While it's common for games to have different armor appearances based on the gender selected at character creation, Demon's Souls on PS5 takes it a step further with armor that is only wearable by a specific gender. In the original game, a character's selected gender was locked in after creation, leaving certain armor totally unwearable by that character. While the PS5 remaster of Demon's Souls by Bluepoint Games kept the gender-locked armor in the game, it also brought players a way to change their gender while using the appearance change option.
In later games from the Souls series, characters would have access to all the armor in the game. Some armor sets would have a different appearance between the genders, but all the armor sets can be equipped by any character. Bloodborne even lets players wear an elegant gown that looks the same regardless of the characters gender. While it would have been ideal for characters to wear any kind of armor in the recent remaster of Demon's Souls, options to change the gender keeps the player from having to make two characters to experience the full range of builds available.
While it is easy to make a change to the characters gender, Demon's Souls players will still have to pick one or the other before heading out to explore the kingdom of Boletaria. The gender-locked armor is largely comparable, and players will have access to many armor sets in Demon's Souls that do not have a gender requirement. However, some do.
What Armor Is Gender-Locked In Demon's Souls
Female characters in Demon's Souls will get access to the Ragged set, Dull Gold set, Binded set, and Rogue's set, as well as the silver bracelet, which increases the amount of souls gained from defeated enemies. Males get the Ancient King's set, Venerable Sage's set, Saint's Robes, Dark Silver set, and the Shaman's Armor Set. While male characters in Demon's Souls will have more armor sets available, female characters have the silver bracelet to make grinding for souls easier. Even though there is some mechanical difference between the armor, the choice is largely cosmetic. Being able to change genders in Demon's Souls means players can just pick which gender suits their taste at the time.
Players that decide to make a change to their appearance or gender in Demon's Souls can spend a chunk of souls at the Statue of Reflection to make the switch. The statue has a few other features, but if the player wants to mix up their look they will have to make an offering of 25,000 souls to gain access to the features it provides. Afterward, players only have to spend 18,000 souls for a makeover. While not exactly cheap, it's a convenient way to allow players to access all the content in the Demon's Souls remake with one character.
The inclusion of a way for players to change gender and other appearance options in Demon's Souls was a great choice for the remake. Ideally, Bluepoint would have removed the gender-lock on armors completely, to allow players even more option to customize and build their characters any way they chose. There is something to be said for keeping the game as true to the original while addressing those issues, but some systems are a good thing to update and change with the times. Modern games are becoming more sensitive to social issues like gender and sexuality, and it's nice to see an older game like Demon's Souls change for the better.