The Monumentals

Preface At its core, Demon’s Souls is the story of a hero setting out to defeat the demon king, an all too common premise in modern Japanese fantasy. But it is easy for this thought to never cross the mind, in large part thanks to the underlying conflict between the Old One and the Monumental […]

Demon’s Beginning

Preface What makes us human? What makes us not? Even though the world of Demon’s Souls is far less fantastical than the setting of its spiritual successor Dark Souls, it is no less fascinating due to how it revolves around such simple yet fundamental questions. Better still, the world is constructed so that we must […]

Latria

Preface Latria’s place in the narrative is two-fold. First, it serves to show that evil exists and will commit terrible atrocities if given the power to make its will reality. Second, it highlights the oftentimes arbitrary distinctions regarding the concept of humanity. It is ingrained in our psyche to look at such horrors with revulsion, […]

Temple of God

Preface During an interview for the original Dark Souls, Director Hidetaka Miyazaki said that he had created the character of Solaire partially to rebut accusations that he had a slant against religious people, presumably in reference to his depiction of the priesthood in Demon’s Souls. While I can understand these complaints on their surface, the […]