Bloodborne review: The joy of relearning what you already know

PS4 exclusive rewrites the <i>Dark Souls</i> basics but remembers its roots.

Read the whole story

 

[Evan E]

Um...isn't it set in "Yharnam" (with an "h")? The playthroughs I've seen have that title popping up repeatedly, but you seem to be spelling it "Yarnam".

 

[Nillaz]

I can't pick up my copy soon enough!

 

[MikahR]

The load times get to be really unbearable after awhile. I really hope they patch it sooner rather than later, as it makes the game tedious and frustrating.

 

[nehinks]

I think "Back to being an exclusive" would qualify as The Ugly (considering this is a sequel in all but name/world).

 

[rougegoat]

esoel_[/url]":10d7ya1n]Please don't list dark souls 2 with the other souls games. They are not of the same breed.
( Notice it is the only one with a number...)

It's also the only direct sequel. That's why it has a number. That, and Sony owning "Demon's Souls" while "Dark Souls" is multiplatform.

 

[Uskglass]

Bloodborne on PC has leaked via Amazon France, rumors are that we might get it this year which would be amazing because I'm sure as shit not buying a PS4 just to play this.

 

[Tortango]

With all this talk about Bloodborne being a spiritual successor to the "Souls series", I feel like I should mention that the series this game belongs to goes all the way back to King's Field by the same developer.

Not trying to issue a correction or anything- just want to point out King's Field to Souls fans if they don't know it exists!

 

[Zeke229]

esoel_[/url]":15h3yyvj]Please don't list dark souls 2 with the other souls games. They are not of the same breed.
( Notice it is the only one with a number...)

yeah, in dark souls the map felt like a massive sprawling interconnected place, because you could see other places in the map. in dark souls 2 the maps felt like levels more than a combined world

 

[arkiel]

Between this and Final Fantasy XV, I guess I'll be buying a PS4 tonight. :/

I held out as long as I could. Please don't think ill of me.

 

[TimtheTaxMan]

Really wish this game and the souls games had a difficulty slider. Those of us who have full time jobs and a family can't devote the kind of time into this game that it requires and it is a shame, because the setting and gameplay really appeal to me. I am also a big Kings Field fan.

I know I'll probably get a lot of hate for this comment because these games seem to draw in elitists like crazy. They can't stand the idea of someone playing it differently when a slider doesn't affect them or their difficulty at all.

edit spelling

 

[salamanderjuice]

Uskglass[/url]":2r9io1ub]Bloodborne on PC has leaked via Amazon France, rumors are that we might get it this year which would be amazing because I'm sure as shit not buying a PS4 just to play this.

I'd take this with a grain of salt. It's a Sony Computer Entertainment published game and they are the ones who approached From about developing it in the first place. It just seems unlikely to me that Sony would let this go to PC as well.

 

[marm0lade]

Why is a confusing and lacking story OK for a game like Bloodborne, but not OK for Destiny? Destiny is praised for the same exact things Blooborne is - gameplay and environment, yet critics consider it's lack of story a major fault that significantly impacted reviews. Bloodborne gets a pass?

 

[jeremyfactsman]

csand[/url]":tuo8cyug]All the 3 existing Souls games are the best games of the last 20 years and I expect this one to be just as good.

I'll not get to play it though because I'm not buying a PS4 ever. But... looks great. Especially like the idea of the procedural dungeons part of the game. Hopefully they bend and put it out on PC.

Dark Souls 2 was great, dunno what Mr. "souls games elitist" is talking about up there

csand[/url]":tuo8cyug]

Uskglass[/url]":tuo8cyug]Bloodborne on PC has leaked via Amazon France, rumors are that we might get it this year which would be amazing because I'm sure as shit not buying a PS4 just to play this.

Best news of the the day.

Thank you sir!

This game is literally the only reason to buy a PS4 and so that brings the cost of this game to PS4 $$ + Bloodborne $$. Far too much

It's intellectual property owned by Sony Computer Entertainment. It's not coming to PC or any other platform.

 

[esoel_]

TimtheTaxMan[/url]":3tr7y80r]Really wish this game and the souls games had a difficulty slider. Those of us who have full time jobs and a family can't devote the kind of time into this game that is requires and it is a shame because the setting and gameplay really appeal to me. I am also a big King's Field fan.

I know I'll probably get a lot of hate for this comment because these games seem to draw in elitists like crazy. They can't stand the idea of someone playing it differently when a slider doesn't affect them or their difficulty at all.

