As FromSoftware's maiden Souls voyage (unless you want to go back even further and cite the King's Field series as the true beginning), Demon's Souls holds a special place in gaming history and many people's hearts. Rose-tinted glasses aside, though, the game (in this writer's humble opinion) didn't age as well as its successors. The PlayStation 5 remake's graphics are to die for, but it more or less plays like the original—which is fine, but won't be everyone's cup of tea, especially if you played the other Souls games first.
Indeed, none of this is meant to imply Demon's Souls is a bad game by any means; it just feels like the developers still had a lot to learn, and many of the ideas germinated here would only blossom in later titles. That applies especially to the boss battles, many of which are easy (hindsight is 20/20, but still) or gimmicky. When Demon's Souls bosses are good, however, even the easy and/or gimmicky ones are good, commendable even after so much time has passed. Let's take a look at the five best from the first-time players prepared to die.
Spoilers Ahead
5. Fool's Idol
After trudging through the dark horrors of the Tower of Latria, stepping into a church and taking in the divine radiance of stained glass windows is a welcome reprieve. Of course, you have to step through a fog wall to get inside, which can only mean one thing: a boss. Like clockwork, the Fool's Idol descends in front of the altar like some goddess against the stained glass backdrop.
The aisle is littered with prisoner enemies, but they're easy to get around. Reach the Fool's Idol, however, and she'll teleport away after a few hits. Then, you turn around to a room full of Fool's Idols. At first, finding the real one is a challenge, especially with all of them casting magic. Pay attention, though, and you'll see one of them is casting more powerful spells. Watch out for paralysis traps on the way.
Landing the coup de grâce marks a hollow victory. Someone screams from above that, "The idol shall be revived eternally!" He's not lying: Each time you walk out of and back into the boss room, the Fool's Idol returns to full strength. Your mission, then, is to find the source of the voice—a prisoner behind a locked door, feigning innocence—silence it, and slay the Fool's Idol one last time.
4. Storm King
The Shrine of Storms is riddled with flying, manta ray-like Storm Beasts, which are more than happy to pelt you with an endless barrage of crystalline projectiles from on high. Unless you have a bow or long-range spells, they'll harry you like they've got nothing better to do—which, to be fair, they probably don't.
They bear a striking resemblance to the Storm King, who could very well be the father of them all. The leviathan glides through a thunderous storm as if it were a bright, sunny day, swooping over you with a disconcerting number of Storm Beasts. Picking them off is advised before you face the king, as they're no less of a nuisance during the boss fight than they ever were.
Lucky for players fond of neither bows nor magic, a weapon called the Storm Ruler—found in the boss arena—does the trick. It's all but useless outside this battle, but there on the Altar of Storms, its full power is released: For every slash, a column of wind gusts forth, cutting down all in its path. Not even the Storm King can resist its might.
Side note: This is the best-looking fight in the Demon's Souls remake. Bluepoint really outdid itself.
3. Flamelurker
"Since ancient times, a fire demon has been sealed in an underground temple filled with dragon bones." If that's not the coolest thing you've ever heard, then Demon's Souls isn't for you. That fire demon, the Flamelurker, is potentially the game's most iconic boss, complete with a great theme, memorable design, and a charmingly janky fight.
The Flamelurker is as aggressive as they come, packing quite a wallop. Though it can't project fire from its mouth or hands, it leaves pools of lava in its wake wherever it goes, and its ground-pounds create fiery explosions. Needless to say, wearing armor or equipping a shield without significant fire resistance would be a grievous mistake.
As aforementioned, though, the Flamelurker is a janky demon. Its movements—most notably its backsteps, which it can perform up to three times in a row—can be wonky, even susceptible to glitches. Yet there's something so... lovable about the Flamelurker, for lack of a better term, that it doesn't matter one bit. It's a fun fight, and arguably Demon's Souls's gatekeeper, though that depends on which order you tackle the Archstones.
2. Old King Allant
The elevator ride to the Boletarian Palace's throne room takes an eternity—or, at least, time enough to reflect on everything that's happened. You've slayed countless demons; traveled to ancient temples, Gothic horrorscapes, lowly swamps; made friends with the likes of stockpile keepers and timid witches. It was all leading up to this...
... to the old king of Boletaria himself: Allant.
Trails of smoke not unlike wings follow Allant wherever he walks, as if he's tethered to something. Tethered or no, however, his movements and attacks aren't restricted in the slightest. He can barrel at you from across the room, quick as the wind; he can launch shockwaves from his sword; he can jump like a man less than half his age. Most terrifying of all, however, is his Soul Sucker command grab. Should it land, not only will it do a jaw-dropping amount of damage... it will reduce your Soul Level. Yep. A hard-earned level-up, gone in the blink of an eye. If you die and come back, Allant won't bat an eye before doing it again, so avoid it at all costs.
Triumphing over Old King Allant deserves a pat on the back, but the soul you earn is called the False King Demon Soul, meaning... that wasn't Allant at all! A disembodied voice, belonging to the real Allant, confirms this not a moment later. The "reflection" you bested represented Allant at the height of his power, testing your skill, but the fight ahead... ends with a choice. Prepare yourself.
1. Maiden Astraea
At the base of the Valley of Defilement—a haven of swampy water and plague-ridden corpses—you'd expect a demon even more repulsive than the Leechmonger and the Dirty Colossus to be lying in wait. A less astute developer might have taken that route, but FromSoftware knew exactly what it was doing when it chose instead to have you "fight" a young holy woman.
Maiden Astraea, white robes drenched in blood and muck, resides in the Valley to ease its inhabitants' suffering. She knows why you've come, however, and sends her loyal knight Garl Vinland forth so she might continue her work. "Leave us, slayer of demons," she whispers from afar. "This is a sanctuary for the lost and wretched. There is nothing here for you to pillage or plunder. Please, leave quietly."
If only you could.
Vinland's dialogue is no less guilt-inducing, but it isn't until you defeat him and reach Astraea herself that the weight of it all sinks in. Should you attack the nearly defenseless woman (she has one spell, more for show than anything), she bemoans her creul fate; should you hear her out, she accepts her fate, committing suicide so you might have "your precious demon soul." Though the demon soul she possessed presumably corrupted Astraea—consider how casually she regards her nightmarish surroundings—the Valley and its residents will be left to rot and ruin without her. All because of you.
Future Souls games would present similarly guilt-ridden dilemmas, but Astraea might just be the best of the lot.