Dark Souls or Demon's Souls?

I cant see how for me Demons could even come close if it was not open world.

To see a game bring back walking everywhere... was INCREDIBLE. In todays world of slack ass lazy gamers who have a tantrum if they cant fast travel absolutely everywhere (bloody skyrim -_-)

Of course having said that I am not that much better, now that I have been spoiled by it I too enjoy being able to fast travel in most games but in Dark Souls they did this so well, in that as soon as u start to get cocky coz u have passed through an area a few times, casually fighting mobs they will suddenly start to overwhelm you all of the sudden coz u let your guard down.

Sadly I never played Demons but will definitely get it and play it just because Dark Souls immediately became one of my favourite all time games, I have a feeling I wont like it nearly as much as I started in the wrong order.

@CaptainCody said:

It's not even funny how shitty Dark Souls is in comparison to Demon Souls. Holy fuck, what an off-putting, mediocre game.

It's not even close to funny how shitty and hilariously wrong your opinion is based on the general incredibly positive response to the game despite it actively admitting to trying to be a dick and more importantly stepping away from the norm and the mediocrity of your standard exploration RPG for one... but also based on my experience I just feel sorry that something so awesome just went over your head.

I like being able to kick and the open world of Dark Souls.

I like the idea of world tendencies, not so much actually dealing with them.

The story/characters in Demon's Souls are more interesting.

It's a toss up, but Demon's Souls being the first gives it an edge.

Demon's Souls was awesome but Dark Souls improved on everything.

@Lepruk86 said:

I only just got into Dark Souls. I have had it since xmas but couldn't really enjoy it.

I straight up prefer Demon's Souls; I prefer the levelled nature and Nexus set up. I find the Dark Souls world gets extremely frustrating really quickly when you want to move from one area to another. I am now in the later part of the game (4 kings fight) but if I want to go to the forest or to the swamps below blight town, I have to spend an age travelling where as in Demon Souls you can just teleport anywhere.

It's the fact that despite being an open-world, it is actually more limiting to move around compared with just having levels. Now I do prefer the flask system over grass farming however. I also think magic got a vast upgrade in Dark Souls with how it works.

Overall I think Dark Souls does a lot of things better, but losing the level structure and offering a very limited warp system (so far limited anyway; just 3 locations) makes getting to certain blacksmiths etc just a huge pain in the ass.

You can basically teleport right to the swamp in blighttown, and you can get to the forest from firelink shrine in less than a minute

Both Demon's Souls and Dark Souls are awesome games! Love them both!

Dark Souls did improve a lot of mechanics from Demon's Souls, controls, the upgrading, carrying items, etc. However, I still do think that Demon's Souls is a harder and more technical game overall since there are a lot of factors involved aside from fighting your way through all the levels. You have to worry about the limit to carrying stuff, having half your life if you're not human, the world tendencies, etc. And it feels more "old-school" style due to to having a central nexus and going through each level or world with its own sub-levels. And you only get to have checkpoints at the start of the level and the end of a sub-level.

In terms of the fun factor though, I highly commend Dark Souls for that. Dark Souls is a much more memorable experience overall due to the awesome atmosphere, the creative architecture of the world and how every part looks different from the other. There are more tougher enemies as well! In Demon's Souls, you'll pretty much know if you're getting into a boss fight. In Dark Souls, you just don't know what's going to happen after entering an area or traversing through the fog. It's just a lot of fun exploring and experiencing the world of Dark Souls. It's huge! The Demon's Souls world is fun too, I just find Dark Souls better. :)

Can't I just like both? 

I want to go back and get Demon's Souls and see the difference between the two games. I have only played Dark Souls and the game is great.

I would like a PC port of Demon's Souls so I can play it and form my own opinion. Or an xbox 360 would be oktoo, but I prefer the PC version now.

I prob enjoyed demon souls more. It had a much more surreal vibe going for it. Also I REALLY love the assassination quest in Demon Souls. Somehow it gave the NPCs more depth and personality within the world. Yea, Dark Souls really needed some more atmosphere.

