It’s strange to discover Demon’s Souls last (the first in the « franchise ») with cutting edgy graphics. The game is very frustrating; for instance, they hadn’t figured out that checkpoints are good, some enemy placement is awkward, you often find yourself with no health items. But you also find the origins of the next games and it was immediately great at using verticality and interconnected spaces.
...and I just love the « bad design », the insane, sometimes impossible to figure out elements of the game, that make you feel like everything is possible. That also makes the online elements really useful: the little messages you can put on the ground for other players.
But yeah. Don’t start with Demon’s Souls!
