Bloodborne

Game Info

“I got this,” as I wipe the sweat from my brow after dying relentlessly over and over.  “This boss can’t possibly kill me again can it?”  “I should have his moves down to dodge efficiently right?”  “I died again, what did I do wrong this time!?”  These are scenarios that have happened more often then I wanted in Bloodborne, but yet there was an addicting nature of the game that kept me coming back to be slaughtered again.  Bloodborne is another successful title made by FromSoftware, who has been well known for their punishing “Souls” games.  This title is no different and will have you dying and cursing just the same as in all the other games FromSoftware has made.

The story is set in a town called Yarnham and you take the role of a hunter with little information of what is happening throughout the area.  Bloodborne doesn’t tell you a story like most games do, instead it puts the role on you to figure out what the game is about.  Small cut-scenes will occasionally play in the game and are filled with short riddled dialogue that keeps you guessing.  There will also be notes you can find or townsfolk that you can talk with to get a better understanding of what is actually happening.

You start out with a robust character creation tool that you can use to customize your hunter to look as you want him or her to.  The amount of options available in the creator is amazing and allows for some unique, yet interesting outcomes for your character.  After you have finalized your look, you are thrown into the game weaponless and unsure of what to do.  Soon you will most likely die once you move into the next room and it will take you to a place called the “Hunter’s Dream”.  This place is your safe haven where you get weapons, level up, store items, purchase/sell items and upgrade equipment.

Once you get a weapon from the Hunter’s Dream you can use a tombstone to warp back to where you were and take on that beast that took your life away.  This is where Yarnham opens up and lets you run free to explore or die as you see fit.  The game is a bit different than the Dark Souls series as they want you to focus on evading and dodging attacks to then jump back in with a counter hit.  Another useful tool to help is the addition of a gun to offset the balance a little.  Patience is a must with Bloodborne as you won’t be a master from the start.  Taking chances and risks are more beneficial than you would think and after you have gotten over your fear of dying, the game seems more accessible.

Throughout Bloodborne you will encounter bosses that will test your patience and skill to see if you have the confidence needed to venture forth.  For every enemy you kill, Blood Echoes will be obtained and this is the main currency and EXP you use in the game.  Now I must warn you, if you die then your Blood Echoes will be lost and left around the area you were killed.  You can get them back if you succeed in retrieving them from who killed you or the place where they lay on the ground.  If you die while trying to make it back to retrieve those lost Blood Echoes then all is lost, literally.  This is where the frustration and cursing hits the fan as those hard earned Blood Echoes are now gone forever and you are now faced with grinding to get more.

There are also chalices that can be obtained by defeating certain bosses. These will give you access to perform rituals in the Hunter’s Dream to unlock special dungeons.  These chalice dungeons will offer a different challenge and also will reward you with better drops and items if completed.

Bloodborne has an online mode as well and adds either cooperative play or competitive player vs. player.  In order to do this you will need to gain insight, which is received for doing many things in the game and one of those is defeating bosses.  From my understanding you can only do an online play with someone that is within 10 or so levels from your current character to weed out the under or over leveled characters.  It is confusing at first on how to achieve online play and it will require you to have certain bells you need to use (ring) that can get you the type of online play you desire.

The visuals are absolutely perfect and create an immersive experience while traveling through Yarnham.  The visual fidelity of Bloodborne amaze me with the amount of detail that has been put into the character models and environments.  There is a Gothic style appearance and haunting atmospheric presence that lures you in.  I found myself observing my character a lot throughout the game to see how much blood has covered my character from my previous enemy encounters, since the blood will splash onto you and stay.  There are a few frame-rate issues that don’t necessarily hinder the experience, but more on the side of just annoying you.

The sound is superb and chilling all at the same time.  As you slice into enemies, it sounds so severe and gruesome that its almost too perfect.  Some of the bosses have shrilling shrieks that will haunt you for days and help create that fear that Bloodborne is so willing to provide.

The Recommendation

FromSoftware is a well known developer and has made their fame from creating overly punishing games, such as Dark Souls.  Bloodborne is no different and pushes the bar a bit higher in quality and more solid gameplay.  This game is not for everyone and it isn’t meant to be.  Even though there are some frame-rate issues, this title is a perfect depiction of an exclusive that we’ve been asking for.  I for one have put over 70 hours into Bloodborne and am still enjoying it playing through NewGame +, which makes the challenge even more apparent.  The chalice dungeons also add some great replay value for those who crave more.  If you are a fan of Dark Souls or just want to experience possibly one of the best PS4 titles to date, then I highly recommend giving Bloodborne a try.