I played Dark souls a lot more and enjoyed it a ton, but ...... I dunno when I beat demons souls I felt more accomplished. Demons was such a triumph, I remember that game being so difficult. Maybe its because of demons souls that Dark Souls was so much easier for me. Also I felt like Demons souls had more hidden content to find. Giving it that mysterious feeling.

I'd have to say Demons though. Even though I put in more time, and had more fun with Dark Souls. Demons Souls really tested me, which was the entire reason I play these games.

Played both, loved both, Dark Souls is better.

I've been meaning to play Demon's Souls for ages, it's been on my shelf waiting. But I spent over 100 hours perfecting my playstyle on Dark Souls on the 360 and am having a hell of a time changing to a Dual Shock controller considering how meticulous and precise the controls of the Souls games are.

I love what I've seen so far of Demon's Souls though so I'll hopefully take the full plunge down that rabbit hole soon.

@Humanity said:

Dark Souls is the better game but Demons had a bit more atmosphere to it.

Although to those that never played Demons Souls, that game had even less story in it if you can imagine that. The increased NPC dialog is something I enjoy a lot about Dark Souls.

I also miss the Nexus. That was a place you could truly call your own and chillax in. Dark Souls makes it seem like no matter where you are you don't belong.

I'm sorry.... ...WHAT!? First of all.. Blight Town and Anor Londo completely shoot down the atmospheric feel of Demon's Souls, and brings it right on into Dark Souls. No one likes to think Blighttown has it though, considering that since BEFORE the PC release, there was no one even mildly impressed with it. Disappointing to say the least.

Second of all, while I can agree that Demon's Souls is an amazing game as well, it certainly still has the storyline element, just not as much as Dark Souls. In a way, it kinda sounds like you're implying that Demon's Souls had little-to-absolutely NO storyline whatsoever. Forgive me if that's a mistake :L

You miss the Nexus? Try Firelink Shrine. When it comes down to it, in all honesty, I'd say that the addition of no waypoints to different worlds was a better idea, considering that it gives the player more freedom and less of a chance to screw up. Also, not to burst your bubble, but Firelink Shrine looks and feels much larger than the nexus to me. The fact that I can only level up at the Maiden in Demon's Souls was what gave me more of a disappointing, player-restricting feel to the game. Plus, you know.. she can DIE. I don't want my level ups to DIE. :(

I think we agree on this subject for the most part, but I just had to cut in and tie a few loose knots that may have slipped out. Sorry! :/

I felt dark souls had much more atmosphere and I really liked the openness of the world compared to the nexus

@Humanity said:

Dark Souls is the better game but Demons had a bit more atmosphere to it.

Yeah I give the edge to Demons because the atmosphere. It was quieter, sadder and had a more dire and hopeless feel to it.

Demon's Souls. It had superior multiplayer, better level design in my opinion, more personality going from area to area, and I don't like the "uses" system. Tendency could be manipulated easily offline but at the same time.... who cares? It wasn't "integral" to the game and you could ignore it and get by fine. I also felt the Demon's Souls NPC's had more presence and were more interesting. The only NPC's from Dark that I cared for were Seigmeyer and Solaire. Dark Souls is probably the better single player game, but Demon's never felt "cheap" when Dark did multiple times, and the multiplayer was vastly superior on Demon's.

The Monk boss also had the best mechanic of any boss from either game too and overall I feel like Demon's had the more memorable boss fights.

I absolutely detested Demon's Souls, and couldn't get past the first hour of the game.

I've beaten Dark Souls several times, and have actually bought the game twice now (PS3 and PC).

That's my view on the whole thing.

Dark Souls, it's superior in every way and the best game ever created (in my opinion).

Man, this is like the thread that simply won't die.

I loved Demon's Souls, but mostly because it was so wildly different and crazy. Dark Souls pretty much improved on everything Demon's Souls did by making the world persistent, connected, and extremely massive, rather than simply having "stages" like there were in Demon's Souls.

People saying Dark Souls basically made Demon's Souls better by making it open world... I disagree. The level structure was far more enjoyable. Dark Souls would of been better if they introduced the bonfire warping mechanic earlier.

