The Demon's Souls remake announcement trailer began with shots of epic landscapes. Among those landscapes was an extended shot of a mountainous area covered in snowy peaks. This appeared to be The Northern Limit, and, so far, Demon's Souls fans had never seen it before.
Demon's Souls originally released with five distinct areas. A sixth area, called The Northern Limit, was spoken of in the game's story and was teased in the main hub, but this mysterious part of the game was apparently cut because of time and/or budget constraints and was never actually accessible.
As a result of the new remake, players have been theorizing about what new elements of Demon's Souls lore may be included. Many players are hoping that this never-before-seen area will be fully realized within the new game, now that time and money may not necessarily be issues for the developer. Here's everything to know about The Northern Limit in Demon's Souls.
What Are The Six Archstones In Demon's Souls?
According to Demon's Souls' lore, there was a time long ago when humankind became too powerful for its own good. Humans discovered powers known as Soul Arts and used them to improve their lives in many new ways. These magical abilities awoke a being called the Old One that spread demons throughout the land and consumed everything it came across. This time is ed as The First Scourge.
A group of powerful guardians called the Monumentals fought back the Old One and ended The First Scourge by putting the Old One into a deep sleep. This event fractured the fabric of reality, and the Monumentals needed to put everything back to normal. To accomplish this, they created six Archstones and granted one to the rulers of each of the six kingdoms. The first stone went to Boletaria, and the sixth stone went to the giants of The Northern Limit. Soul Arts were also banished from use because of their dangerous nature.
Thousands of years later, King Allant of Boletaria discovered Soul Arts once again and became consumed by their power. This power reawakened the Old One and began the events of Demon's Souls. The player is tasked with hunting down the rulers of the six kingdoms and taking their souls. This will limit the Old One's power and save the world again.
What Is Known About The Northern Limit In Demon's Souls?
Demon's Souls' The Northern Limit is said to be the place between the land of humanity and the Land of the Giants. Based on item descriptions, it is clear that there was once a great conflict between humans and giants. This fighting went on for quite some time, but it seems that some form of peace was agreed upon. A handful of weapons used to vanquish giants are available for players to use during the game. The sixth Archstone, which would allow players to reach The Northern Limit, is destroyed when players get to Demon's Souls' main hub, whereas the other stones are intact and used to transport the player to their respective locations.
The Northern Limit is a snow-covered area and the possible source of the evil that consumed the land before the events of Demon's Souls. The original website for Demon's Souls spoke of King Allant's journey to a snowy land in the North that held the Soul Arts he used to resurrect the Old One. This isn't confirmed in the game itself, but it is the reason players are convinced The Northern Limit is the location that started it all.
Will The Northern Limit Be In The Demon's Souls Remake?
In that first Demon's Souls remake trailer, Northern Limit-like snowy peaks are shown, and so far there have been no visuals released of the remake's Archstones. It is possible, then, that the sixth stone is fully intact in the remake, and The Northern Limit is a location players can actually go to. Demon's Souls remake developer Bluepoint is known for the remake of PlayStation 2 classic Shadow of the Colossus, which garnered near-universal acclaim. Shadow of the Colossus' remake recaptured the original in all its glory, and the developer even added a few new things to the game players weren't expecting.
Bluepoint included the Sword of Dormin in the Shadow of the Colossus remake, an item that wasn't in the original game. Players had long theorized about secrets such as this being hidden in the original, and they were brought to life in the remake. It is fully possible that Bluepoint will put together something special for Demon's Souls, as well. Bluepoint also announced a new "Fracture Mode" shortly after the Demon's Souls remake's announcement, so the studio clearly isn't afraid to add new experiences to the game.
The only thing that concerns fans about this theory is the fact that FromSoftware's games are always so heavily detailed on the story front. For Bluepoint to recreate a section of Demon's Souls that wasn't included in the original, it would need to work extensively with FromSoftware to see what it had in mind for the original title. It wouldn't be wise to build a totally new area of the game from scratch without solid guidance from the game's creators. So far, there is no evidence that FromSoftware is involved in the remake, so the likelihood of Bluepoint having detailed notes and concept art is low.
All of this speculation is fun, and fans of the original Demon's Souls would be thrilled to see The Northern Limit finally brought to the game after all these years. As more and more content from the game gets revealed to players, this hype will only grow. Hopefully fans can get a solid answer to this question soon. Either way, it will be great to finally see Demon's Souls running on next-generation hardware.
Demon's Souls will be released for PlayStation 5 on November 12, 2020.