That would probably be hard to reconcile with the hybrid single/multi - player nature of these games.

 

[Sufinsil]

csand[/url]":2x5r65cz]

Uskglass[/url]":2x5r65cz]Bloodborne on PC has leaked via Amazon France, rumors are that we might get it this year which would be amazing because I'm sure as shit not buying a PS4 just to play this.

Best news of the the day.

Thank you sir!

This game is literally the only reason to buy a PS4 and so that brings the cost of this game to PS4 $$ + Bloodborne $$. Far too much

So is Killzone Shadow Fall and Final Fantasy X/X-2.

http://www.amazon.fr/Sony-Computer-Ente ... s=Killzone

http://www.amazon.fr/Final-Fantasy-X-2- ... ntasy+X+pc

And Sony has had to deny it over and over again.
http://www.dualshockers.com/2015/02/07/ ... ng-on-213/

 

[alanmies]

marm0lade[/url]":3fsld3ft]Why is a confusing and lacking story OK for a game like Bloodborne, but not OK for Destiny? Destiny is praised for the same exact things Blooborne is - gameplay and environment, yet critics consider it's lack of story a major fault that significantly impacted reviews. Bloodborne gets a pass?

I dont even have time to explain why I don't have time to explain why that is.

 

[TimtheTaxMan]

esoel_[/url]":2tsciooe]

TimtheTaxMan[/url]":2tsciooe]Really wish this game and the souls games had a difficulty slider. Those of us who have full time jobs and a family can't devote the kind of time into this game that is requires and it is a shame because the setting and gameplay really appeal to me. I am also a big King's Field fan.

I know I'll probably get a lot of hate for this comment because these games seem to draw in elitists like crazy. They can't stand the idea of someone playing it differently when a slider doesn't affect them or their difficulty at all.

That would probably be hard to reconcile with the hybrid single/multi - player nature of these games.

I'm not sure how. A ton of other games seem to pull it off just fine.

 

[csand]

marm0lade[/url]":20dk8fxf]Why is a confusing and lacking story OK for a game like Bloodborne, but not OK for Destiny? Destiny is praised for the same exact things Blooborne is - gameplay and environment, yet critics consider it's lack of story a major fault that significantly impacted reviews. Bloodborne gets a pass?

All in the presentation I would think.

Destiny's story is sh*tty and also is just thrust in your face.

The same kinda way that in Skyrim I feel not a single thing for any of those NPCs, for all the dialogue every character in that game spews forth. Knight Solaire in DS has infinitely more character and personality in his probably, what, 20 lines in the whole game?


The other detractor from Destiny I guess is that it just over all sucks. Bungie should have called it quits long ago

 

[Isahaya]

marm0lade[/url]":2lud4oan]Why is a confusing and lacking story OK for a game like Bloodborne, but not OK for Destiny? Destiny is praised for the same exact things Blooborne is - gameplay and environment, yet critics consider it's lack of story a major fault that significantly impacted reviews. Bloodborne gets a pass?

I think the primary reason for that is the immense hype and advertising campaign that preceded Destiny which gave the impression that story and/or creating your own "Destiny" would be a major thing.

The Souls lineage and Bloodborne have never pretended to be much for story exposition, preferring to create atmospheric, punishing gameplay with snippets of story scattered around for the curious. So it is a very different expectation.

 

[esoel_]

TimtheTaxMan[/url]":195x88cu]

esoel_[/url]":195x88cu]

TimtheTaxMan[/url]":195x88cu]Really wish this game and the souls games had a difficulty slider. Those of us who have full time jobs and a family can't devote the kind of time into this game that is requires and it is a shame because the setting and gameplay really appeal to me. I am also a big King's Field fan.

I know I'll probably get a lot of hate for this comment because these games seem to draw in elitists like crazy. They can't stand the idea of someone playing it differently when a slider doesn't affect them or their difficulty at all.

That would probably be hard to reconcile with the hybrid single/multi - player nature of these games.

I'm not sure how. A ton of other games seem to pull it off just fine.

I don't know a ton of other games with this kind of hybrid experience. But if you do please share, I would be interested in trying them!

 

[arkiel]

marm0lade[/url]":1a00pwy2]Why is a confusing and lacking story OK for a game like Bloodborne, but not OK for Destiny? Destiny is praised for the same exact things Blooborne is - gameplay and environment, yet critics consider it's lack of story a major fault that significantly impacted reviews. Bloodborne gets a pass?

