Bloodborne

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martymcfly3004

Re: Bloodborne

Post by martymcfly3004 »

I brought this on release with my PS4, based on an advert I had seen showing one of the epic boss fights. I hadn't any experience of From Software games but had heard about their addictive risk-reward mechanics and punishing difficulty.

My first impressions were mixed, graphically I thought it was rather dreary but not without charm. The gameplay, however, was too difficult. Not only due to the brutal nature of the enemies, but also from the lack of guidance in the game design. It took me an hour to work out how to assign weapons to each hand, meaning my first 50 minutes where spent taking on the beasts of Yarnham with my bare fists.

Had this not been my first PS4 game I would have given up at this point, but the need to justify my £300 investment made me continue.

I finally reached the first boss after days of struggling. I fought Father Gascgoine twenty plus times, constantly reaching the limits of my skill and found myself unable to adapt. The thought of giving up was at the back of my mind, but for some reason I continued.

Then I beat Gascoigne, one of my greatest gaming acheivements, the second checkpoint unlocked in the amount of time it takes to complete 'normal' games.

From this point onwards Bloodborne became generous with the rewards it gave me for the effort I was putting into it. Levelling seemed to be more accessible as did the opportunities to upgrade weapons and outfits. I found myself thinking about Bloodborne constantly, about how I would change my tactics for new challenges I faced. I would discuss with others online about the order I would tackle the bosses I had yet to defeat.

The environments seemed to get more mysterious, beautiful and warped as the game progressed, the complete opposite of other games that front-load their best content to try and hook the player. From Software gave you the better experiences once you had proved yourself worthy of them.

Everything about the game that annoyed me at the start, the lack of instructions for basic gameplay elements, the strange stilted voice acting, the lack of save points and punishing difficulty, all started to work in its favour. Creating an atmosphere completely unlike anything I had experienced before.

Once I neared the end of the game and the Cthulu influences became more obvious, I went out and bought H.P. Lovecraft collections. I joined forums to talk about the game and its influences, I was hooked.

This is my favourite game of all time, it feels silly to say it, especially about a title as new as this one, but I can't remember any other having an effect on me as much as this one did. At a time in my life where I have a lot of games I want to play and very little free time to play them, I still find myself going back to one I have already completed several times before, and it never feels like wasted time.
zen_anarchy

Re: Bloodborne

Post by zen_anarchy »

just beat the first boss in the dlc but it seemed like a glitch I had summoned one npc helper and another player to help beat the first boss we got him down to half health
Spoiler: show
which triggered a cut scene with Ludwig transforming into his moon light blade mode after the cutscene he just died didn't fight in his second form
Playing at new game plus around lvl 122

Kind of glad I have passed this first hurdle after about my 20th attempt but feel a bit let down I was not able to fully face the first boss.

Loving the new weapons in the dlc with my current favourite being the Whirligig Saw.

edit seems there are quite a few videos on you tube of people experiencing the same thing so if you are finding the boss hard and want to cheese it here is a tip
Spoiler: show
summon one npc I summoned valtr and summon one human player to join you and Ludwig will die when you get his health down to 50 percent
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James
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Re: Bloodborne

Post by James »

Oh my! This DLC has hooked me.

I had completed all the core Chalice Dungeons on my main character, and I'd pushed my level to 139 in order to get some extra HP for the Watchdog Of The Old Lords in the Defiled Chalice, so was a bit over-levelled for the early NG+ bosses, but it felt about right for the DLC.

After 8 deaths to Boss 1 (some with NPC summons, some without) on Friday night I decided to hang up my LHB and pistol before I did something I'd regret. I just wasn't happy with my ability to avoid damage. But first attempt on Sunday morning was a breeze, even solo. It seems my positioning was the problem, and some fresh tactics really helped.

Since then it's been full steam ahead, and I'm enjoying every second. Racking up levels in the DLC is really easy too; every enemy seems to drop twice the number of Echoes I'd expect (it is NG+, I suppose).

