4. Demon’s Souls
As From Software and Hidetaka Miyazaki’s first entry in the Souls series, Demon’s Souls sure did take a lot of risks at the time. The game was brutal and unforgiving, and started players off with only half their maximum health, and then threw them straight into the dangerous world of Boletaria.
What makes Demon’s Souls so special is the creativity the development team took when designing the bosses. Most of the game’s bosses are designed as mini puzzles, and players had to figure out the trick to the bosses before they were able to slowly whittle down their health. The Tower Knight, for instance, could only be killed by weakening his feet, making him fall to the ground, and then attacking his head.
Not only that, the design and environments in Demon’s Souls were top notch as well. While the world wasn’t exactly interconnected like in the rest of the Soulsborne games, each stage was still unique and very intricately designed. The Tower of Latria comes to mind, and to this day, it remains as one of the most terrifying areas I’ve ever visited in a video game.
