A Look Back at Bloodborne
Written by: Joseph Yaden
2018 marks the third birthday of FromSoftware's PS4 exclusive, Bloodborne. With it being free on Playstation Plus for the month of March, it seems timely to look back on what made it so exceptional.
Developer FromSoftware already had the chops to make excellent games with their previous work on the Dark Souls series, as well as on Armored Core. Bloodborne plays a lot like the Dark Souls games, but with a gothic, Victorian aesthetic and a faster paced combat style. Although these two differences don't seem substantial, they vastly change the way the game is played and, in my opinion, for the better.
One major contributing factor to the fast gameplay is the ability to regain recently lost health for a short period of time. This mechanic encourages an offensive play-style, while still allowing players to approach situations in a slow and methodical manner. If players can out-maneuver an enemy that just attacked them, and land some quick blows, it's possible most of the lost health could be regained. I don't recall many games that utilize this feature, but it's something that I would love to see explored more in other action games.
The fast-paced action is also exemplified because of the exclusion of shields. (Well, technically, there is one shield, but it's bad and is meant as a joke.) From a design point of view, this was a brilliant way to make players be more offensive instead of defensive. Keeping players on their toes and making them pay attention brings forth a level of engagement that the other Souls games lacked.
One common thread throughout FromSoftware's action RPGs is the lack of direction given to the player. Bloodborne strikes a fair balance of being linear enough to keep the player on track, but still open enough to feel rewarding. It's true, the other Souls games were notorious for making it hard to progress, but I never felt totally lost while playing Bloodborne. Even after not having played it for a couple years, I still knew exactly where to go.
Not only are the areas beautifully crafted, but the strategic placement of items further encourages players to explore. It's not enough to just have well designed levels; if there's no motivation to explore, it might as well be a badly designed level. The items act as a guide to make sure players are on the right track, as well as a reward for finding them.
Bloodborne puts combat first and you can tell so much care and precision went into this department. Each weapon feels good to wield, making it somewhat of a tough choice when making a selection. That, and all of the weapons have variants or transformations, so there are many factors to take into consideration when choosing the right weapon. There are different weapons for many play styles, bringing a sense of variety. You might like the Saw Cleaver, a fast weapon, allowing for longer ranged attacks. It does less damage, but having speed makes up for it. Or maybe using the Hunter’s Axe is more your style. The Hunter’s Axe also allows for long ranged attacks, but is much slower, albeit way more powerful. These are only a couple of the dozens of weapon types.
It's clear why this is called Bloodborne: Lots of blood. As more people jump onto this game thanks to PS Plus, hopefully the community will experience Bloodborne and realize that so much of the fun is playing the game with friends. Running through the game with a friend brings forth a sense of camaraderie.
Not only can you tackle the game cooperatively, but with the addition of PvP (player versus player), real-world players can invade your world for a duel. Many times, the members of the community are respectful and won't attack while your back is turned, another fantastic aspect of Bloodborne. Emerging victorious in a PvP battle results in rewards, so it's a good idea to brush up on those skills. Few games come close to the this level of polish, expert design, immersion, and reward. It's so exciting that people will be playing this bad boy for the first time, even if it's three years later. It'll be interesting to see the veteran players interact with newcomers. Bloodborne will go down as one of the best PS4 exclusives and one of the best games of all time, and for good reason.
What are your thoughts about Bloodborne? If you haven't played it yet, try it out on PS4 with PlayStation Plus, and share your thoughts in the comments below OR join the conversation on twitter @mtfproduction
