The realm of Demon's Souls is a world shrouded in mystery. From the homely pocket of nowhere called The Nexus to the desolate Valley of Defilement, Blue Point has hidden secrets just about everywhere fans wouldn't expect. Demon's Souls is a game that ties its secrets together with its story, to create a world-discovering experience for its fans in every stage and level. RELATED: Demon's Souls: 5 Reasons Why You Should Play The Remake (& 5 Ways The Original Is Better)
Boletaria is the first stage explored by the player after falling into the world of the undead. It is a stage that the player returns to time and time again as the story progresses, yet many details are overlooked in almost everyone's first playthrough.

Stockpile Thomas' Family

Demon's Souls Stockpile Thomas thanking the player character for returning the ornament
Early on in the first level at the Gates of Boletaria, the player can climb up the side tower next to the gates onto a balcony. On the balcony there are two chains that can be cut by hitting them with a weapon or a little of the game's formidable magic. Once the chains have been cut, two lifeless undead fall to the ground with items. One of the items is the Jade Hair Ornament.
When the player returns to The Nexus and speaks to Stockpile Thomas, he is distraught to see that the Slayer of Demons has the ornament, which means his family didn't make it through Boletaria alive. The concept of striking the chain is not something that comes naturally, since FromSoftware does not often make the environment interactive in the series. The significance of the ornament isn't clear to the player until they have a seemingly normal interaction with Stockpile Thomas. Evoking emotions of mourning and loss from a secret item is not the usual 'reward' for a player's diligence, either.

Illusory Wall

Demon's Souls Player Character Cheering at finally finding the secret item
There is a point in the Boletarian Palace where the player is sent on a scavenger hunt throughout the level.  Keys are dropped by seemingly random enemies; keys that open doors in every section of the palace.  Without outside help, it's difficult to tell which key opens which door or gate, so trial and error is necessary. Blue Point has freshened up this little scavenger hunt from the original game, with an extra spice this time around.  Now, after opening the final gate, the player is greeted by a desolate alley filled with barrels and crates.  After rolling around looking for items, there is a wall at the end of the alley that can be hit, revealing an illusion that protected a locked door.

The Door By The Gates

Player character quietly approaches the Dragons in Boletaria Demon's Souls
Right at the beginning of the Boletarian Palace, there is a door to the left of the archstone that remains locked through the progression of the game. The only way to open the lock is to have a pure World Tendency. Once that Tendency is pure, either white or black, the door stays open. Through the door lurks phantoms and items galore, ready to test the mettle of the protagonist. The items dropped are more than worth it, if the trials are overcome.
Many players overlook World Tendency, since it is not explained in the game itself. To change Tendency, simply commit good or bad deeds. Good acts lead to white Tendency and bad ones lead to black Tendency. Players can shift their Tendency in each world and see how it affects the NPCs and world around them.

Human Imprints of Bosses

Player defeats The Phalanx in 1-1 of Demon's Souls
In the Boletarian Palace, each boss has a particular particle effect that they leave behind when they die. As their soul dissipates into the air, a faint outline of their human form can be seen. This is true for the Tower Knight, Penetrator, and Old King Allant, which is no surprise since they're still humanoid. The surprise comes from The Phalanx, whose human form is not so obvious. In the thrill of a hard-fought victory against one of the series' many infamous and often meme-worthy bosses, many players may not have noticed this subtle detail, but it's there.

Dragon Roost Shortcut

Player running towards the final part of the Boletarian Palace Demon's Souls
In the original Demon's Souls, there was a long unbearable run from the Archstone to the tower in 1-4 of the Boletarian Palace. In the remake of the game, Blue Point has included a shortcut to this run, which makes the game feel a lot more forgiving. Demon's Souls has been a controversial experience for fans, staying so true to the source material that it hardly tries anything new. Nevertheless, this is an example of a more than welcome change that the series' eager and curious fans can appreciate.

 Phantom Trio

3 red phantoms stop the player from progressing and encroach menacingly Demon's Souls
There is a trio of enemies at the end of 1-4 that can devastate the player, since they work so well together. One is an archer, another has a shield and spear and the last is a standard sword fighter. What players probably didn't notice about this trio is that they are the humanoid phantoms of the bosses that reflect them throughout the palace. RELATED: How To Cheese Every Boss In The Demon's Souls Remake
The bosses of the Boletarian Palace leave behind human imprints of their Souls. Upon further inspection, these human imprints have the image of a bowman, a man with a spear and a sword fighter. This is because the same models of the Phantoms were used to make the models of the soul imprints that appear upon killing a boss.

 Demonbrandt

Demonbrandt obtained after a long side quest Demon's Souls
Demonbrandt is a legendary blade obtainable in Demon's Souls, but only after the player completes two side quests. The first quest to complete is the entire Ostrava quest line. To do this, the player must save Ostrava throughout the Boletarian Palace as they progress through the game. If he is saved every time, he will present a mausoleum key to the player. The mausoleum key is then used to open up the gigantic doors in 1-1. RELATED: Demon's Souls: 5 Hardest Weapon Types To Obtain (& 5 Easiest)
After opening the doors to the mausoleum, the player must challenge Old King Doran and reduce his health to about half. Once this is done, he will grant permission to use Demonbrandt. Finding Ostrava at every instance can be difficult, so be sure to listen out for his cries for help.

Credit Screen Easter Eggs

The player looks at the tutorial stage as it stares back with imposing size and atmosphere Demon's Souls
These details cannot be found during gameplay, but are still a treat to find when noticed. Throughout the credits of Demons' Souls, shots of familiar landscapes and levels traversed in the span of the game are shown. The strange thing about this is that Blue Point has hidden curious-looking goats in the background of some of the shots.
This isn't the company's first time using goats as an Easter egg, as they did something similar in Shadow Of The Colossus. The goats blend in pretty well with the background, so they aren't so distracting as to undermine the tone of the credits.

The Mystery Door

The new mystery door appears to be locked and it's unclear how to open it The mysterious secret door behind that illusory wall in 1-3 remained an enigma until streamer Distortion2 figured out the proper requirements needed to open the door. To unlock the door, the player needs to collect 26 ceramic coins, a feat which is normally impossible in one playthrough. The ceramic coins are hidden across the world of Demon's Souls and there are only 13 available in one playthrough.
The door was not originally in the PS3 version of Demon's Souls, so when they found it, fans had no idea what to do with it at first. Before this discovery, it was thought that the door was an unfinished remainder from development. The Demon's Souls community waited with bated breath for weeks until the mystery was solved.

 Secret Coins

The item description and image for the ceramic coin item Demon's Souls
A total of  26 ceramic coins are needed to open the secret door in Boletaria, then. One of the coins can actually be found off of a ledge hop that did not exist in the original game. In 1-3 there is a banister overlooking the palace about halfway through the stage. If the player walks up to the banister and presses X, they will trigger a small animation and jump over the ledge. There is no prompt, so finding it must be either intentional or coincidental. This coin is especially hard to find because it only appears in pure black World Tendency. After jumping down the ledge, destroy the barrels around the corner and the secret coin is hiding within.
NEXT: 5 Things We Love About Demon's Souls (& 5 Things We Don't)