Why Do Demon’s Souls Players Keep Falling Off This Ledge?

...hello?
...hello?
Screenshot: PlayStation Studios / Bluepoint Games / Kotaku

There are a lot of ways to die in the Demon’s Souls remake. Believe me, the transition to PlayStation 5 has not made this game any more forgiving. But I can’t help but wonder what’s up with this one ledge in the Tower of Latria from which players can’t stop tumbling.

I first happened upon this ledge during my very first playthrough. After grabbing an out-of-the-way Stone of Ephemeral Eyes on a perilous jut of stone, I noticed a bloodstain indicating that another player had died there. Always up for a little schadenfreude, I activated the bloodstain to watch the recording of the unfortunate player’s demise. I even started capturing through the PlayStation 5 menu for good measure. Here’s what happened:

You can tell she thought about it for a second.
Gif: PlayStation Studios / Bluepoint Games / Kotaku
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Wait…what? They climbed up onto the ledge and just rolled off? Why would you do that? I left the area more bemused than amused, and quickly forgot about the whole thing as I focused my attention on getting past the arrow-shooting contraption guarding the bridge and defeating the False Idol.

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That was almost two weeks ago. I’m currently running through Demon’s Souls again in New Game+, trying to finish as fast as possible with my beefy, magic-using character. I got back to the Tower of Latria again, and much like the first time, noticed another bloodstain near the same ledge. “What are the odds?” I thought to myself, expecting some other sort of unfortunate mishap. But lo and behold, this player died the exact same way! What is going on with that ledge?

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Sure hope you weren’t holding a bunch of souls.
Gif: PlayStation Studios / Bluepoint Games / Kotaku

My guess is that folks think they need to press the Circle button to get up onto the ledge, forgetting that, in Demon’s Souls, characters will climb on top of certain small obstacles by simply walking into them. But by the time they’ve climbed up, the Circle button press has already been registered and comes out as a roll, sending them plummeting to their dooms.

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Were you tricked into falling off this ledge in Demon’s Souls? Is my hypothesis correct? Someone please let me know, it’s driving me bonkers.