I just wanna play the DLC man.
Listen, this game is perfect. It nails atmosphere, storytelling, world building, challenging and fun combat, and a list of fantastic bosses. The fact that I played this game via PS Now on my PC and I still rate it this way should say a lot. This game NEEDS a remaster and port to PC. It's simply not fair that people haven't gotten to play this. Also the PS Now version didn't include the Old Hunters DLC so...gimme gimme.
Listen, this game is perfect. It nails atmosphere, storytelling, world building, challenging and fun combat, and a list of fantastic bosses. The fact that I played this game via PS Now on my PC and I still rate it this way should say a lot. This game NEEDS a remaster and port to PC. It's simply not fair that people haven't gotten to play this. Also the PS Now version didn't include the Old Hunters DLC so...gimme gimme.
When I first played Bloodborne, I appreciated it for what it was (an eldritch entanglement of orgasmic despair) while also quietly thinking that this was not a game I was likely to replay. I'd seen the sights and fought the fights, and while there were a few great bosses there were many more hulking beasts whose battles I didn't particularly care for.
My first playthrough was hot off Dark Souls 3 and still chasing the high of Sekiro the year before. All I wanted were those rhythm-game deflects, memorizing movesets and executing perfect counters, a clockwork dance of nerve and sword. With a few exceptions that wasn't what Bloodborne was about, and while I made my peace with that I couldn't bring myself to love it.
Flash forward a year and a half. By this point, I'd played my way backwards through the Soulslike oeuvre and beaten Sekiro two more times. As I watched over a friend's virtual shoulder during his first Bloodborne playthrough, and I felt the bloodlust rise within me. I wanted to sink my teeth in once again. And more than that, I wanted to do it differently: eschewing the parry-and-blade build I'd made a tradition of playing across all these games for my first go at a real heavy weapon.
So began my NG+ playthrough, not with a bang but with the buzz of my Whirligig Saw. It turned out that the beast bosses I'd dismissed in 2020 were a delight in 2022 with a deeper understanding of the form and the devil-may-care attitude of a player whose beaten them before and knows she will again. And as the sun rose for a third time over Yharnam, it was all I could do to keep myself from diving straight back in to NG++.
My first playthrough was hot off Dark Souls 3 and still chasing the high of Sekiro the year before. All I wanted were those rhythm-game deflects, memorizing movesets and executing perfect counters, a clockwork dance of nerve and sword. With a few exceptions that wasn't what Bloodborne was about, and while I made my peace with that I couldn't bring myself to love it.
Flash forward a year and a half. By this point, I'd played my way backwards through the Soulslike oeuvre and beaten Sekiro two more times. As I watched over a friend's virtual shoulder during his first Bloodborne playthrough, and I felt the bloodlust rise within me. I wanted to sink my teeth in once again. And more than that, I wanted to do it differently: eschewing the parry-and-blade build I'd made a tradition of playing across all these games for my first go at a real heavy weapon.
So began my NG+ playthrough, not with a bang but with the buzz of my Whirligig Saw. It turned out that the beast bosses I'd dismissed in 2020 were a delight in 2022 with a deeper understanding of the form and the devil-may-care attitude of a player whose beaten them before and knows she will again. And as the sun rose for a third time over Yharnam, it was all I could do to keep myself from diving straight back in to NG++.
I love From Software games. I love how they're not afraid to explore awkward, potentially frustrating mechanics and create believable, atmospheric environments. I love their approach to difficulty and the way they seamlessly merge modern and retro gaming sensibilities without being too obvious. I love how their games never feel too "videogame-y" and yet, are the most "videogame-y" AAA games I can think of. I got hooked on Dark Souls due to its compelling mechanics, but I fell in love with it due to the world building, characters and narrative.
Bloodborne does both parts better.
Bloodborne does both parts better.
This review contains spoilers
A game that wears its grotesque atmosphere and gameplay proudly. Replaying this game as a whole was just an idea I thought of on the spot after some personal issues, and after pouring out over another 80 hours I feel just the same as all those years ago when I first beat it. When first playing I remember how much I adored the gothic take it approached but the replay cemented my feelings on that. The polish in regards to level design is unmatched, like the unseen village, fishing hamlet, and a common trope even in souls games but fighting Gehrman in the flower field is spectacular.
While its base game has its own collection of positives, the elements that come together to make the DLC are still prevalent in base game to me. Ludwig, the first hunter of the healing church and my favorite boss in all of Bloodborne, and if i'm honest my favorite ost to accompany a boss in souls games, an ost that genuinely incites fear and hesitation in you. While his first phase portrays him being decrepit and broken down, the subtle touch of his second phase being reconnected with the Moonlight Greatsword and his moves in turn becoming more focused and polished than his first phase having sporadic moves to then dancing between the projectile slashes will never get tiring. His fight while taking me less than 5 tries still felt rewarding and your talk with just his floating head ontop of all the floating carcases actually got emotion from me, and the slight detail of equipping church gear allowing you to speak with him further. “Good hunter, have you seen the thread of light? Just a hair, a fleeting thing, yet I clung to it, steeped as I was in the stench of blood and beasts. I never wanted to know, what it really was. Really, I didn't” AHHHHHHHH HES DONE MIRACLESS ON MEEEE
Lady Maria is also just an absolute joy to fight and my favorite fight outside of ludwig, its a humanoid fight done perfectly. Orphan of Kos is another trip cause the scream I let out when I first beat that orphan oh my days. I’d be lying if I didnt say I hadn't had slight grievances with this game like Micolash’s fight just being dumbed down to a gimmick. The idea of traversing through Mergo’s Loft within the boss fight in itself interesting but what makes it all fall flat is Micolash himself, with his moveset being dumbed down to just spamming Augur majority of the fight. The best part of Rom’s fight being the stage itself and Hemwick Witch just being rubbish and forgettable. Also brainsuckers area alek level enemies. I could go on about the Laurence fight but my only grievance about that fight is his snatched waist that gives him that small ass hitbox. Some small things like a limited weapon inventory compared to other souls games in a way pushes you to stick to a weapon instead of shuffling through them with the trick system being an addictive feature. while most souls games aim towards abandoned stages devoid of life, Bloodborne stays loyal with Yharnam and all the areas you come across, the gothic and genuine decay carries over the story especially with the victorian era architecture and how dimmed down the colour palette throughout the story is. It’s lore that makes you pay more attention to your surroundings and want to dive in deeper to divulge answers to the world around you and the revelation that the blood thirsting monsters roaming around you are nothing but end results of the world around them plagued by the Great Ones which is an aspect that continuously pushes the story, and, succumbing to bloodlust and disease that traversed throughout Yharnam. Miyazaki presented so many layers with this game and contrived something special here
Eileen come home the kids miss you
