It meant no tension from the possibility of invaders joining at inopportune moments, leaving me with occasional NPC ‘invasions’ that lacked the unpredictability of real humans, and I know that negatively affected the intended experience in one boss fight in particular. Though in these games I usually opt not to call in help from other players (Darkeater Midir in Dark Souls III being the sole, ‘soul’-crushing exception), it felt weird having that cut-off as an option. Because of that, my maiden playthrough of Demon’s Souls meant no in-game help from others - no messages from the community warning me of ambushes, no tips for upcoming enemies, and no trolls telling me to jump off ledges, which I secretly missed the most. The reason? Its collective regional publishers-somewhat understandably-decided the running costs of its online services were no longer viable with dwindling users and, having already extended its life longer than intended, finally called time on its servers in February 2018. Though all Souls games are intentionally oppressive, lonely experiences, this one felt lonelier than usual. That said, I couldn’t help but feel something was missing.

While certainly less robust than what came after, often feeling like From’s Dark Souls dress rehearsal, once I’d dealt my final blow and made my decision as to the world’s fate, Demon’s Souls not only ranked super-highly for me amongst the other Souls games, but even helped me reconcile some of the lore elements I found less favourable in Dark Souls III. Playing the original Demon’s Souls was a terrific choice.

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