Because Bloodborne's story is inherently tied to the setting of the game, leaving the story largely inferred, and that story is much more interesting, detailed, and involved when compared to a bunch of anonymous human and alien ruins and yet another spin on dystopian architecture that looks in most cases overly-busy and nonfunctional?

Because most of Bungie's games present a setting where coherence is a realistic expectation, compared to the Souls and Borne games, where characters are scattered hither and yon, worlds dying, with most characters hollow or undead, mad or divine or lying.

 

[salamanderjuice]

Sufinsil[/url]":2nhnf7bd]

csand[/url]":2nhnf7bd]

Uskglass[/url]":2nhnf7bd]Bloodborne on PC has leaked via Amazon France, rumors are that we might get it this year which would be amazing because I'm sure as shit not buying a PS4 just to play this.

Best news of the the day.

Thank you sir!

This game is literally the only reason to buy a PS4 and so that brings the cost of this game to PS4 $$ + Bloodborne $$. Far too much

So is Killzone Shadow Fall and Final Fantasy X/X-2.

http://www.amazon.fr/Sony-Computer-Ente ... s=Killzone

http://www.amazon.fr/Final-Fantasy-X-2- ... ntasy+X+pc

And Sony has had to deny it over and over again.
http://www.dualshockers.com/2015/02/07/ ... ng-on-213/

I think Killzone Shadow Fall just proves that it's probably mistake. There's no way that is coming to PC
with Guerrilla Games and the Killzone franchise all being owned by Sony and unlike Microsoft they have no reason to bring stuff to PC at all. FFX is slightly more credible but I don't think Square would give it a retail edition let alone a limited release for PC since they haven't with any of the other Final Fantasy's they've ported to PC other than the MMOs.

 

[Sufinsil]

marm0lade[/url]":3dgblgzx]Why is a confusing and lacking story OK for a game like Bloodborne, but not OK for Destiny? Destiny is praised for the same exact things Blooborne is - gameplay and environment, yet critics consider it's lack of story a major fault that significantly impacted reviews. Bloodborne gets a pass?

Kinda the same thing I seen with negative reviews of CodeName Steam. Stuff that annoys a person in that game apparently do not in Bloodbourne. Same exact things.

People already fell in love with the gameplay from the past 3 games. They did not screw the formula to much and made changes to keep it refreshing, for better or worse. Reviewers already sold on the formula from past games are more forgiving since their time enjoying the gameplay is out weighting the negatives by a lot.

 

[Tortango]

TimtheTaxMan[/url]":393evbkr]

esoel_[/url]":393evbkr]

TimtheTaxMan[/url]":393evbkr]Really wish this game and the souls games had a difficulty slider. Those of us who have full time jobs and a family can't devote the kind of time into this game that is requires and it is a shame because the setting and gameplay really appeal to me. I am also a big King's Field fan.

I know I'll probably get a lot of hate for this comment because these games seem to draw in elitists like crazy. They can't stand the idea of someone playing it differently when a slider doesn't affect them or their difficulty at all.

That would probably be hard to reconcile with the hybrid single/multi - player nature of these games.

I'm not sure how. A ton of other games seem to pull it off just fine.

A "story mode" that has an easy difficulty and no multiplayer components would be nice. A large % of souls fans I know play those games offline anyway. (I love the multiplayer aspects but a lot of people don't)

 

[TimtheTaxMan]

esoel_[/url]":tb8x8lu9]

TimtheTaxMan[/url]":tb8x8lu9]

esoel_[/url]":tb8x8lu9]

TimtheTaxMan[/url]":tb8x8lu9]Really wish this game and the souls games had a difficulty slider. Those of us who have full time jobs and a family can't devote the kind of time into this game that is requires and it is a shame because the setting and gameplay really appeal to me. I am also a big King's Field fan.

I know I'll probably get a lot of hate for this comment because these games seem to draw in elitists like crazy. They can't stand the idea of someone playing it differently when a slider doesn't affect them or their difficulty at all.

That would probably be hard to reconcile with the hybrid single/multi - player nature of these games.

I'm not sure how. A ton of other games seem to pull it off just fine.

I don't know a ton of other games with this kind of hybrid experience. But if you do please share, I would be interested in trying them!

What would be so hard about grouping the players together by difficulty. For example, lump those playing on easy together and lump those playing on hard together.