Josh made the very salient point that the DLC is quite similar to that of Dark Souls, in both lore/story relevance and in it's physical design. I completely agree - there's a lot for me to enjoy in the story and the more technical aspects. If anyone's on the fence re. the Old Hunter DLC, I can safely recommend it to any and all Bloodborne fans.
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macstat
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Re: Bloodborne

Post by macstat »

I was never a Souls fan, especially after that slap in the face PC-port Dark Souls was. But looking at both more offensive combat and very interesting setting im starting to reconsider my stance on "never buy anything from them" ;) I know, I know, Im a spineless :P

So i wanted to ask you guys, are there any plans for Bloodborne PC-port ?
zen_anarchy

Re: Bloodborne

Post by zen_anarchy »

macstat wrote:I was never a Souls fan, especially after that slap in the face PC-port Dark Souls was. But looking at both more offensive combat and very interesting setting im starting to reconsider my stance on "never buy anything from them" ;) I know, I know, Im a spineless :P

So i wanted to ask you guys, are there any plans for Bloodborne PC-port ?
Bloodborne is a Sony exclusive most likely never coming to PC just like Demon's souls

Dark souls 3 should be coming to pc in april and the dark souls 2 scholar of the first sin is a pretty good pc port and can probably be picked up for a decent price.

as for the dark souls pc port with a xbox control pad and the dsfix patch its pretty perfunctory port.

I completed the first dark souls on pc this year and was a lot of fun and played the scholar of the first sin pc port is good.

but bloodborne is pretty much going to stay a ps4 exclusive
NeoGazza

Re: Bloodborne

Post by NeoGazza »

Being a souls fan ever since Demon's Souls was still an undiscovered gem, I was looking forward to this since it was announced. Mostly because it looked like it was going to be the first next-gen Souls title. The long and short of it; I loved every second of Bloodborne - my GOTY 2015 by far. It is the first game that I platinumed on PS4 -DLC included-which says a lot if you would know me. It came out around the time our first son was born, so my days consisted of Sleeping, Working, Caring for our boy and playing BloodBorne! BB kept me sane those first hard months (new parents understand!), however weird that may sound!

The combat is fantastic. You are always fully in control of your character and the fact that they encourage you to face your foes is a great addition when coming off the shield cowering tactics of the Souls' games. It does make the game more skill based, but I love that particular bit. It's quick, it rewards risk and it feels just right! The moment when you begin to master your weapons by swithing between weapon modes mid-combat, that is when BB's combat really shines. It makes you feel like a badass hunter. Even when you are underpowered, it is still possible to take down harder enemies. Magic takes a backseat in Bloodborne and I can see that people are put off by this, but I was never a magic user in the Souls's games. The magic that is in the game, is pretty crap too and it feels like an afterthought to appease DS players at best.

The atmosphere took a while before it really grew on me. Im was no fan of the Victorian vibe at first but Bloodborne twists it just enough so that the world becomes it's own living, breathing, stinking beast. Hemwick Charnel Lane, Forsaken Castle Cainhurst and Nightmare of the Mensis are probably the best locations I have ever seen in a game in a long time.

I beat the first game in 80 hours, simply because I didn't want it to be done. So after I finished it felt like I wanted more and up until then I hadn't really gotten into the Chalice Dungeons since it had always been my perception that all the Chalice Dungeons were randomly generated. When I found out that this wasn't the case and that there are predefined Chalice Dungeons, I was stoked and got straight back in!! A friend and I teamed up and completed what turned out the hardest challenge BB has to offer (Headless Bloodletting Beast, here's looking at you!). It made an already phenomenal game stand out even more. When the Pthumerian Queen fell and that final missing trophy popped up....WOW!

Any negatives? Well, the DLC was pretty short for a €19,99 download and I did feel like they artificially tried to make it harder by spamming you with enemies. Nevertheless, my character had already faced all the major hardships and that could be another reason why the DLC didn't cut if for me - it was probably not meant for my LVL 130 character. Summoning in the Chalice dungeons was a pain, but that is nothing noteworthy for a Souls game. Weapons are different enough, but you'll soon stick to two or three weapons that you have invested materials in. When the game gets to a point where you can pretty much upgrade the hell out of all the weapons you own, you'll do it because you can, but not because the game requires you to use a different weapon. I only used the Axe and the sawblade throughout the entire game since it had become a part of my hunter's identity. Armour set stats are largely similar across the board and are mostly there for cosmetic purposes. At least, that is how I perceived them to be.

DS3 looks like it is going to borrow from BB and that -at least to me- is a godsend! Can't wait for April!
EDIT 13-7-2016: DS3 is out for a while now and while it is great, Bloodborne offers a unique experience. Hope they do a sequel!

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chase210
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Re: Bloodborne

Post by chase210 »

Bloodborne is now of my favourite games of all time.

