Bloodborne Review

Bloodborne - "Welcome home, good hunter."

Bloodborne is the newest IP from Japanese developer From Software along with the help of SCE Japan Studio in development and publishing. From Software is infamously known for creating some of the most hardcore action RPG titles and Bloodborne is not exception. Director Hidetaka Miyazaki brings a whole new style of combat unseen in previous 'Souls' titles in an attempt to change the way players act and react and they do a spectacular job at that.

World

The world of Bloodborne is set in a town called Yharnam.

"Yharnam.

Hidden amongst the furthest reaches of the treacherous eastern mountains, this city lies in seclusion.
Forgotten.
Cursed.
An affliction has cursed the city for countless ages, an endemic nightmare known only as the Scourge of the Beast. Those afflicted by this sickness lose all sense of reason, transforming into what can only be described as Beasts. Night after night, Hunters rise to cleanse the streets of these horrors."

"A cursed city, dark and abhorrent . . .
Stories told of the mysterious city of Yharnam are both vague and abstract. But while descriptions of the city itself are lacking, details of the epidemic known as the Scourge of the Beast have been around longer than anyone can recall. Many sick travelers have made their way to Yharnam's gates to seek a certain mysterious procedure, despite its puzzling and sacrilegious nature. However, details of the city are scarce because very few travelers have ever returned from Yharnam's gates again. The town's true nature is at once refined and beautiful, and also macabre and horrific. More so than even the rumors could ever describe.

- extract from the Collector's Edition Art Book

And you are one of the travelers heading to Yharnam's gates in order to find this mysterious medical remedy. Upon arrival you realise that Yharnam has been infected by the plague and that most if not all of its inhabitant have transformed into Beasts.

"Yharnam is the home of Blood Ministration. You need only unravel its mystery. But where is an outsider like yourself to begin? Easy, with a bit of Yharnam Blood of your own. Whatever happens, you may think it all a mere bad dream.
The blood makes us human, makes us more than human, makes us human no more.
Our thirst for blood satiates us, soothes our fears, but beware the frailty of men."

Are the first words you hear from a mysterious man injecting you with Yharnam blood in a clinic. You start hallucinating..or is this really happening?

You then get control of your character and are given the task of discovering the secrets or Yharnam and its inhabitants.

The character creator in Bloodborne is somewhat detailed with a plethora of sliders to help you adjust your character the way you want. From Software have not been well known for having a great character creator as you can skew the dimensions of your face so far out of proportion that you could be playing a Beast whilst also playing a human. But if you put the time and effort into your character you can honestly make something amazing.

Gameplay

Overview

"The Hunter's Dream" is your main hub. It's the location that lets you travel to Lamps which function like checkpoints and is also the place to purchase items, upgrade items and level up all with the use of 'Blood Echoes'. You receive Blood Echoes every time you kill an enemy, they are the bread and butter of the game and having them allows you to do all the above. Conserving Blood Echoes for use is a must but every time you die you lose all your Blood Echoes and must go back and either pick them up from where you died or kill the enemy that killed you to retrieve them and they can be easily distinguished from the crowd because their eyes will have a blue glow to them.

You'll have to have farmed enough Blood Echoes to level up in Bloodborne. You then talk to the Plain Doll to level up and choose to invest in one of six stats of which all apply a different upgrade when leveled up. Each skill has a hardcap so there is a limit to how much you can level each skill but there is no hardcap on the total level of the player.

Vitality - Increases HP

Endurance - Increases Stamina

Strength - Increases damage on STR based weapons

Skill - Increases damage on SKL based weapons

Bloodtinge - Increases damage on guns and Bloodtinge scaling weapons
Arcane - Increases damage on Arcane weapons and increases item Discovery

At the beginning of the game you'll get to choose which build you'd like to go for and depending on what you choose at the beginning will ultimately determine the way you play through the rest of the game. I recommended staying on one style of gameplay to ensure maximum potential gain from stat increasing.

