The PlayStation 5 is finally out and about on the market, ushering in a new generation of gaming with a slew of titles. But one in particular that a lot of people are paying attention to is
the remake of the classic Atlus favorite Demon’s Souls, reworked for a new generation to enjoy – even if that means hundreds upon thousands of deaths.
The game is the work of Bluepoint Games, a studio that’s been making the rounds on the PlayStation front for years. In fact, we’re a bit surprised that Sony hasn’t invited them into the fold for PlayStation Studios, considering the excellent work the studio has done on systems like the PlayStation 3, PS Vita and PlayStation 4.
How impressive has its work been? Well, let’s hop in the wayback machine and see where it all began.
Humble beginnings
The studio got its start in 2006, co-founded by Marco Thrush and the late Andy O’Neil, who previously worked on the Metroid Prime engineering team. From there, it began to work on its own original properties, starting with the downloadable 2006 shooter Blast Factor for PlayStation 3. Though not as big a hit as, say, Super Stardust HD, it did put the team on the map.
However, following that game’s release, Bluepoint was asked to port the God of War Collection to PlayStation Vita, in the hopes of wowing players that wanted to take Kratos’ journey on the go.
From there, the team returned to PlayStation 3 with a masterful two-pack of ports, the adventures Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. It continued on this path a few months later, working alongside Konami to remaster the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 – both of which became huge best-sellers.
From there, it also worked on the original game Flower, a captivating, peaceful adventure where you guide pedals through an interactive world. It earned critical acclaim, and kept Bluepoint going on their success.
Turning a corner on PlayStation 4
As the PS4 came about, the studio began to work on ports of even bigger hits from the last generation. Namely, the Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, featuring the treasure hunter’s first three adventures, redone in 60 frames per second. The dazzling results wowed players, and the game became a huge seller prior to the release of Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.
From there, the team also worked on Gravity Rush Remastered, which earned critical acclaim and became a heavily sought item on the physical front. To this day, the game still sells for just under a hundred bucks on eBay, especially in complete form.
But it’s in 2018 that Bluepoint really began to impress with a souped-up port of Shadow of the Colossus. Rebuilding the game from the ground up, the adventure dazzled in every way imaginable, with improved visuals and gameplay that actually outperforms the original release. It became one of the biggest must-haves for the PS4 in 2018, right alongside the new God of
War game.
Bring on the Demons!
The original Demon’s Souls came out years ago for PlayStation 3, produced by From Software and released by Atlus. It became a cult favorite, leading to the creation of the Dark Souls trilogy, as well as many other inspired games, like Bloodborne. Earlier this year, Bluepoint announced it was hard at work on a remastered version of Demon’s Souls, with a few refinements to improve the game overall.
Bluepoint added several new weapons and armor types into the fray, along with grains that help the player survive particular effects a little better this time around, such as poison and fire.
For good measure, it also includes a mirror mode, where items are reversed a little bit in the world; and a photo mode, which actually lets you pause the game long enough to enjoy a few glamour shots, if you’re not dying already.
So far, critics are clamoring over Demon’s Souls, considering it one of the biggest surprises of the PS5 launch. Its unbelievable visuals, paired with its improved gameplay and challenge, could make it one of the “dark horses” of the holiday season. More than likely, it’ll sell pretty close to a 1:1 ratio alongside PS5 units, depending on the player.
So what’s next?
Bluepoint hasn’t provided details on what it’s working on next, or who with. But given its track record, it could easily dive back into one of the PlayStation classics and give it new life. Perhaps a revitalized port of PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale? (You may recall they did the PS Vita version, and quite well on it too.) Or, for that matter, maybe it’s time to give Ico another chance on the market.
Whatever the case, Bluepoint has proven to be up to task, no matter the franchise. Or, who knows, it might just be time to do something new again, just as it did in 2006. Whatever it’s up to, we’re looking forward to it!
Demon’s Souls is available now for PlayStation 5.
