Fromsoftware's brutal vision: a falcon's descent almost ended demon's souls

A chilling glimpse into the early design process of Demon’s Souls has emerged, revealing a spectacularly cruel trap that nearly became a core mechanic: a gargantuan falcon designed to instantly obliterate players with a single, devastating dive.

A bird of ill-fated design

Thanks to the diligent investigations of lore expert Zullie the Witch, and the meticulous data mining of Molly Ariona, the unfortunate fate of this “falcons” – a creature intended to plummet from the skies of the Tempest – has been unearthed. The original concept, meticulously documented within the game’s archives, involved a predator capable of snatching players from rooftops and dropping them to their doom with brutal efficiency.

Early prototypes envisioned the falcon’s aerial attack as a guaranteed “Game Over,” a deliberate spike of frustration engineered by FromSoftware’s development team. Thankfully, the concept was scrapped, relegated to a ghostly presence within the game’s files – a testament to a design choice that almost redefined the punishing experience that Demon’s Souls is renowned for.

The miyazaki influence

Interestingly, the desire to incorporate a predatory aerial threat wasn’t entirely abandoned. Zullie the Witch points to the Wild Demon of Dark Souls 3, a creature possessing a remarkably similar grappling ability. However, this particular implementation lacked the instant-death potential of the original Demon’s Souls falcon, mitigating the immediate, overwhelming despair.

Had FromSoftware unleashed this aerial assassin upon unsuspecting players, it’s quite plausible that countless gamers would have met their demise before ever truly grasping the intricacies of the game’s mechanics. A single, swift attack, and the journey would have abruptly ended.

The revelation underscores FromSoftware’s longstanding commitment to challenging gameplay, though it also highlights the iterative nature of game development - a process where even the most audacious ideas are ultimately discarded in pursuit of a more refined and, ultimately, more satisfying experience.

Ultimately, the falcons of Demon’s Souls serve as a potent reminder that even the most brilliant minds can stumble upon concepts that, while initially intriguing, ultimately fall short of their intended impact.