I also found a couple of areas in Dark Souls really sucked a lot of enjoyment out of the game for me. Blight Town I believe was the name of one... where you basically take damage whenever you stepped in the water while those flying creatures constantly attack you (pretty sure they respawn infinitely in one area). Just super annoying and not fun on top of being extremely choppy with the framerate. Then the area where it is pitch black and you can barely see where you are going until you get a lamp. Again, far more annoying than challenging. Demon's Souls was challenging while still be fun for me. I never once was annoyed by it.

Plus I had a far easier time joining up with other players in Demon's Souls which was a good time. Dark Souls is much harder from my experience.

I still enjoyed both games immensely. Just Demon's Souls got everything right for me while Dark Souls had some faults. I might hop back into tho with a new character and see how it goes. I dunno. I never used magic... ever... in either game.

@Pieman51: I think we may share a few ideas but are expressing them differently.

I won't argue about Demons having more atmosphere as thats more of an opinion than irrefutable fact - I will give some examples though of why I think so with which you may agree or not.

To me the story and areas were all a lot more atmospheric.

Firelink shrine is like any other bonfire in the game. Although slightly more prominent because of the circular architecture that surrounds it - it's just another part of the game world. The Nexus on the other hand was a completely separate entity. In that game you feel the despair - the world is engulfed by the soul stealing fog and the last remaining bastion for people to take refuge in is the Nexus. In those dreary dead halls you see this last handful of humanity huddle up and await the inevitable. Architecturally it is completely unique to the rest of the game and the eerie music stays with any player that spent a significant amount of time with Demons Souls. The Maiden in Black, ostensibly blind and powerless, is bound to serve in the Nexus; her haggard form as well as defeated mannerisms and demeanor evoke a feeling of dread and pity that you simply don't get in Fire Link shrine or any shrine in Dark Souls. She is a tragic character, much more than any of the bonfire keepers in Dark Souls.

The ending of Demons Souls is also much more grand in scale and implications of player choice than Dark Souls. Once again you return to the Nexus for the end game portion and the area you've known all this time shifts and changes. The dive deep into the abyss is quite spectacular and waking up on the beach with thousands of swords of previous fallen heroes is quite a sight to behold. You go inside the World Eater and actually have a very real choice to submit or defy him. You also have a choice to kill the Maiden in Black, the character who aided you throughout the entire game, in order to gain her soul as well. Dark Souls does not approach any level of depth compared to this.

In addition I thought each starting area was unique in style and setting, representing each architectural design choice quite admirably. The 1-1 area of Boletaria feels like a real castle and the path to the Tower Knight as well as the boss fight itself is one of those game defining moments of David against Goliath. The starting zone of 2-1, with it's deep brown and vast mountains is right away completely different than the castle areas preceding it. Tower of Latria in 3-1 is spectacular and I'd say the most atmospheric of all zones in the Souls games. The windy ruins of 4-1 have this open feel to them and the final Demon fight with the Storm Breaker (I believe is the name of the sword) is amazing and unique to the entire game. While you say Blighttown is your choice I'd say that the 5-1 Valley of Defilement trumps it because of the overbearing feeling that you're wading through concentrated filth as you progress in that area - not to mention the verticality of that entire area.

These are all just my opinions on it though and you are free to disagree.

That's like asking OK Computer or Kid A.

Firelink shrine is like any other bonfire in the game. Although slightly more prominent because of the circular architecture that surrounds it - it's just another part of the game world. The Nexus on the other hand was a completely separate entity. In that game you feel the despair - the world is engulfed by the soul stealing fog and the last remaining bastion for people to take refuge in is the Nexus. In those dreary dead halls you see this last handful of humanity huddle up and await the inevitable. Architecturally it is completely unique to the rest of the game and the eerie music stays with any player that spent a significant amount of time with Demons Souls. The Maiden in Black, ostensibly blind and powerless, is bound to serve in the Nexus; her haggard form as well as defeated mannerisms and demeanor evoke a feeling of dread and pity that you simply don't get in Fire Link shrine or any shrine in Dark Souls. She is a tragic character, much more than any of the bonfire keepers in Dark Souls.

While it's true the Nexus is far more striking than Firelink - the fact that the only safe place in the game is potentially your eternal prison is pretty fucking striking, personally - Firelink is substantially more important than any other bonfire. It may not be THE Nexus, but it is A nexus. After all, Firelink Altar lies below it, situated directly above the Abyss (the one true enemy in Dark Souls) and leads to the Kiln of the First Flame.