While its base game has its own collection of positives, the elements that come together to make the DLC are still prevalent in base game to me. Ludwig, the first hunter of the healing church and my favorite boss in all of Bloodborne, and if i'm honest my favorite ost to accompany a boss in souls games, an ost that genuinely incites fear and hesitation in you. While his first phase portrays him being decrepit and broken down, the subtle touch of his second phase being reconnected with the Moonlight Greatsword and his moves in turn becoming more focused and polished than his first phase having sporadic moves to then dancing between the projectile slashes will never get tiring. His fight while taking me less than 5 tries still felt rewarding and your talk with just his floating head ontop of all the floating carcases actually got emotion from me, and the slight detail of equipping church gear allowing you to speak with him further. “Good hunter, have you seen the thread of light? Just a hair, a fleeting thing, yet I clung to it, steeped as I was in the stench of blood and beasts. I never wanted to know, what it really was. Really, I didn't” AHHHHHHHH HES DONE MIRACLESS ON MEEEE
Lady Maria is also just an absolute joy to fight and my favorite fight outside of ludwig, its a humanoid fight done perfectly. Orphan of Kos is another trip cause the scream I let out when I first beat that orphan oh my days. I’d be lying if I didnt say I hadn't had slight grievances with this game like Micolash’s fight just being dumbed down to a gimmick. The idea of traversing through Mergo’s Loft within the boss fight in itself interesting but what makes it all fall flat is Micolash himself, with his moveset being dumbed down to just spamming Augur majority of the fight. The best part of Rom’s fight being the stage itself and Hemwick Witch just being rubbish and forgettable. Also brainsuckers area alek level enemies. I could go on about the Laurence fight but my only grievance about that fight is his snatched waist that gives him that small ass hitbox. Some small things like a limited weapon inventory compared to other souls games in a way pushes you to stick to a weapon instead of shuffling through them with the trick system being an addictive feature. while most souls games aim towards abandoned stages devoid of life, Bloodborne stays loyal with Yharnam and all the areas you come across, the gothic and genuine decay carries over the story especially with the victorian era architecture and how dimmed down the colour palette throughout the story is. It’s lore that makes you pay more attention to your surroundings and want to dive in deeper to divulge answers to the world around you and the revelation that the blood thirsting monsters roaming around you are nothing but end results of the world around them plagued by the Great Ones which is an aspect that continuously pushes the story, and, succumbing to bloodlust and disease that traversed throughout Yharnam. Miyazaki presented so many layers with this game and contrived something special here
Eileen come home the kids miss you
Bloodborne es probablemente el videojuego con el que más he desarrollado una relación conflictiva en toda mi vida. He pasado de amarlo y defenderlo a capa y espada, a que me generen dudas varias de sus decisiones, encontrándome ahora mismo en un punto donde no sé realmente qué pensar del mismo. Quizá escribir esto ayude a dilucidar algunas cosas.
Algo que sí sé es que el juego no es ni la cuarta parte de lo valiente que se ha intentando pretender que es. En muchos sentidos diría que, incluso, es quizá el más cobarde de los Souls junto a Dark Souls III. Nada de lo que hace genial le es particularmente propio, mucho viene heredado de Demon's Souls de cara a sus pretensiones arquitectónicas, que se ha buscado instalar como novedad porque tanto Dark Souls 1 como 2 habían pasado en mayor medida de ello, con muchas de sus decisiones más atrevidas, sobre todo las que buscaban sustraer para generar una impresión más pura, quedándose a medias porque no vaya a ser que se distancie demasiado de los títulos previos.
Yharnam es un lugar fantástico por el que recorrer, pero la obsesión monocromática con una idea muy vencida y gastada del gótico inglés con corte victoriano (estética que a día de hoy no podría ser más impersonal dentro del medio) permea muchísimo la visión de conjunto, volviéndola en un lugar relativamente redundante que apaga su excelsa construcción de ciudad. Inclusive su otra variedad colora, la de los sueños, peca de una uniformidad conceptual que se acurruca demasiado cómodamente en estereotipos del terror cósmico, temiendo salir de solo abrazar las ideas más esenciales del género (temáticamente sabiendo hacer muy poco nuevo más que ser Dark Souls pero relativo a la dicotomía sabiduría/locura) y optando por no mover el terreno en prácticamente ningún frente, ni siquiera proponer algo, solo reverberar más de lo mismo que lleva cien años escribiéndose de Lovecraft y sus sucesores, "pero con estilo Souls."
Inclusive muchas de sus innovaciones, en el terreno de enemigos en forma de bestias mucho más agresivas, terminan quedando a medias porque la saga siempre pecó de apenas contener nula interacción entre tus acciones y las del oponente. Es un ciclo reactivo que orbita demasiado a menudo en hacer sidestep para burlar la gran mayoría de peligros, quitando por el camino la variedad de planteamientos en los enfrentamientos, pues ahora los golpes uno a uno mandan. Mientras juegos previos solventaban esto con un enfoque mucho más marcado por lo RPG, tanto a nivel de estadísticas como en la resolución de situaciones fuera de simplemente ir a los puños, es un juego futuro, Sekiro, quien realmente trajo esta capa de interacción contra los ataques enemigos, como para hacer de estos una experiencia verdaderamente contundente en el plano jugable, que no dependientes de la construcción externa a los mismos.
El factor RPG también disuena mucho más aquí que en los demás. En la ausencia de builds reales, con armas polivalentes dispuestas para prácticamente todos los usos posibles, Bloodborne fue el punto más alto de un Souls que lo tenía todo para convertirse en un juego de acción como tal, pero decidió no hacerlo. Necesitaba cargar con el lastre que le suponen los sistemas de leveleo en un juego donde prácticamente ni se aprovechan, solo quedan reducidos a upgrades binarios que se miden en una escala de cuánto tiempo de combate acortamos.
Creo que, especialmente tras Sekiro, mi imagen de Bloodborne no ha hecho más que venirse abajo. Ni siquiera me interesa discutir cuál es realmente mejor, porque lo que me parece importante es que uno de los dos se compromete realmente con su propuesta, por mucho que siga cargando con el espíritu de su equipo creativo, mientras que el otro está atado de manos al punto en que le es imposible distanciarse lo suficiente. Qué más dará que no tenga Souls en el nombre.
Algo que sí sé es que el juego no es ni la cuarta parte de lo valiente que se ha intentando pretender que es. En muchos sentidos diría que, incluso, es quizá el más cobarde de los Souls junto a Dark Souls III. Nada de lo que hace genial le es particularmente propio, mucho viene heredado de Demon's Souls de cara a sus pretensiones arquitectónicas, que se ha buscado instalar como novedad porque tanto Dark Souls 1 como 2 habían pasado en mayor medida de ello, con muchas de sus decisiones más atrevidas, sobre todo las que buscaban sustraer para generar una impresión más pura, quedándose a medias porque no vaya a ser que se distancie demasiado de los títulos previos.
Yharnam es un lugar fantástico por el que recorrer, pero la obsesión monocromática con una idea muy vencida y gastada del gótico inglés con corte victoriano (estética que a día de hoy no podría ser más impersonal dentro del medio) permea muchísimo la visión de conjunto, volviéndola en un lugar relativamente redundante que apaga su excelsa construcción de ciudad. Inclusive su otra variedad colora, la de los sueños, peca de una uniformidad conceptual que se acurruca demasiado cómodamente en estereotipos del terror cósmico, temiendo salir de solo abrazar las ideas más esenciales del género (temáticamente sabiendo hacer muy poco nuevo más que ser Dark Souls pero relativo a la dicotomía sabiduría/locura) y optando por no mover el terreno en prácticamente ningún frente, ni siquiera proponer algo, solo reverberar más de lo mismo que lleva cien años escribiéndose de Lovecraft y sus sucesores, "pero con estilo Souls."
