Surprised? So were we. Yet in a year full of high-quality games on every platform, an unassuming action role-playing game captured our imaginations and still hasn't let go. In many ways, Demon's Souls is a traditional dungeon crawler. You skulk your way through dark, atmospheric corridors and courtyards, fending off all sorts of gruesome creatures and making slow but sure headway into the dark unknown. Yet even Demon's Souls' traditional elements are incredible, revealing a startling attention to detail that draws you in. Boletaria is a menacing and hostile kingdom, unique and yet entirely believable. You cross stagnant swamps where three-headed monstrosities lie in wait, and you climb endless winding staircases while screeching gargoyles descend upon you. The tools you are given to defend yourself are top-notch, and combat carries an amazing feeling of weight and intensity. Further enhancing the tension is Demon's Souls' high level of difficulty. It isn't easy to slice your way through hordes of tumbling skeletons, but there's no greater feeling of triumph than finally getting your first peek at areas previously unexplored.
Demon's Souls is no blast from the past, but rather it's a glimpse into the future. A stunning array of online communication features make Demon's Souls different from anything you've ever played. As you explore the game's five gloomy realms, you see the ghosts of other players as they traverse the same roads and cross the same bridges in their own copies of the same world. You find the bloodstains of slain players and can activate them to watch the last few moments of the poor souls' existence. You can leave messages for other players to find, warning them of dangers lurking ahead or precious treasures hidden below. These innovative features create an incredible web of unified worlds in which you silently and indirectly interact with your fellow adventurers. This player-directed hint system creates a sense of camaraderie between players and encourages those who provide assistance while discouraging miscreants who would mislead you. In the relentless world of Demon's Souls, players need each other to survive.
You can help others more directly by joining them in their own worlds or summoning them to yours. And even this more traditional brand of cooperative play gives you a sense of company among strangers. You cannot choose whom you will join or who will appear to assist you; by offering your assistance, you make yourself available to anyone and everyone who might call for help. And yet it works, thanks to Demon's Souls' carefully constructed mechanics and extended community. Impressively, all these features are seamlessly integrated into the game, as are standard game conventions like saved games and multiplayer options. There are few arbitrary, game-like intrusions, like blinking menus or annoying save-game prompts, to disrupt your careful progress.
Demon's Souls is an extraordinary blend of the old and the new, and the result is so distinctive that it's hard to even find games to compare it to. Yes, it's a hard game. It is ruthlessly, unforgivingly difficult. But it is also amazingly compelling and rewarding, because the tools you need to survive are built into the very fabric of the experience. Demon's Souls is innovative, immersive, and immensely entertaining--and the best game of 2009.