The original Demon's Souls on PlayStation 3 was the first to utilize the iconic challenge and sense of accomplishment that Dark Souls has since polished to a dazzling gleam, but the entire series features an expansive and innovative multiplayer experience that outsiders of the franchise might be unaware of. Most multiplayer modes require their players to navigate menus and servers to join the same play session as another, but FromSoftware's Souls games seamlessly blend their single-player campaigns with their competitive and co-operative multiplayer modes. Demon's Souls may have created an engaging and original way to play games online, but the game's competitive scene was a broken mess that should be fixed up in the upcoming PS5 remake.
When playing Demon's Souls or any other Dark Souls game online, players can join others' worlds with the intent of either assisting them in their quest against enemies and bosses or to hunt them down and steal their humanity. Hosts can only engage in co-operative play if they choose to do so, by summoning allies via summoning signs placed down by other players, but invasions happen without the host's consent, something which makes the Souls experience even tenser than it already is. It's an extremely unique system that is almost impossible to completely ignore (without playing offline) which makes the multiplayer stand out from every other title on the market.
While it is true that the original Demon's Souls has all of these features, it's also the studio's first attempt at making such an ambitious multiplayer mode which means that it's an unbalanced experience. Certain weapons and builds are far more effective than others in Demon's Souls, which can make invasions against high-level players frustrating to deal with.
Demon's Souls PVP Was Unbalanced & Awkward
The Scraping Spear was one of the most feared weapons in the original Ps3 version of Demon's Souls because it had the capability of destroying the durability of the opponent's equipment. This means that players will find all their weapons and armor completely ineffective in the middle of a battle, and after their inevitable demise, they'll have to take the time and resources to repair them. Spells were also extremely powerful in Demon's Souls' PVP, since the only thing restricting the amount of spells one could cast was a magic meter that could be easily refilled using fresh spices.
Dark Souls 2 and Dark Souls 3 have both greatly refined this multiplayer formula by offering a superior balancing of the weapons and spells and a more refined matchmaking system. Players can use passcodes to easily connect with their friends for both competitive and co-operative multiplayer, and there are many more viable builds to explore as well as fewer bugs. Demon's Souls Remake has the opportunity to use these new systems incorporated in the previous Souls entries to improve the Demon's Souls multiplayer experience. They could also restrict the number of heals and magic restorations players can hold to reduce the frustration of players running and healing in PVP.
Another way Demon's Souls could improve its multiplayer is by incorporating arena-like structures into the overworld for PVP. In the original game, players frequently gathered at the Shrine Of Storms to find other players to duel, just like how Dark Souls 3 players gather in the area right after the Pontiff Sulyvahn boss fight. It seems like Bluepoint might have some freedom to alter the level design slightly, and if they add a clean arena into the landscape, it will surely be a great place to find players and add some variety to the competitive scene of the game. Demon's Souls Remake has the potential to iron out the kinks of Fromsoftware's first attempt at a Souls game, and cleaning up the multiplayer is an integral step to ensuring this remake will live up to the expectations of its fans.