I have persevered through 21 hours of seemingly insuperable tedium. Could someone please tell me why they like this game? I just....just want to know. I kinda feel defeated, though i'm not sure by what; i can't determine if the nagging feeling that I'm the problem is a deduction of my own, or the echo of other voices.

I've always had a hard time describing to my friends why I like the game.  And playing it in front of them only seems to confuse them more as to how I could like the game.  I hated the game when I started.  Played maybe ten hours and put it down for 3 or 4 months.  Then for whatever reason I gave it another go and this time it clicked with me.  Once you really get a feel for the game it will latch onto you and a weird way that not many games can.  It's the simple on the surface but complex underneath combat, the atmosphere, exploring every nook and cranny.  The game is the only game I've ever played when as you level up you feel simultaneously like a powerful badass wrecking machine yet also a completely vulnerable and helpless nobody.  Honestly, I really don't think I've given you a solid answer as to why I like the game, but my advice is not to write it off just yet.  Even if you have to step away for a bit once you finally break the threshold where you not only know what you are doing in the game but are completely absorbed by the world, then you will begin to understand what all the fuss is about.

Crystal lizards and the hot blind chick, for one.

Thats a good question that could only be answered in a text that would be way to long for anyone to read.

But the short version is: Its very challenging but at the same time fair. And i love a good challenge.

The challenge of seemingly insuperable (nice word usage btw) tedium?

My good buddy bought it and loves it. I played it and I kind of like it. I like the lonesomeness of it. It has a very desperate bleakness to it, if you want to put it in those kind of words.

Bob Ross up there is right, the game is challenging but fair. People also find it very mentally rewarding for smart gameplay. 

Did you by chance play it blindfolded while listening to Linkin Park?

I don't see how anything in Demon's Souls could be called "insuperable tedium"

I have persevered through 21 hours of seemingly insuperable tedium. Could someone please tell me why they like this game? I just....just want to know. I kinda feel defeated, though i'm not sure by what; i can't determine if the nagging feeling that I'm the problem is a deduction of my own, or the echo of other voices.

I kinda feel defeated.

I like the combat mechanics.

Honestly? I was drawn in because of the way online works. Loved the game by the way.

A challenging, but fair experience with a great, bleak atmosphere, with a real sense of achievement that you dont get in most other games these days.

@thisguyrich said:

@Akeldama: that's been my experience with the game so far so....i dunno man

Jesus...Fair enough, I suppose. Hope it picks up for you. One of the best games this generation if you ask me.

The desperate struggle to survive and fight on is unmatched by other games.

I like everything about it, especially the combat, the feeling of accomplishment once you beat a boss or get more powerful and start crushing enemies that used to eff you up before, the constant feel of impending doom and loneliness, also I think the worlds are very interesting and each one is unique, even thought there isn't a intricate storyline.
 
But each to his own, not every game is for everyone.

Atmosphere, the challenge, the fact that dead enemies are persistent until you either die or leave the area. I also love the voice acting of that blind chick for some reason.

It's fun. Challenging, but fair. The combat isn't pure eye candy, but it's one of the deepest in action games. The setting is 'dark,' but still manages to be one of the most unique. The story isn't constantly conveyed to you, yet you never seem to forget it. Basically, for every one thing this game does wrong, it makes up for it by doing ten things right.

The fact that you can't run through it head first with one eye one twitter and another on facebook. The game has expectations for you, and it is a genuine accomplishment every time you beat a boss. Therefore it can also be taxing to play if you're not in the mood for a challenge and to give it your all.

It forces you to take your time. You feel so fragile and you don't have the ability to charge straight ahead and win, which is something that most games today don't do (not that I'd want them to, if I'm honest, but it's nice to have a change of pace). The feeling of quickly turning around a corner, needing to have my shield raised at all times, the necessity of the dodge roll, the satisfying backstabs....every single move that didn't result in my death felt like an accomplishment.

And it wasn't because this game was brutally hard, oh no. It was tough, but every death was my own mistake. That's a big part of it: difficulty through player error. It helped build tension and kept me on edge far more then any other game has ever done.

I can't wait for Dark Souls. I missed out on this, but man do I love a good thrashing.

It suits my slow, deliberate and occasionally agressive playstyle perfectly, but I also enjoyed the exploration and how the combat worked. While it was maybe not entirely realistic, the range of options the combat gave you was quite enjoyable. You could dual wield, you could block or parry with your shield and you could take a single handed weapon in both hands to increase it's power significantly, all the while managing you stamina for dodging and sprinting.

So while I don't really care about multiple playthroughs as much as some people, I felt like the game, for the most part, let me play it just how I wanted to, and I appreciated that.

The game is challenging, but fair at the same time. Once you play DS you realize how many games lack this combination.
 
The satisfaction you get from defeating a boss or passing a hard stage is far greater than anything you get from doing the same thing in any other game.

Hard to put into words exactly why. The game-world felt very bleak to me. Though the story itself was almost there just as an excuse to have the game, the world itself conveyed everything it should have. The combat was simple enough to ease into, but held a lot of intricacies. And something I adore is the knowledge that I didn't die through blind luck (not to say it doesn't happen though), but most likely I just did something wrong. I might have missed something happening on screen, I might have chosen a less than suitable course of action, whatever.

I'm pretty much just describing it in a way pretty much every review of the game gave, but like I said, I can't put into words why I LIKE the game. Something just... Clicked. Could just be the atmosphere, smooth combat, and setting just went together very well for my tastes.

No game can replicate the feeling of hiding your Temple Knight around a corner while a Black Phantom approaches, then knocking him down with your God's Wrath miracle and springing into action with your Blessed Mirdan Hammer +5 before your brazen, world-invading nemesis can even recover.
 
Also, it's really nerdy and I like that.

The fact that I can go into other people's sessions, kill them and receive angry messages.

I like the atmopshere and the nearly constant dread I feel. I also really like that as soon as you get stuck in one world you can find something to do in another.  There are always new paths to explore and new enemies to beat.

Ths is like Monster Hunter to me, I will never understand why it is popular and i have no desire to pick this game up

But I am interested to see the game in action and watch playthroughs.

I liked it but theres one thing that I don't think is true - the game is not tough BUT FAIR. Theres a lot of instances in this game where you die because of poor controls or because the game is just being a little "too challenging" or even cheap. I think the reason I liked it was because there was nothing out there quite like it. The art style and story are all so drastically different it was just this yearning to experience something fresh. When I finally beat Flamelurker it was the most satisfying feeling ever. When chasing a gecko only to totally miss it because my curved sword has a weird animation range was infuriating. I don't even want to mention that some of the upgrade stones you need have like a 5% probability of dropping and they ONLY drop in ONE area and the number of Geckos is limited. I also found it hilarious that on NG+ with my magic stat nearly maxed to 99 and the insanity catalyst (strongest 'wand' in the game) my Soul Ray still just nicked some of the mobs - not the bosses the mobs. Which means that on NG++ or later on you will just be literally to weak to keep going forward which seems a little pointless.

All that aside I think it's very unique and thats why I am willing to suffer the shortcomings such as stiff attack animations, ridiculous upgrade system, lack of any sort of clues to anything. There should be some sort of checkpoint system or at least a spell that revives you in a specific spot after you die - going through the level from the start over and over is just horrible. Even on NG+ I just got frustrated and started doing the exit to XMB trick on some of the bosses cause it was just a waste of time to keep going through the level.