@Terramagi: I just thought some of the design was just inherently a lot more striking, but maybe a large part of this is the fact that it's the first true dark fantasy I've played in ages and you can't ever reproduce that first time feeling.

@Humanity said:

@Pieman51: I think we may share a few ideas but are expressing them differently.

I won't argue about Demons having more atmosphere as thats more of an opinion than irrefutable fact - I will give some examples though of why I think so with which you may agree or not.

To me the story and areas were all a lot more atmospheric.

Firelink shrine is like any other bonfire in the game. Although slightly more prominent because of the circular architecture that surrounds it - it's just another part of the game world. The Nexus on the other hand was a completely separate entity. In that game you feel the despair - the world is engulfed by the soul stealing fog and the last remaining bastion for people to take refuge in is the Nexus. In those dreary dead halls you see this last handful of humanity huddle up and await the inevitable. Architecturally it is completely unique to the rest of the game and the eerie music stays with any player that spent a significant amount of time with Demons Souls. The Maiden in Black, ostensibly blind and powerless, is bound to serve in the Nexus; her haggard form as well as defeated mannerisms and demeanor evoke a feeling of dread and pity that you simply don't get in Fire Link shrine or any shrine in Dark Souls. She is a tragic character, much more than any of the bonfire keepers in Dark Souls.

The ending of Demons Souls is also much more grand in scale and implications of player choice than Dark Souls. Once again you return to the Nexus for the end game portion and the area you've known all this time shifts and changes. The dive deep into the abyss is quite spectacular and waking up on the beach with thousands of swords of previous fallen heroes is quite a sight to behold. You go inside the World Eater and actually have a very real choice to submit or defy him. You also have a choice to kill the Maiden in Black, the character who aided you throughout the entire game, in order to gain her soul as well. Dark Souls does not approach any level of depth compared to this.

In addition I thought each starting area was unique in style and setting, representing each architectural design choice quite admirably. The 1-1 area of Boletaria feels like a real castle and the path to the Tower Knight as well as the boss fight itself is one of those game defining moments of David against Goliath. The starting zone of 2-1, with it's deep brown and vast mountains is right away completely different than the castle areas preceding it. Tower of Latria in 3-1 is spectacular and I'd say the most atmospheric of all zones in the Souls games. The windy ruins of 4-1 have this open feel to them and the final Demon fight with the Storm Breaker (I believe is the name of the sword) is amazing and unique to the entire game. While you say Blighttown is your choice I'd say that the 5-1 Valley of Defilement trumps it because of the overbearing feeling that you're wading through concentrated filth as you progress in that area - not to mention the verticality of that entire area.

These are all just my opinions on it though and you are free to disagree.

Oh, I know that was your opinion from the getgo.. but the Undead Parish and Blighttown just speak for themselves. Maybe not to some, but those places really.. tell their own story without any thought required.

I would go on to say that the Brass-Armor lady/firekeeper in Anor Londo is somewhat similar to the Maiden in Black. The maiden is powerless and awaits the inevitable, while the Brass Lady is also powerless under the impending darkness, and is forced to live a lie by staying in the city with Gwyndolin. Eh, that's just how I see it. =/

No, but once again, I could say it's similar. For one, the final boss in Demon's Souls was just.. a joke. I mean.. just downright a joke. Maybe that was intentional because Fromsoft was trying to explain to the player about what happened to King Allant.. but honestly. I was expecting a difficult game to have a fitting end instead of something to walk over like it's nothing. I will agree that the ending was more dramatic and more in-depth like you claim. :3

Yeah.. I always thought From Software was just trolling around, and they added in Blighttown to be remarkably similar to the Valley of Defilement. Both these areas tell completely different stories, but the enemies are somewhat similar, and they both have many pitfalls. Maybe it was intentional, maybe it wasn't.. but I hated the Valley of Defilement; story or no. That's why I chose Blighttown.