Enemies/Bosses

Bloodborne has a host of freakishly large and dangerous bosses along with a bunch of unique gothic horror enemies. In your journey through Yharnam you'll encounter many enemies from infected humans to werewolves to ghosts and even dwarves. The game hosts a bunch of unique enemies all of which you must learn each and every one of their attack patterns in order to successfully kill them.

The enemies in Bloodborne are fast and dangerous, sometimes a simple mistake can cost you your whole health bar and or multiple 'Blood Vials' of which is the health potion in Bloodborne. Enemies can have long or short range attacks depending on what they are and properly equipping yourself to deal with these fights as well as fighting well is the key to winning.

Bosses on the other hand are a lot more challenging than your typical enemies obviously. They are sometimes large or they can be smaller, but all of them are fast and strong. Mistiming an attack or being too greedy can be the death of you. Always dodge and ensure you learn the boss's attacks to take of advantage of them. Bloodborne features a lot of main bosses but also a lot of optional bosses.

Locations

There are a lot of locations for you to explore across the city of Yharnam. There's the main city of Yharnam, of course,  which is the place you start off in. There are other locations other than the main city such as the Forbidden Woods, Cainhurst Castle, an optional location in a castle covered by snow, there are swamps, churches and even a twisted zone floating in space that has some of the worst enemies and gothic castles galore.

Bloodborne doesn't only feature the city of Yharnam but all the locations on it's outskirts. Each place subsequently getting weirder and more twisted with each step through the game.

Combat

If you've played a 'Souls' game in the past then Bloodborne's combat style will be no stranger to you. Although a bit difficult to grasp at first with the low stamina cost and the fast pace action, the combat can be easily learnt but hard to master.

Bloodborne employs a extremely fast action based combat style which heavily punishes mistakes but greatly rewards success. The game features a dodging system of rolling but when locked on to your target you can initiate a quick side/back/front step that could easily close the gap or widen the gap between foes. The side stepping can be used to gain the advantage but use of this dodge can expend stamina which should be managed properly to ensure you don't run out or you'll be cut/smashed down.

Contrary to what the 'Souls' series had Bloodborne does not employ a weight system nor does it heavily rely on the use of shields to block attacks. The game features of a total of one shield which is in my opinion is bad and barely anyone uses it. Instead of blocking all day and waiting for an opportune moment to strike, unlike the 'Souls' games, Bloodborne encourages you to use the side stepping and dodging to gain the positional advantage on your enemies and because of the lack of differing styles of armour, all your armour is light and swift allowing for quick chaining of dodges to attacks,

The way you attack is all dependent on the weapon you use and the style in which you use it. Bloodborne features a unique style of weapon called 'Trick Weapons'. These weapons in most cases have two forms of which can be switched between in or out of combat. You have your normal attacks [R1] and heavy attacks [R2] and this is for both the two styles of trick weapons along with the secondary trick style having a special attack [L2] if it's two-handed. 

Eg. the Hunter's Axe is a one handed axe that does high damage at a short range. The swings are average, not too fast not too slow. Changing the weapon into its second form makes it extend into a two handed axe which has slower movement but higher damage and longer range. Switching the weapon type whilst in the middle of a combo can initiate a mid-combo weapon swap attack that damages the enemy as you switch the weapon style adding more strategy to the way you approach enemies.

In the off-hand, the Hunter can wield a firearm or a torch, whichever you choose. The guns in Bloodborne aren't designed to do heavy damage but instead are used for parrying and riposting enemies. Timing the shot right on an enemy in mid swing can cause them to get stunned. The game clearly lets you know that the enemy is successfully stunned by a loud "ZING". When the enemy is stunned you have a very short window to close in on them and perform a 'Visceral Attack' which ripostes the enemy and does a large amount of damage. Being able to master this parry and riposte system can sometimes win you the most hardest of fights.

Even though Bloodborne features less weapons that previous titles from From Software, each weapon is so unique and well done that it would be hard to continuously swap weapons. Each weapon is easy to learn but hard to master. Unlike Dark Souls 2, each weapon in Bloodborne is extremely powerful if used right. There is no need to change or upgrade the weapon to a different weapon as they are all similarly equal in the end, it just all depends on how you use it that matters the most.

