So you have started Demon's Souls on your brand new PlayStation 5, but the inherent difficulty of the gameplay has you more than a little worried about stepping into the dark and brooding world of Boletaria. On the one hand, you do want to play the old fashioned way, accepting the myriad bits of written help scattered across the lands. On the other, your newly hollowed soul knows just how much more difficult Demon's Souls is when playing online with the game's highly complex World Tendency in conjunction with its multiplayer component.
Not to worry. Although steeped in immense difficulty, with assorted bosses and low-level enemies that will most assuredly make you want to pull your hair out, it doesn't have to be a pick and choose type situation. Below, we explain how to play Demon's Souls online without missing the many helpful hints along the way and all the while not having to worry about the potential invasion of Black Phantom online players.
Setting Up A Password
To continue playing online in Demon's Souls without the constant worry of being invaded by a Black Phantom in human form, you're better off setting up a password under Network in settings. This is a brand new online feature first introduced in Bloodborne, allowing the process of co-op a far simpler and more streamlined approach. In the Network settings menu, simply ensure the password requirement is set to on and make the entry something no one could possibly emulate.
In the same way that it makes playing alongside friends easier, it now also allows you to freely stroll about Boletaria and the rest of the game without worrying about being invaded at an inopportune moment. Plus, you'll thereby be able to read notes left by other players, so you won't have to fret over what's behind that next fog gate or unintentionally roll off the side of a broken bridge. You'll also get to see the ghost-like apparitions left behind by other travelers on their own ventures throughout the experience, which is, in my opinion, one of the coolest aspects of the Souls series.
Do note, however, that some Demon's Souls players have reported that even with the password protection on, they still can be invaded in certain parts of stages. In their now one-month-old Reddit post, user Dart1920 highlights how having password set to on "removes all restrictions on invasions based on area," elaborating a bit more in the comments:
"Normally if you are in 2-1 and have beaten the armor spider you are safe from invasions. If you have password on you can now be invaded as normal even if the boss is dead and the area cleared."
Keep this in mind while utilizing the password function in Demon's Souls, as it may be a better alternative to simply playing offline, but it seemingly doesn't outright eliminate the potential for unsuspected multiplayer interactions.
Should You Play Offline?
Herein lies the ultimate question: is it better to play Demon's Souls online or, more accurately, is offline play worth it? Generally, it comes down to preference. Having those scattered messages does often make the landscapes and stages seem somewhat cluttered in the grand scheme of things, but they likewise offer insight and a bit of reprieve in a world clearly downtrodden and filled with utter death at every turn.
Some of my own personal favorite messages are those that are obviously meant to be cheeky or lighthearted, such as those that are well-placed at the edge of a cliff with the message: "Try jumping." While definitely annoying to newer players, they very well brighten the experience with personal touches and, more often than not, certain pearls of wisdom that said newer players would not have ever even realized. Messages alerting of nearby traps, bosses, chests, and the like are really what has painted the Souls games as a contest of companionship in the face of perilous danger.
Yes, you will die a ton. Yet, even so, you won't be alone. This harkens back to something I mentioned previously, regarding those ghostly-white appearances of other players as they journey through the five various stages in Demon's Souls. When playing offline, you miss this awesome detail. And, yes, it's understandably far better to play offline when attempting to go for the platinum trophy or simply attaining Pure White World Tendency in all stages, but you lose some of the best aspects of Demon's Souls when playing cut off from the world as such.
Play at your own pace, especially Demon's Souls, a game that literally prides itself on its utter brutality. Whether you want to play online or offline should not in any way dampen the experience, so have fun with it and don't get discouraged. Umbasa, fellow hollows.