Yes I am, but I won't make any negative remarks. Your opinion of this can change my opinion because maybe I overlooked something obvious that could've deeply impacted me otherwise. Regardless, that's just what I think.

imo dark souls is a better game in pretty much every way, but demon's souls was for me japanese tortur in game form when i tried it and loved it for it. dont know if its the game or i just got stockholm syndrome

I definitely agree with the Demon's Souls end part with the Maiden in Black. It's a much more dramatic and memorable finale than Dark Souls' linking of the flame thing. I mean, she helped you all the way from start to finish! She has become an inspiration to move forward and fight through those dreadfully difficult worlds! Too bad though, I did kill her... :(

I finished both in the last year, and started replaying both recently. I prefer Dark Souls. Demon´s Souls seems very limited, combat wise when you compare them, and I like the bosses in Dark Souls better, they seem a little bit more crazy.

I do agree the Nexus is a really cool place, though, and the music in that place is more atmospheric than Firelink Shrine´s.

All in all, though, they´re both great games, and worth playing if you haven´t played them before. Do them in chronological order, though.

@handlas: I have not played Demon's Souls, only DARK SOULS. Although DARK SOULS has become my #1 favorite game of all time. I recommend buying both titles, since that is what I'm going to do. DARK SOULS is good enough to make me want the game that started it all. Since Demon's Souls is also very cheap I am sure, I don't see why anyone couldn't afford it, and it would be more than worth the ~10$.

From what I have read, I believe the Open-World aspect of DARK SOULS makes it far superior to my tastes. I prefer having to run through previous areas to get back to the start, and vice versa. The bonfire warp that is added later in the game is great, and with the new Updates it has included many more locations, I.E. the bonfire above Andre of Astora (the first blacksmith/Undead Parish). Although I disagree that they should have added this earlier in the game, I would have been fine if they never added it, except that you wouldn't be able to escape certain areas without it (Tomb of the Giants/Nito). Plus the way the areas are put together, and with all of the possible shortcuts and routes you can take from the start (assuming you start with the Master Key) just makes each play through that much more unique. Once you really learn to love DARK SOULS and figure out all of these shortcuts, moving from one area to another takes almost no time at all... maybe 5-10 minutes at the most. I honestly don't like the idea of a central Hub World that allows you to teleport to any "level" that you desire, and the "level" idea in general. I don't see how anyone could prefer "fast travel style" in opposition to DARK SOULS style, especially since you HAVE to do it since the levels are not connected. The fact that everything is connected, and you can see everything from almost any point of view in DARK SOULS if you really look, impresses me, and reminds me that I'm always in that same awesome world that held the greatest Boss Battles that I have ever had. Also if it is true that you must return to the Maiden in black, located in the Nexus just to advance your SL in Demon's, then I must say the Bonfire system is FAR SUPERIOR. Of course that is just from what I have read, since I have never played Demon's Souls. I do hope to get a copy soon though.

One person above commented that he thought the story in DARK SOULS was lacking, and used the Four Kings boss as an example. He said that there was never any explanation in the game for who and what the Four Kings really are. Well I happened to find plenty explanation for them. They are the Kings/Leaders of the Darkwraiths. I believe that Ingward is the one who tells you this, all you have to do is talk to him... He is the NPC that gives you the Key to the Seal, which allows you to reach them. I know there is much more detail in what he, and possibly other NPC's say when referring to the Four Kings, but I cannot recall exactly what they say off the top of my head. Maybe Kaathe has something to say about them, although it's been awhile since I visited that serpent.

From what I have read, most people here who chose Demon's Souls over DARK SOULS just prefer the better multiplayer, and bash DARK SOULS for it's poor execution of it. I have played the multiplayer on DARK SOULS, it has many flaws, and in the big picture doesn't work all that well, mainly because you cannot invite your friends. I must say though that when I bought a DARK SOULS the very day of its release, I didn't have internet access, and therefore I played it in offline mode for the first month that I had it. In that month I pretty much finished the game 3 times... The only real problem that I found was the Infinite Souls glitch, which they have patched (Thank Gwyn).

DARK SOULS is the BEST Single Player game that I have ever played. If you never played Demon's Souls, then the Multiplayer aspect should just be icing on the cake, as it is to me. I can still use it easily and do find it enjoyable, but prefer PvE to PvP in any game to be honest.

