Demon's Souls is one the best RPG's this generation with it's great combat and hard difficulty.
Story: 6/10
The story in Demon's Souls is very non-existent beyond the opening scene. After the opening it's all free game besides two more cut-scenes that happen at the end and near the start. As you talk to NPC you'll get more into the story as they add more to it. Main story it's self is that you are adventurer that traveled to a Kingdom called Boletaria that has been overrun by demons and monsters by an accused fog. Soon after you arrive you get killed by a great demon and after your death you arrive in a place called the Nexus. You are greeted by the Maiden in Black who will give the ability to visit each of Boleteria's important locations. This is it basically intill the end game which you have a choice.
Gameplay: 9/10
Demon's Souls gameplay is very addictive. First there are many ways to play Demon's Souls from the different weapons and spells that you can obtain. Each of the weapons in Demon'souls have pros and cons, spears are good for tight and enclosed areas and used to attack single targets but are bad against many opponents and enemies with shields. While large swords are heavy hitters and have great knock-back but are slow to use and most require high stats to use. There's a play style for everyone even the people who like using long range attacks like spells and arrows. There are two kinds of magic in this game, Miracles and spells. Miracles are faith magic that mainly benefits the player giving the player defencive spells but also get an offensive spell. Spells are influenced by magic stat and are mainly all offensive. There are two people who give you spells and it can be a tough choice on what spell you want to get with what demon soul. At the start of the game you get choice from 10 classes, each with a different starting stats, weapons and soul level. These classes are not set in stone, if you say want your knight class to become someone who uses miracles then all you have to do is level up the faith stat. The leveling system is unique is you use the souls that to get from killing monster and demons to level up. When you level up you can increase any stat you want, this makes the game really longer since you can make any kind of player. Souls are also used to buy equipment and supplies from vendors and merchants. Also when you collect these special stones that are used to upgrade your weapons to make them stronger or give them a bonus stat. You also can roll and dodge in combat but only if you light enough. If you ware heavy equipment then it will be harder to roll then if you had light armor. There's a lot to do in Demon's Souls and I encourage you to explore and try new things.
Online: 9/10
The online in Demon's Souls is different in that you use special stones that you can either put your name down and get someone to summon you as a phantom to help them or to invade someone's world and kill the player. While in Soul form you can place down the Blue Eye Stone to put your soul sign on the ground so others can summon you to their world to help them defeat the main demon so you can regain your body back, and after you beat the demon you are give the chance to rate the other player(s) from D to S. When in Body form you can summon up to two blue phantoms. If you use the Black Eye stone which you get from defeating any NPC black phantom, you can invade a player's world and kill him to gain your soul back. Enemies don't attack you while your are a Black phantom and many players use that to their advantage. One thing that can be hard for a black phantom is that you can invade someone and they might have Blue phantoms with him which can help the player to defeat you. There is also a Red Eye Stone which you get if you choice one of the endings, what it almost like the Black Eye Stone but it's more of a dual then find the player and kill him.
Presentation: 7/10
The world's in Demon's Souls have a terrific atmosphere that makes you feel like your in the game. From the dark gloomy poison swamp of The Valley of Defilement to the ruins in the Shines of Storms. It looks great and makes you want to continue to see the next area and what awaits them. The people in Demon's souls look good but some have a low resolution look to them and all NPC's never move their mouth when they talk. Your character's face is very low resolution and not very pretty to see. The voice acting in demon's souls is pretty good with the voice matching the characters and they add emotion to their words when needed. The physics engine for Demon's Souls can be funny at times especially when you kill a monster and you run with their dead body on you. Other then those short comings, all the monster and especially the demons all look great and weapons and some spells look good too.
Overall: 9.5
Demon's Souls is a great game and you will love it and hate it at times but you can't ignore the fact that it's one of the best RPG's this generation and it deserves the praise it gets.