There’s a new generation of consoles just around the corner, and one of them’s even got a launch game. It’s a pretty damn compelling one too – Bluepoint Games’ collaboration with Sony’s Japan Studio to remake the iconic and much-loved Demon’s Souls is one of the most exciting propositions on the PlayStation 5 slate, and to have it there on day one gives the console one hell of a push. But… There’s something slightly awry about all this.
Like many of you, I’m sure, I first picked up Demon’s Souls having read about it on these very pages thanks to Keza Macdonald’s incredible review. What a thing the PS3 original was – enigmatic, unforgiving and totally unputdownable. And so began a love affair with From Software’s series that’s continued to this day.
This isn’t From Software’s Demon’s Souls, though. From its first reveal it’s been obvious that, while the fundamentals are the same, this is a radical makeover. There’s a broader, less repressive palette, everything’s that little bit shinier and – oh my god what’s this – they’ve changed the ‘You Died’ typeface.
That splash screen is perhaps the most iconic part of From Software’s 2009 game, and certainly what defined its legacy – it was a constant reminder of your fallibility, spurring you on to try and try again. And while the typeface had yet to evolve to its final form – I believe Dark Souls uses something like Optimius Princeps for its own splash screen, a slightly more elegant take on it all – it still had a spidery, gothic grace. There’s not much of that in the remake’s take on the screen, which has been whittled away until it’s something else – it looks more fitting for a business card for a company that repairs fridges. And what is going on with that U? It’s almost offensively modern.