thinking that it was 2-1.

That wasn't... pleasant.

World 3 was more like "oh fuck where do I go AAAAAAAAAAAh". Running around shit scared of mindflayers and the whole level in general.

a puddle · June 2010

To be fair, if you're not ready for him, Flamelurker will obliterate you, especially as a pure (or mostly pure) melee character. And really, who is ready for anything new in Demon's Souls?

Prior to him, assuming you do 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, 2-2, all the bosses have been rather slow, deliberate affairs. Flamelurker is suddenly this manic, frenetic encounter.

Toxic Pickle · June 2010

Cool LP thus far (I saw the 8 episodes you have posted so far), especially for someone like me who doesn't have a PS3 and thus cannot buy this game.

Really enjoy all the explaning you do, as well as just fighting stuff and showing off skillz.

NerfThatMan · June 2010

Yeah, really nice work. Little quiet during loud game stuff, but really very tolerable and obviously you know about it. I laughed out loud when you said "No idea what I said there either" in the tutorial.

Pretty fuckin' sweet game though, thanks for introducing it to me.

Oh and slay a dragon to avenge our bitch slap earlier on. That's my vote. 1-2 I think you said?

Trynant · June 2010

Set 1 is finally uploaded! It's a massive set, with 10 parts and 2 bonus parts. I did the introduction cinematic, the tutorial, the first level, the talk with the monumental, and the white tendency event after beating the first level. I think this will be the largest set I will do, but then again, I do intend on showing co-op and pvp play, so who knows?

Set 1: Trial By Fire

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Bonus 1

Bonus 2

So, now that this is up, I need votes on where to go next! So far it seems I have 3 votes for 5-1, 3 votes for 1-2, and one vote for 3-1. I'll do the final tally by tomorrow evening.

Toxic Pickle · June 2010

Sweet I can finally see the end of this! Only had 8 videos up last night.

pyromaniac221 · June 2010

Great videos, man, I really liked this game but unfortunately it didn't like me. I've never been so bad at a video game before in my life, and I'll enjoy being able to see the entire game actually played by someone competent.

cozy duck · June 2010

Don't do 1-2, that'd be really boring.

5-1 is actually a good idea, so that's my vote. Just make sure you prepare accordingly with fire so you can outdamage the boss' healing, which might be somewhat tricky at such a low level.

Behemoth · June 2010

5-1 gets my vote

Say what you will about world 5, at least all the bosses are easy.

DoctorArch · June 2010

I just picked this game up, and I am enjoying the videos. Enough so that I will probably start playing with a halberd. This is probably as good as any thread to ask, but is it possible to completely gimp myself when I choose a starting character?

cj iwakura · June 2010

Not really. Once you start earning souls, you can boost whatever stats you like to fix the damage.

The classes just give you a significant head start in a certain direction.

Penny Arcade

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[Let's Play] Demon's Souls: The End (kinda)

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