Review: Bloodborne

Bloodborne was the first of the From Software games that I had played. I remember watching a video about it on Youtube, and all the high praise it got, both in terms of the artistic nature of the game, and its mechanics, so when I found it in a store now over a year ago, I thought I would try it out. This not only marked my first steps into the horror in games, but also my first sophisticated RPG experience. So, with that said, how high was the bar raised for the next game?

The premise of the game is pretty ambiguous, but I will try to describe it nonetheless. You play as your custom character, who travelled to the gothic and expansive city of Yharnam, founded for its use of Blood Ministration, an art that can seemingly cure any ailment, where you receive a blood transfusion of the mysterious Paleblood, linking you to the Hunter’s dream and causing you to essentially become immortal, bound to reawaken whenever you die. As a hunter, your objective is to stop the scourge of beasts that plagues Yharnam, or be bound to the hunt forever. However, as you progress through this huge, desolate world filled with distorted townsmen and horrific monsters, you start to discover that things are a lot more complicated than they first seemed, as the world shifts further and further into madness.

I have to say, from the very first time I played it, I was hooked. After spending about half an hour in the character creation menu, as you often do in RPG’s, I was treated to a set of controls and a fighting style that I was completely unfamiliar with. I started off in Ioseka’s clinic, and found the first enemy, a typical enough werewolf, which I, like most newcomers to the genre, died to pretty quickly. This led to me being introduced to the Hunter’s Dream, the hub world of the game, which, while still haunting, was beautifully calm, offering refuge from the unforgiving waking world. I retrieved my weapons, reawakened, and had another go. And another.

The style of the From Software game is one of an oppressive world, and the player finding a place within it, starting from a position of powerlessness, until they grow in their talents and increase their level and weapon rank, until once overwhelming struggles become easily defeated.

The first time I played the game, I struggled in the first area, trying to get further and further before once again dying and respawning back at a lamp. The second time I played, I pushed forward far enough to open up the first shortcuts, and I even stumbled upon two bosses, although I was utterly trounced by them. The third time, after several attempts, I beat one of them, and the fourth time, I beat the other.

At the time, these bosses seemed to be completely undefeatable, as they seemed to physically tower over me both in size and difficulty. There is no difficulty scale on the game. The intention is that you must get better and improve to pass a boss or level, not make it easier. This may seem unfair at certain points, but the rush you feel when you have learnt to predict their attacks and avoid or counter accordingly, lasting now a full minute instead of thirty seconds, getting their health bar down another twenty-five percent before dying, until you finally break through and defeat your foe makes you realise why the game is so hard. If you are able to make it easy, there is no sense of accomplishment, and when you master your own weapons and attack styles, you won’t want to make it easier. Now, when I start a new playthrough, I find myself easily mastering the fights that once seemed impossible, but

Thematically, the game perfectly represents this. As a hunter, you move swiftly through the streets, with most enemies unnaturally large to make you feel small and insignificant compared to the dark and terrible events that have and continue to transpire. In Dark Souls, a previous From Software game that defined the genre that Bloodborne fits into, your actions are to break the status of the world that has been in place for centuries in a quest to find some significance in a futile world, whereas in Bloodborne, while many of the events had occurred long ago, you act to uncover truths and prevent disaster, being a more active player in shaping the events of the game.

Additionally, the horror of the game isn’t confined spaces, jumpscares and bizarre twisted bodies (although it certainly does have plenty of those), but is instead more existential. You are thrust into a world where almost every creature you meet it a monster, the environments you travel through seem endless and unyielding and there seems to be no clear explanation as to what happened, what exactly you’re are up against and what force sustains you and the Dream. Really, you piece together your own story when playing based on the few cut-scenes and pieces of information you find, and I guarantee that your interpretation of the game will be significantly different from anyone else’s.

Another thing I have to commend the game for is its soundtrack. Music is rare in this game, only occurring in a few key areas and in boss fights. However, each piece is distinctly memorable, regardless of whatever you think of the boss. For some bosses, repeated high notes create a palpable dread, while others have swelling orchestral pieces to display their quick fighting styles and significance in the lore. I don’t know much about music, but I can assure you that this is top tier quality.

Whilst playing the game, you are introduced to various factions through specific characters, which flesh out the role of a hunter, how long the profession has been going on for, what hunter groups are there and what they specialise in, whilst also representing the online faction they are in.

