Demon's Souls Will Be Even Harder On Halloween -- Yes, Seriously

If you've read Game Informer's Demon's Souls review, you should know two things for certain about the game: It's really damned hard, and I like it that way. But for those insane few of you out there who need even more of a challenge, Atlus will be giving it to you this Halloween.

Here's how it works: One of the more complicated and nuanced systems at work in Demon's Souls is the "World Tendency" system. Basically, depending on your actions, each world in the game wavers between either "Pure White" and "Pure Black." Either of these states can cause special events to happen, but Pure Black has the added bonus of making the enemies more powerful. In addition to your own actions affecting the World Tendency, there's also an added weight in one direction or another when you're online.

So if we're reading this message from Atlus PR manager Aram Jabbari correctly, being online while playing the game on Halloween will cause the world tendency to shift near or all the way to Pure Black. Here's what Jabbari had to say:

"Early reports from the Kingdom of Boletaria indicate that the Old One's power grows. We've discovered that the nefarious Demon will seek to descend the land in pure blackness on All Hallow's Eve. His minions will be more powerful, but the rewards for those who seek to challenge them will be greater as well. We don't know how long this dark tendency will last, but we do advise those prone to controller-into-LCD syndrome to proceed carefully."

Who out there is crazy enough to try and conquer Demon's Souls on Halloween? Personally, I'll be keeping my PS3 off, unplugged, and probably locked in a closet just to be safe. Horrifying.