Getting the platinum trophy in any game is often a grueling task, and the same holds true for Demon's Souls. In order to do it on one character without any kind of save scumming, players will need to complete at least three playthroughs of the game, taking them all the way up to new game ++. While this may already seem a bit extreme, there are a few mistakes that players can make that will inevitably extend their quest for the platinum trophy and make things much more difficult. For those wanting to get their hands on this elusive reward, it's best to keep these tips in mind.
Compared to other Souls games, Demon's Souls is fairly short. Because of this, players can actually run through the game rather quickly if they know what they are doing. Despite this, the ever-increasing health and damage of bosses and enemies with each new game plus cycle can quickly overwhelm unprepared players, so it's best to get the platinum trophy on the third cycle if possible. So long as players keep these pitfalls in mind as they play through the game, they should have no problem joining the Demon's Souls elite and adding another platinum trophy to their collection.
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Most Souls fans know not to consume boss souls before checking if they can be used to craft any items or learn any spells, but Demon's Souls takes this a step further. In order to get the Sage's Trophy and the Saint's Trophy players have to learn all spells and all miracles in the game. One way that Demon's Souls differs from other Souls games is that almost all the spells and miracles available are learned from boss souls. Using a boss soul to gain souls or crafting a weapon with it instead of learning spells has the potential to push players into a new cycle.
Since players will be going through Demon's Souls three times at least, it isn't a huge deal if they use the Storm Demon's Soul to craft the Morion Blade or the Hard Demon's Soul to craft the Lava Bow, but there are two souls in particular fans should watch out for. The Golden Demon's Soul and the Pureblood Demon's Soul can both be used to learn three spells or craft an item, so if players make the item then they'll be forced into a fourth playthrough. As tempting as it may be to get the Insanity Catalyst after beating the Old Monk in 3-3 or the Blueblood Sword from Maiden Astraea in 5-3, it's best to skip these weapons.
One of Demon's Souls' more archaic features is World Tendency, a pseudo-morality system that dictates how powerful enemies will be and what areas are available to players. Certain trophies like One of the Few and Worthy of the Sword require players to manipulate their World Tendency in order to trigger events, and doing this properly is key to getting the platinum trophy.
Understanding World Tendency can be a bit difficult at first, but the short version is that as players do good things (killing bosses or black phantoms), their World Tendency shifts towards white, while doing bad things (killing NPCs and dying while in Body Form) will shift it towards black. Since it is a lot easier to shift towards Pure Black World Tendency, it's a good idea to knock out all the Pure White World Tendency events first. Unfortunately, this means playing through the game in Soul Form to avoid dying while in Body Form.
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On the first playthrough, most players will likely be doing whatever it takes to survive against Demon's Souls' many difficult bosses. Because of this, they probably aren't thinking about certain trophies that require bosses to be killed in certain ways. It may be best to save these trophies for a second or third playthrough for this reason, but it's important not to forget about them nonetheless. In later playthroughs, players may be tempted to blaze through areas and bosses in order to get the specific ring, spell, or trophy they're looking for, but put this off for too long and it will be much harder. There are six boss challenge trophies for players to complete, focusing on the Tower Knight, Penetrator, Dragon God, Fool's Idol, Adjudicator, and Maiden Astraea boss fights.
For the Tower Knight, players have to defeat him without killing any archers, so staying mobile or using Warding can help with this. The Penetrator's challenge trophy requires players to defeat him with Biorr, so be sure to complete his quest line during a playthrough. Using the Hands of God to kill the Dragon God will net players that trophy, and the Fool's Idol has to be defeated without hitting any illusions. To do this, lock on to the boss and only attack it if there is no health bar above its head. The Adjudicator must be defeated without it falling down, but this can be done easily with ranged attacks from above. Finally, players will need to kill Maiden Astraea without killing Garl Vinland to earn her challenge trophy.
Finally, it's important to realize that the Demon's Souls community is alive now more than ever. Through the game's subreddit and its official Discord server, players can get help from other eager demon slayers to tackle some of the more difficult trophies. Trophies like Return to Form and Unwelcome Guest are a lot easier with some help, and both World Tendency and Character Tendency can also be manipulated with the help of other players. For those missing certain items or rings, they may be able to find some to trade with if they have something of value to give in return. It's entirely possible to get the platinum trophy without any outside help, but those that are struggling a bit should feel free to bring some friends into the mix.
Demon's Souls is available now on PS5.