The PS3 Demon's Souls runs natively on Windows with a recompiled port that now has a boss rush mode

A port that builds on your PC

timboat's repository was created on October 31 and holds a native Windows port of Demon's Souls, in the US edition BLUS-30443. The PPU processor code and the SPU programs are statically recompiled to C and C++ with ps3recomp and run as a normal x64 program with a PS3 runtime and a Direct3D 12 renderer. It is not an emulator. The project does not distribute the game or offer a ready-to-play download: the SETUP installer builds everything on your machine from your own disc image.

Status

According to the README, the whole game is playable with keyboard and mouse or an Xbox controller. 60 fps is recommended, with 50 for 100 Hz screens. Above 60 there are known bugs, such as the sound drifting out of sync. There is no online play yet. It runs well on high-end PCs, and work for modest machines and the Steam Deck is ongoing.

The November 11 release

The headline feature is boss rush. You pick it in the launcher, create a character and fight all the bosses one after another against the clock: each world's archstone takes you to the next boss's fog gate and, after the last world, to King Allant. There is an on-screen timer with splits that pauses on loading screens and cutscenes, and if you die you retry the same boss. Boldwin sells all the gear in the Nexus and a souls multiplier runs from 1x to 10x. The mode uses its own saves.

Dozens of optimisations also land. Latria on a Ryzen 7 5800X goes from about 52 fps to a locked 60, and new areas no longer freeze while their shaders are built. The camera stutter is gone after locking the game's clock to the screen's refresh, with even frame pacing on 144 and 165 Hz monitors.

What you need

Windows 10 or 11 x64 with a Direct3D 12 GPU and about 14 GB free. You need your own disc image (.iso, .zip or folder) and, if it is encrypted, the key that comes from your own dump. SETUP downloads Python, Git and a compiler. On Linux and the Steam Deck it runs through Proton and is slow; the macOS build is far behind.