I bought it at launch, despite not being a fan of the dark souls formula from what I'd heard about it, but the PS4 release schedule was a bit barren of stuff I cared about, so I took a plunge. And for the first two weeks or so, I absolutely hated it. I could never make it through the first area, and the few times I made it up to the first boss the cleric beast, I'd be ripped apart by it, or by wolves, and I was really frustrated, thought this wasn't the game for me. But I persisted for whatever reason, and after about two weeks worth of playing it every day, I broke through the wall, and started to love it.

I certainly think these games could be a little more user friendly though. Not necessarily dumbing it or difficult modes or anything like that, but certainly not being quite as obtuse from the word go. If I were a hardcore connoisseur of these types of experiences, maybe I wouldn't think its so obtuse at the start, but it really feels like it is. Maybe that, and the initial wall I spoke of the break through is necessary, but its very frustrating.

I never really got into the lore of the game, not yet anyway. I have a vague understanding of whats going on, but I almost prefer not to know really, show but don't tell and all that. The world of bloodborne is interesting enough with filling me with boring long cutscenes anyway. I love the look and feel of the world, prowling around this land, with the few sane people either slowly turning mad, or barricading themselves inside, while the rest of the world is now monsters, demons, unspeakable atrocities, and the ones like you sent to slay them have also lost their sanity to the night of the hunt.

But all this would mean nothing without gameplay, and bloodborne has so much good gameplay. To get my niggles out of the way, camera angles can be a tad annoying, and more than once I've been forced into a corner by the camera and basically rush beaten by enemies that I was unable to dodge or attack back but thats a minor thing. The fast paced, attack, attack, dodge, rhythm the game has works so well. I understand dark souls is a lot slower, and I'm not sure I'd like that, since I prefer feeling aggressive and constantly looking for an opening rather than being passive with a shield, although that shield you can find in bloodborne is quite funny in its description. The gun is also a great thing, never overpowered, but I always feel like its there when you need it, and its pretty satisfying to parry someone with the gun, then deliver the killing blow with your blade or appropriate weapon. I have a soft spot for the saw cleaver.

The enemy designs and behaviours of course really help the gameplay and combat, I can't think of any enemy, with the possible exception of one of the last bosses, thats badly designed, or frustrating once you know what your doing. Its all about thinking, strategy, not just charging in. Even the weakest enemies in the game, the starting area even can kill you at any point if you don't pay attention, and I think thats awesome, since you never feel safe. In terms of bosses, Rom was really cool, as was Gasgione, all the bosses were really, but Rom in particular sticks in my point, as does Amygdala. The way the world changes so much after a certain point and gaining a certain amount of insight was great as well.

In terms of small general niggles, loading times are still not great, though not as bad as launch. The ability to move from lamp to lamp without having to return to the hunters dream would be nice. But minor niggles, that don't blemish one of the best games I ever played. I got the platinum already, but I'm playing through again, haven't bought the DLC yet cos I'm waiting for sale.

In conclusione, fantastic game with very few weak spots at all, PS4 has its first classic.
Baron Phil

Re: Bloodborne

Post by Baron Phil »

Well, I just can't beat the first DLC boss. I'm fast approaching 30 attempts and I'm not getting any closer. I've tried solo, I've tried with NPC summons, I've tried with player summons and I've tried with both, still no progress.

Can anyone recommend any tactics videos or something I can get some ideas from, because I really do not want to give up after loving the main game.
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James
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Re: Bloodborne

Post by James »

I played the DLC on NG+ and found the summons useless. One tactic that did help was to try and stay on the boss' right hand side (screen left). You'll still be knocked around a bit, but sticking to his side whenever possible and closing distance quickly when he moves away really helped me. You don't want to be under his feet, but at good melee range on his flank. That way his charge, range and leaping attacks are less of a worry. The swipe attacks should be the easiest to dodge and get a decent couple of hits in afterwards.

The first phase I found much harder than the second. In phase 2, again, closer is better, but this time REALLY close. Under his feet to his left (screen right) I found to be fruitful. Get away for any of the AoE attack (sword facing down), but then get right back in. For the charged sword attack (sword facing up), you want to be in close and strafe around him so he can't target you.

Hope that all makes sense. Let me know if you're still struggling and I'll look for a decent video that shows those strategies off.

BTW, are you playing on NG or higher? And what level are you/is your gear? I have some very specific recommendations for appropriate level for the DLC and the first boss is the main reason.
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James
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Re: Bloodborne

Post by James »

macstat!