Inclusive muchas de sus innovaciones, en el terreno de enemigos en forma de bestias mucho más agresivas, terminan quedando a medias porque la saga siempre pecó de apenas contener nula interacción entre tus acciones y las del oponente. Es un ciclo reactivo que orbita demasiado a menudo en hacer sidestep para burlar la gran mayoría de peligros, quitando por el camino la variedad de planteamientos en los enfrentamientos, pues ahora los golpes uno a uno mandan. Mientras juegos previos solventaban esto con un enfoque mucho más marcado por lo RPG, tanto a nivel de estadísticas como en la resolución de situaciones fuera de simplemente ir a los puños, es un juego futuro, Sekiro, quien realmente trajo esta capa de interacción contra los ataques enemigos, como para hacer de estos una experiencia verdaderamente contundente en el plano jugable, que no dependientes de la construcción externa a los mismos.
El factor RPG también disuena mucho más aquí que en los demás. En la ausencia de builds reales, con armas polivalentes dispuestas para prácticamente todos los usos posibles, Bloodborne fue el punto más alto de un Souls que lo tenía todo para convertirse en un juego de acción como tal, pero decidió no hacerlo. Necesitaba cargar con el lastre que le suponen los sistemas de leveleo en un juego donde prácticamente ni se aprovechan, solo quedan reducidos a upgrades binarios que se miden en una escala de cuánto tiempo de combate acortamos.
Creo que, especialmente tras Sekiro, mi imagen de Bloodborne no ha hecho más que venirse abajo. Ni siquiera me interesa discutir cuál es realmente mejor, porque lo que me parece importante es que uno de los dos se compromete realmente con su propuesta, por mucho que siga cargando con el espíritu de su equipo creativo, mientras que el otro está atado de manos al punto en que le es imposible distanciarse lo suficiente. Qué más dará que no tenga Souls en el nombre.
the voice acting in these games is out of this world dude
wanted to wait until i cleared all of the base game and dlc before making a review, so this covers both of them.
bloodborne was the last souls game that i had left after clearing all of them over the past 6 months or so. maybe my view of this game is tainted by the very high expectations set by others who had played this game early on in their souls game life cycle, so perhaps that has some impact on my view of this game.
i didn't love this game, but i definitely didn't hate it; it's weird. the aesthetic and theme of this game is very unique and i see the appeal. the enemies in this game are absolutely fucking disgusting and it fits perfectly thematically. the combat is certainly unique and the parry aspect is really fucking sick, but doesn't feel as polished as some of the newer games which makes sense given this is nearly a decade old. then again, so are the other souls games, so i'm not sure if that's a valid excuse.
all of these games usually have that point where they click and you're like "ah, that's what everyone means." i really wanted that from bloodborne but it didn't happen until i was essentially done with the game. the base game bosses felt rather underwhelming which was my expectation based on my friends comments; the lows were very low and the "highs" were really only slightly above average.
the dlc was definitely a lot more challenging and rewarding. i now understand the pain of laurence and orphan of kos (what the fuck is that second phase btw), and beating both of them felt like a mammoth task. i really enjoy that and craved that feeling for most of the game. lady maria fight was super enjoyable and just straight up face to face combat which i love. i usually hate big bosses that go off my screen, so perhaps that's why i preferred fights like lady maria and orphan over ludwig and laurence.
it doesn't feel right to shit on this game because i don't think it deserves it at all. it's a good game, i just don't love it as much as everyone else does, and that's okay. i think that in some distant future if the world is lucky enough to get a remaster with 60+ fps and a couple tweaks i'd love to give this another chance.
bloodborne was the last souls game that i had left after clearing all of them over the past 6 months or so. maybe my view of this game is tainted by the very high expectations set by others who had played this game early on in their souls game life cycle, so perhaps that has some impact on my view of this game.
i didn't love this game, but i definitely didn't hate it; it's weird. the aesthetic and theme of this game is very unique and i see the appeal. the enemies in this game are absolutely fucking disgusting and it fits perfectly thematically. the combat is certainly unique and the parry aspect is really fucking sick, but doesn't feel as polished as some of the newer games which makes sense given this is nearly a decade old. then again, so are the other souls games, so i'm not sure if that's a valid excuse.
all of these games usually have that point where they click and you're like "ah, that's what everyone means." i really wanted that from bloodborne but it didn't happen until i was essentially done with the game. the base game bosses felt rather underwhelming which was my expectation based on my friends comments; the lows were very low and the "highs" were really only slightly above average.
the dlc was definitely a lot more challenging and rewarding. i now understand the pain of laurence and orphan of kos (what the fuck is that second phase btw), and beating both of them felt like a mammoth task. i really enjoy that and craved that feeling for most of the game. lady maria fight was super enjoyable and just straight up face to face combat which i love. i usually hate big bosses that go off my screen, so perhaps that's why i preferred fights like lady maria and orphan over ludwig and laurence.
it doesn't feel right to shit on this game because i don't think it deserves it at all. it's a good game, i just don't love it as much as everyone else does, and that's okay. i think that in some distant future if the world is lucky enough to get a remaster with 60+ fps and a couple tweaks i'd love to give this another chance.
kicking and screaming and crying and pounding a hole through my wall because I couldn't use the Burial Blade on my first play-through but otherwise I feel like this may be the single most perfect FromSoft game I've played as far as its mechanics and narrative are concerned; this is the Soulslike where the ambient storytelling of trying to piece together a bunch of little clues from item descriptions, snippets of dialogue and environmental clues felt the most satisfying. The combat is at its peak, the rally system is a fantastic way to make the more highly paced combat work, and god!!!! Every trick weapon!!! Every piece of armor!!!! They're all fucking fantastic!! My only real complaint, and the thing that keeps it from being a 10/10 in my book, is that I feel as if my time in the base game was spent waiting for a boss that would actually blow me away, and that just never really came. There are highlights! But by and large I feel like the really good fights lie in The Old Hunters, and honestly? I'm cool with that.
Yep, as everybody and their mom knows, Bloodborne is that guy. I've tried getting into it multiple times in the past but it never clicked like it did this time. So, I finally get it. Bloodborne is a masterfully crafted experience from top to bottom. The stunning world and level design, the visceral combat including that immensely satisfying pistol stun mechanic. The excellent DLC, adding some of the best bosses in the game is an absolute must too. Overall, it is such an enthralling and well paced journey, yet it still left me wanting even more by the end...
FromSoft at their very strongest. Atmosphere, design and gameplay come together in perfect thematic harmony, enthralling players with tight, tense combat and endorphin-loaded dodging against a horrific menagerie of brilliant creatures and iconic bosses. The crowning glory that is Bloodborne's soundtrack brings what is already near-perfect gameplay to heights never again achieved--even in the likes of Sekiro and Elden Ring.
The farming of Blood Vials and the downright awful rogue-like "Dungeon Chalice" system are good ideas--making players nervous about using their copious yet limited powerful heal and providing what is in essence an infinite amount of content sound like they would suit perfectly, but end up lackluster and annoying - the former especially sometimes going so far as to gatekeep people from enjoying the game as a whole.
