I got to say, as someone who didn't play any Souls games properly before, I was excited to play Bloodborne.
Just like in the Dark Souls games, Bloodborne's lore is told via environmental storytelling. Environmental storytelling might not be as engaging as linear storytelling but it enriches the game's world significantly. Thankfully enough, Bloodborne's lore is compelling even if it's ambiguous for the most part.
The gameplay surprised me a lot; it's faster than I expected, it feels very satisfying, the mechanics are wonderful, there's a nice amount of unique items and the trick weapons are so goddamn badass, they're one of the coolest things in the entire game for me.
My favorite part of the game isn't the gameplay though, it's the haunting and frightening setting; Bloodborne's world is probably the best world I've seen in a videogame. It starts out as a gothic horror and it slowly transcends into a nightmarish cosmic horror that is able to find beauty in the dark. On top of that, the level design and the music are just perfect.
The graphics are not necessarily impressive but they're really good nonetheless.
Also, the bosses are intimidating, challenging and rewarding.
However, many of the bosses in the main game are somewhat easy and underwhelming in my opinion, but fortunately, the DLC makes up for it; The Old Hunters is essential to own if you enjoy playing Bloodborne because it features the best bosses in the entire game.
Now, while the gameplay is very enjoyable, the camera and the lock-on system are awkward at times, and farming for Blood Vials can be tedious at times.
Pros:
+ Intriguing lore
+ Aggressive & diverse gameplay
+ Superb setting
+ Threatening & challenging bosses
+ Incredible level design and music
+ Amazing DLC
Cons:
- Flawed camera and lock-on system
- Blood Vial system
Gameplay: 9/10
Content: 9/10
Music: 10/10
Graphics/Audio: 8/10
Final Rating: 9.5/10
- Outstanding -
Bloodborne is a fascinating videogame experience in almost every way, and I wish could play it for even longer.
Do I recommend it?:
Definitely! It's worth playing this game just for the setting alone.
The Complete Edition offers the definitive Bloodborne experience, The Old Hunters Expansion is a must-play if you own Bloodborne.
Everyone told me to play this game. It was my very first FromSoftware game, and having no experience from their pasts games I expected to have a hard time with it.
So, did it live up to the hype? Yeah! I really enjoyed it, infact, at times I expected it to be more difficult, but overall I think that it's fairly challenging, it knows when to punish you and it knows when to reward you.
I loved the gameplay, it's extremely fun, with some creative mechanics, but sometimes the hitboxes are unpredictable. The first area is quite rough but once you manage to understand how some of the mechanics work, then it's just a joy to play.
The worldbuilding is breathtaking, and the way the world changes when you have more insight is absolutely genius. There's a lot of content, exploring the different areas, uncovering secrets, finding shortcuts, interacting with the characters, completing side stories and taking your time with the game feels very rewarding.
The atmosphere is unrivaled, it's scary & haunting but also beautiful in a very dark way.
I absolutely adore the Gothic-Cosmic Horror theme and the Victorian-era inspired architecture, possibly my favorite setting in a videogame.
The monsters look terrifying, some very interesting designs, and nice symbolisms, I personally killed every single boss - even the optional bosses - and I can say that there are some few tedious bosses but most of them are fun, and require strategy.
The Blood Vial farming is very obnoxious in the beginning, but it's not a big issue once you progress halfway through the game. Having to manage your resources becomes more of a secondary distraction because if you play well, you'll not really need to use healing items, or Blood Echoes.
Now, where the game disappointed me a tiny bit, is the storytelling, I don't mind games that don't explain the story very much, but this game has no build-up at all, and while I think the core story is great, it lacks impact, and if you want to learn why some things are happening, then you'll need to read assumptions & theories from fans which aren't confirmed to be canon, and you'll end up not having an actual answer.
Fortunately the fantastic lore does make up for it, it's very intriguing & rich, full of mini stories.
Overall I enjoyed this game, and I think it's an amazing game, especially if you're a fan of the Soulsborne genre, it's very close to perfection.
Pros: A fresh take on the Souls series, fantastic and satisfying combat, well-developed Gothic aesthetic, cool take/direction on weapons, DLC
Cons: Vial/Bullet system (farming), chalice dungeons, low frame rates, long loading times (fixed for the most part)
Thoughts: As someone who has played all of the Dark Souls series, I was eager to play Bloodborne - a Souls-like game (created by From software) with a twist. For the most part I wasn't disappointed. Bloodborne felt fresh without really changing up the Souls formula too much. However what It did change worked really well mostly.
The setting of the game - Yharnam - is fantastic, dark, and Gothic Victorian-era like, and the enemies fit that theme very well. Everything still has that dark, dreaded felling like the Souls series, but Bloodborne really indulges in this more so.
The combat is the star of the show. Everything is faster, parrying is now more important that ever and the health system where you can get back lost health by attacking really changes the style of combat from the Souls series in a good, fresh way. The weapons with their two mode play style (default - less damage, faster and mode 2 - more damage, slower) also adds an element of thought and tactics to each encounter as well. The DLC like all fromsoft titles builds upon the game and adds new bosses, enemies, weapons that improve on the base game's foundations.
Whilst I did enjoy the changes there were some things/experiences that brought the game down a bit in my opinion. For one, while the vial/bullet system works well and plays in to the game's fast nature, the having to farm these items when they've run out to continue the game - especially when stuck on a boss - is very time-consuming, boring and annoying. It also wrecks the flow of the gameplay; one minute you are fighting a boss and getting to know it's moves, the next you're forced to go and farm for vials/bullets which really ruins the experience.
The game itself can also affect the quality of gameplay. Long loading times on menu screens after you've died (thankfully fixed in updates) as well as stuttering framerates when much is going on (which happens quite a bit) are a problem sometimes but overall don't really inhibit the players experience.
The worst part of the game are the chalice dungeons. Chalice dungeons are separate to the main game, and are this Zelda-like areas which players battle through. These chalice dungeons are soul crushing. They are so boring, mainly due to the same environments/level design elements popping up again and again and agains. The only thing worth punishing yourself for is that fact that there are chalice dungeon bosses which aren't in the main game/story mode, and getting easy money. Otherwise these dungeons are terrible.
Overall Bloodborne is a good game. Do I prefer it over any of the souls games? No, however it appears to be just a matter of opinion and preference, as I can see why most people who play this game give it rave reviews, but the negatives of the game really affected my time in the game more than I though they would.
SummaryBundle includes Bloodborne full game plus The Old Hunters DLC expansion.
Hunt your nightmares as you search for answers in the ancient city of Yharnam, now cursed with a strange endemic illness spreading through the streets like wildfire. Danger, death and madness lurk around every corner of this dark and horrific world, and you must ...