I can really only reiterate zen_anarchy's answers; there's no reason to believe Bloodborne will come to PC, Dark Souls 2: Scholar Of The First Sin is a great game and the PC version is solid, and Dark Souls 3 will be released in April with a PC version at launch. If you're looking to scratch the Souls itch and want to follow the series through then there's no reason not to nab DS2: SotFS on PC (it's £20 on Amazon). But if you want something a bit snappier, shinier and newer from From Soft then April 12th is DS3 launch day!

Dark Souls 3 is going to play more like a Souls game than Bloodborne, but aspects like Sword Arts should add a little extra oomph to the combat. Plus the engine is using some of the same tweaks as Bloodborne so it'll look and feel a bit closer to that game than either previous Dark Souls did.
Baron Phil

Re: RE: Re: Bloodborne

Post by Baron Phil »

iwatttfodiwwfa wrote:I played the DLC on NG+ and found the summons useless. One tactic that did help was to try and stay on the boss' right hand side (screen left). You'll still be knocked around a bit, but sticking to his side whenever possible and closing distance quickly when he moves away really helped me. You don't want to be under his feet, but at good melee range on his flank. That way his charge, range and leaping attacks are less of a worry. The swipe attacks should be the easiest to dodge and get a decent couple of hits in afterwards.

The first phase I found much harder than the second. In phase 2, again, closer is better, but this time REALLY close. Under his feet to his left (screen right) I found to be fruitful. Get away for any of the AoE attack (sword facing down), but then get right back in. For the charged sword attack (sword facing up), you want to be in close and strafe around him so he can't target you.

Hope that all makes sense. Let me know if you're still struggling and I'll look for a decent video that shows those strategies off.

BTW, are you playing on NG or higher? And what level are you/is your gear? I have some very specific recommendations for appropriate level for the DLC and the first boss is the main reason.
I'm on NG+, level 125 with a +10 LHB.

It's amazing what something as simple as correct positioning does. I still haven't beaten him, but on my first attempt staying on the sides you suggested, I took him down to around 1/8th health. The rush of blood got to me though, and in my haste to get back in close, he hit me with his projectiles.

Suddenly the wall doesn't seem quite as high , thank you.
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James
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Re: Bloodborne

Post by James »

No problem at all! :-) I had bombed out on 10 attempts only to try that strategy the next time around and beat him handily.

You're right around the minimum level I'd suggest for NG+, so you should be alright. You'll probably find yourself able to level up quite quickly throughout the DLC, as NG+ enemies have quite the Blood Echo count.
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chase210
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Re: Bloodborne

Post by chase210 »

I'm not even being funny with this, I don't have the words to describe my love for Bloodborne (now I've played the DLC) its absolutely amazing, can't remember when I last enjoyed any game this much.
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Re: Bloodborne

Post by HMSPolio »

Bloodborne is responsible for getting me back into videogames after a hiatus of at least a decade.

Having been a great fan of videogames in my youth I still followed what was happening in the field, and had taken to watching "Let's Plays" as a way of vicariously enjoying some of the more popular survival horror titles at the time. Then I started seeing this thing called "Bloodborne" cropping up more and more. I subsequently saw it being mentioned alongside Lovecraft, a joy trigger word for me, and was hooked. Its aesthetic and design-sense spoke so much to me and I started swallowing up lore videos and analyses of the game. Alas, not owning a PS4, and not willing to take the plunge, I resigned myself to admiration from afar.

A few months later I saw "Dark Souls" in a Steam sale for, like, a fiver, and, knowing that it was a kind of earlier iteration of Bloodborne, thought I'd give it a go. I bought Dark Souls, borrowed an XBox controller from a friend, and dove in. No one needs to hear again about the transformative experience of Dark Souls. I fell in love with it. So, so much. Having swallowed up every bit of Dark Souls, I slowly started investigating other much lauded titles to be found in Steam sales: Super Meat Boy, Isaac, Shovel Knight . . . I was BACK in gaming; and it's the best it's ever been.

Cut to a few months ago and the announcement of Dark Souls 3 and my disappointment with the knowledge that my laptop could never run it. ...But a PS4: a PS4 could run it!

After umming and ahhing, I took the plunge and shelled out for a PS4 with they GOTY edition of Bloodborne. I haven't stopped playing it since.