I highly recommend anyone that has DARK SOULS to go and download the Artorias of the Abyss DLC. It is amazing, I can't get enough of fighting Black Dragon Kalameet with the added challenge of cutting off his tail. I have finished that DLC almost 3 times, and haven't failed at killing him in the same fight which I cut off his tail. Although he has killed me many times.

Many players have said that they prefer Demon's Souls Nexus, because it made you feel at home, and gave you a sigh of relief when you would have finished a challenging level/boss fight, and that they never felt like they belonged anywhere in DARK SOULS.

My response to that is this: In DARK SOULS I always feel at home, no matter where I am... except maybe Lost Izalith... whenever I get there, I'm usually just trying to rush through the dastardly Bed of Chaos ASAP. Then I enjoy farming the Black Knights in the Kiln of the First Flame, for their invaluable Titanite Chunks of all colors. I can post up anywhere, next to a bonfire or in any "Safe Zone" and just take a break, while I look around the area, or search through my vast inventory reading the many detailed descriptions of the items. Although I am not the type to speed through any area my first time through. I like to collect every item, find every NPC and exhaust his dialogues, and find every secret area/shortcut. Even in Blighttown.

I know this topic is over a year old but I felt like including my experience. Demon's Souls truly is one of the best games I have ever played but I didn't always feel like that. I bought Demon's Souls in May 2011 and played it for the next few days. My view of the game changed a lot in those few days. It went:

This is a really good game

This is a good game but I keep dying

Okay, the dying is starting to annoy me

For god's sake, why do I keep dying?! I hate this game.

Now, I knew that the game was supposed to be difficult but it was too much. The game then remained untouched on my shelf for the next year and a half (except for the odd few minutes in which I would die again, get angry and turn it off) until I decided to start a completely new game. This time I chose to be a mage instead of a knight like in my original save. It would be this choice of class that would change my experience with the game. On my first save file, I kept dying because I was terrible at close-range combat but, armed with the ability to engage in both close-range and ranged combat, I began to have the time of my life. I died probably about a quarter as much as the first time I played it (I seriously died A LOT on my first save) and when I finished the game, I just sat still, blown away. I honestly could not stop thinking about how good it was for the next few days. The only other game that has done that was Metal Gear Solid 4 so I knew I was on to something special.

Now onto Dark Souls. I bought it 5 months ago in December 2012, played it for a few days and stopped. I got past the Taurus Demon but then I just kept on dying and it got on my nerves. By the looks of it, I am destined to go down the same route with Dark Souls as I did with Demon's Souls. I look forward to playing and completing Dark Souls in about a year.

Dark Souls is a far better experience. Way more balanced ( especially bosses ), way more variety and the whole package is more impressive.

Well in Demon Souls, your character doesn't swing the weapons like an elementary school teacher with a severe case of asthma.

It also has a semblance of lore. Other than that, couldn't care less which one.

I agree with lots of what people are saying.

There is something that I can't put my brain on about combat in Demon's Souls that is just better. I felt tougher in Dark Souls because of my level and weapons, but I still did not feel entirely in control whenever I played the game. I always felt very tight and in control in Demon's Souls.

I think the lore of Demon's Souls is great, but I think the pure world building and story of Dark surpasses it in almost every way. The story is still hidden and requires you to find it, but it's a more satisfying payoff when you do. The big Anor Londo lie, for instance, is amazing. And I thought the Gwyn fight, though easy, was way way more epic than that weirdness at the end of Demons.

The grinding in Demon's Souls is awful. That said, it's nearly as bad in Dark Souls, particularly for Humanity.

The bosses are better in Demon's Souls. There's a few that are memorable for Dark, but they're all just more impressive and unique in Demon's Souls.

I like both the Nexus, which feels like such a safe place, and the open world of Dark Souls, which is just amazingly impressive. That's a toss up. Some kind of amalgamation of the two would be perfect.

The more I write about them the more I realize just how much I love them both. Why choose?