Items

Along with your main weapons you also have to manage your 'Blood Vials' and your 'Quicksilver Bullets' that are used each time you fire a round from your gun. Sometimes you run out of these two extremely valuable resources and are tasked with the objective of farming them again.

There are also many other items in the game that help you along your journey through Yharnam. You may need to acquire 'Antidotes' to stop the slow burn of poison effects or you may need 'Sedatives' to cure you of the new effect called 'Frenzy'.

Managing and applying these items as necessary can win fights and/or lose them if you use them at the wrong time during an enemy's wind up attack.

'Arcane' abilities are placed in your item slots as well. Although you don't find many Arcane skills early on in the game, some weapons do scale with Arcane so if you're invested in that path, continue through it as it may come in handy later on in the game.

Bloodborne features a few unique spells or Arcane abilities. One of them allows you to seemingly disappear whilst dodging, another may enchant your weapon with Arcane damage. These Arcane skills are devastating if they land but require patience and dedication in order to get them and use them efficiently as Arcane abilities expend Quicksilver Bullets.

There is plenty of armour in Bloodborne. Although there isn't armour styles such as heavy armour of light armour because Bloodborne is so reliant on quick action that all armour in the game won't have a weight on them meaning you can mix and match to your heart's desire. Each piece of armour supplies you with physical defence and arcane defence from Fire and Bolt attacks. They also supply resistance to certain effects such as Poison and Frenzy. Properly equipping the right armour for the location or situation you're in can help with the battle.

Bloodborne also features some not so useful fashion items. You can acquire a dress in the game and be that fabulously dressed male hunter or you can wear the Plain Doll's outfit in the game.

Workshop

Like previous games from From Software, Bloodborne features an upgrade system and repairing system.

Using a weapon too much can cause its durability to deteriorate slowly and every so often you must head back to the Hunter's Dream and repair your weapon.

You can also upgrade your weapons with upgrade materials called 'Blood Stone Shards', 

Twin Blood Stone Shard', 'Blood Stone Chunk' and the extremely rare and limited 'Blood Rock'. Each weapon can be upgraded granted you have the right amount of materials to do so. Each weapon upgrades once from basic to +1, +2.....all the way to +10 and each upgrade adds more damage and scales accordingly with your stats.

Along with upgrading, you can also fortify your weapon with 'Blood Gems'. These are gemstones you find out in the world that can be placed into your weapon to give it extra stats such as higher damage percentage or increasing fire damage or adding poison damage. Correctly choosing which gem to add to what weapon can help you secure a victory if the Blood Gem compliments the way you fight.

There is also a Caryll Rune workshop which functions similarly to how Rings functioned in the 'Souls' games. There are 4 slots for these Caryll Runes of which you can apply a Rune which can give you an effect. Some examples of these runes are Health +5% or Stamina +10%, more Blood Echoes from slain enemies, Visceral Attacks heal HP or physical damage reduction +4%. Correctly swapping out these runes to suit the situation can help you conquer a boss much easier if you slot your runes to counter the enemies of if you'd rather have utility runes such as higher health then that could definitely save you from a enemy that can do a ton of damage.

Graphics/Presentation

From Software have done a fantastic job with the presentation of the game. The graphics are great although honestly not that high in resolution but Bloodborne makes up for it in its setting. The world that From has created feels real and the design of the world really brings it to life. The moon shining through the clouds of the smoke rising from the fires definitely bring out the gothic horror of the game. The buildings are well designed, the enemies are freakishly messed up. The blood splatters with every hit of your weapon and it all just feels so satisfyingly well done.

Everything about the presentation is top notch and I don't have much to complain about in that sense. But, the performance and loading times can be a problem for some.

Bloodborne sometimes drops frames during fights with multiple enemies. There is pop in from time to time and not only distance pop in but close up pop in of buildings and structures. Although this rarely happens, it still can get annoying.

