12 Most Influential Video Games Of The 2000s

5. Demon's Souls

demons souls
From Software

Dark Souls may have signalled the series' true arrival in the mainstream, but it would never have received the go-ahead if gamers hadn't already shown a taste for being run through the dirt in its predecessor, Demon's Souls.

In an era where gamers were being motheringly guided through seemingly every aspect of every AAA game, Demons' Souls popped up out of nowhere to reveal that, actually, gamers love a good - even brutally difficult - challenge. It completely broke the mold - an RPG set in a dark fantasy world where you didn't run around freely, nor merrily shag party companions, nor even really be sure about what role exactly you had to play in the world.

You simply wandered and tried to survive in a moribund land, where punishments for death were beautifully counterbalanced by the huge satisfaction you got from every bit of progress you made.

Demon's Souls revived an old-school spirit in games that pushed players to the limits of their abilities, paving the way not only for the rest of the Souls series, but a host of clones, and an industry-wide epiphany that a bit of cruelty can go a long, long way.

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Gamer, Researcher of strange things. I'm a writer-editor hybrid whose writings on video games, technology and movies can be found across the internet. I've even ventured into the realm of current affairs on occasion but, unable to face reality, have retreated into expatiating on things on screens instead.