Difference between revisions of "How to play the Original Demon's Souls"

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Demon's Souls is an iconic game.  It was the first Souls game and paved the way for games like Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Sekiro. Figuring out how to play it so many years later can be difficult because most people don't have a PS3 anymore, much less a copy of the game.  Here's a few solutions:
 
Demon's Souls is an iconic game.  It was the first Souls game and paved the way for games like Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Sekiro. Figuring out how to play it so many years later can be difficult because most people don't have a PS3 anymore, much less a copy of the game.  Here's a few solutions:
  
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==Demon's Souls on PS3==
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==Play on PS3==
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#Get a PS3
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#Obtain a PS3 console. If you plan to buy Demon's Souls from PSN, be aware that the 12GB model of PS3 will not be able to install the game unless you get a bigger hard drive.
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#Hook it up
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#Obtain a disc or digital copy of Demon's Souls for PS3. You can find these for $20 new in the United States, and the game sometimes goes on sale for half of that on PSN.
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#Get a copy of Demon's Souls
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#Insert the disc into your PS3 or install the game from PSN. If you are playing the Asian version, you will want to download and install the update as well.
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#Pop it in
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#'''''Optional''''' - Set up a connection to [[Online Play in 2020 | The Archstones]] for online play. Online play is region-locked on PS3.
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#'''''Optional''''' - Set up the [[Online Play in 2020 | Private Server]] for online play
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#Launch the game and get playing!
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#Bada Bing.  All done.
 
  
 
==Play on PC with RPCS3==
 
==Play on PC with RPCS3==
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[https://rpcs3.net/quickstart RPCS3] is a PS3 emulator for PC. It's simple to set up with instructions on the website. Here’s a high level overview:
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[https://rpcs3.net/quickstart RPCS3] is a PS3 emulator for Windows and Linux. It runs Demon's Souls quite well, even at 60 FPS, provided you have a modern CPU with at least '''six''' cores.
  
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#Follow the instructions to install [https://rpcs3.net/quickstart RPCS3]
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#Download and extract [https://rpcs3.net/download RPCS3].
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#To play Demon's Souls, you'll need either:
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#Obtain a copy of Demon's Souls for PS3. If you don't own a PS3 console yourself, you'll need to get a disc copy.
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#*A Blueray Drive and a copy of the game
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#Obtain a method of dumping the game. You will either need a compatible Blu-ray drive (see the [https://rpcs3.net/quickstart quickstart page] for more info) or a hacked PS3 with the multiMAN homebrew program installed.
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#*The game files on your computer. '''''DemonsSouls.com does not condone piracy'''''
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#*'''''DemonsSouls.com does not condone piracy, and no instructions will be provided for pirating the game.'''''
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#Get any mods you’d like from [https://www.nexusmods.com/demonssouls Nexus Mods]
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#Follow the [https://rpcs3.net/quickstart quickstart] instructions to install the PS3 firmware and dump your copy of the game.
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#Open [https://rpcs3.net/quickstart RPCS3] and open the game files through the software
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#Configure RPCS3 to run Demon's Souls:
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#Get playing!
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#*Open Demon's Souls in RPCS3 once to add it to the list of games. Close the emulation window once the game appears in the list.
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::'''''Note''''' - [https://rpcs3.net/quickstart RPCS3] is now compatible with the [[Online Play in 2020 | Private Server]] and does not require an active PSN account
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#*Right-click Demon's Souls in your list and click '''Create Custom Configuration'''.
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#**Click on the '''CPU''' tab.
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#***Ensure '''PPU Decoder''' and '''SPU Decoder''' are both set to '''Recompiler (LLVM)''' for the best performance.
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#**Click on the '''GPU''' tab.
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#***Ensure '''Renderer''' is set to '''Vulkan'''.
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#***Set '''Shader Mode''' to '''Async (multi threaded)''' or '''Async with Shader Interpreter'''. Move your mouse over each option and read the description to decide on which one you like.
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#***Enable '''Additional Settings > Write Color Buffers.'''
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#***Set '''Resolution Scale''' to your monitor's resolution (Do not change Default Resolution, leave that at 1280x720).
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#****You can raise/lower this if you have a particularly good/poor GPU, but if your CPU isn't up to spec no amount of lowering the resolution will improve your framerate.
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#***Set '''Anisotropic Filter''' to '''16x'''.
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#**Click '''Save custom configuration'''.
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#'''''Optional''''' - If you would like to play the game at 60 FPS or get a performance boost by disabling dynamic exposure, follow the instructions on the [https://wiki.rpcs3.net/index.php?title=Help:Game_Patches RPCS3 wiki].
 +
#'''''Optional''''' - Download and install any mods you'd like from [https://www.nexusmods.com/demonssouls Nexus Mods]. Here are some recommended mods:
 +
#*[https://www.nexusmods.com/demonssouls/mods/19 Unofficial Patches]: Improves some of the frustrating design choices of Demon's Souls, such as the drop rate of Pure Bladestone.
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#*[https://www.nexusmods.com/demonssouls/mods/3 Lens Flare Fix + Depth of Field Remover]: Removes visual effects some might find distracting.
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#*[https://www.nexusmods.com/demonssouls/mods/7 High Resolution Font]: Self-explanatory.
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#*[https://www.nexusmods.com/demonssouls/mods/8 Grey Outline Removal]: Fixes the grey outline around the HUD when playing at higher resolutions than 720p.
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#*[https://www.nexusmods.com/demonssouls/mods/25 Xbox Controller GUI]: Replace the PS3 DualShock button prompts with Xbox controller buttons.
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#'''''Optional''''' - If you would like to play online, follow the instructions on [https://thearchstones.com/serverinfo.html The Archstones] info page. Online play is not region locked when playing through RPCS3.
 +
#Launch the game and get playing!
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If you need help setting up RPCS3, you can get help on the [https://discord.me/RPCS3 RPCS3 Discord server]. Just be warned, they won't help pirates either!

