...I didn't beat the first boss. I've managed to clear some streets in my scant play time. What the fuck exactly was the sign that I should check to see if the dream opened up further? No checkpoint, no 'miniboss,' nothing special has happened thus far. Maybe you have to die a second time for it to open? Maybe it opens on your first return trip? I have no clue. The fact it was locked in the first place is baffling.

But BB is perfect, right? No complaints or critiques allowed.

While some complaints here are legitimate, I don't see how he was able to use 12 hours on the first boss. He must've attacked every single enemy every single time, while taking the long route every time to do that.

I'm playing it right now, (level 67) and I understand your gripe. The game explains nothing, and it doesn't even give you anything to read or watch while loading a new area or respaning. It hasn't gotten on my nerves yet, but they could have atleast given you some artwork, item descriptions, or even showed you how you died by using the PS4 auto recording feature. The game is not perfect, that is true.

BUT, by giving you nothing and explaining nothing. It forces you to start reading each item you pick up to try to solve the puzzle yourself; That is the game in a nutshell (Confussion/disorientation) A very dream like experience where you are a child looking for answers to what the hell is going on there. You are not guided by the hand of a parent who explains to you what something is, you must learn it yourself and make sense of it all. There are bits of information here and there, but you must search and be observant. This is why Soul games are not for everyone, the grind is different to other RPG's. You grind to solve the puzzle, not to level up and kill the boss. Your skill level at arms and muscle memory will take care of those bosses.

Quite sad that's his first time he played Dark Souls not King's Field. Shame.

........Dem art.

it may help you to know that the game is based around the Cthulu mythos, which says there are layers to the world only people with knowledge are able to perceive

similarly you gain "insight" in BB (the eye symbol under your blood echoes), which unlocks quite a few things, that said I'm pretty sure the lodge unlocked when you lit the Central Yharnam lamp

This article almost prevented my friend from getting the game. However now he loves it and just thinks that writer sucks HARD at the game. I mean I don't know what else could explain taking 12 hours to beat the first boss.

Some people just want to be able to hit their head against a wall over and over and succeed. If you have trouble learning from your mistakes, Bloodborne is not for you.

Crap, you're right, the first lamp was my first return trip...I just got back there so quickly and easily I assumed nothing had changed. I still maintain that's some weird design, but at least it makes some sense.

As a first time player this game is frustrating as fuck. I can't beat the first boss, been trying for 3 days.

there are several things you can do to make the fight against the Cleric Beast easier (assuming you didn't bypass it and went straight to Father G), throwing oil and then molotovs on it will inflict massive dmg and sometimes stun it

as a general circling the bosses, evading to the side when they wind up for attacks, stabbing a few times at them when their back is exposed and then retreating a bit before your stamina runs out is a tactic that works for many many bosses in souls games, cleric beast included

ofcourse there is also the possibility to summon another player with the beckoning bell, but it consumes 1 insight, you should have at least one from encountering the boss

Thanks for the advice.  The farthest Ive ever gotten him down to was 2/3 health (embarrassingly).  One of the things that frustrates me, and it doesn't have to do with the gameplay, is the camera.  The boss is large and its a narrow bridge, so when Im locked on and up close I can't see his hands, so I don't know when he is going to swipe. GAH