This review contains spoilers
Oh, good hunter...
I've never written a Backloggd review, and I do not plan to make my first one a review style written piece. It is my favorite game of all time, and considering its now 7+ year age, this is a justification of what makes Bloodborne stand amongst the crowd of almost-perfect video games, and why my love for this game still prevails after all this time.
One of the most important parts of Bloodborne's unique is the world building. The game thrusts the player into the world of Yharnam; a dark, gothic, victorian city that has been infected with a disease, and now, it is time for the player to hunt. Right off the bat, the world is engaging, disturbing, and even has people behind their doors ready to give you a dose of the good news and tell you to fuck off, it's great. The first few major areas of the game build the conventional world of Yharnam perfectly, but as you progress deeper, the facade of this victorian city wears off and in comes one of the best thematic switch-ups in a videogame I've ever seen. The change to lovecraftian horror was more than a welcome change of pace. This plays into the mechanic of insight as well, a strange mechanic never much elaborated on in the early stages of the game. With progression, you realize that your insight is what keeps you from seeing the actual horrors of the world of Yharnam. Otherworldly monsters lurk around every corner, and with high enough insight, you can see these eldrich creatures before you are forced to gaze upon them. From this game, I have two areas that stand amongst the most well crafted and excellent areas in games, those being Castle Cainhurst and the Research Hall. These areas are challenging, well thought out in design and layout, and always a joy to explore.
No world building is complete without music, and Bloodborne, as well as Souls in general, lacks music for the most part. However, this is key to creating a way more intense atmosphere as you traverse a world without hope. So when you encounter bosses to triumph over, you finally are introduced to music. The boss music is some of the most well composed pieces I have heard in a video game, from Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower, Ludwig the Holy Blade, Queen of the Vilebloods, The First Hunter, Laurence the First Vicar and more, your heart will race with every encounter. Not to mention the areas that do have music to create a more tense atmosphere. These include Hypogean Gaol, The Upper Cathedral Ward and the Hunter's Dream.
All of this ties into the lore, and it is cryptic. Bosses are more than just spectacles waiting to be conquered, they have importance in the story. NPCs are more than just jesters waiting to laugh at you since you did not understand shit they told you since their dialogue is all giggles and riddles. What you make of Bloodborne's story is what you make of it. The lore is in the dialogue, item descriptions and the world, but you have to go out and find it. A lot of the lore is more readily available and better explained elsewhere other than this essay. Just know, one of my favorite stories is told through this game, for the secrets of Yharnam beckon so sweetly.
Another thing I appreciate about Bloodborne was the new mechanics that differentiated the game from previous Souls games. The rally mechanic is something unique to Bloodborne, until Elden Ring (granted, that game does not well implement the mechanic), to force you to be aggressive instead of the passivity of Souls. The lack of a shield, and the introduction of a gun to solely parry pushes the player to really understand the depth of the combat, and fight against your enemies with every skill you've learned. Fights become dances, and truly makes you feel like every victory is earned. Bloodborne has conditioned me to play every Souls game more aggressively, and I can never go back. Also, the trick weapons are such a perfect weapon system and the depth they provide is endless joy. One drawback I can admit Bloodborne has was the finite amount of healing, instead of the beautifuly crafted Estus Flask. When you want healing outside of rallying, and you run out, you must farm for more. Granted, Blood Vials, the item for healing, do drop from enemies often upon death, however, it is still not a perfect system.
One of the final things I want to touch upon is the bosses. The bosses are always some of the best parts of every Souls game, and that applies in Bloodborne. How can one forget their first triumph over Father Gascoigne, or learning how to successfully manage the Shadows of Yharnam? The emotionally compelling fight of Gehrman, a battle of a mentor vs student, to let the other free from suffering. A horrific first encounter with Ebrietas in the depths of the Upper Cathedral Ward. Ludwig and the Orphan of Kos, two difficult fights that are some of the most well crafted in Soulsborne to date. Then, I mentioned earlier in this essay how two of my favorite areas are Castle Cainhurst and the Research Hall, and they hold two of my favorite bosses in the game. Martyr Logarius and Lady Maria are elegant dances of ferocious combat and aggression. Lady Maria stands as my favorite boss fight in a game ever, it is that good.
I have rambled on for a long time about this near-masterpiece. I have shilled this game to almost everyone I know, and tried multiple co-op sessions even thought 99% of those fail because my friends are COWARDS.
Hopefully in the future, we see this game remastered, and brought to PC in Sony's new efforts, for more people to experience this game.
No, Bloodborne is more than a video game, it is a masterful, well-crafted work of art that is a necessity to experience.