Latest revision as of 23:13, 11 November 2025

Demon's Souls is an iconic game. It was the first Souls game and paved the way for games like Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Sekiro. Figuring out how to play it so many years later can be difficult because most people don't have a PS3 anymore, much less a copy of the game. Here's a few solutions:

Play on PS3

  1. Obtain a PS3 console. If you plan to buy Demon's Souls from PSN, be aware that the 12GB model of PS3 will not be able to install the game unless you get a bigger hard drive.
  2. Obtain a disc or digital copy of Demon's Souls for PS3. You can find these for $20 new in the United States, and the game sometimes goes on sale for half of that on PSN.
  3. Insert the disc into your PS3 or install the game from PSN. If you are playing the Asian version, you will want to download and install the update as well.
  4. Optional - Set up a connection to The Archstones for online play. Online play is region-locked on PS3.
  5. Launch the game and get playing!

Play on PC with RPCS3

RPCS3 is a PS3 emulator for Windows and Linux. It runs Demon's Souls quite well, even at 60 FPS, provided you have a modern CPU with at least six cores.

  1. Download and extract RPCS3.
  2. Obtain a copy of Demon's Souls for PS3. If you don't own a PS3 console yourself, you'll need to get a disc copy.
  3. Obtain a method of dumping the game. You will either need a compatible Blu-ray drive (see the quickstart page for more info) or a hacked PS3 with the multiMAN homebrew program installed.
    • DemonsSouls.com does not condone piracy, and no instructions will be provided for pirating the game.
  4. Follow the quickstart instructions to install the PS3 firmware and dump your copy of the game.
  5. Configure RPCS3 to run Demon's Souls:
    • Open Demon's Souls in RPCS3 once to add it to the list of games. Close the emulation window once the game appears in the list.
    • Right-click Demon's Souls in your list and click Create Custom Configuration.
      • Click on the CPU tab.
        • Ensure PPU Decoder and SPU Decoder are both set to Recompiler (LLVM) for the best performance.
      • Click on the GPU tab.
        • Ensure Renderer is set to Vulkan.
        • Set Shader Mode to Async (multi threaded) or Async with Shader Interpreter. Move your mouse over each option and read the description to decide on which one you like.
        • Enable Additional Settings > Write Color Buffers.
        • Set Resolution Scale to your monitor's resolution (Do not change Default Resolution, leave that at 1280x720).
          • You can raise/lower this if you have a particularly good/poor GPU, but if your CPU isn't up to spec no amount of lowering the resolution will improve your framerate.
        • Set Anisotropic Filter to 16x.
      • Click Save custom configuration.
  6. Optional - If you would like to play the game at 60 FPS or get a performance boost by disabling dynamic exposure, follow the instructions on the RPCS3 wiki.
  7. Optional - Download and install any mods you'd like from Nexus Mods. Here are some recommended mods:
  8. Optional - If you would like to play online, follow the instructions on The Archstones info page. Online play is not region locked when playing through RPCS3.
  9. Launch the game and get playing!

If you need help setting up RPCS3, you can get help on the RPCS3 Discord server. Just be warned, they won't help pirates either!

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