Bloodborne

I am surprised that noone started a thread for this very muched hyped game. I guess it has something to do with the fact that it is a PS4 exclusive, and most people here(myself included) are PC gamers. Anyway, i am a big fan of the Souls series, i did buy the game without actually having a PS4, and finished my first playthrough in 2.5 days on a borrowed one. Since then i have been playing the game every 2 days or so on a friend's PS4, and now that i have completed other playthoughs, tested more weapons, did NG+ and some PvP i wanna share my opinion on the game, plus i am very interested in yours as well. Here are my good and bad impressions:

The Bad:

1) As Zero Punctuation puts it very accurately, same shit, different anus, or The From Software Game. With Bloodborne, now Miyazaki(the lead developer) has 4 games, spreading over 3 franchises(demon souls, dark souls, bloodborne), where the games are almost identical. The combat, the healing, the checkpoint system, the leveling up, the upgrading, THE STORY(did they really need a plague/curse in bloodborne as well?) and even the storytelling method. That's a big downer for me. Some might argue, why fix something that is not broken, but i do not agree. Just see the constant evolution of The Witcher games from 1 to 3. And of course, which is a better band, Ac/Dc or Led Zeppelin? I always prefer taking risks in order to evolve, rather than playing it safe.

2) Very lacking in RPG elements. Compared to Dark SOuls(especially the second one), the game has far fewer options. Only 15 weapons compared to OVER 15 WEAPON CLASSES in Dark Souls 2. No real magic, no bows, not really armours, which are not upgradable BTW, dumbed down equipment upgrading method, far fewer stats to raise while leveling up which are basically HP, stamina and 1 of the 4 forms of damage. No carry weight system, no way to upgrade your dodging etc. Generally I would not even call the game an action RPG anymore. Mostly and action game with minor RPG elements, which results in:

3) Basically one playstyle with minor diffrences. In Bloodborne, anything you do, you are basically a Rogue style fast paced melee with no shield. This style of combat is greatly optimised, but there is a huge lack in playstyle variation. Even in melee. I mean you cannot even do a tank in BB.

4) Story/Lore. The atmosphere and level design is amazing(even though lacking in variation somewhat), and so is the lore in the first part. Then it starts to get weird. Basically, it starts as a gothic horror fairy tale, which ends up being an eldritch horror tale, heavily borrowing from Lovecraft, but not convincingly done, with a mixture of Japanese(cheesy) aesthetics, ending up in parts reminding me of Sailor Moon with Lovecraft elements. Nah, not for me.

5) End Game/Chalice Dungeons(Basically end game maps). Here fromsoftware decided to add RNG dungeons, in the style of PoE and Diablo, intended as end game option(possibly instead of moving to NG+). Very boring, but it is an extra side feature, so if you like them, play them. If not skip them i guess. BUT they did lock some of the best items there, FORCING you to play them if you are a min-maxer(the better items are not even available in NG+). That in my opinion is a very bad idea, on a game where most people just play singleplayer and the storyline. Also if they did not do the dungeons, and spent more time on the actual game it would have been much better in the end, since the game is already much shorter than Dark Souls. The NG+ itself is also poorly done compared to Dark Souls 2. It is identical to NG, with the only difference being monsters dealing more damage and having more HP. In DS2, there were more monsters, more Red Phantoms, better AI on some bosses, different boss design, and extra items to reward the higher difficulty.

6) Leveling System and Level Cap. From Software again fails to adress the issue of poor leveling system, in which you just raise stats, instead of having something more interesting, like a skill tree, where you could possibly unlock new moves or something similar, instead of jut raising your HP by 30 points or so. Another recurring problem is the absence of level cap, which lead to the community figuring out their own level caps, in order to do proper PvP, and having defining builds, instead of being a Jack of All Trades. This alone might not be that bad, but in my opinion it defeats the purpose of an RPG, where you are on a quest to costantly push your character to be as powerful as possible. In Bloodborne, and the Soul Series in general, you have to deliberately gimp your character. I think it is the developers job to decide what is the maximum power you can obtain, impose limitations on you, and balance acordingly. I always want to make my character as strong as possible, but at the same time, i want a limit, in order to have a build in the end, and not just being able to do everything(with 99 in all stats, there is no build anymore), or be rediculously overpowered.

