The mystery of Demon's Souls remake's enigmatic new door has been solved
And its prize has been revealed...
Shortly after the arrival of developer Bluepoint's Demon's Souls remake on PS5, players discovered an enigmatic new addition not found in From Software's seminal 2009 action-RPG: a steadfastly locked door where one hadn't been before. But now, after some swift communal thinkery, the puzzle has been cracked, the door is open, and its secrets have been revealed.
But first a quick recap for the those latecomers at the back; players located Demon's Souls' mysterious new door in World 1-3, squirrelled away at the top of a staircase hidden behind an illusory wall - itself obscured by a mountain of rubbish at the end of an unassuming corridor.
After a few exploratory failures, the community latched onto the theory that the perpetually locked door might be related to an item newly introduced in Demon's Souls PS5 - the Gold Coin. It seemed especially plausible given that developer Bluepoint's previous remake, Shadow of Colossus, also included a secret door requiring the accumulation of coins to unlock.
Incidentally, spoilers will flow freely from here on out, so those only just jumping on the Demon's Souls PS5 train might want to stop reading now.
As it turns out, the Gold Coin theory was almost right; in actuality - as discovered by speed runner Distortion 2 yesterday, after hours of exploratory probing - players are instead required to gather a different new coin collectible, Ceramic Coins, only found by playing through Demon's Souls' new mirror-style Fractured Mode, unlocked by completing the game once.
Ceramic Coins can apparently be found near Archstones in Fractured Mode, but only with Pure White or Pure Black World Tendency, making them something of a rare commodity. However, players that manage to obtain at least 26 Ceramic Coins can hand them over to Sparkly the Crow in the Shrine of Storms, whereupon they'll receive a Rusty Key - finally granting passage through Demon's Souls' mysterious door.
And what's the reward for these efforts? Well, much like Shadow of Colossus' secret Sword of Dormin, the treasure awaiting players behind Demon's Souls door is nifty, rather than anything particularly revelatory. Those that cross its threshold can acquire the Penetrator armour, inspired by the Demon's Souls boss of the same name, which pairs with the Penetrator Sword featured in the original game to complete the whole pointy headed look.
Does this discovery mean Demon's Souls PS5's secrets have now all been revealed? Only time, and the dedication of the game's energised community, will tell.