I am almost done with Demon's Souls. If I would play it again I'd probably would reach the point I am in half of the time. It's a game which really reward knowing what to do and going to the right places in the right order. I believe most of the fame it gets it's because it rarely hold the player hands, and the whole "die in the boss, restart the level" can be punishing to people used to savepoints.

What I enjoyed more is the way combat works. Rarely I found a game which your weapon of choice matter so much. I started with a Knight (free long sword) and end up I just stuck with using it. I tried all different weapons but no one feels as right as my trusty long sword.  I ponder if I had started with another class I would have a different opinion (almost went Templar)

This said, near the half of the game magic kinda start being more and more useful and like everybody pointed, using a bow  makes lots of things easier.