I intended to review the Fromsoft games in the order i played them but i have to talk about Bloodborne at the top because its the platonic ideal of what they offer.

Bloodborne is a masterpiece.

I dont quite know which angle to tackle first, so i'll start with what i find coolest- i fucking love how it subverts the tried and true formula that fromsoft had refined from Demons Souls to now. Dark Souls 3 would return to their bread and butter after bloodborne, and its entirely right and correct for that franchise, but Bloodborne does so many things right and none of that would be possible if the hunter was shackled to a slow and methodical playstyle hiding behind a shield. The genius here is the rally system, and reinforced within the lore of the game- youre hunting beasts, and theyre instinctive and primal and are trying to eat you.
The goal is to kill them before they kill you, it is not to survive them.

The gaslit streets of Yharnam are gorgeous, the slow creep towards Weird Horror and cosmic nightmares is delicately realized, and the fashion souls has never fashion souled quite as hard before or since.

The Old Hunters is in contention for one of the best DLCs ever made. Lady Maria is iconic, and they dragged her back out for Elden Ring (although reskinned as Malenia).

I think Father Gascoigne is one of the best bosses ever designed, a door boss that feels like "okay, this is bloodborne, and when i'm able to go bar for bar with this animal, i'm truly ready for the world to open up to me."

Every industry show I still, naively, get excited for Bloodborne 2.