The farming of Blood Vials and the downright awful rogue-like "Dungeon Chalice" system are good ideas--making players nervous about using their copious yet limited powerful heal and providing what is in essence an infinite amount of content sound like they would suit perfectly, but end up lackluster and annoying - the former especially sometimes going so far as to gatekeep people from enjoying the game as a whole.
From Software’s crown of creation. Out of all souls-like games, Bloodborne finds the foremost synergy of most intense thrill and atmospheric mystery. The level, enemy and boss designs were above and beyond all my imagination and what video games were capable of. Bloodborne combines the finest qualities of prior Souls games and forges a blissful masterpiece with gothic architecture, immersive sound design, an interconnected world, copious lore, a touch of survival and infernal horror.
Bloodborne é um jogo incrivel que possui uma estética gótica muito bem feita além de passar realmente um sentimento de medo, a escuridão é realmente desconfortável de um jeito bom e você se sente afoito nesse mundo sombrio, além de ser um ótimo jogo de porta de entrada para os outros jogos da saga souls, sendo o mais fácil de entender a história, e o melhor para se adaptar ao estilo souls like. Sem contar seu mundo repleto de monstros e bosses extremamentes assustadores e bem construídos que cada um deles passam um ar de imponência que acompanham uma trilha sonora que só tornam a experiência de jogar esse jogo mais incrível, quem possui Playstations recomendo darem uma chance pra esse jogo
Bloodborne DOES have some issues, I will probably say that about any game. The difference is that any type of remaster or remake would absolutely kill any and all problems with this game.
The problems this game has are very small and nitpicky, 30 fps, some deaths not feeling earned in any way, blood vials and bullets becoming scarce and having to grind for them, chalice dungeons feeling a bit samey the more and more you do them, and hunters dream being a bit tedious to fast travel to places
Any update to Bloodborne would kill these problems, which is why I now realize why people want it so badly.
This game gets EVERYTHING right, the combat alone would give it five stars because it is some of the most engaging combat i will ever play in my life, and the bosses compliment the combat by making them faster, more aggressive, and harder hitting, urging you to do the same. The rally system is one of the best mechanics ever made and is a stroke of absolute genius.
The vibe and environments in this game are absolutely breathtaking and have just BARELY started to show their age.
This game would be the best game ever made with some small tweaks, but even as it stands right now it is one of the best games of all time. A must play for anyone who even remotely likes videogames.
Perfection.
The problems this game has are very small and nitpicky, 30 fps, some deaths not feeling earned in any way, blood vials and bullets becoming scarce and having to grind for them, chalice dungeons feeling a bit samey the more and more you do them, and hunters dream being a bit tedious to fast travel to places
Any update to Bloodborne would kill these problems, which is why I now realize why people want it so badly.
This game gets EVERYTHING right, the combat alone would give it five stars because it is some of the most engaging combat i will ever play in my life, and the bosses compliment the combat by making them faster, more aggressive, and harder hitting, urging you to do the same. The rally system is one of the best mechanics ever made and is a stroke of absolute genius.
The vibe and environments in this game are absolutely breathtaking and have just BARELY started to show their age.
This game would be the best game ever made with some small tweaks, but even as it stands right now it is one of the best games of all time. A must play for anyone who even remotely likes videogames.
Perfection.
Holy shit i actually beat a Souls game for once. and the game fucking slaps despite how Brutal it is
now i see why people are pissed at Sony for not porting this on PC man like DAMN
now i see why people are pissed at Sony for not porting this on PC man like DAMN
some of the greatest anti-british propaganda to ever be brought to life
Did you know that it is against the law to say anything bad about Bloodborne? It's true. If you ever even think about how it would've been better as an action game rather than trying to be like a Souls game, you'll see police officers outside your house. They'll say you have the right to remain silent and that anything you say can and will be used against you. But that doesn't scare you. You shriek as they drag you away about how it's not fun making a build for a weapon you only get after beating the final boss. As you're waiting in your cell, your provided attorney will try and work out a plea bargain, claiming that at the very least you did play the game for 300+ hours on your PlayStation 4, way more than the weekly amount that all PlayStation 4 owners are required by law to play. While on trial however, you lash out. You say that it's not fair that Bloodborne can't even be ported over to PC, and that not getting an FPS boost for PlayStation 5 is even more outrageous. The judge bangs his gavel. You've dug your grave. You find yourself some years later, serving a life sentence because you couldn't play ball and just have fun with your hyper Lovecraftian atmospheric action adventure game. Guards walk by your cell and wince, and your fellow prisoners whisper nothing good about you. They're intimidated by you. And not because you were so brave to say that Bloodborne has flaws. But because of the same repeated phrase you have carved all over your cell. A phrase that only says... “cummmfpk”.
i used to have this micolash plushie that i used to pour milk on and suck the milk back out of and it was sopping wet all the time 😭i used to slam it against walls and it would make a loud thud
Bloodborne was a Bloodbore.
Not really, I just wanted to make the dumb joke. What the game was though was underwhelming. You have your typical staples of the Souls series: the checkpoints, the oppressive atmosphere, the simplistic combat, the awful camera, you know, the usual. It all feels very been there done that.
The game constantly feels like it's missing that something else to really make it stand out, there's attempts to make the combat system more interesting but a lot of that came at the cost of removing any variety that the previous games, while not great themselves, at least had. Outside of very specific parts, a lot of this is a repetitive game of guessing which elevator will bring you to the boss fight the quickest, running away from the very slow enemies, and engaging with the next mediocre boss fight.
There's more I could say perhaps, but this is a game that really left me with not much to think about. A couple of interesting layouts, a couple of interesting moments, a few interesting-looking locations, but all in all this is just kind of a mediocre action game in a series that really needs some kind of new tricks.
Or at least a game that isn't about humans getting corrupted and transforming into feral creatures, I'd even take that
Not really, I just wanted to make the dumb joke. What the game was though was underwhelming. You have your typical staples of the Souls series: the checkpoints, the oppressive atmosphere, the simplistic combat, the awful camera, you know, the usual. It all feels very been there done that.
The game constantly feels like it's missing that something else to really make it stand out, there's attempts to make the combat system more interesting but a lot of that came at the cost of removing any variety that the previous games, while not great themselves, at least had. Outside of very specific parts, a lot of this is a repetitive game of guessing which elevator will bring you to the boss fight the quickest, running away from the very slow enemies, and engaging with the next mediocre boss fight.
There's more I could say perhaps, but this is a game that really left me with not much to think about. A couple of interesting layouts, a couple of interesting moments, a few interesting-looking locations, but all in all this is just kind of a mediocre action game in a series that really needs some kind of new tricks.
Or at least a game that isn't about humans getting corrupted and transforming into feral creatures, I'd even take that
The setting makes me crave more like it, but none could ever replicate the feeling of horror and accomplishment
Le remake PC qui sortira quand Terra aura 45 ans.
Vivement 2025 du coup.
Vivement 2025 du coup.