7) Techincal issues. First of, the fact that is an exclusive is bad enough already, but the thing is that they did not do a good optimisation job on the PS4 as well. 30 FPS with huge FPS drops at times, bad camera control, HUUUGGEEE loading screens(even post 1.3) and a ton of bugs and glitches. Not to mention the online aspects. You have to pray in all deities in order to get some CooP or PvP.

The Good:

1) The combat. As i said above, there is basically 1 playstyle, but if you do like this playstyle, the combat -from action perspective- is the best there has ever been in the Souls Series, which bascially makes it the best in any ARPG ever created. If you like fast paced melee that relies on dodging, you are not going to find more satisfying combat in ANY ARPG yet.(remember, i am talking about the action aspects of combat, not the RPG ones). The transformable weapons, and the even more extensive movesets are great.

2) The atmosphere and level design. Amazing music, incredible atmosphere(at least if you look past the Sailor moon/Lovecraft thing), and an interconnected world. The best it has been since the original Dark Souls.

3) Enemies/Bosses/Difficulty/AI. These aspects are also amazingly done. The game is brutally difficult, but not cheap. There are always effective ways to deal with every single enemy or boss in the game. The bosses and the regular monsters themselves are very inspired, both in design and in gameplay aspects. Also the AI on NPC hunters is retardingly good.

4) Balance. They did a good job on making every weapon be pretty good. There are no useless weapons, or armours this time around. Of course this was to be expected, since it has so few of them.

Conclusion:

All in all, i would say that Bloodborne is an excellent action game and a poor RPG. It is a stripped down version of Dark Souls, where they dumped most RPG elements, plus a ton of equipment, but they did a pretty good job on optimising what's left. Good game overall, but i am glad i did not purchase a PS4 just for this(which something i was thinking about).
https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/417287 - Poutsos Flicker Nuke Shadow
Last edited by Poutsos on Apr 28, 2015, 5:51:07 PM
I havent followed a console game in roughly 3 years. I wouldnt buy another console unless my daughter wanted me to buy a Nintendo at some point - years down the road.

I imagine most ppl here are pc-elite so they are probably in the same camp. I read up on the game a little and it doesnt seem like anything special.
anus, not annus.
Warhammer 40k Inquisitor: where shotgunning is not only not nerfed, it is deeply encouraged.

Dogma > Souls, but they're masterworks all. You can't go wrong.

I was right about PoE2 needing to be a separate, new game. It was really obvious.
"
I havent followed a console game in roughly 3 years. I wouldnt buy another console unless my daughter wanted me to buy a Nintendo at some point - years down the road.

I imagine most ppl here are pc-elite so they are probably in the same camp. I read up on the game a little and it doesnt seem like anything special.


I'd say it is special, but not THAT special to justify 400$ :P.
https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/417287 - Poutsos Flicker Nuke Shadow
"
I havent followed a console game in roughly 3 years. I wouldnt buy another console unless my daughter wanted me to buy a Nintendo at some point - years down the road.

I imagine most ppl here are pc-elite so they are probably in the same camp. I read up on the game a little and it doesnt seem like anything special.


I'm a pc gamer since the early 90's and I understand your thinking BUT when it comes to Bloodborne and DS1 you are absolutely wrong. Both these games are masterpieces in every way. Everything is original in them: Combat is excellent, the atmosphere is impressive and, most importantly, the storytelling method these games use is completely original (for a game of course).
Especially Bloodborne has an extremely deep story and it's the only game in history that has done H. P. Lovecraft justice. What more can a man ask?:P
I'm with you when it comes to console games. These are usually mindless and far inferior to pc games. Not Bloodborne though. This game being PS4 exclusive is one of the worst things that happened to pc in the last decade.. If you have time check ENB's walkthrough on utube and you'll understand what I mean..
ps 1 : You can still play Dark Souls 1 on PC though (if you have the patience for hard games).
Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy.

Aristotle
Last edited by Iluvatar_gr on Apr 24, 2015, 6:13:43 PM
Just noticed your account name :P

wraios
Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy.