I've never written a Backloggd review, and I do not plan to make my first one a review style written piece. It is my favorite game of all time, and considering its now 7+ year age, this is a justification of what makes Bloodborne stand amongst the crowd of almost-perfect video games, and why my love for this game still prevails after all this time.
One of the most important parts of Bloodborne's unique is the world building. The game thrusts the player into the world of Yharnam; a dark, gothic, victorian city that has been infected with a disease, and now, it is time for the player to hunt. Right off the bat, the world is engaging, disturbing, and even has people behind their doors ready to give you a dose of the good news and tell you to fuck off, it's great. The first few major areas of the game build the conventional world of Yharnam perfectly, but as you progress deeper, the facade of this victorian city wears off and in comes one of the best thematic switch-ups in a videogame I've ever seen. The change to lovecraftian horror was more than a welcome change of pace. This plays into the mechanic of insight as well, a strange mechanic never much elaborated on in the early stages of the game. With progression, you realize that your insight is what keeps you from seeing the actual horrors of the world of Yharnam. Otherworldly monsters lurk around every corner, and with high enough insight, you can see these eldrich creatures before you are forced to gaze upon them. From this game, I have two areas that stand amongst the most well crafted and excellent areas in games, those being Castle Cainhurst and the Research Hall. These areas are challenging, well thought out in design and layout, and always a joy to explore.
No world building is complete without music, and Bloodborne, as well as Souls in general, lacks music for the most part. However, this is key to creating a way more intense atmosphere as you traverse a world without hope. So when you encounter bosses to triumph over, you finally are introduced to music. The boss music is some of the most well composed pieces I have heard in a video game, from Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower, Ludwig the Holy Blade, Queen of the Vilebloods, The First Hunter, Laurence the First Vicar and more, your heart will race with every encounter. Not to mention the areas that do have music to create a more tense atmosphere. These include Hypogean Gaol, The Upper Cathedral Ward and the Hunter's Dream.
All of this ties into the lore, and it is cryptic. Bosses are more than just spectacles waiting to be conquered, they have importance in the story. NPCs are more than just jesters waiting to laugh at you since you did not understand shit they told you since their dialogue is all giggles and riddles. What you make of Bloodborne's story is what you make of it. The lore is in the dialogue, item descriptions and the world, but you have to go out and find it. A lot of the lore is more readily available and better explained elsewhere other than this essay. Just know, one of my favorite stories is told through this game, for the secrets of Yharnam beckon so sweetly.
Another thing I appreciate about Bloodborne was the new mechanics that differentiated the game from previous Souls games. The rally mechanic is something unique to Bloodborne, until Elden Ring (granted, that game does not well implement the mechanic), to force you to be aggressive instead of the passivity of Souls. The lack of a shield, and the introduction of a gun to solely parry pushes the player to really understand the depth of the combat, and fight against your enemies with every skill you've learned. Fights become dances, and truly makes you feel like every victory is earned. Bloodborne has conditioned me to play every Souls game more aggressively, and I can never go back. Also, the trick weapons are such a perfect weapon system and the depth they provide is endless joy. One drawback I can admit Bloodborne has was the finite amount of healing, instead of the beautifuly crafted Estus Flask. When you want healing outside of rallying, and you run out, you must farm for more. Granted, Blood Vials, the item for healing, do drop from enemies often upon death, however, it is still not a perfect system.
One of the final things I want to touch upon is the bosses. The bosses are always some of the best parts of every Souls game, and that applies in Bloodborne. How can one forget their first triumph over Father Gascoigne, or learning how to successfully manage the Shadows of Yharnam? The emotionally compelling fight of Gehrman, a battle of a mentor vs student, to let the other free from suffering. A horrific first encounter with Ebrietas in the depths of the Upper Cathedral Ward. Ludwig and the Orphan of Kos, two difficult fights that are some of the most well crafted in Soulsborne to date. Then, I mentioned earlier in this essay how two of my favorite areas are Castle Cainhurst and the Research Hall, and they hold two of my favorite bosses in the game. Martyr Logarius and Lady Maria are elegant dances of ferocious combat and aggression. Lady Maria stands as my favorite boss fight in a game ever, it is that good.
I have rambled on for a long time about this near-masterpiece. I have shilled this game to almost everyone I know, and tried multiple co-op sessions even thought 99% of those fail because my friends are COWARDS.
Hopefully in the future, we see this game remastered, and brought to PC in Sony's new efforts, for more people to experience this game.
No, Bloodborne is more than a video game, it is a masterful, well-crafted work of art that is a necessity to experience.