Enjoyment - 10/10
Difficulty - 7/10
How stupid was I to think that Bloodborne was not a game for me. Past me was very silly. Coming from the perspective of a non-fan of the Souls games, Bloodborne had some initial growing pains. At first, I did not get it. The first couple of deaths were especially off putting. It was like catching a whiff of spoiled milk. However, as I inched closer to a new area around a different corner, not knowing what was ahead of me and getting excited for what challenges lurked beyond my reach, I finally got it.
The world of Bloodborne is truly wondrous. A feast in all senses. Bloodborne is a feeling you can't shake off. It is the linkage of video games, like a shadow for not yet realised imagined worlds.
🏆
Difficulty - 7/10
How stupid was I to think that Bloodborne was not a game for me. Past me was very silly. Coming from the perspective of a non-fan of the Souls games, Bloodborne had some initial growing pains. At first, I did not get it. The first couple of deaths were especially off putting. It was like catching a whiff of spoiled milk. However, as I inched closer to a new area around a different corner, not knowing what was ahead of me and getting excited for what challenges lurked beyond my reach, I finally got it.
The world of Bloodborne is truly wondrous. A feast in all senses. Bloodborne is a feeling you can't shake off. It is the linkage of video games, like a shadow for not yet realised imagined worlds.
🏆
Seems to be considered FromSoft's masterpiece by many. Certainly Bloodborne has the most impressive art direction of the Soulsborne games, which is saying something considering this is one of the strongest aspects of the series as a whole; the realm of Victorian England, nightmares and lycanthropy, eldritch at its most icky and slimy and wet, leads to some stunning and haunting imagery throughout. The level design here is similarly superb, both visually and in regards to how FromSoft manage to take the principles of Dark Soul's wider world design and apply it within individual areas.
I appreciate the more kinetic, fast-pace of the combat here, and the rally mechanic is a lot of fun and offers a very different flavour to the other games in the series, whilst the trick weapons are incredibly cool to use and visually stylish. I also think that stripping back the rpg mechanics a little bit helps Bloodborne craft itself a reasonably unique identity compared to the other Souls games; the weapons you start with remain feasible options all through the game, you can dress your character however you want without having to worry too much about stats (and there are some incredible pieces of fashion here), and even the stats system has been noticeably streamlined to encourage towards focusing on the hunt.
Despite all of this, Bloodborne does fall short for me compared to my favourite FromSoft games, even though I did enjoy it immensely. There are a scattering of smaller issues that contribute to this. Much has been said about the blood vial system, and whilst I can appreciate the thematic way that grinding for blood vials represents you literally being bloodthirsty, desperately searching for sustenance, as hunters are prone to being, the reality is that having to stop attempting the exciting boss fight you keep dying to in order to go grind together some vials is a painful pace breaker; this didn't affect me too many times as this was the final game I played from the Soulsborne games but I can only imagine how frustrating this must be to someone less experienced with these when contrasted with the estus system where you get to keep making attempts and learning.
Chalice dungeons suck. Whilst Bloodborne does have have more enjoyable combat than the games that came before it, the reality is that the big draw to these games is their atmosphere, worldbuilding and level design, and chalice dungeons strip away so much of this in an effort to be a roguelite-esque jamming together of the same ten rooms over and over instead. I tried playing these for about three hours or so, they never meaningfully improved outside of a couple cool boss fights and I swore to not touch them again. The worst thing about chalice dungeons is it's not like you can even totally ignore them because they actively effect the main game too; there were many times where beating a boss or getting to a hard to reach treasure chest in the main game would give me an item whose only use was for a chalice ritual, content that I was never going to engage with, which would feel disappointing every time.
I also found Bloodborne's collection of bosses honestly very uneven? Early phases of human bosses are very prone to getting stun-locked which both feels weird and also makes having to repeat those early phases boring, and I found wrestling the camera against the game's various different giant, savage, relentless, constantly-screaming beasts to be frustrating (the fight against Ebrietas was ruined by this for me). As with everything in the game, the visual design of these bosses are so good that it's hard for me to be too upset about any of this, or even call any of the bosses bad; even fights like Rom, Micolash, The One Reborn and Celestial Emissary are all very memorable in their own ways even if the gameplay itself wasn't great. Still, the number of bosses I'm actually enthusiastic about here was not terribly high and that makes me a little sad.
Probably the biggest problem for me is that the lore and storytelling in Bloodborne didn't connect with me as potently as it does in the Souls games. I wish I had been given a clearer motivation for what I'm doing at the start of the game, rather than just being told some stuff about locating paleblood (which meant so little to me due to a lack of context) and Gerhman hand-waving the very notion of me worrying about why I'm doing what I'm doing; compared to the Souls games I found myself feeling weirdly purposeless here, like I was just going through the motions on some level. On top of this a lot of the game's thematic content fell flat for me; I loved its look at madness, dreams and nightmares and found a lot of the material surrounding this very compelling in large part because of the places the game gets to go aesthetically as a result, but its look at the evils of the church felt very old hat, and I couldn't find much more to grasp onto here beyond all of that. It's perhaps harsh of me to be contrasting this against the excellent thematic content in the Dark Souls games and their look at entropy, decay, patriarchy, cycles of life and death, and maintaining determination in the face of adversity, especially as Bloodborne is certainly ahead of a lot of games in this regard, but I find myself reminded of another review I read earlier this year that commented about how Bloodborne's storytelling ends up feeling too elusive to connect with, yet also too specific to function as a mood-piece.
It feels like I'm ragging on the game needlessly harshly here; Bloodborne is great, I loved my time with it, it just happened to fall a little short for me in some regards and it takes a lot of words to justify why that is the case when a lot of what FromSoft is doing here is so impeccable and exciting.
I appreciate the more kinetic, fast-pace of the combat here, and the rally mechanic is a lot of fun and offers a very different flavour to the other games in the series, whilst the trick weapons are incredibly cool to use and visually stylish. I also think that stripping back the rpg mechanics a little bit helps Bloodborne craft itself a reasonably unique identity compared to the other Souls games; the weapons you start with remain feasible options all through the game, you can dress your character however you want without having to worry too much about stats (and there are some incredible pieces of fashion here), and even the stats system has been noticeably streamlined to encourage towards focusing on the hunt.
Despite all of this, Bloodborne does fall short for me compared to my favourite FromSoft games, even though I did enjoy it immensely. There are a scattering of smaller issues that contribute to this. Much has been said about the blood vial system, and whilst I can appreciate the thematic way that grinding for blood vials represents you literally being bloodthirsty, desperately searching for sustenance, as hunters are prone to being, the reality is that having to stop attempting the exciting boss fight you keep dying to in order to go grind together some vials is a painful pace breaker; this didn't affect me too many times as this was the final game I played from the Soulsborne games but I can only imagine how frustrating this must be to someone less experienced with these when contrasted with the estus system where you get to keep making attempts and learning.
Chalice dungeons suck. Whilst Bloodborne does have have more enjoyable combat than the games that came before it, the reality is that the big draw to these games is their atmosphere, worldbuilding and level design, and chalice dungeons strip away so much of this in an effort to be a roguelite-esque jamming together of the same ten rooms over and over instead. I tried playing these for about three hours or so, they never meaningfully improved outside of a couple cool boss fights and I swore to not touch them again. The worst thing about chalice dungeons is it's not like you can even totally ignore them because they actively effect the main game too; there were many times where beating a boss or getting to a hard to reach treasure chest in the main game would give me an item whose only use was for a chalice ritual, content that I was never going to engage with, which would feel disappointing every time.
