Bloodborne Review

Bloodborne Review

Bloodborne is a PS4 exclusive title from the maker of Demon’s Souls and the more recent the Dark Souls series, From Software. If you have played Dark Souls you understand that this game will be a challenge. Dark Souls even provided the infamous warning right on the box, “you will die… a lot.” They were not lying, I died… a lot.

Bloddbourne is familiar but different. The goth atmosphere is engrossing. From Software has a knack for producing games that successfully convey that dark mysterious feeling that somehow stirs actual emotion. It is beautiful and very well done.

Needless to say the game is difficult, as to be expected from this developer. However you can ring the bell and summon an NPC helper or another player to even out the odds somewhat. The downside is, a hostile player may also enter the game to kill you. There is always a catch.

The purple lantern checkpoints seem few and far between, meaning you will be going through much of the same environment over again. Some people find games like this frustrating and perhaps too difficult. It definitely can be frustrating at times, but that is the charm of Bloodborne and Dark Souls.

The key to this type of game is patience. You have to calmly progress slowly throughout the game and it will become one of the more rewarding game experience you can imagine defeating the bosses and ultimately the game. Grind and grind while slowly raising your level to become powerful enough for the next challenge is a strategy that may be painful but does work. From games have are somewhat reminiscent to the video games of old which challenged you in the same way.

The combat is less strategic in Bloodborne but more versatile. The combination of guns and swords is deifferent and works well in this title. You will still be diving and rolling away, putting together attack chains and trying to stun enemies and counterattack, while attempting to get back a little health to keep up the fight. It is both a painful and rewarding experience at the same time, an assessment that also works for the game as a whole.

The enemies are awesome and some are truly terrifying. Boss fights are engaging, powerful and exhilarating. Just making your way to them is at least half the challenge, so defeating a boss becomes extremely fulfilling. Secrets are abundant and clues are all around. Bloodborne possesses an intellectual element which is missing from most games. The game does have a subtle undertone of criticism to belief systems but it is what you make out of it.

One feature that I feel really works here is the ability of other players to leave you clues and messages in your game. It was helpful in Dark Souls and I am glad to see it in Bloodborne as well. A simple message like, “ambush ahead” can make all the difference of saving yourself one less death. I also enjoy the other players abilities to leave cryptic type messages. Some are very clever and just go along with the overall atmosphere of the game.

On the downside, load times are long and framerates are an issue at times.

This game will not be for everyone. You either like this challenging style of play or you don’t. Either way Bloodborne is a well done game, exhellarating, tiring, brutal, beautiful, frustrating, intellectual, fullfilling, and even painful at times all at once. How many games can you say that about?

We rank Bloodborne a 8.5 out of 10.