Aristotle
I was done after Demon's Souls. Can't explain it really. That game had a grim, minimalist magic to it that made me REALLY feel for the Nexus npcs that no From Software game since has managed.
Warhammer 40k Inquisitor: where shotgunning is not only not nerfed, it is deeply encouraged.

Dogma > Souls, but they're masterworks all. You can't go wrong.

I was right about PoE2 needing to be a separate, new game. It was really obvious.
"
Iluvatar_gr wrote:

Especially Bloodborne has an extremely deep story and it's the only game in history that has done H. P. Lovecraft justice.


Have you not played The Secret World? I cannot say Ive played Bloodborne but no game, and I mean none, has the level of writing that TSW does. Scrivomancer is far to talented to be writing for video games, but that is what he does.

The first large zone of TSW is all New England Lovecraft. Great stuff.
"
Charan wrote:
I was done after Demon's Souls. Can't explain it really. That game had a grim, minimalist magic to it that made me REALLY feel for the Nexus npcs that no From Software game since has managed.


I can completely see what you mean. Fortunately for me I had this feel for the DS1 npcs too (DS2 is not even worth mentioning. It was just bad). Bloodborne is a different beast (heh) altogether and NPC interactions are different by default. I was able to empathize with the npcs but in a strange way..



"
"
Iluvatar_gr wrote:

Especially Bloodborne has an extremely deep story and it's the only game in history that has done H. P. Lovecraft justice.


Have you not played The Secret World? I cannot say Ive played Bloodborne but no game, and I mean none, has the level of writing that TSW does. Scrivomancer is far to talented to be writing for video games, but that is what he does.

The first large zone of TSW is all New England Lovecraft. Great stuff.


That's true. TSW does Lovecraft some justice but the exposition in its story is not for me. I prefer things to be discovered, not explained and Bloodborne does that with the story. Lovecraft did that too so in my mind a game that explains a Lovecraftian story is not completely Lovecraftian.
If you liked TSW you really need to play Bloodborne or at least watch a decent walkthrough. Trust me:)
Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy.

Aristotle
"
Iluvatar_gr wrote:
"
I havent followed a console game in roughly 3 years. I wouldnt buy another console unless my daughter wanted me to buy a Nintendo at some point - years down the road.

I imagine most ppl here are pc-elite so they are probably in the same camp. I read up on the game a little and it doesnt seem like anything special.


I'm a pc gamer since the early 90's and I understand your thinking BUT when it comes to Bloodborne and DS1 you are absolutely wrong. Both these games are masterpieces in every way. Everything is original in them: Combat is excellent, the atmosphere is impressive and, most importantly, the storytelling method these games use is completely original (for a game of course).
Especially Bloodborne has an extremely deep story and it's the only game in history that has done H. P. Lovecraft justice. What more can a man ask?:P
I'm with you when it comes to console games. These are usually mindless and far inferior to pc games. Not Bloodborne though. This game being PS4 exclusive is one of the worst things that happened to pc in the last decade.. If you have time check ENB's walkthrough on utube and you'll understand what I mean..
ps 1 : You can still play Dark Souls 1 on PC though (if you have the patience for hard games).


Geia xara.

Anyway, about the story, i do not agree. None of the Soul series(including Bloodborne), in my opinion had a deep story. They do have a unique story-TELLING method, which basically the absence of story telling, where you have to figure it out yourself by reading item descriptions, and paying attention to the enviroment and the NPCs. It was nice. It added mystery, and an avant-garde feel to the whole game. Same with the NPCs, who are all to the edge of insanity, having very little interaction with you or the world in general. However it has gotten old. It was great in Demon Souls. It was good in Dark Souls. It was OK in DS2, but now i am fed up with it. Nowdays it mostly serves the purpose of VaatiVidya making over 6K dollars per month by making videos of opinions gathered in forums to present you the story, which in the end is not THAT deep IMO. The lore is fine, the plot is poor and very minimalistic. Also i am one of the people who disliked the Lavecraftian eldritch horror parts of Bloodborne. I felt the came out of nowhere, and the mixture of Japanese aesthetics to them did not appeal to me.
https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/417287 - Poutsos Flicker Nuke Shadow

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