Like most Souls games after it, Demon’s Souls on the PS3 told a story that needed to be pieced together by its audience. Unlike Dark Souls 3 or even Bloodborne, however, Demon’s Souls’ lore is far tighter – to the point where a full narrative can be clearly pieced together via character motivations, relationships, environmental storytelling, and even item descriptions.
While Demon’s Souls might make more sense narratively than the average Dark Souls, FromSoftware still tells a story that leaves threads hanging. Fully understanding what Demon’s Souls is saying with its plot can take multiple playthroughs, something BluePoint Games have accounted for in their PS5 remake. When all is said and done, Demon’s Souls set a precedent for not answering every question a player might have.
10 Bound By The Nexus
The nuances of the Nexus aren’t exactly given much depth in Demon’s Souls, the players left to accept their nebulous fate. Of course, this plays into the type of world Demon’s Souls is creating – one where the seemingly divine is incomprehensible, both in nature & motivation – but it’s hard not to question the Nexus’ finer details.
The Archstones are tangible structures players can interact with, but it’s never made clear whether everyone has a Nexial Binding or not. The fact characters like Stockpile Thomas can die without appearing soul form would suggest they don’t, but the Crestfallen Warrior appearing as a soul suggests otherwise. There’s also the Maiden’s own Nexial Binding which goes unaccounted for (but seemingly stops working when in the presence of the Old One.)
9 What Exactly Is The Old One?
On the subject of the One One, understanding what it even is can be a challenge. The people of Boletaria worship a singular God, with the Old One treated as a Devil analog, but in-game iconography strongly suggests that only the Old One exists – as much a Devil as it is the literal God. Or so it seems.
The Maiden in Black’s relationship with the Old One also questions this status. Although the Old One is treated as an all-powerful being capable of targeted corrupted (as seen with King Allant and, really, all of Boletaria,) it’s strongly implied that the Maiden in Black is stronger as evidenced by her ability to lull the Old One back to sleep.
8 Who Is The False King?
In Demon’s Souls’ biggest twist, it’s revealed that Old King Allant – the man personally leading Boletaria’s army, descending the kingdom into ruin, and actively feeding the Old One’s agenda – is nothing but a fake. Ostrava comes to the painful conclusion that his father has become a demon, killing himself in response, but he never realizes that the Allant he met was never his father. While a demon, the real Allant is a husk of a man groveling below the Nexus.
The question still begs answering, though: who was the False King? More importantly, what was the False King? Did the real Allant will it into existence himself, or as an extension of the Old One’s corruption? Does Allant even have any agency over his double?
7 Astraea’s Impure Soul
Maiden Astraea is said to have the most impure soul in Demon’s Souls, having seemingly renounced God and taken it upon herself to clear the Valley of Defilement’s suffering alone. As sound as her motivations may be, Astraea’s actions go fairly unexamined in-game, leading to quite a bit of interpretation re: her motivations.
On a surface level, the game tells players about Astraea’s impurity outright. On the other hand, her boss battle shows her as a regular woman easing the pain of those around her. Whether or not this is a good thing is another matter, however, as all Astraea is doing is feeding Souls into herself, creating more corruption in the process. It’s certainly possible Astraea does all this ignorant of the damage she’s doing in benefit of the Old One, just as much as her willfully ignoring the consequences after losing faith.
6 The Maiden In Black’s Agony
Sage Freke mentions offhand in the Nexus that killing the Maiden in Black for good would put an end to her “agony.” While one of the strongest Demons in existence, the Maiden in Black has had her eyes waxed shut and is forced to tend to the Nexus, trapped by a Nexial Binding that seems to only deactivate when in the presence of the Old One.
Since the Maiden seldom talks about her past, though, it’s impossible to know what her agony is without speculation. Realistically, Freke could simply be lamenting her nature as a prisoner (much like the player,) but the fact her life is so intimately connected to the Old One’s can be agony in itself.
5 Consequences Of Killing The Maiden
Demon’s Souls directs the player to slay Allant and he’ll the Maiden in Black lull the Old One back to sleep, but it’s possible to betray the Maiden at the last possible moment and give into the Old One’s corruption. Doing so ties into the theme of greed and temptation running through the story, but the consequences aren’t entirely made clear.
Will the player become a grotesquerie like the real King Allant, or will they be free to continue consuming Souls? This is even if the Slayer of Demons still has agency upon killing the Maiden. As powerful as they may be, players are still wearing a Nexial Binding and the Old One is a corruptible being – to say nothing of the Colorless Fog that’s liable to become more dangerous than before.
4 A Monumental Motivation
The last of their kind, the Monumental works in tandem with the Maiden in Black to keep the fabric of the world in check. Everything about the Monumental would suggest that they want the Old One to go back to sleep, divine being who course correct the one when it goes wrong – except they made everything go wrong.
While Allant takes the brunt of the blame for the Old One’s damage in-game, the Monumentals were the one who awakened the ancient entity to begin with. The Monumental also outright mocks the Maiden in Black on at least one occasion, implying they see themselves as inherently superior. This creates greater issues when considering the nature of the “good ending.”
3 A Monumental Fate
By defeating all the Archdemons and slaying King Allant, the player helps the Maiden in Black finally lull the Old One back to sleep, becoming the strongest Monumental in the process. It’s not stated whether or not the previous Monumental dies, but the audience’s real concern should be on the Slayer of Demons’ fate.
It’s possible Monumental in this sense is a title that player earns – an all powerful being holding the fabric of the world together – but that’s not actually what the Monumentals do. Their role in the context of Demon’s Souls’ world is nebulous. They’re influencers who can shape reality itself, but there’s very little to suggest their intentions are actually pure.
2 Farewell To Soul Arts
All of the problems in Demon’s Souls ultimately stem from Soul Arts and the thirst for power mankind feels in the presence of such overwhelming power. The story itself treats Soul Arts as a means of crossing the bridge between humanity & demon, with the Maiden in Black’s initial leveling dialogue suggesting the player might be better off not corrupting themselves with Souls.
While the good ending closes out with the player becoming the next Monumental and Soul Arts fading from history, there’s a problem here: the player still knows Soul Arts and they’re the strongest being alive. The Old One may be asleep, but there’s nothing to suggest it won’t come back & reawaken a pursuit of Soul Arts. After all, Boletarians went so far as adopting the Old One’s image as their “God.”
1 Has The World Truly Been Mended?
The Maiden in Black’s ultimate goal is to lull the Old One back to sleep and mend a world that’s been torn apart by the Colorless Fog – but what prove is there that the world is actually mended following all the damage the Old One has done? It’s just as likely the world is simply being preserved as it is, with the Nexus simply unnecessary for traversal. At the same time, the player is instructed to go back to the Nexus in order to become the next Monumental, implying their role in mending the world isn’t quite over.
NEXT: 10 Things Everyone Completely Missed In Demon’s Souls PS5