Online gameplay for me has been enjoyable, but the way to get it to work is little too convoluted for the average player, myself included, and when I did figure it out, I end up standing in one spot ringing the resonant bell hoping for it to connect. I’m not sure whether or not it is because the system isn’t efficient enough, or because there just aren’t many players online who call people into their world, but the other games by From Software, Dark Souls III in particular, are much more effective when it comes to pvp, maybe to the point where there is too much connectivity, but at least it occurs.

That being said, Bloodborne does work best as a single-player experience, so I won’t be too harsh on its poor multiplayer system.

Another problem with the game is the encouragement to farm items, as practically every item, including the health items, blood vials, are consumables, meaning that unless you match your uses of them with the amount you acquire, then you will have to return to an earlier level to retrieve them from enemies, or acquire enough blood echoes, the currency of the game, to buy them in bulk from the Hunter’s Dream shop, which does begin to become a nuisance when throwing yourself at a late-game boss in an area with few vial-dropping enemies, and being forced to go back to early areas in order to gain some from basic enemies. As such, each action has a new weight and tension, as frequent deaths to a boss will cause more serious consequences than just another run to it, so there is a reason for this, regardless of its drawn out nature.

Something else this game has a tendency to do is produce levels consistent in terms of lighting and building architecture, which although help to place each level in relation to one another, can lead to a lack of variety. That’s not to say that there aren’t exceptions to this, or even that there is no way to tell each level apart, there is. It’s just that when seventy-five percent of areas are dark and feature run-down buildings, it can feel a little repetitive.

However, this is just a minor issue, which is vastly overshadowed by the superb level design and interconnectivity. One particular location connects in a variety of ways to at least five others, and that is after one of the routes was removed prior to the release. The subtle ways that one area would connect to another make the world feel genuine and tangible, as if the place once prospered and was filled with life.

I couldn't end this review without mentioning the fantastic DLC, The Old Hunters. This follows your hunter's journey into the Hunters Nightmare, a hell that awaits all hunters, and only you have the power to end it and free the damned. This includes four of the best bosses in the game, and contrast the main game with a much needed brighter colour scheme, while retaining the same horror atmosphere. This game isn't truly complete without the DLC, so I highly recommend playing the full version.

For me, Bloodborne is the high standard that all PS4 games should strive for. It’s graphics quality, smooth and dynamic combat, little details adding up to a huge expansive world and breathtaking dystopian landscapes place this game at an easy 9.5 out of 10, and a game that I won’t be getting rid of anytime soon.

SPOILER SECTION

Well, this isn’t like my usual spoiler-heavy game analysis, as the game doesn’t have a clear story, only a series of events and character questlines. However, the content is also in terms of the areas you explore, and the bosses either alluded to prior by other characters, item descriptions and enemy types, so discussing them with any level of detail does hinder the sense of stumbling through this world blind to its mysteries, so be warned.

The first boss I encountered was the Cleric Beast, at the blocked off bridge. Its leap into the arena came out of nowhere, and its scale intimidated me the first times that I fought it. The second was Father Gascoigne, a huge blood-drunk hunter wielding the hunter axe in a ferocious battle to the death. As the first main story boss, he was perfect. Being an older, world-weary hunter lost to the instincts of the hunt, he contrasts against the comparatively naïve player, not only serving as the physical guardian of Yharnam beyond the starting area, but also as a symbolic warning to you, not to lose yourself to the hunt, and not to lose faith in your task. His story of being a family man slowly becoming more and more like the beasts he is hunting is tragic, and the quest involving his daughter helps to tie the boss to the world you inhabit in-game.

This is why the From Software game formula is so good, and why it continues to get better with every instalment. The game isn’t just difficult, but consistently justifies itself – who you fight, why must you fight them, how does it affect the world as a whole. Everything has a backstory, a meaning, even if it is vague, or you have to figure it out through items, or the context of the world. It provides you with the incentive to persist in the game, to keep plunging deeper and deeper into the madness and rise above the insurmountable odds.

My standout boss would have to be Ludwig, the first boss of the Old Hunters DLC. In many respects, he is like a reverse Father Gascoigne, a once honourable hunter now transformed and hideous, but instead of devolving further into beast-hood as the fight progresses, he regains some of the once majestic side of his nature, picking himself up and wielding his Moonlight Greatsword, a hallmark of the Souls series. It is fast, exhilarating, and bombastic, accompanied with an incredible orchestral piece that makes the fight a masterpiece to see, let alone participate in.

