The Prison of Hope level in Demon's Souls becomes available very early on in the game. All players have to do to unlock it is find and speak to the Monumental after clearing world 1-1. Despite this, it's recommended that players save this area for later since it's relatively difficult to complete.
Demon's Souls' non-linear approach to the story means that some players will wind up here early on inevitably. Surprisingly, the true challenge comes from the level leading up to the boss, as the Fool's Idol at the end isn't too challenging. That said, there's an important trick that players need to know to make the fight much easier.
After reaching the ground floor of the prison, players will find the fog door leading into the Fool's Idol boss room. Those that manage to defeat it may not get to feel victorious for very long, as the boss will continue to respawn until players kill the lying Dreg on the very top floor of the prison. To find him, exit the boss room and take the door on the left. Follow the path all the way down and kill the person doing a ritual. It may be wise to stack as much magic resistance as possible before the fight, as the Fool's Idol is a powerful mage.
For the fight itself, there are a few things players need to keep track of. Offensively, the Fool's Idol's only attack is a bolt of soul magic. This deals moderate damage if it hits but isn't much of a threat on its own. Beyond that, she can also set traps along the floor that have the appearance of green rings. If players step in these rings they will be paralyzed just like Demon's Souls' Mind Flayers can do.
Things really start to get intense when she clones herself, though. Players will need to hunt down the real boss of the Tower of Latria, a daunting task without a specific trick. There are four main ways to tell which of the copies are real. If players attack the real one all the other clones will disappear. Alternatively, they can keep an eye on the spells the copies are casting. The real one casts larger soul attacks than the fakes. The third way to tell which is real is by watching the dregs in the room, as they'll turn to face and worship only the real one. Finally, players can lock on to each copy, and only the real one won't have a health bar.
The best way to handle this boss is to use the pillars as cover and be patient. Find the real target with any of the methods above and then fire a ranged attack if possible. This will cause all the other copies to disappear and make it safe to either keep shooting from afar or approach and attack in melee.
Demon's Souls is available now on PS5.