Demon's Souls (2020): The Review

Overview

The 2020 remake of Demon’s Souls brings FromSoftware’s cult classic to modern consoles with a jaw-dropping visual overhaul and some much-needed refinements. Bluepoint Games stays faithful to the original’s brutal design, preserving its punishing difficulty, cryptic lore, and distinct atmosphere. While the remake is a technical masterpiece, the gameplay beneath the gorgeous surface shows its age, with clunky systems, uneven mechanics, and a lack of quality-of-life features fans now expect from the Souls formula.

Score: 7 out of 10

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The Positives ✅

What immediately stands out is the absolutely stunning visuals. From the sprawling towers of Boletaria Castle to the nightmarish depths of the Tower of Latria, every environment has been reimagined with incredible detail, making this easily one of the best-looking games on PS5. It’s not just surface-level polish either, Bluepoint delivers a faithful remake that keeps the original’s tone, challenge, and intricate world design intact while updating textures, animations, and audio to modern standards.

The game’s atmosphere is unmatched, dripping with tension and dread at every turn, enhanced by an eerie score and immersive sound design that completely pulls you in. Combat remains as weighty and tactical as ever, with every swing, block, and roll carrying real consequence, rewarding players who master precision and patience. And thanks to the PS5’s blazing fast load times, even failure feels less punishing, letting you dive back into the action almost instantly without breaking immersion.

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The Negatives ⚠️

As gorgeous and faithful as this remake is, the gameplay still feels dated when held up against modern Souls titles. Movement and combat can sometimes feel stiff and less refined, reminding you that the core is a product of 2009. While Bluepoint nailed the presentation, there’s a sense of missed opportunity in innovation. Beyond visuals, the remake plays it very safe, offering no significant mechanical upgrades or quality-of-life changes that newer fans might expect.

Some of the original’s more clunky systems remain intact, such as the cumbersome inventory burden, the confusing world tendency mechanic, and an online setup that feels unnecessarily complicated. For newcomers, the game can feel unforgiving without context, since very little is explained, leaving players to trial-and-error their way through cryptic design. And while many bosses are unforgettable, a handful stand out for the wrong reasons, underwhelming encounters that play more like puzzles than true tests of skill, breaking the intensity of an otherwise relentless experience.

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The Experience 🎮

Demon’s Souls (2020) is both a celebration and a test of patience. Bluepoint’s remake delivers an astonishingly faithful revival, capturing the oppressive mood, brutal challenge, and haunting landscapes that defined the original. For returning fans, it feels like a nostalgic triumph, one that respects every jagged edge of the game’s identity while bathing it in next-gen beauty. Every crumbling stone of Boletaria, every eerie note of its soundtrack, and every hard-won victory hits with a renewed sense of awe.

But that fidelity is a double-edged sword. The aged mechanics remain untouched, and while they preserve authenticity, they also highlight just how far the genre has evolved since 2009. For newcomers, this means stepping into a world that’s gorgeous to behold yet occasionally frustrating to endure. It’s a remake that succeeds in reverence and atmosphere, but one that doesn’t always smooth the cracks in its foundation. As an entry point into the Soulsborne legacy, it’s breathtaking, but unrelenting in ways both intentional and outdated.