FromSoftware games like Demon's Souls are known for their dense, mysterious lore. Oftentimes, it takes multiple playthroughs and careful work to understand everything that happens over the course of one of these games. However, the basics of the main plot are usually given to the player in a straightforward manner. Demon's Souls is no exception in this regard, so there are only a few key things players need to know to understand the story.
The very basics of Demon's Souls' story are laid out in two cutscenes during the game's beginning. Essentially, Boletaria (the game's setting) is currently undergoing an apocalyptic event caused by a massive primordial demon called the Old One. Usually, the Old One is kept in a near-eternal slumber, but the Old One recently woke up. When this happened, it brought a dense, white fog with it that drains everyone of their souls and turns them into demons. In addition, the Old One brought several extremely powerful Archdemons to assist in the ultimate annihilation of humanity. It's up to the player to hunt these Archdemons down, absorb their souls to gain power, and use that power to lull the Old One back to sleep before the fog consumes the entire world.
However, that's just the surface-level story of Demon's Souls. Boletaria has many more secrets left to be uncovered by the player. The most important of these (though it hardly counts as a secret) is how Soul Arts, the game's system of magic, is actually directly responsible for the reawakening of the Old One. Though Soul Arts grant much prosperity and power to humans, their overuse stirs the Old One from its slumber. In the past, all Souls Arts were banned after humanity's first run-in with the Old One, but Boletaria's King Allant recently popularized their usage once more.
Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Demon's Souls.
What Happens In Demon's Souls' Story And Lore?
As it turns out, King Allant revived the Soul Arts on purpose. Allant believes the world and its people are constantly at the mercy of ill fate and misfortune. Everyone suffers, and few, if any, live a life of happiness. In order to end this suffering, Allant purposefully brought back Soul Arts and awakened the Old One. After all, nobody can suffer if nobody is alive. When the player finally discovers this and defeats Allant, it is revealed that Allant is a demon imposter. However, this makes little difference, as the real King Allant created this demon himself after willfully being consumed by the Old One. The player does eventually meet the real King Allant, now horribly disfigured in the belly of the Old One, and is met with a sad creature that is no less determined to see his solution through.
The true Allant serves as the final obstacle before the player lulls the Old One back to sleep. That is, unless the player decides that King Allant has a point. While there is no option to spare the King, FromSoftware would be remiss if Demon's Souls went without multiple endings, as most of its games have them. Therefore, the player can actually choose to keep the Old One alive and have it continue causing wanton destruction throughout the world. All they have to do is strike down the Maiden in Black, who would otherwise be responsible for lulling the Old One back into its slumber.
Even still, there is much more to learn about Demon's Souls and its world. Each character, boss, and item in Demon's Souls has a story that contributes the the greater narrative in some way. The character Ostrava, for example, is actually King Allant's son, who has returned to Boletaria to investigate the rumors of his father's evil deeds. How far he makes it in his quest is determined by the player's involvement in his affairs. Stories like Ostrava's may not be integral to the core series of events that make up Demon's Souls' story, but they are no less important if the player wants full context for the world they inhabit.
