This review was originally written on May 6th, 2015.
As the words “You Died” scroll across my screen for the three-hundredth time, I sit back in my chair and relax. Although this was the tenth time I had been defeated by this boss, it did not frustrate me; this was merely another attempt at defeating one of the most difficult bosses in the game.
Bloodborne, developed by From Software and director Hidetaka Miyazaki, is an action role-playing video game aimed at hardcore gamers. Players of the Souls games will instantly feel at home—the controls, game mechanics, leveling system, and more are nearly identical. Bloodborne manages to take each of those concepts and slightly alter them to create a fresh, new experience for veterans of the Souls series. While Bloodborne has been streamlined in some aspects to appeal to a wider audience, the hardcore nature of the game can leavenew players frustrated and unable to progress past even the first boss. This streamlining of elements yet remaining an immensely difficult game alienates some of the most hardcore fans of the Souls games along with the casual gamers interested in Bloodborne. Fortunately, most hardcore gamers will find an enjoyable experience if they are willing to persist with the difficulty posed therein.
Assuming the role of a hunter, players maneuver across beaten towns, vast forests, menacing castles, and even dreamlands to progress through the story. Each of these environments places enemies around every nook and cranny, requiring the player to be alert at all times. A quick look away from the screen could result in a sneak attack from an unknown enemy. Additionally, since the game does not offer a traditional pause system, fights must be fought to their conclusion. Death also does not come cheap—a misstep off of an edge or a swarm of enemies depleting your health to zero in seconds is not uncommon, and comes at the price of all currently held blood echoes, which act as currency for both leveling up and purchasing items and weapons. This instills a constant sense of fear in the player—is it better to continue forward into the unknown or return to a lantern where I can expend my blood echoes? Lanterns double as a checkpoint and as an area where the player can upgrade equipment, level up, and purchase items, but they are often few and far between. Coupled with the fact that all non-boss enemies respawn any time the player uses a lantern, the player must reach the next lantern before his or her health reaches zero. Blood vials act as a potion which restores 40% of the player’s health, and while 20 of them may be held at any time, using them in battle comes at a risk due to the slow animation (despite being faster than Dark Souls’s Estes Flask). Blood vials also do not come back after being used, and must be purchased or found to be replenished. Leveling up with the aforementioned blood echoes happens to be a very important element in Bloodborne—a low leveled character will have a notably smaller pool of health and a much lower attack damage, rendering normal fights and particularly boss fights extremely difficult.
Bloodborne’s gameplay borrows the archaic combat system from the Souls series, speeds it up, and adds guns to the mix. For new players to Bloodborne and the Souls series, combat may feel awkward with attacks mapped to the right and left bumpers and triggers. While this does become natural with time, it is part of Bloodborne’s steep learning curve. Parrying returns from the Souls series, but this time is executed by shooting enemies with a gun immediately before they attack. This can be difficult to master due to the strict timing as well as the high number of enemies that are immune to being parried during certain attacks. A number of tools are offered to help the hunter through his quest, including poison throwing knives, Molotov cocktails, and even a select few magical artifacts. While these tools are immensely helpful during the early parts of the game, I found myself rarely using them by the end of the game.
Compared to the Souls games, Bloodborne offers very few weapons, barely reaching a total of 25. Fortunately, each weapon is significantly different from the rest, allowing unique combat opportunities. Players use a melee weapon in their right hand and a gun in their left; each hand may also swap to an alternate weapon at any time. Where Bloodborne’s weapon system truly shines is in its trick weapons. By pressing L1 at any time, the currently equipped melee weapon transforms into an alternate form. Some weapons extend their reach at the cost of attack speed, some offer a temporary buff in damage, and one even steals health in order to significantly increase damage. Guns use quicksilver bullets, of which players may hold 20 at any given time. Interestingly, pressing up on the D-pad grants the player five more quicksilver bullets at the cost of some health. While this mechanic wasn’t useful very often, it did come in handy late game when some of the more powerful guns required extra bullets.