The loading times can take sometimes from 10 seconds which is fair to a whopping 1 minute or more. If you don't die a lot the loading times won't be much of an issue but if you do die a lot, the loading screen will definitely get on your nerves. I didn't die to many normal enemies but when I died to bosses, I had to wait nearly 1 minute each time before I run back to it and die again only to repeat the process.

From Software have said that they are going to patch these issues in the coming weeks but for now you'll have to live with the loading times.

Music/Sound

Each enemy in Bloodborne can be distinguished by the sound they make whether it's a growl or a moan or a scream. Bloodborne does an excellent job of portraying its setting through the world of sound.

The music is eerie and haunting and boss fights are always accompanied by epic music which can hype you up or make you feel downright depressed from losing so bad.

The weapon swings and the gun sounds are all amazing. Each swing sounds devastating on the enemy and each gun shot sounds powerful.

The 'ZING' from a Visceral Attack is always extremely satisfying as you grab them and rip their guts out (not really, just a lot of blood).

The atmosphere is enhanced by having no music play except the sounds of the region around whether it be fires burning, enemy growls, wind howling through the trees or the distant screams and cries. As you progress further into the game the more insane you'll become as the atmosphere just gets more depressing and freaky.

Ultimately, Bloodborne's sound design is superb and the sound of the crying baby is scary as hell.

Replayability

Bloodborne features NG+ or New Game Plus which means once you finish the first playthrough you are thrown into the second playthrough in which all enemies are stronger and have more HP. This makes Bloodborne an even more challenging game than the first time but ultimately more rewarding as the rewards are better and you get more Blood Echoes allowing you to level efficiently in the second playthrough or each sub sequential playthrough after NG+ into NG++ and so on.

Bloodborne also features a new dungeon system called Chalice Dungeons. Upon creating a dungeon, the labyrinth is procedurally generated with enemies and loot and a boss. These dungeons early on only stretch up to 3 layers but the higher level dungeon you create the stronger the enemies as well the more layers you get. I've only managed to currently create a dungeon up to the 4th layer but I'm definitely going to keep going until I find the secret boss in the strongest dungeon.

For those that enjoy PVP or helping others during their playthrough then you can do so. Bloodborne features a PVP system in which you can invade another player's game world and be tasked with the job of hunting them down whilst the other player tries to vanquish you. If you're feeling a bit helpful then you can employ your services to help another player in need to assistance with a boss or a strong enemy.

You can coop through the single-player world or you can join together to take down a boss in the normal world or in a Chalice Dungeon. The coop system is currently a bit of a mess as joining someones game can take quite a while and there will be a disparity between friends who coop in Chalice Dungeons as the game only saves the hosts progression through the dungeon. If you wish to both complete the dungeon and both get rewards, you'll have to do the dungeons twice.

I honestly will be doing PVP quite a bit as I joined a PVP Covenant and I plan on supplying my Queen with the necessary tools for her rule.

Conclusion

I finished Bloodborne in around 35 hours which is seemingly short compared to previous 'Souls' titles reaching up to around 60 hours or more just for the first playthrough. Although Bloodborne is shorter than most From Software games it doesn't take away from the sheer factor of fun and thrill I got when fighting the bosses or the other Hunters going for my life.

I thoroughly enjoyed my first playthrough of the game and I'm going to keep going for that Platinum trophy.

The game would've been perfect for me if it weren't for the long loading times and the lag of which From Software can fix through patches and also the short length of the game. Other than that, Bloodborne is coming out to be one of the best games on PS4 and maybe one of the best games of 2015.

UPDATE 26/4/15 - The new loading time patch from From Software has reduced loading times. The average rate of about 10-20 seconds is a welcome change and loading from scene to scene isn't as tedious as before because they have also implemented item descriptions into the loading screen to give players something to read or do when waiting for the game to load. There is still FPS issues throughout the game but not as frequently and as devastating as before. There is lag but the spikes in frame rate seemed to have reduced to only occur during moments with a lot of enemies. 80 hours in, in NG+4 and still loving the game. Got the Platinum trophy a while ago.

9.5/10