"Bloodborne" Review

     From Software, known for their creations of the Dark Souls series and Demon Souls has released a new game made exclusively for the PlayStation 4. If you could not already tell from the picture above, its name is Bloodborne. Bloodborne is both a brutally difficult and incredibly satisfying game at the same time. First off, I'd like to state that I am a newcomer to From Software's games. I only recently experienced Dark Souls for the first time. Bloodborne drops players into the city of Yharnam. There is a strange illness spreading all over the city infecting its residents and turning them into your worst nightmares. Although the story here may not necessarily wow you, there's plenty more to be wowed by. You may start off in Yharnam, but soon after you will be traveling to many other locations. There is a fast-travel system in place with the fast-travel method being done using lanterns. Only one or two lanterns can be found in most areas of the game making for tense, sweat-inducing hysteria as you search for one to save your progress.

    As long as you've lit any lanterns you've come across, you'll have fast-travel access to those lanterns from within the "Hunter's Dream." This is essentially your main hub for purchasing/upgrading weapons, purchasing items and purchasing stat upgrades. You may also further customize your character here by purchasing new clothing. Bloodborne has a customization system in place for creating your character when you first start out. It's fairly deep, with the ability to shape many of your character's defining traits. There are also classes that you can choose at the start of the game based on your preferred play style. Assigning "Blood Gems" to your weapons also adds buffers to them for extra capabilities such as a damage increase or health boost. Weapons do have a durability counter, so be careful to check how much damage your weapon has taken and whether or not you need to repair it. Bloodborne's main currency is known as "Blood Echoes." These are obtained through killing

the game's deeply-varied enemies and or by collecting/selling certain items. Spend your echoes wisely though to ensure you're playing how you want to play. The game's secondary currency is known as "Insight." "Insight" can be used to purchase limited items from the "Hunter's Dream" as well as summoning other players for co-op play.
     Co-op in Bloodborne is a bloody-disaster. First off, to play with friends, both of you must be within ten levels of each other. Secondly, you both have to be in the same area and must each have the same game password set to play together. Even if you aren't planning on playing with friends, it still takes forever to have someone join your game. Other players, provided they have the "Sinister Bell," can also join your game as your adversary and murder you. While this has only happened to me a couple of extremely frustrating times, it's a brilliant feature of Bloodborne adding to the fact that you never know what awaits you in From Software's stunningly crafted world. When co-op does work though and someone joins you, it makes for quite a bit of fun as you and your "partner" traverse Bloodborne's world fighting enemies and bosses. You as well as other players can also leave notes for each other warning against a certain path or a note telling you to explore a certain path for loot. Other players' "ghosts" can also be seen by viewing "specters" throughout the environment, showing their demise.

     Bloodborne also contains "Chalice Dungeons." These are procedurally-generated dungeons that all have multiple layers with different loot to collect and different bosses to fight. "Chalice Dungeons" can only be accessed using "Chalices" you'll either collect from defeating bosses or from exploring the dungeons themselves. Perhaps one of my favorite features of Bloodborne, I loved the dungeons so much in part because of how separate they felt from the actual game. They're like a whole other world.
     Exploration is central to Bloodborne and if you don't do it, you're likely to miss out on some vital tools. For instance, there is a "badge" you can collect that allows for the purchase of a new weapon called "Ludwig's Holy Blade." The door that is used to access the area that the badge is in can only be opened after defeating a boss though. Other times, exploring is necessary to maybe find a hidden shortcut to a lantern or around a few nasty enemies. The game does an excellent job of making you feel like you need to inspect every nook and cranny of your surroundings.
     

Combat in Bloodborne is fierce and heart-pounding, and good luck, because is there no option to pause the game. If you don't dodge at the right moment or attack at the wrong moment, you'll end up severely damaged or worse, dead, losing all of your Blood Echoes. Your echoes can be retrieved though if you go back to where you died or kill the enemy that killed you. You'll know he has them because his eyes will glow. Enemies are fast and relentless and getting too close can either allow you to inflict massive damage or have massive damage inflicted upon you forcing you to quickly roll away and consume one of your blood vials (health potions). As your health bar deteriorates from enemy attacks, you have the ability to regain your health by striking back.
     Luckily, you have an arsenal of "Trick Weapons" and guns at your disposal. These "Trick Weapons" have two versions. One usually for close-range (Moderate damage) and the other, for long-range (Heavy damage). These really give the player the ability to fight how they want. For example, the "Kirkhammer's" short-range version is a sword, while its long-range version is a much larger hammer. Primary weapons are held with the right hand and when switched to their long-range version, typically become two-handed. Secondary weapons are held with the left hand. These include guns and even torches (more for lighting the way in dark places). Parrying is done by shooting an enemy right before they are about attack. This staggers them to the ground allowing the player to inflict massive damage with their primary weapon or by performing a visceral attack where you shove your hand into an enemy's body and essentially rip out a piece of them. Enemies can be locked onto for easier targeting as well. Having played Dark Souls recently, I can without a doubt say that in comparison to its combat, Bloodborne's is far more fluid.
     Aesthetically, Bloodborne shines or rather darkens with beauty. The city of Yharnam is Gothic around every corner and I love it. Blood spatter from your enemies soaks your clothes and glistens in the darkness. Rendered in a smooth 1080p, everything looks great. Other parts of the game also look like they're straight out of the Victorian Era. I did experience some frame-rate hiccups from time to time, but they did nothing to dampen my experience. Load times however were annoying to say the least. Being the brutally difficult game that it is, I died a lot. Every time you die, the game's title, "Bloodborne" in large, bold letters is centered across the screen for a solid forty seconds to a minute and every single enemy that you slaughtered, respawns.
     Boss-battles are a huge corner stone of Bloodborne, most of the time being painstakingly hard. Many bosses are actually optional, but are still an angry-joy to participate in due to how accomplished you'll feel after and the rewards you'll earn such as a chalice and or many Blood Echoes. Bosses are usually much, much larger than you with tremendously more health than you. With this being said, it is best you pay close-attention to a boss's move set so you can out-maneuver them. Grotesquely well-detailed, From Software's genius art design stands out amazingly well against anything else I have ever seen.
     Is Bloodborne a "fair" game? Yes, because as long as you pay attention, you'll be just fine. It's designed to be difficult, but learning from your mistakes is what makes you better. One minute you'll be cursing From Software's name and the next you'll be praising Bloodborne, calling it a masterpiece. Employing a stellar equation of risk with reward, Bloodborne is near-perfect in all its glory.
PROS:
- Deeply varied enemies
- Chalice Dungeons feel like a whole other world
- The necessity of exploration and strategy
- Deep combat system
- Absolutely breathtaking to look at in every way
CONS:
- Co-op
- Loading times
- Poor story
Final Score: 9/10