User Review : Bloodborne

Die, Die, Die my darling

Who would have thought that in 2009 Demon's Souls and the "Souls" franchise would garner so much attention from fans and media alike? With outstanding gameplay elements, outstanding artistic and level designs coupled with a unique multiplayer experience and a brutal learning curve, it is easy to see why it has become so popular over the last 6 years. It has become something more than refreshing in a generation where on screen tips, way points, and other 'hand holding' features seem to be scattered in just about every game. Bloodborne is the newest entry in the series that looks to keep the tradition of dying, and dying often alive. The series has become one of the best things to come out last generation so my excitement for the Sony and current generation exclusive was more than enough to hop aboard the hype train. As news, images and gameplay video began to surface I felt as if I was a 13 year old girl at a One Direction concert.

From the get go you are instantly immersed into this dark, eerie and mysterious town of Yharnam, enriched with gorgeous crisp visuals etched in fine details to display the most unusual and uncomfortable but lovely environments. You can tell From Software took advantage of the current gen hardware as the game not only looks good but plays very smooth. Only when playing multiplayer did I notice a drop in frame rate which was something the Souls series has trouble maintaining. Outside of Demon's Souls, Bloodborne features basically the same structure to the level design as you have a large interconnecting world that leads to different places. Along the way you light a faint glowing lavender lamp that acts as the bonfire does in Dark Souls saving your progress and utilizing clever short cuts to make trip quicker. I do prefer the Arch Stone style that was found in Demon's Souls and the ability to go to whichever stage I choose. Bloodborne sort of has something similar where you have 4 tombstones to choose from, each leads to a different area, but you still have to travel on foot and locate the lamps in order to warp there.

A minor problem that you will encounter (could be major if you let it) are the known load times that take at least 20 seconds. They do get annoying especially when you are frequently dying but I took the time to evaluate my performance and make necessary adjustments. It did get mostly annoying when you are warping between the main hub and different level. I got use to it in the end however.

As for the gameplay, there has been some changes to the formula and the biggest one was the elimination of the shields. When I first heard this I had to make sure I was hearing this right, a staple in the gameplay has been removed in favor of a more aggressive style to keep the player engaged and not passive. It was a risky move but in the end it was a risk worth taking. It doesn't really change anything, in fact, makes the game much more strategic. If you take damage you have a little window to gain some health back, maybe about 3 seconds to decide. If you choose to pass up the opportunity you will lose your health, but if you are aggressive you regenerate the lost amount with each hit. I still found myself playing it safe because I felt in most scenarios, it was better to eat the damage. The AI is intelligent too and will try to catch you being overly aggressive as it watches your inputs which shrinks the window of opportunity even more. There is a shield in the game and hilariously you see one walking around in the early minutes of the game only to find out how easily you can slash through their defenses. It's like the developers said, "go ahead and use a shield, I dare you". In the shields the place you now have a gun. Early on they don't do much damage but they are very handy tools when looking to "parry" and do visceral damage. You have to time their attacks just right which will stagger the enemy giving you a change to do big damage. There are some other useful left handed tools like a flame thrower and a torch (yes, it is quite useful at times).

Another change are to the weapons. Every weapons basically has a neat trick to it that allows it to transform into a whole new weapon on the fly. Some say there aren't many weapons but I found that this is untrue and with the trick weapons, they are 2 weapons in 1. You can equip two different right hand weapons and swap them on the fly, so essentially, you can have 4 different weapons in the blink of an eye. I did find most of them lacking whether it be range or damage and pretty much stuck with the Axe/Halberd and Sword/Hammer combination for the majority of the game. Upgrading weapons is more or less the same with some tweaks. You have 4 sets of stones, Shard, Twin Shards, Chunk, and Rock (which is earned once in a NG). While you upgrade each weapon it unlocks a node (3 in total) where you can place an item called blood gem onto it. Certain blood gems have different characteristics adding more physical damage, fire or bolt damage, poison, among other stats.

Some other noticeable changes is that the game removed rings, but added Runes which act in a similar way, you just can't change them instantaneously and must return to the central Hub. Upgradable character stats has been cut down as you only have 6 stats to choose from. This seemed to have made leveling up much harder considering how easy it was in Dark Souls 2. There are also no spells, although later on you can get some items that act as magic.

With all the changes there is one thing that remained the same. Bloodborne is tough and will challenge you all the way to the very end, and new comers will surely be tested. Enemies feel like they deal more damage along with some tricky attacks, and the bosses are some tough S.O.B's (as Stone Cold would say). Some of them will really challenge you leaving you on the brink of raging but cooler heads prevail with nothing more satisfying than finally slaying some of these towering foes. With changes to the combat, and ability to regenerate lost health I feared the game would be scaled back but that simply wasn't the case. Leveling up and purchasing items too by selling "souls" gained by slaying enemies also remains untouched. Die and lose them with one chance to regain it back, but funny enough, the enemies can consume the souls you collected and therefor must be killed. They are easily spotted by their glowing purple eyes. Another form of currency is called "Insight" which when holding 10 opens up a special shop that sells different sets of armor, items , and other things. Stacking Insights will also increase the challenge in game making enemies behave differently. To gain Insight you would simply have to get to the boss, beat the boss, use certain items, or help other players.

Also returning is the very enjoyable multiplayer. Unfortunately, I think this might be my biggest complaint in an other wise stellar game. In BB to summon another player and be summoned you must ring a bell and from there it connects you. In previous you would lay down a Soul Sign and wait for others to summon you, or be able to pick who you summon. Bloodborne made it more difficult to summon other players. You would have to ring the bell and wait for another player, which would often time struggle to team you up with a full party. Summoning consumes an Insight and on more than one occasion I had to offer multiple Insights to get it to work. Framerate stutters a bit too and occasionally lags during online play with is also a negative.

If you can successfully summon other players a new enemy will appear that will ring a bell and call for an invading player. She played in a specific part in the stage and must be killed in order to interfere and thwart the attempt. I've only seen it work once however. I love the invasions of Demon's Souls but with every installment From Software seems to have phased this portion of the MP out. You could ring a bell yourself to become the invading player. You will also see familiar notes and bloodstains littered across the pavement offering you a glimpse to the impending doom that lies beyond the corner, and bloodstains to show you the last seconds of a players life (if they work). They also included a password system that allows players to link up which is a first for the series, but I was never able to try it out but it seems to be a hit or miss type deal.

Now if you want to take a break from doing the main portion of the game there are collectables that allow you to perform rituals that open up different areas. They don't have any affect on the game outside but can offer some valuable items to aid you on your quest. Some of these areas can be very challenging and invent new ways to mess with your mind. I think they could've done more by having more variety to the levels themselves and a lot of is recycled over and over again.

I certainty don't want my final words to be of negativity because Bloodborne lived up to my expectations. Everything was masterfully done from the details of the levels, the new fluid combat, and the challenge. The feeling you get when you take down a boss that has killed you a dozen times and you jerk your fist in excitement is something not found any game in the industry today. Bloodborne might not be for everyone but for those looking for an experience then look no further. It might be a turnoff at first for the newbies but stick with it an embrace the challenge.

*2015 Game of the Year contender*