Demon’s Souls on PS5 almost had an easy mode

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By Adam Vjestica
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You’ll have to ‘git gud’ instead

Demon's Souls boss fight
(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Demon’s Souls is stupidly difficult at times, but also bloody brilliant. However, it might have been a lot easier, if developer Bluepoint Games followed through with their idea of adding an easy mode.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Sony Interactive Entertainment Studios head Gavin Moore revealed that a discussion took place about making the game more accessible to newcomers, but the idea was subsequently scrapped. 

“While we’ve made some changes, our core driving mantra has always been to preserve the spirit and intent of the original creators. While we considered and discussed an easy mode, we ultimately decided it wasn’t our place – merely being custodians for this amazing game – to add something that would fundamentally alter its balance.”

Even though Demon’s Souls is likely to wear you down with its propensity for violence, Sony has at least tried to offer some support for players. The PS5’s Cards offer numerous tutorial videos – 180 to be exact – that even offer hints, tactics or, at times, just a warning. 

Bluepoint Games also worked hard to make sure the game could be enjoyed by more people than ever before.

 “For those who experience color vision deficiency, we added the ability to edit the UI palette. Some players are sensitive to certain types of screen movement, so we’ve included a toggle for motion blur and camera shake.” Moore said. 

The game's use of haptic feedback and adaptive triggers can also be turned off. 

Die, die, die my darling

We thoroughly enjoyed the game, noting in our Demon’s Souls review that the game is “a brutal, frequently punishing affair, but the pure elation it offers for those who doggedly persevere is absolutely worth fighting for.”

The PS5 has finally released worldwide, and we’re helping you find where to buy a PS5 in the US and how to buy a PS5 in the UK. Sony’s console continues to be hot property, so stay tuned to TechRadar if you didn’t manage to pre-order the system back in September.

Adam Vjestica
Adam Vjestica

Adam was formerly TRG's Hardware Editor. A law graduate with an exceptional track record in content creation and online engagement, Adam has penned scintillating copy for various technology sites and also established his very own award-nominated video games website. He’s previously worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor and once played Halo 5: Guardians for over 51 hours for charity. He is now an editor at The Shortcut.