I also found Bloodborne's collection of bosses honestly very uneven? Early phases of human bosses are very prone to getting stun-locked which both feels weird and also makes having to repeat those early phases boring, and I found wrestling the camera against the game's various different giant, savage, relentless, constantly-screaming beasts to be frustrating (the fight against Ebrietas was ruined by this for me). As with everything in the game, the visual design of these bosses are so good that it's hard for me to be too upset about any of this, or even call any of the bosses bad; even fights like Rom, Micolash, The One Reborn and Celestial Emissary are all very memorable in their own ways even if the gameplay itself wasn't great. Still, the number of bosses I'm actually enthusiastic about here was not terribly high and that makes me a little sad.
Probably the biggest problem for me is that the lore and storytelling in Bloodborne didn't connect with me as potently as it does in the Souls games. I wish I had been given a clearer motivation for what I'm doing at the start of the game, rather than just being told some stuff about locating paleblood (which meant so little to me due to a lack of context) and Gerhman hand-waving the very notion of me worrying about why I'm doing what I'm doing; compared to the Souls games I found myself feeling weirdly purposeless here, like I was just going through the motions on some level. On top of this a lot of the game's thematic content fell flat for me; I loved its look at madness, dreams and nightmares and found a lot of the material surrounding this very compelling in large part because of the places the game gets to go aesthetically as a result, but its look at the evils of the church felt very old hat, and I couldn't find much more to grasp onto here beyond all of that. It's perhaps harsh of me to be contrasting this against the excellent thematic content in the Dark Souls games and their look at entropy, decay, patriarchy, cycles of life and death, and maintaining determination in the face of adversity, especially as Bloodborne is certainly ahead of a lot of games in this regard, but I find myself reminded of another review I read earlier this year that commented about how Bloodborne's storytelling ends up feeling too elusive to connect with, yet also too specific to function as a mood-piece.
It feels like I'm ragging on the game needlessly harshly here; Bloodborne is great, I loved my time with it, it just happened to fall a little short for me in some regards and it takes a lot of words to justify why that is the case when a lot of what FromSoft is doing here is so impeccable and exciting.
When looking at this game in its entirety: its gameplay, story, atmosphere, setting, lore, music, etc. I cannot help but consider Bloodborne as the best game From Software has ever created... and in a long line of amazing Souls games, that is quite the accomplishment.
The only downside of Bloodborne no longer exists, as it was only experienced for those folks who jumped in first upon its release back in the early days of the PS4... and those were the loading times. Thankfully, the patch came relatively quickly (but not quick enough before I ended up beating it) which cut down on the loading time significantly. The dreaded black screen of death with the words Bloodborne across it are still imprinted in my memory banks though... waiting to respawn for what seemed like a damn eternity. But now, with new consoles, and post-patch, this is no longer an issue.
Now I wait for the inevitable re-release for PS5 with some minor enhancements... it has to be coming eventually? Right guys? Riiightt!?!?
In summary, Bloodborne is a masterpiece through and through. And is deserving of a replay from me to finally get around to the DLC (The Old Hunters) that I have never played... I was waiting for a remaster, but depending on how much longer it takes, I might just dive in with my original copy of the game...
The only downside of Bloodborne no longer exists, as it was only experienced for those folks who jumped in first upon its release back in the early days of the PS4... and those were the loading times. Thankfully, the patch came relatively quickly (but not quick enough before I ended up beating it) which cut down on the loading time significantly. The dreaded black screen of death with the words Bloodborne across it are still imprinted in my memory banks though... waiting to respawn for what seemed like a damn eternity. But now, with new consoles, and post-patch, this is no longer an issue.
Now I wait for the inevitable re-release for PS5 with some minor enhancements... it has to be coming eventually? Right guys? Riiightt!?!?
In summary, Bloodborne is a masterpiece through and through. And is deserving of a replay from me to finally get around to the DLC (The Old Hunters) that I have never played... I was waiting for a remaster, but depending on how much longer it takes, I might just dive in with my original copy of the game...
Will FromSoft ever surpass the raw horniness of this game? Almost certainly not.
Where be the sixth star
In Defence of Bloodborne
The notion of Bloodborne needing defending is patently absurd; it's one of the ten highest rated games on this site, one of the most beloved games of the last ten years, and seems to be the most common answer when people are asked for their favourite FromSoft title. That said, whilst I really enjoyed the game first time round it was with considerable reservations (a 4 star rating and no more), and only on my recent New Game+ playthrough did the game flourish for me as all my former complaints, amounting more or less to a list of most of the common complaints held against the game, melted away. This review won't address any of the already widely praised strengths of the game (the stunning art direction, atmosphere and level design; FromSoft's best collection of weapons; the kinetic, fast-paced combat brought alive by the rally system; etc etc etc), but instead just seeks to talk through my change of perspective on those weaknesses.
The two most widely criticised aspects of Bloodborne are the blood vial system and the chalice dungeons, and these are both aspects that bothered me in my first playthrough too. Blood vials are very thematically effective, periodically putting you in this bloodthirsty place when you run low on them, desperately searching for sustenance by slaughtering early mobs over and over, truly making you the hunter, but they also necessitate grinding and are ultimately pace-breaking when you're forced to abandon a tough boss fight to go scavenge. Chalice dungeons stand in stark contrast to the tight, creative, intentional level design that FromSoft is known for to instead be more like a Souls roguelike with even the premade chalice dungeons feeling procedurally generated, and it's easy for them to be disappointing with this in mind.
Something widely commented upon about Elden Ring was how the various caves and catacombs allowed you to scale the game to your liking. If you're really experienced with these games already you only had to do a handful of these excursions to stock up on smithing stones, whilst those who are struggling, held up from making story progress by Margit or some other imposing boss, would have a lot of this optional side content to go grind through in order to gain a few extra levels, find a couple nice new pieces of equipment, and return to face The Fell Omen more prepared than before. I think this is how the chalice dungeons are actually meant to be treated. If you vibe with them then cool, go chalice it up to your heart's content; the level design might be a bit janky, but Bloodborne's combat is good enough that the chalice dungeons are still honestly more solidly fun to wander through than I originally gave credit. But if you're getting murdered by a boss so much that you have nary a blood vial left then it's possible what you need isn't just a vial refill, but also a couple extra levels or another good gem to plug into your weapon. People who find places in Souls games to go grind out souls and get those extra levels is already a well-recorded phenomenon, and chalices are honestly the perfect answer to that; near-endless content for people who do want to grind out those extra levels. The blood vial system is the one part of the game I still regard as Decidedly Not Perfect, but I've grown to appreciate the way it says "hey maybe stop just bashing your head against this clearly-too-difficult-for-you-right-now boss and go level up a bit first?", and think that actually listening to those cries and taking breaks from Orphan of Kos to go do chalice dungeons for a couple hours would have led to a better experience than thinking all I needed was to go grind enough blood vials in a mid-game area for a few more attempts at beating that very screamy child.
