Demon's Souls

Demon's Souls (デモンズソウル, Demonzu Souru?) is a console role-playing game from From Software exclusively for the PlayStation 3. With a dark fantasy theme, the player will set off into the heart of Boletaria, a kingdom of warriors that was destroyed after the appearance of beasts and demons. The game is described to be a spiritual successor to the King's Field series for past PlayStation consoles.

Demon's Souls Versions
There are three different versions currently available:
Japanese: English voiceovers; menus and subtitles in Japanese.
Asian (Hong Kong/Singapore): Both full English and Chinese voicework, menus and text.
Asian (Korean): English voicework; both English and Korean text and subtitles.

Atlus is publishing the game in North America

Demon's Souls Story
King Allant the twelfth, in search for power and prosperity, channeled the power of souls. He brought unprecedented prosperity to his northern kingdom of Boletaria. That is, until a thick black fog covered the lands outskirts, cutting out the kingdom from the outside world. Those who entered the fog never returned .

But Vallarfax of the royal Twin Fangs broke free from the fog and told the world of Boletaria's plight. The aging King Allanti had awakened the Old One, the great beast below the Nexus, from its eternal slumber. And that a dark fog had swept in, unleashing soul-craving demons. The ones that lost their souls, also lost their minds. Chaos reigned, the mad attacking the sane. The Demons grow stronger and more powerful with each soul they devour. The legend was told from man to man, mightly warriors entered the cursed lands but none have returned.

Gameplay
Demon's Souls is an open-ended dark fantasy action RPG. Players are able to customize their own characters, setting the name, gender, hair style and others. Players face off against huge beasts many times the size of the character, making use of a variety of different weapons. The gameplay alters depending on what type of weapon the player wields.

Demon's Souls Locations
Demon's Souls is set in the Kingdom of Boletaria. The hub world that takes place between missions is the Nexus, a small, town-like area where the player can interact with NPCs, shop, and store equipment. The actual game world is divided into five stages, accessible via portals. The first is Boletaria Palace, the ruins of the castle where Boletaria's ruler once lived. Second is the Stonefang Tunnel, a dwarven mine that was corrupted and overrun by goblin-like creatures. Third is the Tower of Latria, a dark, abandoned prison tower whose halls are now stalked by Cthulhu-inspired guards. Next is the Shrine of Storms, a cliffside ruin infested by the undead and besieged by flying creatures known as Storm Beasts. Last is the Valley of Defilement, a deep gorge in the Earth full of poisonous leeches, trolls, and sheer drops. These locations can be explored in any order by the player only after they defeat the boss Phalanx in 1-1.

Demon's Souls Character classes
The player can choose between ten different classes of characters, each with different starting attributes:

* Knight: Southern knights of Boletaria, strong and heavy armored.
* Priest: Warriors of the priesthood, they have faith in God and use miracles.
* Thief: Work under the cover of darkness, sneaking up behind enemies.
* Magician: Masters of magic, poor physical offensive and defensive skills.
* Temple Knight: Strong warriors that also use defensive miracles to their advantage.
* Soldier: Skilled in combat, able to handle many types of weapons.
* Wanderer: Low armored but fast and agile, skilled with swords.
* Barbarian: Uncivilized people not wearing any armor, physically strong.
* Royal: Aristocrats users of offensive magic, starts with valuable magic rings.
* Hunter: Specialized in outdoor activities, skilled with bows, light on armor.

Online features
* Co-Operative up to three players can team up to play levels.
* Messaging/Educational mode, players can leave hints and advice in the game to help other players.
* Competitive, a player can force into another gamers adventure and play as an opponent.

Merchandise and other media
An exclusive strategy guide "Demon's Souls Official Perfect Guide" was released on 2009/4/2. The softcover book is 192 pages and published by Enterbrain. The guide contains complete data over weapons, armor, items, area maps and secrets.

King's Field references
The Legendary Knight Vito of the King's Field games is mentioned, and the Moonlight Sword is also to be found in Demon's Souls . Also some of the status and inventory screens have many similarities.

SCEJ producer Takeshi Kajii described the game to Famitsu as a spiritual successor to King's Field. "I am a fan of From Software, but naturally that also means there are parts of their games I'm not satisfied with, too," he said. "If this was a new King's Field game, there would be areas we wouldn't be able to touch since they're part of the series; working together like this, we can try to make something really new.".