From the first moments of waking up in Iosefka's clinic, I understood what this whole "next-gen" thing was. It is, bearing in mind my gaming deficit, the most beautiful game I've ever played. It's not just the graphical fidelity (which some have found lacking), but the art direction is stunning. It has a completely unified aesthetic; the weapons, attire, enemies and landscapes are elegant and striking without resorting to the busyness of design seen in so many rpgs.

There's also the wonderful synergy between the game's mechanics and what the narrative is asking of, and telling, you. You're as much of a bloodthirsty monster as any of the residents of Yharnam, and, like them, you're pursuing this for more power and control under the auspices of the saviour narrative. Everyone is a hero and villain here, and everyone is a killer. Plus, the sparse storytelling allows for one's personal and goofy head-canon (the hunter is actually Kos, anyone?), and never goes out of its way to dispel or confirm any of these.

I love, love, love this game, and although wish so hard for a sequel to it, to tidy up the game's lack of build options and the lacklustre chalice dungeons, I'm so happy that this rare, singular (blood) jewel of a game exists, and that any attempt at follow up would diminish its solitary excellence.
Sellardohr

Re: Bloodborne

Post by Sellardohr »

When I try to understand this game, I have one important question:

What does this game do with the Souls mechanics that's different from what Souls games do, and perhaps that Souls games can't do?

And that turns into this question:

Is there something about 19th century Gothic horror, and the myth-horror of H.P. Lovecraft, that suits itself to fast-paced swordfighting and dungeon-crawling? The dark knight-and-king stories of Souls have an obvious fit. What's the fit here?

Something that comes out when you read Lovecraft that doesn't usually appear when you read "Lovecraftian" modern fiction is the utter sense of hopelessness. In Lovecraft's worlds, when one of his cosmic entities is afoot or is fouling up human life, whoever gets entangled is doomed. That doom is the thrust and the meat of the story. As the reader, you wake up to the doom gradually, then the sheer scope of the doom leaves you amazed, horrified, and awestruck at the end. The only thing that frees us is sheer luck. Read Color out of Space, Shadow over Innsmouth, The Call of Cthulhu for the first few I can think of to illustrate this.

Souls gameplay loves to hand you this same sense of doom, this same sense of the inescapability of your predicament and your total lack of equality to it. The only way you can win is by becoming sharper, stronger as a player more than stronger as a character.

When you play Bloodborne, you go through this sense of horror at the impossibility of your task, but as you become better at completing it, then you enter into the world's horror. As you advance through the story you gradually learn how deeply rooted the game world's predicament is, how untrustworthy your friends are, how high the price of escape might be. I think the high difficulty of progress in the game is very well suited to this, and the in-game equipment is all perfectly suited to the 19th-century setting of most of the stories that inspire it.

What also works well is the inherent Souls-style mystery of the in-game lore, how it lets you piece together your own explanations for what you're seeing in the game-world without letting you think simply not understanding is a good enough option. The player has to do some detective work, mirroring the detective work Lovecraft's ill-fated protagonists perform or performed.

In the end, the thing that took me away from this game was that it was just too stressful. All the systems, from the game-world to the lore presentation to the combat mechanics, involved stress, difficulty, and a sense of dread. And the rewards on offer just weren't equal to counterbalancing this. I loved the game and what it offered me, I even thought it was a brilliant work or a work of genius, but actually playing it just wasn't that fun. It was scary, eye-opening, and stressful. It was rewarding in a martial kind of way. But I felt like I was engaging in a fight, not engaging in play, and eventually that was just too costly.
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macstat
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Re: Bloodborne

Post by macstat »

There's an interesting video about music in Bloodborne from GDC. Enjoy!
GrimmFandingo

Re: Bloodborne

Post by GrimmFandingo »

Hi Cane and Rinse, long time listener first time contributor here. I see there are lots of replies discussing the game and everything positive I have to say would simply be an echo so i decided to do something a bit different. I would however like to quickly mention my love for the incredible visual design of this game, particularly evident in the hunters dream. Now for a short poem inspired by the beautiful horror of Bloodborne.

