At first glance, fans might think that Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls are practically the same game. They both use similar combat mechanics, the same method of progressing through levels, souls as a resource for purchasing things and leveling up, and are notoriously hard. While these similarities certainly do exist, the biggest thing that sets the two apart are their boss battles. The SoulsBorne franchise as a whole is infamous for its challenging and often overwhelming boss battles, but there’s a wholly different approach to how bosses are designed in these two games that players will see if they look below their towering stature and imposing visages.
Despite recently releasing on PS5, Demon’s Souls is actually the precursor to Dark Souls. The original released for the PlayStation 3 back in 2009 and was followed up by Dark Souls two years later in 2011. It’s easy to notice all the ways that these two games are the same, but there are some drastic differences hidden just below the surface, namely in how each title handles boss battles. It’s clear to see that FromSoftware paid close attention to what worked well in Demon’s Souls and what didn’t, using this knowledge to make the Dark Souls franchise what it is today.
Oftentimes, players will claim that the bosses in Demon’s Souls are generally easier than those from Dark Souls, but this isn’t the result of any kind of artificial difference like damage numbers or hit points. The true source of this discrepancy is that most bosses in Demon’s Souls have a weakness that the player can exploit or a gimmick that makes them easier to defeat. When faced head-to-head, these bosses can be just as overpowering as a Dark Souls boss if not more, but players that know the secret to beating a certain boss will have a much easier time.
This is a difference between technical knowledge and game knowledge. Players with a good amount of game knowledge will breeze through several of the bosses in Demon’s Souls, even if their technical knowledge or ability isn’t up to snuff. A great example of this is the Old Hero boss in the Ritual Path area (World 4-2). If players run in and try and take him head on, he will quickly overpower them with his incredible speed, high damage, and unpredictable attacks. Those that realize that the Old Hero is blind, however, can defeat him easily by biding their time and striking quickly and quietly.
By contrast, Dark Souls bosses tend to be fairly straight forward. As soon as players enter the room with Quelaag, there’s nothing they can do except rely on their own skill and reflexes to make the fight easier. Game knowledge comes into play to a degree, players wouldn’t want to bring fire weapons to this fight and may even opt to boost their fire resistance with rings and armor, but it won’t turn the tides of battle one way or the other.
There are still some bosses with gimmicks that make them easier to defeat in Dark Souls, but they are in the minority. Players may have an easier time defeating the Taurus Demon if they know about the plunging attack location, but it won’t solve all of their problems. Even the most gimmicky of bosses, the Bed of Chaos, requires a certain level of skill to surpass. Players may know exactly what they need to do to kill it, but executing this still requires a bit of luck and prowess. That’s not to say that Demon’s Souls bosses don’t require these things, but this boss is very much like Demon’s Souls‘ Dragon God fight.
Of all the bosses in Demon’s Souls, the Flamelurker is arguably the most notorious. This boss is so difficult that it often contends with the final boss for the honor of hardest boss in Demon’s Souls, and there’s a good reason for that. The Flamelurker’s arena does nothing to help the player, instead offering environmental hazards that can add on more damage. In terms of AI, it is both agile and brutal, and will press the attack making it difficult for players to recover after a devastating hit.
Ultimately, it seems as though this became a sort of archetype for Dark Souls bosses moving forward. Unlike many other battles in the game, this fight relies purely on the player’s skill to overcome as they duke it out one on one with the Flamelurker. This is very reminiscent to iconic battles in Dark Souls like Artorias, the Fume Knight, or the Nameless King. There are a few other examples of these kinds of fights in Demon’s Souls as well, like the Maneater boss in world 3-2 and the final boss of the game.
To say Demon’s Souls is easier than Dark Souls is a mostly accurate statement, but only for players that have the proper knowledge. Since information about how to do anything in any game is readily available online now, developers can’t rely on game knowledge to make a fight challenging. This is likely the reason that FromSoftware decided to shift gears and put a heavier emphasis on technical knowledge. Players may find themselves in familiar looking locations, using controls that they already know, and even finding items that are the same between both franchises, but their bosses will always set them apart.
None of this is to say that Demon’s Souls’ bosses are poorly designed, as quite the opposite is true. The feeling of discovering a boss’ weakness and then using it to defeat them is great, and it honestly makes a bit more logical sense than human taking down a giant demon in single combat. The Dragon God boss fight is an example of taking this concept too far, but fights like the Storm King or the Fool’s Idol can create amazing experiences based more on player knowledge than player skill.
Demon’s Souls is available now on PS5.
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