Available on: PlayStation 5

Played on: PlayStation 5

Gothic, moody, and on rare occasions even a bit broken, this hyper-faithful remake of From Softwares 2009 PS3 sensation is one of the star attractions of the PlayStation 5 launch lineup. Everything that made the original Demons Souls such a fascinating, frustrating offering a decade agoand which was later refined into the mega-selling Dark Souls franchiseis all intact here: The slow, thoughtful combat; the looping level design, filled with shortcuts, twists, and traps; and especially the design philosophy, which exists to make every step into new territory feel hostile, strange, and inviting all at once. As a choice of launch title, its a bold, bizarre choice; as a love letter to a game that deserves more people seeing every odd, fascinating thing it does, its an obvious win.

How next-gen is it? Gloriously. Bluepoint Games, which designed the remake, has done a tremendous job of updating Boletaria for modern eyes, whether that means capturing the ruined grandeur of the ephemeral, cathedral-like Nexus, or visualizing one of the grossest video game swamps weve ever had the poor fortune to wade shin-deep through.

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We reviewed (nearly) every game out now for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X - The A.V. Club