| Players take control of the main character in a third-person view who, at the start of the game, can be customized by choice of gender, appearance, name and starting class. There are 10 starting classes, ranging from knights and barbarians to thieves and mages. Each class has its own starting statistics, starting gear, weapons and type of magic used which all emphasize certain approaches to combat depending on the player's preference.
As players kill demons, they gain souls which act as currency that can be used to buy, repair, and upgrade weapons as well as increase player statistics such as strength, luck, and endurance. Along with souls, players can retrieve items such as weaponry and ore for upgrading. When a player is killed during a level, they are sent to the beginning of the level with all non-boss enemies re-spawned, and the player returns in soul form with lower maximum health and the loss of all unused souls. If the player manages to reach their bloodstain at the point where they were last killed, they regain their lost souls. However, if they are killed before then, the souls are lost permanently. Upon defeating a boss, the player can choose to re-spawn back to that location, marked in the form of an Archstone. When not exploring a level, players reside in the Nexus, a realm of souls that acts as a hub where players can exchange souls, store items and travel between regions. After completing the initial portion of the first region, players can choose to progress through any other of the newly available regions.
Gameplay can change depending on both the World and Character tendency, which can be either white or black. Tendency depends on the actions of the player such as helping or killing NPCs. When white, enemies are easier, yet the soul and items rewards are fewer; when black, enemies are stronger and give greater rewards. Players can manipulate their tendency to suit their current needs. Character tendency affects the player throughout, while World Tendency only affects the region where an action was taken.
Further emphasizing the challenging nature of the game is the increased difficulty upon completion of the story. After finishing the game, the player may choose to continue playing from the beginning, except with a 40% increase in difficulty. Subsequent completions increase the difficulty further by 8%.
Online Multiplayer
When connected to the PlayStation Network, online play is integrated into the single-player experience. Throughout levels, players can briefly see the actions of other players as ghosts in the same area that may show hidden passages or switches. When a player dies, a bloodstain can be left in other players' game world that when activated can show a ghost playing out their final moments, indicating how that person died and potentially helping the player avoid the same fate in advance. Players can leave messages on the floor that can also help others such as forewarning safe or hostile positions, trap locations and tactics against enemies or bosses, among general comments.
Co-operative play allows up to three characters to team up in the host's game world where visiting players appear in soul form that can only be returned to their bodies when a boss is defeated. In competitive play, players can invade a player's adventure as a Black Phantom to engage in combat with the host player. If the Black Phantom kills the host, they can be returned to their body in their own game whereas if killed themselves, the host gains a portion of the Black Phantom's souls.
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