 

[Pantagruel]

marm0lade[/url]":3kecplya]Why is a confusing and lacking story OK for a game like Bloodborne, but not OK for Destiny? Destiny is praised for the same exact things Blooborne is - gameplay and environment, yet critics consider it's lack of story a major fault that significantly impacted reviews. Bloodborne gets a pass?

I don't know about BB, but there is a LOT of story in the Souls games if you bother to look for it.

 

[BEIGE]

Thank you for getting a reviewer who knows how to play/appreciates these games.

 

[esoel_]

TimtheTaxMan[/url]":14ij75oe]

esoel_[/url]":14ij75oe]

TimtheTaxMan[/url]":14ij75oe]

esoel_[/url]":14ij75oe]

TimtheTaxMan[/url]":14ij75oe]Really wish this game and the souls games had a difficulty slider. Those of us who have full time jobs and a family can't devote the kind of time into this game that is requires and it is a shame because the setting and gameplay really appeal to me. I am also a big King's Field fan.

I know I'll probably get a lot of hate for this comment because these games seem to draw in elitists like crazy. They can't stand the idea of someone playing it differently when a slider doesn't affect them or their difficulty at all.

That would probably be hard to reconcile with the hybrid single/multi - player nature of these games.

I'm not sure how. A ton of other games seem to pull it off just fine.

I don't know a ton of other games with this kind of hybrid experience. But if you do please share, I would be interested in trying them!

What would be so hard about grouping the players together by difficulty. For example, lump those playing on easy together and lump those playing on hard together.

Then you would have 2 words with a tiny amount of players rather than 1 with a small amount of players.

Also there are difficulty levels(new game+), it's just that the easiest is really hard. It's part of the design. A lot of things wouldn't make sense without the difficulty. IMO

 

[Pantagruel]

csand[/url]":25flez24]

marm0lade[/url]":25flez24]Why is a confusing and lacking story OK for a game like Bloodborne, but not OK for Destiny? Destiny is praised for the same exact things Blooborne is - gameplay and environment, yet critics consider it's lack of story a major fault that significantly impacted reviews. Bloodborne gets a pass?

All in the presentation I would think.

Destiny's story is sh*tty and also is just thrust in your face.

The same kinda way that in Skyrim I feel not a single thing for any of those NPCs, for all the dialogue every character in that game spews forth. Knight Solaire in DS has infinitely more character and personality in his probably, what, 20 lines in the whole game?


The other detractor from Destiny I guess is that it just over all sucks. Bungie should have called it quits long ago

Yeah. It's amazing that these are the same guys who made Morrowind's wonderful, richly detailed setting.

 

[ivantod]

Just wanted to mention that there ARE in fact shields in Bloodborne, well A shield anyway--look here. Don't know any more details since I'm in EU so the game is not released until Friday and haven't had a chance to play it myself yet.

 

[Nillaz]

TimtheTaxMan[/url]":39kk680w]Really wish this game and the souls games had a difficulty slider. Those of us who have full time jobs and a family can't devote the kind of time into this game that is requires and it is a shame because the setting and gameplay really appeal to me. I am also a big King's Field fan.

I know I'll probably get a lot of hate for this comment because these games seem to draw in elitists like crazy. They can't stand the idea of someone playing it differently when a slider doesn't affect them or their difficulty at all.

I don't have anything against difficulty adjusters, but I hear this sentiment a lot and I can't wrap my head around it. What exactly about the difficulty of certain games means you don't have the time for it? I would certainly understand if it was required that you play through the entire game in a single session, but such has never been the case with these games. I can also see some merit in the argument that games with checkpoint systems instead of saves on demand is occasionally inconvenient but it's hardly the end of the world... and the upcoming suspend/resume feature on the PS4 will go quite some ways to mitigating this pain.

I get it that it might take longer to play through than for someone without any time encumberances, but the same can be said of just about any game with any degree of complexity. Is there some sort of time limit that you set for yourself in regards to how long you can enjoy a game for? A week? A month?

I can easily accept someone just not being into painfully challenging games, but I'm skeptical of limited time arguments. They just don't make much sense to me.

 

[TimtheTaxMan]

Nillaz[/url]":13ndffrg]

TimtheTaxMan[/url]":13ndffrg]Really wish this game and the souls games had a difficulty slider. Those of us who have full time jobs and a family can't devote the kind of time into this game that is requires and it is a shame because the setting and gameplay really appeal to me. I am also a big King's Field fan.

