Perhaps the most striking announcement of Thursday's PlayStation 5 "The Future of Gaming" event was the reveal of Bluepoint's Demon's Souls remake. A remake of Demon's Souls had been long rumored, but the quality of Bluepoint's remake stood out tremendously. It could put Bluepoint's Shadow of the Colossus remake to shame. But Bluepoint isn't just doing a major visual overhaul of Demon's Souls. It's also adding to the game in exciting new ways.
Hidden in the YouTube description for Demon's Souls new trailer is the reveal that the game will feature a brand new "Fractured Mode." The text of the description says Demon's Souls is "completely rebuilt from the ground up and masterfully enhanced with a new 'Fractured Mode,' " and that's it. There's no description for what Fractured Mode is or what it means for Demon's Souls.
There are more new additions coming to Demon's Souls on PS5, as well, though they aren't content-focused. Demon's Souls will also feature two different graphics modes. The first will focus entirely on visual quality, while the second will prioritize framerate. Some of the visual features fans can look forward to include all-new shadow effects, as well as ray-tracing. These features would presumably be lessened or turned off in framerate mode.
Bluepoint is very clearly not afraid to make changes where it sees an opportunity to improve the game. But at the same time, as its Shadow of the Colossus remake shows, Bluepoints is 100% dedicated to keeping the game experience authentic. This will be Demon's Souls through and through, just a Demon's Souls as if it was made for release in the 2020s rather than 2009.
For those wondering what Fractured Mode is, there's no real answer at this point. It could be a game mode that makes dramatic changes to the game itself or to how the game is played. Or it could be a very basic new mode that either makes the game easier or harder. Some believe it will be a mode referenced but unused in the original game named True Death mode. It's a sort of hardcore mode with a type of permadeath, which while exciting for Souls fans may not be Bluepouint's priority.
There's clearly a lot left for Bluepoint to tell everyone about its Demon's Souls remake. Hopefully, that news comes sooner rather than later, because after that Demon's Souls remake announcement trailer it's going to be difficult to be patient.
Demon's Souls has no current release window and is coming to PS5.
