Demon's Souls is tied for my Game of the Year, 2009. From my review:
No pause button. Constant, recurring death. Loss of XP. And brutal, challenging combat. Demon’s Souls: Welcome to the anti-casual game experience.Did you ever play Advanced Dungeons and Dragons? I did. The fun of D&D is the sheer number of variables that affect each action you take. The weight of your sword. The height of your character. Your class. The light in the tunnel where you're fighting your adversary. The moisture on the handle. The sweat of your brow. With a strict Dungeon Master, there are countless items to take into account before each die is cast; the stats and math of the game are an attempt to craft a consistent reality. We can all play at being warriors during recess -- D&D gave us a vocabulary of consequences so that our imaginations were more firmly anchored in the moment.
The game is on it's way to becoming a classic. For the full review, visit the Play Magazine website.