It is an experience far superior to the original. And when I bring down my sword on this demon, I feel the thundercrack reverberate through my hands and my ears as the screen shakes violently. The Demon’s Souls remake’s visual fidelity, its immersive sound effects and score, and the haptic feedback from the DualSense controller together convey the scale of a giant beast tearing through the atmosphere above me. The spectacle of seeing this massive creature, while dramatic in the original game, is now astounding. I miss the sadness in Stockpile Thomas’ voice when he tells me that I have a heart of gold, and that I must protect it. I loved the contempt of one blacksmith’s dialogue in the original Demon’s Souls, for example, but he now sounds less harsh. Voice acting has been similarly redone, which changes the mood in certain cases. The game’s music has been re-recorded and is richly textured and gorgeous.

Some things have changed in the new Demon’s Souls, occasionally out of necessity.

But modern players will already be accustomed to this, because Demon’s Souls’ similarly difficult progeny ( Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice) are global hits. The game’s opaque, esoteric rules and innovative online connectivity are still here. The core of Demon’s Souls remains almost entirely unchanged. If you want curated lists of our favorite media, check out What to Play and What to Watch. When we award the Polygon Recommends badge, it’s because we believe the recipient is uniquely thought-provoking, entertaining, inventive, or fun - and worth fitting into your schedule. Polygon Recommends is our way of endorsing our favorite games, movies, TV shows, comics, tabletop books, and entertainment experiences.

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