Although Bloodborne starts off enormously difficult and frustrating, understanding and mastering combat is inexplicably rewarding. Some mobs of enemies in the game pose a threat regardless of player level, but learning enemy patterns and careful planning is what truly sets apart a new player from an experienced one. Bloodborne is a surprisingly fair game—at no point did I think something the game threw at me was unbeatable or too difficult. Bloodborne also rewards perseverance, as normal enemies and bosses alike offer a large variety of attacks which must often be seen before being able to properly dodge them. Some of the later bosses are challenging, but many of the losses became learning experiences which would be used as practice for the fight when I would eventually conquer the boss. This repetition of fights is strangely addicting and grants the player a sense of accomplishment when finally achieving victory.
The story in Bloodborne takes a minimalist approach, offering very little in terms of direct dialogue or conversations. The player character, the hunter, is completely silent, and only converses with characters who talk to themselves. Due to this, the story is rather confusing and will often have the player navigating new landscapes for unexplained reasons. Nevertheless, the lore of the world is strangely fascinating, involving werewolves, aliens, and other mystical creatures. In some ways, I found the lack of story to benefit Bloodborne. Through minimal story, the player focuses on gameplay and may speculate to his or her heart’s desire on the more delicate intricacies of the story. The ending, for example, has three possible outcomes, each with different interpretations which may be explored in more detail through online discussion.
In terms of graphics, Bloodborne runs at 30 frames per second in 1080p resolution. The frame rate runs at a fairly consistent 30 frames per second, only dropping slightly in the late game areas with cluttered objects and magic effects. The world, when observed, is visually stunning. The craftsmanship put into the sprawling hills and steampunk-esque cities is remarkable. I also suggest stopping from time to time to look towards the sun—you may just find a beautiful sunset! The user interface is very simple but manages to remain aesthetically pleasing. The dark gray color palette used for the menus reflects on the game’s dark themes and feels right at home. The level of detail put into Bloodborne everywhere is astounding, showing a truly polished product.
Multiplayer is also offered in Bloodborne, but requires PlayStation Plus to use. By using bells, players may cooperatively defeat enemies or look for other players to kill on their quest. While this a rather useful feature, I found myself rarely using it due to Bloodborne’s poor matchmaking system. At one point when I was struggling with a boss, I used my beckoning bell to summon other players who are looking to help others. I waited for approximately 15 minutes for someone to show up, but nobody joined my game. This may be in part due to the level gap, where players may only join others who are within approximately 10 levels of each other, but upon researching it, I found that many others shared the same problem. Players who wish to play competitively through PVP may share this same problem.
While the majority of Bloodborne has phenomenal level design and enemy placement, the bonus dungeons, titled the chalice dungeons, take the enjoyment of the rest of the game and throw it away. Through dungeons of blocky rooms that feel like an 11-year old put together with a map editor, players progress through layer after layer of rehashed enemies and bosses. Dungeons become progressively more difficult, particularly the defiled chalice dungeon which halves player health and holds some of the most difficult bosses found in the game. While these dungeons are completely optional, they hold a lot of desirable content which would be missed by any completionist if skipped. Sadly, with all of my time on Bloodborne, I enjoyed the chalice dungeons the least.
Bloodborne challenges players. With a steep learning curve due to difficult enemies and unorthodox controls, Bloodborne is not an easy game to pick up and play. Veterans of the Souls games will feel right at home but find an enjoyable and unique new experience. New takes on combat with trick weapons and guns will be loved by new players and veterans alike. Graphics are fantastic, seen through gorgeous landscapes and wonderful cities. A minimal story takes the back seat in the game, offering just enough to be entertaining. Unfortunately, malfunctioning multiplayer and the poor bonus dungeons drag the game down where it succeeds in so many other aspects. For any player with patience looking for an otherwise phenomenally rewarding experience, Bloodborne is an absolute must-buy.
Score: 9.5/10