I know I'll probably get a lot of hate for this comment because these games seem to draw in elitists like crazy. They can't stand the idea of someone playing it differently when a slider doesn't affect them or their difficulty at all.

I don't have anything against difficulty adjusters, but I hear this sentiment a lot and I can't wrap my head around it. What exactly about the difficulty of certain games means you don't have the time for it? I would certainly understand if it was required that you play through the entire game in a single session, but such has never been the case with these games. I can also see some merit in the argument that games with checkpoint systems instead of saves on demand is occasionally inconvenient but it's hardly the end of the world... and the upcoming suspend/resume feature on the PS4 will go quite some ways to mitigating this pain.

I get it that it might take longer to play through than for someone without any time encumberances, but the same can be said of just about any game with any degree of complexity. Is there some sort of time limit that you set for yourself in regards to how long you can enjoy a game for? A week? A month?

I can easily accept someone just not being into painfully challenging games, but I'm skeptical of limited time arguments. They just don't make much sense to me.

Lack of time means lack of time to build your skills up up enough to not have to replay the same areas over and over and over. When you only have a couple of hours a week to play games it isn't fun to spend that playing the same 20 minutes of content over and over due to some small mistake and the resulting death that small mistakes bring in these games.

 

[csand]

TimtheTaxMan[/url]":3clb01eg]

Nillaz[/url]":3clb01eg]

TimtheTaxMan[/url]":3clb01eg]Really wish this game and the souls games had a difficulty slider. Those of us who have full time jobs and a family can't devote the kind of time into this game that is requires and it is a shame because the setting and gameplay really appeal to me. I am also a big King's Field fan.

I know I'll probably get a lot of hate for this comment because these games seem to draw in elitists like crazy. They can't stand the idea of someone playing it differently when a slider doesn't affect them or their difficulty at all.

I don't have anything against difficulty adjusters, but I hear this sentiment a lot and I can't wrap my head around it. What exactly about the difficulty of certain games means you don't have the time for it? I would certainly understand if it was required that you play through the entire game in a single session, but such has never been the case with these games. I can also see some merit in the argument that games with checkpoint systems instead of saves on demand is occasionally inconvenient but it's hardly the end of the world... and the upcoming suspend/resume feature on the PS4 will go quite some ways to mitigating this pain.

I get it that it might take longer to play through than for someone without any time encumberances, but the same can be said of just about any game with any degree of complexity. Is there some sort of time limit that you set for yourself in regards to how long you can enjoy a game for? A week? A month?

I can easily accept someone just not being into painfully challenging games, but I'm skeptical of limited time arguments. They just don't make much sense to me.

Lack of time means lack of time to build your skills up up enough to not have to replay the same areas over and over and over. When you only have a couple of hours a week to play games it isn't fun to spend that playing the same 20 minutes of content over and over due to some small mistake and the resulting death.

Not judging either way here, but I found for myself (also cursed with limited time) that summoning other players to help me out went a huge way in helping me get through some of the tough times

 

[alanmies]

ivantod[/url]":1j3lnsk1]Just wanted to mention that there ARE in fact shields in Bloodborne, well A shield anyway--look here. Don't know any more details since I'm in EU so the game is not released until Friday and haven't had a chance to play it myself yet.

In the UK, you mean. Rest of the EU gets it in about three hours. *)

(For some historical reasons it seems most releases are Tue->US, Wed->EU, Thu-JP, Fri-UK. Whatever historical reasons they may be, and why they still apply in the global world we live in now, I have no idea.)

*) In my time zone. Wednesday anyway.

 

[pk_robot]

TimtheTaxMan[/url]":tf6alnzi]Really wish this game and the souls games had a difficulty slider. Those of us who have full time jobs and a family can't devote the kind of time into this game that it requires and it is a shame, because the setting and gameplay really appeal to me. I am also a big Kings Field fan.

I know I'll probably get a lot of hate for this comment because these games seem to draw in elitists like crazy. They can't stand the idea of someone playing it differently when a slider doesn't affect them or their difficulty at all.

edit spelling

You have my sympathies. When I tried Demon's Souls, and found it utterly compelling yet utterly impossible, I finally found a forum post outlining how to get an easier start to the game, and I'm glad I did because I was able to get used to the playstyle without dying so often, eventually transforming from a character dependent on ranged magic to one who was able to hold their own in melee battles with powerful enemies . I'm glad I did, it was one of the most immersive and satisfying gaming experiences I've ever had.

http://forums.demonssouls.info/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7223