Bloodborne Review | PS4
What is it? A devilishly difficult but incredibly rewarding action/rpg in a setting inspired by the Victorian era’s setting and nightmare-horror themes. Gameplay mainly revolves around discovery, combat, community and boss battles.
Let’s not beat around the bush… Bloodborne is an immensely difficult and challenging game that expects you to come prepared with skills as a gamer and/or the will to overcome. So, final warning: Casuals or newcomers to gaming, beware (or just be ready to learn – it’s worth it)
By now you may have already heard that it’s a game in which you die a lot, and it is. However, deaths very rarely feel unfair and are as much a part of the design and process as levelling up your character or upgrading your equipment. Thankfully, there’s also a way to get other players in the world to merge into your games temporarily if you’re in need, so help is always close by if it gets too much, and the connected concept of the game allows players to leave each other notes containing hints and strategies (or even lies).
The core gameplay focuses on intense close combat, quick decisions and quicker reactions using an array of devilishly dangerous melee weapons, close-range guns, dodging and other assorted items of ill-intent. Get the hang of it and you will feel unstoppable (and then die shortly after for getting cocky). Discovery of the world is equally as important as you explore the detailed city of Yarnham, its secrets and its surroundings, all the while nervously trying to not die long enough to either find a new lantern (checkpoint) or unlock a path to get back to your previous one so that you can cash in the booty that you’ve accumulated. You must ultimately gear up, level up and nut up so that you can head out to take on the next boss and make your way through the 30 to 40 hour campaign (more if you want to find all the secrets and delve into the world of randomly generated Chalice Dungeons).
Bloodborne asks a lot of you, is shrouded in mystery and happy to see you learn the hard way. It constantly keeps you tense and on your toes, makes you fear death and simultaneously requires your utmost focus to survive every encounter. The result is an immensely rewarding experience that delivers a raw sense of gratification as well as immersion that has graced me with the surprise of being one of my favourite video game experiences of all time. Oh and just in case I forgot to mention it this far, it’s also gorgeous.
Available Exclusively on Playstation 4 | Metacritic 92/100
Need a laugh? We made a post logging our Bloodborne experience as newbies with the use of some animated GIFs.
