Bloodborne was the
first Souls-like game that I’ve played. I really enjoyed what I’ve played
during its initial release, but I wasn’t prepared for what Bloodborne had in store for my frustration level. Outside of
combat, everything triggered me. Squaring up with a simple enemy I’ve
encountered multiple times to then just died was unforgivably frustrating. If I
had a great run with an abundance of Blood
Echoes my first goal was to cash in those Echoes, however looking for a laturn (checkpoint) can be tricky as
they are hidden in curtain areas of the map and the only way to get back to The Hunter’s Dream to redeem the echoes. These frustrating elements
co-mingling was just a nightmare.
However, last week I wanted to finish something in my backlog
and for some reason Bloodborne came
to mind. Loading in for the first time in almost a year, I decided to create a
new playthrough. After the first 3 hours, I thought to myself “Wow, how come
this didn’t click with me before?” I knew why, it was the mindset I had before
playing the first time. I had to stop thinking about this game as a
third-person action game like Crackdown,
Horizon Zero Dawn, and The Witcher 3 and start thinking about
it as an JRPG with unforgiving combat. Understanding that exploration will
grant access to more abilities, loot, and other passages really helped me wrap
my head around the progressing system which I had no clue going in to the first
time I started.
The combat system was fun from the get-go. The weapons were
what really interested me, switching from a nimble sword to a slow but powerful
great sword was different from the other From
Software games in this ilk. Though there isn’t much weapon verity compared
to the Dark Souls series the weapons
in Bloodborne feel more diverse. One
thing I’ve notice after playing Bloodborne
is how much faster it is compared to Dark
Souls. The dodging takes less stamina, the weapon attacks are quicker, and
healing animation is faster. Every action is sped up and you can feel it when
switching from either game (especially during boss fights).
Dark Souls and Bloodborne has the From Software touch with cryptic lore and items that don’t 100%
tell you what it does. This is one of the things that made me bounce off the
first time, but after the first few items you can read between the lines and
have a better idea of what that item does. I’m enthralled by the enemy designs
from the simple open world enemies to the bosses that made my stomach turn, but
one thing I was always wondering about is “how did this person? creature?
Turnout this way? What was their journey?” Overall more lore that is explanatory
and not just hidden objects with obscure texts.
One aspect of the game that I didn’t put much time into was
the Chalice Dungeons. These are
optional dungeons that are room-to-room encounters until you reach the boss.
There are multiple sets of floors that must be completed before moving on to a
new dungeon. These Dungeons are smaller bite-sized encounters compared to the
open world. I’ve only completed the first dungeon, it was incredibly easy, but
the size and difficulty of the dungeons might change the more you unlock other
dungeons. These dungeons are presented to you early, but I consider doing this
after completing the game. You would be over leveled and will blow through the
dungeons.
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I knew Bloodborne was
this master piece but trashing my head against the controller wasn’t the way I
wanted to experience one of the best PS4 exclusive to date. But I’m glad I came
back to it and had a blast slaying monsters/hunter, that’s something I don’t
think I would be saying if I forced my way through during initial release. The
combat was always fun, and I knew that whatever I hated the moment to moment
combat was something that would lead me away from the negative aspects of the
game.
After finishing the game, I was surprised at how the world
grabbed me, everything from the Victorian esthetic to the gruesome, horrific,
enemies to the Chalice Dungeons. I’m glad I came back to Bloodborne just a month after it’s PS Plus freebie. I can finally
talk to people about Bloodborne.
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