I haven't had a chance to really play dark souls yet but I've put in a about 2 hours. As compared to Demons (about 300 hrs. with 5 character builds) and I'm still playing it. The atmosphere an the music in the nexus puts you in deep thought and makes you think about what you have to do next and how to prepare yourself for the next battle. also the nexus is a safe zone. Its always nice to have a haven in the middle of hell. once you learn your controls with different weapons styles and memorize the enemy patterns its all downhill, that is until you are invaded. then you must quickly prepare yourself for the worst. but don't panic.

In Dark souls I felt VERY alone. not even a teddy bear to hold on to or even a Maiden in Black action figure that adds luck or something. But then again I didn't get too deep into dark. but thats just a matter of time. Though even though I'm sure ill like dark. I don't think anything can top Demons. its just RAW and brilliantly crafted in almost every way. expect online has its flaws. with Character and World tendencies.

the hardest battles to me were Flamelurker (though I went prepared and killed him on the first try) he was relentless at low health. and the black phantoms in world 5. especially the meat clever bitch. Maneater. then there was the false king.... death trap.

While both games im sure are great. Demons puts the icing on the cake. with ice cream on the side.

Interesting reading all of your opinions... I have played 30 hours into Dark Souls in the last week and a half and I love it. I just picked up Demons Souls... I couldn't resist. Dark Souls is that good... but now, I think I'll start Demons Souls and when I finish it, go back to Dark.
I would like to have both done before March 11th when Dark Souls 2 comes out...which I think I am most stoked for over any game coming out... and I have a PS4 & XBOX ONE. Apparently I didn't need them haha, as it looks like I'll be playing Soul games up to and including most of 2014! Time shall tell, maybe I'll lose my mind first.

(insert any of the maniacal ha ha ha's or he he he's from Dark Souls)

I think I probably like Demon's better.

I've tried to get through Dark three times, but when I get to Anor Londo I lose interest.

@hollitz: What often kills Dark is Ornstein and Smough, they are sort of a road block, but when I beat them, I still get this huge thrill of achievement, having overcome the hurdle, rest of the game is kind of cake compared.

They both have their ups and downs.

Dark Souls has better level design, but it's sometimes unclear where to go. Also I felt like every area after and including Sen's Fortress had an obligatory tiny-walkway-above-a-bottomless-pit that inevitably killed me. The performance on PS3 in Blighttown was fucking awful. Single digit fps awful. The level of online competition reached new heights with Dark Souls too: every time I reverse hollowed, soon enough someone would utterly destroy me using some technique I could neither understand nor defend against. I remember actually winning a bout or two in Demon's Souls, not so in Dark.

Demon's Souls was more linear, but I liked the atmosphere better. Fewer cheap deaths at the hands of tiny walkways, but some major annoyance at the poison swamp, especially the meat cleaver wielding black phantom there. I can't count how many times that guy killed me. I think I eventually just gave up and gave him as wide a berth as possible. Regenerating mana made magic a bit overpowered. The world tendency stuff was also a bit too esoteric and difficult to properly utilize. Thankfully I started playing a couple months before the servers were supposed to go down when they set the online world tendencies to pure white for one month, then pure black for the next, which made getting some of the stuff that depended on those easy. Non-respawning Crystal Lizards can go to hell. That intro movie is still one of my favorite in any game ever.

Demon's Souls overall for me, but I'm sure a lot of that has to do with it being the first Souls game I played.

this post is old now but i need to post i really liked dark souls over demon souls the open world and having to backtrack really did not bother me i am currently up to ornstein and smough AND THOSE ASSHOLES WONT DIE anybody got any tips?

Necro souls or necro souls?

Each has unique strengths and weaknesses but Dark Souls is the better game overall.

edit: oh shit, necro'd thread

Dark Souls. The open would they created is one of the best I've ever experienced.

I beat Demon's Souls just the other day and I'm at the last boss of Dark Souls and I honestly can't say which one I like more. I think they are both amazing games.

I think that both games are great. If I had to choose which is better than I would def go with Dark Souls.

