Bloodborne Review

We knew from the first moment we saw the trailer and leaked footage of Bloodborne’s gameplay that we were facing something really special. The dark environments, the strange weapon, the outfit, and the vicious enemies, but it wasn’t that heavy when we knew that Miyazaki and his team were behind the promising project. The fact that the game was exclusive to the PS4 brought back the beginning of the Demon souls game, but from the first videos things looked different this time, is this a return of the Demon’s roots? Or are they just completing the wonderful journey? The answer seems to go deeper than that as we dive into it in our full review of the game.

Let’s explain some things about Bloodborne and its relationship to the previous parts. For a start, the main world returns, as there’s an area called hunters dream that will serve as a teleportation point between the different worlds, as the opposite of the Dark Souls parts where the world is open and accessible from the start. we’re talking about another Dark Souls here, but with different names. The spirit has become blood, the bonfire has become a lantern, and the way everything works is like the past, but this is just a simple cover for the game’s important news and perhaps the most important is the new combat system.

In the parts of Dark Souls and Demon souls, caution was an important requirement to play, you calmly advance and try to avoid the powerful blows of the enemies, by dodging or using the shield. In Bloodborne there is a tendency to make fighting more quicker and with an amazing action touch, unlike the past. The fitness meter now doesn’t decrease as fast as usual, and now allows you to strike more, and also run longer. And instead of the usual shield you hold in your hand there is a firearm, not to use it to harm your enemies remotely, but a weapon for counterattack when your enemy approaches, use it at the right time and you will stun your enemy for a moment, this is one of the main important elements of the game.

Weapon upgrades are also more conceptual and linear, by collecting bloodstones you can improve the power of your weapon, you can add fire, electricity, or arcane to your weapons to get additional effects for them. You can customize boxes to improve different abilities of your character such as carrying more treatments, raising your defenses, or getting more Blood Echoes from enemies. The development system in the game is unique and comprehensive and gives you great abilities to improve your character and weapons. In general, Bloodborne tries to be more open but at the same time succeeds in preserving most of its traditions.

You will start in the city of ” Yarnam “, a city wonderfully designed in the style of old London. The game has beautiful environments and although it is a little bit reminding of places we saw in Dark Souls, but the fantastic temper and the PS4 capabilities make us enjoy the breathtaking views and designs. Certainly, it’s disappointing to see some technical restrictions, especially the absence of 60 fps, which we had in Dark Souls games on PC since the last generation, and also the long loading times that sometimes reach a full minute, and is really annoying especially since the principle of the game depends on death so much so you will be seeing the boring loading screen many times, but the development team promises a very close fix that will reduce this problem.

Back to Yarnam city, as usual in the series, you will find the lantern (alternative to the bonfire) and it will help you to navigate and save progress. Here I have to reveal something annoying that I had in the game, which is the need to move to hunters’ dream first before moving anywhere else, rather than allowing immediate navigation from one lantern to the other. As you explore the city further, you’ll discover some shortcuts that allow you to get to certain places faster than the last lantern you found. In the past, the healing element or the HP filling was taken from the bonfire and renews easily, now this element is not renewed, but you can buy it or take it from dead enemies. For me, I found it is annoying especially when I want to fight a boss and I have to repeat boring tasks to get more medication therapy. Another thing about the healing is that it has become faster to implement, which is important and logical, especially with the game’s fast-fighting system.

Bloodborne has one of the most important online systems in gaming. You can in Bloodborne communicate with other players by leaving messages to appear in their World. You can draw their attention to a nearby danger, an important treasure, or even cheat them and get them into trouble. Other players evaluate your message as true or false. As you can see the imagination of other players and they are in their own world.

On the other hand, you can help other players or ask for their help by calling them to your world and collaborating together to win over the region boss. The game brings you together with two players maximum and decreases the amount of their energy which drives the host to lead the group being the owner of a higher power. One player can conquer your world and attack you to earn Blood Echoes you own. Some minor changes include changing the area to call, you can continue playing normally after you ring your bell and the game will automatically combine you with a bell-ringing player once he’s present.