On the opposite end is the Witches of Hemwick. While well foreshadowed with their minions appearing throughout Hemwick and the main enemies of the area being female, they are quite anticlimactic, being half the size of the player, and relying on dirty tactics like being mostly invisible, teleporting away, spawning in minions, holding you in place with ranged spells, and repeatedly using outward burst attacks as opposed to being physical challenges.

I’ll have to admit, while they are objectively the easiest boss in the game, I have never been able to take them out first try because of these underhanded tactics irritating me and throwing me off balance, or just unlucky move generation, like the last time when one performed multiple Area of Effect attacks in succession, not giving me the chance to heal. It’s embarrassing to say, but it’s true, and why it ranks lowest for me.

If you’re interested, I’ve ranked the bosses from my favourite to least favourite down below, in case you’ve played the game and want to see where I think each one lines up.

BOSS RANKINGS

1. Ludwig the Accursed/Holy Blade

2. Lady Maria

3. Father Gascoigne

4. Martyr Logarius

5. Lawrence, the First Vicar

6. Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos

7. Orphan of Kos

8. Gehrman, the First Hunter

9. Darkbeast Paarl

10. Blood-Starved Beast

11. Vicar Amelia

12. Cleric Beast

13. Amygdala

14. Shadows of Yharnam

15. The One Reborn

16. The Living Failures

17. The Celestial Emissary

18. Mergo’s Wet Nurse

19. The Moon Presence

20. Rom, The Vacuous Spider

21. Mikolash, Host of the Nightmare

22. Witches of Hemwick

In terms of areas, my favourites would always have to be the main three introduced early on: Central Yharnam, Cathedral Ward and Old Yharnam.

Central Yharnam is the probably the best designed, being both eerie and interconnected, featuring the main street, the bridge, the sewers, buildings, a variety of enemy types to peak the imagination. It is a masterpiece of level design.

Cathedral Ward acts as the centre of the web of Yharnam’s many locations, connecting to seven other areas through a set of streets, amygdala teleports, lifts and secret passages in a vast space that symbolises the height of Yharnam’s power and influence.

Old Yharnam concludes this trio, representing the worst of Yharnam and its beastly scourge. Here, there are no safe places to hide, or friendly NPC’s to commune with (at least initially). You are immediately told that you are not wanted down there once you’ve descended from the church, and with the huge numbers of beasts, a rogue hunter trying to mow you down with a Gatling gun atop a tower, and dingy colour gradient, you are really made to feel it.

The feelings you have when first exploring these areas are unforgettable, and while the later areas are distinctive and significant, I felt that until the DLC, they never really lived up to the initial areas.

The Nightmare Frontier in particular feels empty and barren, serving little purpose aside from giving Patches an appearance, and allowing you to see other nightmare areas from a distance. The boss, Amygdala, is quite a fun fight, but it wouldn’t have been particularly difficult to simply add a boss arena elsewhere in the game, instead of making the slog through a drab, lifeless environment filled with irritating enemies, tunnels and poison lakes, often all at once.

AREA RANKINGS:

1. Central Yharnam

2. Cathedral Ward

3. Old Yharnam

4. Cainhurst Castle

5. Fishing Hamlet

6. Ioesefka’s Clinic

7. Hunter’s Dream

8. Hunter’s Nightmare

9. Abandoned Hunter’s Workshop

10. Hemwick Charnel Lane

11. Yahar’Gul, Unseen Village

12. Research Hall

13. Healing Church Workshop

14. Mergo’s Loft: Top

15. Abandoned Old Workshop

16. Nightmare of Mensis

17. Mergo’s Loft: Middle

18. Nightmare Lecture Theatre

19. Forbidden Woods

20. Byrgenwerth

21. Upper Cathedral Ward

22. Nightmare Frontier

That being said, there is some fun to be had in the lower areas on my list. They aren’t irredeemable, just that their oppressive atmospheres sometimes rub me the wrong way, Upper Cathedral Ward specifically. I’ve found that the more lively and industrial the environment, the better the area, something that is reflected in the level design and aesthetics of my favourite areas. The feeling of desolation in places that should be packed with people is where the horror excels, rather than the comparative emptiness of the Nightmare locations.

UP NEXT

Next I will do my review of Darks Souls III, which I intend to upload this weekend. I am currently still playing through Dark Souls Remastered, and haven’t had the opportunity to purchase Dark Souls II or Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice yet, but considering my love for the From Software style, expect future entries on this site.