IMO even thought both games are similar Dark Souls has made a lot of improvements. Armor system with addition of poise seem like it actually does something other than just slowing character down. Almost all of boss fights in Dark Souls are epic improvement with except of bridge dragon thing and hydra that are still terrible. The only memorable bosses in Demon Souls are Man Eaters, fake king Allant, Flamelurker and spider the rest are just dull. The tendency system is gone thank god. I still remember that the game threw me into NG+ with all the world tendencies in pure black. It was unplayable and I couldnt do anything to change it also suiciding after every boss.... is gone woot. Farming lizards and very few select mobs for upgrade stones is replaced by much better system. Less loading screens because the world is seamless. It is also much larger. Greater weapon selection, magic variety are a bonus.

end

If by ''better'' you mean ''more broken'' than yes, demon's souls had WAY better weapons. Seriously, you can get one of the 3 most broken weapon in the souls series (all 3 are in demon's souls by the way) a third of the way through the game and then, everything dies in a few hits. After that you get the spell that heals you when you die and you're basically invincible.

Old thread-ish (1- months)

But I just wanted to chime in with a little tidbit about Demon's Souls

Sony still owns the rights and license on Demon's Souls(not DkS) and hasnt let it expire yet.

We could POSSIBLY see a Demon's Souls 2 in the future for PS4 instead of seeing Dark Souls 3 on the PS4.

I really hope they do it, DeS was a first on the PS3, would be great to make it a traditional thing like Killzone 3 and Killzone Shadow Fall releasing on separate generations.

Only thing that might happen is DeS2 will be PS4 exclusive.

Possible Sequel

While Dark Souls is not a sequel to Demon's Souls, but a spiritual successor, there has been no official announcement of a sequel to Demon's Souls. However, a European retailer listed "Demon's Souls II" on their website as an upcoming title for the PS4 system. When asked about a potential sequel to Demon's Souls, SCE Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida stated; "That's a great question, but because of the attention that will get, I choose not to answer. But, personally, I love Demon's Souls. I spent hours and hours and hours playing it." He went on to say. "I love the team, I love the game and yeah, I'd really like to see more. But that's all that I will say." Sony has also acquired the rights to the Demon's Souls franchise. Rumors of a sequel to Demon's Souls have been rumored throughout 2013 and continue in 2014. Although some speculation has led to the possibility of a PS4 Demon's Souls port rather than a direct sequel however, neither has been confirmed as of yet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon's_Souls

I fall into the group of people that liked DeS more than DkS, mostly because it was my first Souls game but also because I find myself having difficulty figuring out where to go or I get a little lost in DkS I find myself looking up guides often, in DeS you had a hub, and doors(worlds) to choose from, didnt matter which you entered, if you had the skill you could even survive a hit or two and the level design and atmosphere like a few of you guys mentioned, I have to admit DeS had it all down perfectly, I actually started DkS quiet recently, just got to the Taurus demon, so dont have much to compare but so far I miss the feel of DeS.

Going to leave with a debunking of the framerate, its terrible compared to DeS, because DeS was built from the ground up for ONE console so they didnt really have to tweak things so it balances out on two different console specs, I can understand what happened in DkS and why there was lag, its a given fact that the PS3 is stronger than the 360, but that complex Cell Processor was its downfall making it hard for multiplatform games to work well (look at Bayonetta, near game breaking on the PS3 but OK on the 360, same game) this is true for many games that are non-exclusive. So I dont think you can factor in the Framerate as being a bad thing when you compare DeS to DkS, its a bit unfair. I'm just glad FROM Software went this route to expand the awesome Souls series to our 360 brothers =D I'm definitely sure that this "move" is the reason we have DkS2! today, DeS was such an underrated game back when it released if the Souls series never made DkS I'm sure Souls would've died with just DeS. Also there are video comparisons of DkS2 on PS3 and 360 where clearly the 360 is leading by a few frames, its a really rare scenario in which I hope never to see people play in; both consoles playing the same game beside each other, really man turn one off whats the point in playing the same game on two screens. Game comparisons of any kind are plain stupid to me, and if there are people who actually play in such scenarios...I have no words to describe how below a Gamer you really are, you should just Eject/Uninstall and stop playing games if all you do is compare hardware and coding.

Its never How Much a game is loved, its always How MANY love a game.

I pick Demon's atmosphere and faster combat.

I read the title and my brain said "... sex souls!" as it merged the phrase "sex sells" and the Souls series together. Possible spritual successor?