On a minor note, Bloodborne is the FromSoft game that most wants to support the existence of New Game+ with the last couple chalice dungeons, leading up to a super secret bonus boss, very clearly being content that is meant to be scaled to a New Game+ (or higher) character, and with progress on chalice dungeons being retained between New Game+ cycles. Whilst this might not excuse some of the frustration of running out of blood vials on your initial playthrough, the moment you enter New Game+ and proceed through the game for a second time you'll be earning enough echoes that it becomes trivially easy to have 100+ vials available to you at all times. These frustrations are unfortunate but are also only temporary.
The bosses of Bloodborne are also a point of contention, and I found them uneven initially with some standing out as all-time great boss fights whilst others end up being far less mechanically engaging and even a bit awkward at times. To circle back around to Elden Ring again, one strange thing that game did for me was make me appreciate the boss design of Demon's Souls a lot more. Elden Ring's boss designs follow a very consistent style, and that certainly suits what that game is, but with less than a handful of what could be referred to as puzzle bosses a lot of this content can blur together. Demon's Souls definitely has a bunch of bosses that are not very mechanically challenging or that read as gimmicky, but there are maybe only two or three bosses in that entire game that wouldn't count as memorable. I think the best bosses in these games being ones like Artorias, Gael and Lady Maria, combined with the SoulsBorne reputation of being challenging, has brain poisoned us to want every boss in these games to match that template. All of this is a long-winded way of saying that playing through Elden Ring has turned me into the kind of person that will die on the hill that Rom, One Reborn, The Witches of Hemwick and Micolash are all genuinely good bosses, despite not being that challenging nor testing your combat skills particularly, because they all stand as memorable experiences. A year after originally fighting Micolash I would still quote his lines, the visual design of the Rom encounter remained seared into my brain right up until the start of this New Game+ playthrough, and ultimately the fact that these bosses contrast against the rest of Bloodborne serves as a strength rather than a weakness as it stops the overall experience from homogenising.
Finally, the lore of Bloodborne stands out as the one part of the game I wasn't completely onboard with on my first playthrough that most everyone else seemed to love, but this is an aspect of the game that really comes alive with repeat visits. I don't want to go too deep into this, people have done this enough already and this review is long enough as it is, but two things to consider are; what initially seems like a fairly simple condemnation of the church and the power institutions can wield over people gains a lot more depth when you realise that Bloodborne is less about supernatural critters and madness than it is about eugenics, classism and the myth of intelligence; most of the supernatural critters in Bloodborne were initially harmless, just kind of vibing and doing their own thing, and only became so dangerous because people made them so in our lust for knowledge and power.
Anyways, Bloodborne kind of just whips.
The notion of Bloodborne needing defending is patently absurd; it's one of the ten highest rated games on this site, one of the most beloved games of the last ten years, and seems to be the most common answer when people are asked for their favourite FromSoft title. That said, whilst I really enjoyed the game first time round it was with considerable reservations (a 4 star rating and no more), and only on my recent New Game+ playthrough did the game flourish for me as all my former complaints, amounting more or less to a list of most of the common complaints held against the game, melted away. This review won't address any of the already widely praised strengths of the game (the stunning art direction, atmosphere and level design; FromSoft's best collection of weapons; the kinetic, fast-paced combat brought alive by the rally system; etc etc etc), but instead just seeks to talk through my change of perspective on those weaknesses.
The two most widely criticised aspects of Bloodborne are the blood vial system and the chalice dungeons, and these are both aspects that bothered me in my first playthrough too. Blood vials are very thematically effective, periodically putting you in this bloodthirsty place when you run low on them, desperately searching for sustenance by slaughtering early mobs over and over, truly making you the hunter, but they also necessitate grinding and are ultimately pace-breaking when you're forced to abandon a tough boss fight to go scavenge. Chalice dungeons stand in stark contrast to the tight, creative, intentional level design that FromSoft is known for to instead be more like a Souls roguelike with even the premade chalice dungeons feeling procedurally generated, and it's easy for them to be disappointing with this in mind.
Something widely commented upon about Elden Ring was how the various caves and catacombs allowed you to scale the game to your liking. If you're really experienced with these games already you only had to do a handful of these excursions to stock up on smithing stones, whilst those who are struggling, held up from making story progress by Margit or some other imposing boss, would have a lot of this optional side content to go grind through in order to gain a few extra levels, find a couple nice new pieces of equipment, and return to face The Fell Omen more prepared than before. I think this is how the chalice dungeons are actually meant to be treated. If you vibe with them then cool, go chalice it up to your heart's content; the level design might be a bit janky, but Bloodborne's combat is good enough that the chalice dungeons are still honestly more solidly fun to wander through than I originally gave credit. But if you're getting murdered by a boss so much that you have nary a blood vial left then it's possible what you need isn't just a vial refill, but also a couple extra levels or another good gem to plug into your weapon. People who find places in Souls games to go grind out souls and get those extra levels is already a well-recorded phenomenon, and chalices are honestly the perfect answer to that; near-endless content for people who do want to grind out those extra levels. The blood vial system is the one part of the game I still regard as Decidedly Not Perfect, but I've grown to appreciate the way it says "hey maybe stop just bashing your head against this clearly-too-difficult-for-you-right-now boss and go level up a bit first?", and think that actually listening to those cries and taking breaks from Orphan of Kos to go do chalice dungeons for a couple hours would have led to a better experience than thinking all I needed was to go grind enough blood vials in a mid-game area for a few more attempts at beating that very screamy child.
On a minor note, Bloodborne is the FromSoft game that most wants to support the existence of New Game+ with the last couple chalice dungeons, leading up to a super secret bonus boss, very clearly being content that is meant to be scaled to a New Game+ (or higher) character, and with progress on chalice dungeons being retained between New Game+ cycles. Whilst this might not excuse some of the frustration of running out of blood vials on your initial playthrough, the moment you enter New Game+ and proceed through the game for a second time you'll be earning enough echoes that it becomes trivially easy to have 100+ vials available to you at all times. These frustrations are unfortunate but are also only temporary.
The bosses of Bloodborne are also a point of contention, and I found them uneven initially with some standing out as all-time great boss fights whilst others end up being far less mechanically engaging and even a bit awkward at times. To circle back around to Elden Ring again, one strange thing that game did for me was make me appreciate the boss design of Demon's Souls a lot more. Elden Ring's boss designs follow a very consistent style, and that certainly suits what that game is, but with less than a handful of what could be referred to as puzzle bosses a lot of this content can blur together. Demon's Souls definitely has a bunch of bosses that are not very mechanically challenging or that read as gimmicky, but there are maybe only two or three bosses in that entire game that wouldn't count as memorable. I think the best bosses in these games being ones like Artorias, Gael and Lady Maria, combined with the SoulsBorne reputation of being challenging, has brain poisoned us to want every boss in these games to match that template. All of this is a long-winded way of saying that playing through Elden Ring has turned me into the kind of person that will die on the hill that Rom, One Reborn, The Witches of Hemwick and Micolash are all genuinely good bosses, despite not being that challenging nor testing your combat skills particularly, because they all stand as memorable experiences. A year after originally fighting Micolash I would still quote his lines, the visual design of the Rom encounter remained seared into my brain right up until the start of this New Game+ playthrough, and ultimately the fact that these bosses contrast against the rest of Bloodborne serves as a strength rather than a weakness as it stops the overall experience from homogenising.