Blade and pistol at his side
He sets out into the night
Madness is both friend and foe
Be quick, no time for fright
So cut deep good hunter
Their blood a frantic feast
A gnawing doubt, a growing fear
Who really is the Beast?
Herts

Re: Bloodborne

Post by Herts »

Long time listener (and lurker), I made an account just to post about Bloodborne. Now one of my all time favourite games.
It wasn't always that way though. I bought Bloddborne at a pawn shop one Sunday for a steal having been excited about checking it out ever since I saw the coverage at e3. At this point I was basically a souls virgin - having dabbled a little with Demon's Souls but not getting far.
Alas at Yarnham I was stumped, I couldn't fight the mobs and I was getting nowhere. Disheartened I went to bed that night thinking "this games sucks". However on my second play something started to click with the combat and as soon as I had unlocked the first gate the genius level design started to come into view for me. With a little help from my brother (a souls veteran) I mastered Yarnham and nothing could hold me back.
What can I say? Everything about this game exudes horror, from the beautifully realised buildings to the twisted creature design, there's barely a moment you feel safe. The story is one of the greatest Lovecraftian works of fiction there is. The voice acting is superb and the controls are rock solid. The bosses tested my mettle - I would be stuck on some of them for weeks (I'm looking at you, Shadows of Yarnham) but there was always a tactic to overcome them. I played through the marvelous dlc before completing the game with said Brother and we loved it. Finally after 130 hours I beat Gehrman and his Moon friend then whooped in delight as the nightmare was slain, and over.
I don't know if I'd go back in, maybe it's too soon but it was also one of the most stressful experiences I've ever had in gaming, but damned if it wasn't one of the greatest.
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Stanshall
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Re: Bloodborne

Post by Stanshall »

I loved two things in particular about Bloodborne. First, the sense of weight and movement to combat. Each weapon has its own rhythm and, particularly with the addition of the DLC weapons and the lack of stat-based build variety, almost every weapon merits a separate, distinct playthrough. If I watch a Let's Play, I feel the glide in every quickstep and the SCHLONK of every heavy weapon swing. And on that note, after staining the streets of Yharnam with the Saw Cleaver and Blades of Mercy, the heavy artillery is where I've settled. In particular, the 2H Kirkhammer R1 combo makes my jaw go slack in nihilist reverence; it's like watching a block of flats get demolished. The little touches like your feet bumping off the ground upon impact give it a gritty, earthy sense of weight. Ram Ebrietas in the face with the excruciating wind up of a fully-charged Stake Driver and you will happily die twenty times trying to time it as perfectly again. That teeth-gritting impact captures the catharsis of violence better than anything I've felt in games. On a mechanical note, compared to the deliberate rhythms of Dark Souls, Bloodborne did feel quite hack and slash, with the R1 button getting a serious workout (and yes, I am a scrub), but even this button mashing change feels like a conscious decision. By picking up the pace and bringing in the rally mechanic, FROM somehow managed to make the player feel that same sense of desperate bloodlust we encounter in almost every creature of Yharnam.

Indeed, the other thing I love about the game is how directly its mechanics and mysteries reach out and involve the player. The item descriptions about man's desperate curiosity for the ineffable, and the terrifying madness which the truth would reveal, were haunting on a philosophical and spiritual level. As human beings, we will simply never know what exists between the lines of our sensory perception, but if you stare into the Abyss long enough...In short, the game really got under my skin, just as the mysteries of Byrgenwerth irreversibly tainted my Hunter. When I was deep deep into the Chalice Dungeons, struggling against the seemingly insurmountable Defiled Amygdala and Headless Bloodletting Beast, I felt quite anxious that my own curiosity and desire for progress had brought me past the point of no return, and that I had bitten off much too much. I longed for the relative innocence of the early-game beast hunt! Few games have left me with such prolonged existentialist dread, and even fewer have kept me coming back so readily for another taste. I dearly hope that FROM leave it well alone and move onto new ground as it is - to my taste - a perfectly singular creation which I will never forget.
Sam Worms

Re: Bloodborne

Post by Sam Worms »

This is the kind of game that I hate to love. The story, setting, atmosphere, and overall Lovecraftian design are amazing, but I couldn't get past the difficulty curve. I didn't mind the trial and error type of game play. In fact, I loved the challenge of slowly crawling through the metroidvania-esque levels and unlocking new shortcuts. The game lost me at the stupidly difficult boss fights. I made it through Rom the Vacuous Spider and had to walk away. My controllers couldn't handle being thrown across the room anymore.

I understand that the difficulty of these games is what they are known for, but I wish there were an "easy" setting that still allowed me to be immersed in the wonderfully macabre world they'd created and not have to worry whether or not I'm going to throw my PS4 out the window.

TWR: Dodge Die Repeat
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