Offering 25,000 Souls Unlocks The Fractured World and More
The Nexus Archstone statue where players can offer souls
If you gather 25,000 souls early in your playthrough of the PlayStation 5 remake of Demon‘s Souls and offer them up to the statue in the Nexus hub area, you‘ll gain access to some intriguing features. Most notable among them is the nightmarish, topsy-turvy realm known only as the Fractured World.
What Can Offering Souls at the Statue Unlock?
Interacting with the ominous statue lets players:
- Enter the Fractured World: A mirror version of levels that provides a hardcore challenge.
- Alter Character Appearance: Change your hairstyle, face structure and more after creation.
- Seek Forgiveness for Attacking NPCs: Repair relationships instead of killing quest NPCs by accident.
While all useful, the Fractured World is the star attraction and most substantial unlock.
The Soul Statues of Demon‘s Souls
The Archstones allow transportation between the Nexus hub and the game‘s levels. In the center of the Nexus sits a statue depicting rippling souls.
This statue has a hunger for souls, which seems fitting given Demon‘s Souls‘ undead nightmare setting. By feeding it more souls, players can purchase upgrades to their inventory capacity, unlock fractured worlds that alter levels, and more.
The Fractured World: A Truly Shattered Realm
Offering up the precious 25,000 souls prompts the statue to grant access to its most tantalizing feature: the ability to enter the Fractured World. This aptly-named realm twists and mirrors the entirety of Demon‘s Souls‘ level layouts, flipping them on a horizontal axis to make everything backwards.
Suddenly, these familiar environments that veterans have memorized through repeated playthroughs become foreign lands filled with disorientation. It‘s like a hardcore "New Game+” mode ingeniously built right into the first playthrough.
As a long-time soulsborne fanatic who lives for that feeling of unfamiliarity and getting lost in a labyrinth, I find the Fractured World masterful. It reminds me of legendary mods that have done similar feats for the likes of Dark Souls.
| World | Basic Structure | Enemy Placement |
|---|---|---|
| Fractured World | Identical but mirrored layouts | Remixed locations |
| Dark Souls Nightfall Mod | Altered Map Designs | All New Positions |
A comparison of the Fractured World and famous soulsborne mods providing fresh experiences.
Is The Fractured World Just a Simple Mirror?
FROM Software could have taken the easy route and just copied the game worlds horizontally. But that might still be too recognizable. Instead, they remixed enemy positions and placements as well, making it impossible to rely on familiarity.
So while the actual structure of levels is mirrored, the dangers lurking within get shuffled around for maximum bewilderment. This remixing keeps repetition at bay across multiple Fractured World playthroughs too.
As hardcore Demon‘s Souls fans have explored, places like the Tower of Latria and Shrine of Storms have particularly chaotic new enemy arrangements:
The skeletons on the hill in 4-1 that usually pelt you with arrows as you come across the bridge? Now they‘re lying in ambush behind you when you try to cross it backwards. And that‘s just the start of the misdirects.
Veterans used to comfortably speed-running levels will find themselves dying in embarrassing ways. Survival becomes a struggle again even with maxed out characters from repeated New Game cycles. The Fractured World puts everyone on equal footing.
Accessing the Fractured World
Once unlocked by the statue, players can choose to enter the Fractured World instead of the normal level layouts when traveling through Archstones. Everything gets mirrored, from the castle ramparts to the deepest stone tunnels.
You can also toggle between the worlds freely. So if you hit a particularly frustrating section and need a break from the mirrored madness, simply speak to the statue again to turn it off before continuing your adventure.
Character Customization Now Possible Post-Creation
Another handy ability granted by offering souls is the chance to alter your character‘s customization after initially creating them at the start of the game. So if you later decide your avatar‘s bright pink pigtails weren‘t the best choice, it can be changed.
- Full appearance changes for the first time in Souls – hair, face structure, skin tone and more
- Requires the use of a new consumable item to enact
- Great for roleplayers wanting to adjust backstories
This was a much-requested fan feature finally answered. Previous Souls games forced you to stay forever with choices made in your first moments. Now, alter history without having to use rare items or restart completely!
While not as substantial as something like the Fractured World which shakes up entire game levels, it‘s a wonderful quality-of-life bonus.
Seeking Forgiveness for Attacking Quest NPCs
The souls statues also allow the uncommon option to “seek forgiveness.” Typically, striking a friendly NPC in the Souls games turns them hostile permanently, sabotaging their questlines. However, forgiveness can undo this.
As an obsessive RPG fan always chasing side tales, I’ve slaughtered my share of allies on accident by getting too swing-happy in cramped corridors. So I appreciate this mechanic acting as a second chance!
Some speculate this forgiveness option ties into a secret quest given Demon’s Souls’ emphasis of spirituality and sins. But whether for lore or pure convenience, it‘s handy!
Offering a whopping 25,000 souls, especially early in Demon‘s Soul‘s campaign, feels like a steep price. That amount could buy plenty of life-saving grass, arrows, and upgrade materials instead. Not to mention leveling up your character‘s stats!
However, I believe the rewards outweigh the sacrifice:
- The Fractured World adds enormous replay value through effectively remixing levels
- Customization preserves your roleplaying aesthetic choices
- Forgiveness retains questline access that may be needed for powerful loot
Veterans of FROM Software‘s brutal gauntlets know that you can always farm more souls by helping other players as a phantom. And the tears of invoked chaos are endless entertainment!
For those new to the series however, it may be wiser to save those souls for strength, dexterity, and vitality increases to help you just survive first! Customization means little without the skill to not die before showing it off.
The Verdict? Unlock If You Crave A Challenge
Offering 25,000 souls to the Nexus statue primarily unlocks the Fractured World – a mirrored realm that breathtakingly reinvents the entire game into a New Game+ style hardcore challenge even for starting characters.
As someone who adores the feeling of unfamiliarity and getting lost in labyrinths, I think it’s a masterful addition demonstrating FROM Software’s genius and understanding of its passionate community. This built-in remix embodies the heart of what fans love about these titles.
However, it may be best saved for veteran demon slayers who won’t miss those souls desperately needed for leveling on initial runs.
Either way, speak to the soul-starved statue next time you visit the Nexus and maybe you’ll catch a glimpse of the Fractured World calling your name from beyond the veil!
Have you braved the mirrored horrors yet? I want to hear your own stories of triumph and woe! May we all continue to push the limits of our patience and skill, persevering through death after death. That’s what binds us together in this cursed kingdom.
