ABSTRACT
Demon's Souls shook up the industry, to the point of defining titles before and after its release. FromSoftware had been around as a company for that point, and it had made a number of great, but niche successes. King's Field set the foundation for what was to come: a focus on melee combat, mazelike levels, and of course, extreme difficulty. The series met with a mixed reception, and only a few of the games were officially released in the United States. The combat system, antiquated by its spiritual sequels, was a revelation for action and Role Playing Game fans at the time. Combat took place in real time, with a focus on positioning and movement. Demon's Souls, and future games in the Souls-Like genre, would meet in the middle. The level designs themselves were all hard-coded and fixed, with no random or procedural generation in effect.
