So, I like the Dark Souls games. However, I've also always been more of an aggro player in action games. I play anime fighters rather than Street Fighter. Dark Souls, for all of its strength, rewards a certain type of tactical carefulness in every encounter. If you see a new type of enemy then you generally want to keep your distance, circle strafe and hold up a shield to see what they can do first. None of this is bad, mind you, but it doesn't necessarily align with how I like to play these games.
In comes Bloodborne and says "Hey, that carefulness that you had before? SCREW THAT! RUN IN THERE AND KILL THEM! IF YOU GET HIT, HIT THEM BACK!" This is a style of play that I fundamentally enjoy more. Bloodborne encourages you to see a new kind of threat and respond to it by running in there immediately to start cutting them up. Right up in your opponent's face is often the safest place to be and this makes the game feel so dang good when you are doing well.
So, this was the purely subjective aspect of my love for the game. Some people prefer the slower, more deliberate, more careful style of play from Dark Souls but that isn't me!
On top of this, the worldbuilding continues the meta-narratives of Dark Souls by leaning fully into these themes of inversion. Where Dark Souls has its hero's journey, Bloodborne follows the steps but each step has its meaning inverted. The story makes it clear from the start that you are no hero. "Don't think too hard about all of this. Just get out there and kill some monsters. It's for your own good!"
The cosmic horror theming makes perfect sense for this conceit, meaning that even when you start to feel like you understand your role in it all, you are never completely sure. There's absolutely consistent elements and plot resolutions in there but they're rarely quite what you'd think that they'd be.
Overall, love it or hate it, Bloodborne is a game that sticks with you. Often times I'll find myself thinking back to some aspect of the game and find myself realising some new insight about that makes me like it even more, How appropriate...
In comes Bloodborne and says "Hey, that carefulness that you had before? SCREW THAT! RUN IN THERE AND KILL THEM! IF YOU GET HIT, HIT THEM BACK!" This is a style of play that I fundamentally enjoy more. Bloodborne encourages you to see a new kind of threat and respond to it by running in there immediately to start cutting them up. Right up in your opponent's face is often the safest place to be and this makes the game feel so dang good when you are doing well.
So, this was the purely subjective aspect of my love for the game. Some people prefer the slower, more deliberate, more careful style of play from Dark Souls but that isn't me!
On top of this, the worldbuilding continues the meta-narratives of Dark Souls by leaning fully into these themes of inversion. Where Dark Souls has its hero's journey, Bloodborne follows the steps but each step has its meaning inverted. The story makes it clear from the start that you are no hero. "Don't think too hard about all of this. Just get out there and kill some monsters. It's for your own good!"
The cosmic horror theming makes perfect sense for this conceit, meaning that even when you start to feel like you understand your role in it all, you are never completely sure. There's absolutely consistent elements and plot resolutions in there but they're rarely quite what you'd think that they'd be.
Overall, love it or hate it, Bloodborne is a game that sticks with you. Often times I'll find myself thinking back to some aspect of the game and find myself realising some new insight about that makes me like it even more, How appropriate...