DISCLAIMER:
An Unbiased Review is about console bias, no platform will be treated differently. These are however my opinions, therefor biased. Thank you for your time and enjoy
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The Souls series is one of the more interesting franchises in the Video Game industry, and not just because they’re great games, but because there is four installments and three different IP with Bloodborne being the newest one. Back in 2009 Demon’s Souls was released by From Software and lead by Hidetaka Miyazaki and inspired by ICO surprisingly. It was praised for its brutal difficulty, original design, and rewarding gameplay. At the time Demon’s Souls was looked at as a Niche game, but since that point we have had two more installments, Dark Souls 1 and Dark Souls 2 and the franchise grew to new heights. The only thing is, Dark Souls 2 wasn’t led by Miyazaki, but now he returns with another twist on this franchise in Bloodborne.
Bloodborne is a dark and ominous, with creepy sounds, and a vast amount of grotesque and haunting creatures that makes your journey both memorable and exhausting. And from the moment you step into this world you’re met with an atmosphere that you won’t soon forget. It’s not just about swinging your weapon and dodging enemies left and right, it’s about patience, finesse, and wit. IN many games you’re able to just hack and slash your way to victory, but in Bloodborne, it’s all about learning what you’re foe will do, what is that enemy weak against. And with weapons that can transform to one to the other it adds a variety of situational encounters. Maybe this enemy should be taken on with a big sword to stun, or maybe you should use a gun to stun your enemy for a maximum damage execution.
And it’s not just that the enemies can be difficult, but the designs make each one memorable and the sound effects only add to that. And just when you think your enemies couldn’t get stronger you’re met with a boss that strikes fear into your heart, because when you die you aren’t just met with a game over screen, but there is real consequence to dying by not only losing the progress of your check point, but by losing your blood echos that is not only your way of leveling up, but also your way of buying important items like potions that you will need in hefty supply. Yes you will be taking much more damage in Bloodborne than you would have in Dark Souls for the game is not only at a faster pace, but also more enemies will attack you at once, but the game encourages you to swing back to remove some of the potential damage you reviewed. The enemies are overall smarter than in previous instalments of this franchise, but at times your enemies will go berserk running into walls or at times even jumping off buildings killing themselves. While this saved me from time to time, it also takes away from the challenge that you come to love in this game
And in Bloodborne you, its unlike most games you have ever played, it’s a world you’re going to want to search every nook and cranny of this world for there is secrets and lore everywhere to be found. Whether it be the story do this dark infested world, a weapon you so deeply desire, or a hidden boss that you want to slay there is many hidden paths or items to collect to progress through the hidden secrets of this world. And while you can beat the game without finding any of this, I can also say that I didn’t have nearly enough of this game so I desperately searched for ways of extending my gameplay. There is chalice dungeons that can extent your gameplay by generating random made dungeons where you work through the many levels of the dungeon and killing each boss ahead of you. This can extend your gameplay but generally I didn’t find it as enjoyable as world above ground.
Its unfortunate that the game is met with long load screens, poor frame rate issues, and no way of warping from check point to check point but these all seem like issues I’m willing to deal with when I’m having this much fun in a game. And that is the thing, in many games we play, we are pushing through loads of gameplay that we may not enjoy that much just to reach the next cut scene, but in Bloodborne you are there simply to have fun, a game through and through.
But as sadly as it is, if you buy this game wanting to play coop with your friends, you will still have to jump through hoops to connect with your friends. Though they made the process a little easier by adding in a password to connect to each other, it still became tedious while waiting upwards of 15 minutes at times to connect to one another.
But all this doesn’t matter much when you go through the world, because whether it be solo or cooperatively, you know the challenge ahead of you is well worth it. With every swing, with every dodge, you are focused on how I can accomplish my goal. At times you may get frustrated, but its all worth it to push forth. And not only do I think this is a great game, but at the time of writing this review I genuinely believe this is the best AAA exclusive that this generation has to offer at the moment, so if you’re looking for an excuse to dive into this generation of consoles, the time is now.
Score – 9.1