Finally, the lore of Bloodborne stands out as the one part of the game I wasn't completely onboard with on my first playthrough that most everyone else seemed to love, but this is an aspect of the game that really comes alive with repeat visits. I don't want to go too deep into this, people have done this enough already and this review is long enough as it is, but two things to consider are; what initially seems like a fairly simple condemnation of the church and the power institutions can wield over people gains a lot more depth when you realise that Bloodborne is less about supernatural critters and madness than it is about eugenics, classism and the myth of intelligence; most of the supernatural critters in Bloodborne were initially harmless, just kind of vibing and doing their own thing, and only became so dangerous because people made them so in our lust for knowledge and power.
Anyways, Bloodborne kind of just whips.
My absolute favorite FromSoftware game, and the first I completed. I tried this when it originally came out, found it too challenging, and gave up. Years later, I picked it up again, determined to learn the Soulslike formula. I did, and absolutely loved it. The world of Bloodborne is so interesting, and the Gothic, dark fantasy vibes kept me wanting more of this universe. The bosses and enemies are amazing, the level design is immaculate, the music is incredible, the trick weapons are a lot of fun, and this game has one of the best DLCs ever made. 5/5. Would recommend.
Bloodborne was a game I would keep coming back to over the years just to beat one boss then shelve it right after. Not sure why as I loved the lore, the world, and the characters a lot. If you had to play one souls game I’d say this is the one. Haven’t gotten to DS3 yet but so far BB is my favorite.
rejoguei pra platinar pela 2a vez, e continua sendo um dos (senão O) melhores jogos de todos os tempos, único, maravilhoso, estético, gostoso, perfeito.
esse jogo é a representação de putaria da boa, inclui bastante tapa na bunda, puxão de cabelo, xingar de putinha, soco no dente, murro no nervo do joelho, mordida no pescoço e besteirinha no ouvido.
SEXO!
esse jogo é a representação de putaria da boa, inclui bastante tapa na bunda, puxão de cabelo, xingar de putinha, soco no dente, murro no nervo do joelho, mordida no pescoço e besteirinha no ouvido.
SEXO!
Sometimes it's daunting to go into such a beloved, iconic game with astronomical hype and expectations behind it. It can feel like if you're even marginally not enjoying it as much as you're supposed to, you're insulting scores of people who have dedicated themselves to loving this game.
Well, I'm happy to confirm that Bloodborne really is as good as everyone always says it is.
Even though I always understood the impulse to want a next-gen remaster of this game, having finished it myself, I conclude that it's very much needed. One of the biggest issues with Bloodborne is the ~30fps framerate and the fact that it's stuck at 1080p. I admit, that sounds very snobby, and it's still very playable, don't get me wrong. However, this game has such a gorgeous world that it truly deserves to be displayed in all its glory with the highest fidelity possible. As it stands, though, it gets in its own way with this. At times, the game's aliasing made some of the bosses, particularly those heavy with hair and fur, tough to read attacks from, especially with how fast some of their attacks are.
But of course, the real stars of Bloodborne are its gameplay and particularly its world, both of which prove to impress at every level, in every sense of the word. Initially, it can be jarring to find that, unlike previous Souls games, Bloodborne has little to no defensive options due to the fact that it was built from the ground up to promote a more 'push-forward combat' style than ever before. It definitely takes training, but once you have the rhythms down, particularly when you use your firearm at the perfect moment to make a visceral attack, it's incredibly satisfying.
As I've mentioned before, something I've always appreciated about Souls games is that, despite the reputation they receive as hardcore ‘git gud’ gauntlets, the difficulty is never arbitrary. Of course, this is obvious to veterans, but it always comes down to discovering what you're good at and having enough patience to strategize each battle and not just charge foolhardy into every encounter. Every fight, from minor enemies to boss battles, feels rewarding and compelling, particularly with how brazen this game encourages you to be with your arsenal.
The city of Yharnam is a perfect setting for this game, filled with spooky vistas and tomes upon tomes of lore and details surrounding the game's present events that, in true From fashion, are kind of required reading to get a decent grasp of the wider implications of what's happening surrounding the surface-level gameplay stuff. That being said, to the unfamiliar on a first playthrough, the surface-level narrative and changes to the setting as you proceed remain decent enough to suffice. As always, they could be a bit less vague with how they go about this, but I understand that's part of the charm of their games.
Really, there's not much else to say about Bloodborne that hasn't been said at length already. It holds up as a spectacular experience that falls short of full marks thanks to the image quality, shoddy framerate, and, to a lesser extent, the delivery of its central narrative. Despite that, though, its frenetic action gameplay, Lovecraft-inspired setting, stellar art direction, enemy variety, and boss design are truly worthy of the unconditional praise that gets heaped upon this game to this day.
9/10
Well, I'm happy to confirm that Bloodborne really is as good as everyone always says it is.
Even though I always understood the impulse to want a next-gen remaster of this game, having finished it myself, I conclude that it's very much needed. One of the biggest issues with Bloodborne is the ~30fps framerate and the fact that it's stuck at 1080p. I admit, that sounds very snobby, and it's still very playable, don't get me wrong. However, this game has such a gorgeous world that it truly deserves to be displayed in all its glory with the highest fidelity possible. As it stands, though, it gets in its own way with this. At times, the game's aliasing made some of the bosses, particularly those heavy with hair and fur, tough to read attacks from, especially with how fast some of their attacks are.
But of course, the real stars of Bloodborne are its gameplay and particularly its world, both of which prove to impress at every level, in every sense of the word. Initially, it can be jarring to find that, unlike previous Souls games, Bloodborne has little to no defensive options due to the fact that it was built from the ground up to promote a more 'push-forward combat' style than ever before. It definitely takes training, but once you have the rhythms down, particularly when you use your firearm at the perfect moment to make a visceral attack, it's incredibly satisfying.
As I've mentioned before, something I've always appreciated about Souls games is that, despite the reputation they receive as hardcore ‘git gud’ gauntlets, the difficulty is never arbitrary. Of course, this is obvious to veterans, but it always comes down to discovering what you're good at and having enough patience to strategize each battle and not just charge foolhardy into every encounter. Every fight, from minor enemies to boss battles, feels rewarding and compelling, particularly with how brazen this game encourages you to be with your arsenal.
The city of Yharnam is a perfect setting for this game, filled with spooky vistas and tomes upon tomes of lore and details surrounding the game's present events that, in true From fashion, are kind of required reading to get a decent grasp of the wider implications of what's happening surrounding the surface-level gameplay stuff. That being said, to the unfamiliar on a first playthrough, the surface-level narrative and changes to the setting as you proceed remain decent enough to suffice. As always, they could be a bit less vague with how they go about this, but I understand that's part of the charm of their games.
Really, there's not much else to say about Bloodborne that hasn't been said at length already. It holds up as a spectacular experience that falls short of full marks thanks to the image quality, shoddy framerate, and, to a lesser extent, the delivery of its central narrative. Despite that, though, its frenetic action gameplay, Lovecraft-inspired setting, stellar art direction, enemy variety, and boss design are truly worthy of the unconditional praise that gets heaped upon this game to this day.
9/10