Bloodborne — Requiem for a Hunter’s Dream

As someone who plays video games regularly, I’ve been living a sin for the last few years: I’d never played one of From Software’s Souls games. Of course, I couldn’t help hearing about how great they were, and the combination of that and this being a rare recent success story from a Japanese developer made them worth writing about for someone who blogs about games regularly. But for multiple reasons, I’d never indulged in one myself. Blame that on a combination of sheer laziness, and honestly, all the talk about the games being difficult was at least a bit intimidating.

After some thought, I made this first game Bloodborne, which I’m sure you realized given the title and accompanying banner above. I chose it because this didn’t carry the baggage of the three-installment Dark Souls series with it, meaning there was no need to play every one to “catch up” and understand everything. There was also no need to (figuratively) dust off the PS3 for it. Bloodborne offered a slightly different take on the Souls formula, and came from their best director HIdetaka Miyazaki, and was a critical and commercial darling.

I also liked its art style more than those of the Souls games, as I find gothic horror settings personally more interesting fantasy — light or dark. It’s also reportedly one of the easier Souls-style titles to get into, though it isn’t necessarily easy. Group all of those together, and I knew I made the right choice.

(Additionally, the Nioh Alpha demo helped show me that I was definitely ready for a Souls title, thanks those who said that was just as hard, if not harder, than one of From Software’s efforts.)

Right from its start, Bloodborne shows the player what kind of experience they’re up against. You’re thrown almost literally to the wolves with no weapons to speak of, and forced to fight the first beast barehanded. Chances are you won’t be a super player upon starting, so you’ll die the first time through; but that’s just the game’s excuse to send you to the Hunter’s Dream, the humble abode where you’ll buy and stockpile items, level up with the helpful Doll, store items, learn the game’s controls, and more. You’re also given the first weapons here, which should last the player a while considering they can be enhanced, and how the game isn’t generous with the amount of melee weapons and guns available. But they’re nothing if the player doesn’t learn some skill, and there’s no forgiveness for dying following this.

Not that you won’t know that first-hand, of course. Bloodborne is well over a year old at this point, but you don’t even need to play a Souls or Souls-like game to know you’ll be dying a lot. The game’s first few locations already show how it shouldn’t be messed with, despite its reputation as one of the easier Souls titles. The player’s hunter will collect Blood Echoes throughout the game after defeating enemies, this game’s version of the “Souls,” which can be used to purchase items and level up. But if you die, you’ll lose every single one in your possession, and you’ll have to work your way back to the location you lost them and touch a blood stain to pick them back up. That is, unless an enemy has absorbed them, meaning you’ll have to defeat them to reclaim them. Dying again before reclaiming them means they’re gone for good.

Unsurprisingly, I lost all my Echoes plenty of times, especially during some reckless points early on. This made me swear to myself a few times, but it provides an invigorating sense of challenge and risk that I can’t complain about. It forced me to learn all of the hunter’s techniques and mechanics, to find the best strategies to dispatch enemies. It’s also best that you don’t hold on to a gigantic pile of Blood Echoes for too long, because the risk isn’t worth it most of the time.

But there are points where it will be a struggle to keep all of them, particularly if you’re up against some tough foes that will require a nigh-equal amount of wits and strength to defeat — like NPC Hunters. Combine that with the lack of lanterns to return to the Hunter’s Dream around 3/4 of the way through the game, and venturing through some sections can be the equivalent of walking on a sheet of ice. But that’s part of the thrill.

I was also drawn to Bloodborne due to its battle system changes compared to the Souls games. There’s a larger focus on direct action compared to the others, and more importance is placed on dodging and parrying rather than blocking. Though that’s not to say there’s less emphasis on strategy. While basic enemies can be formidable, especially when they attack in groups, the early boss battles definitely force players to learn the game or die multiple times trying. That goes double for the second boss, who can nearly or completely kill you if you don’t know how to dodge and parry effectively. It’s good to approach battles with an equal amount of offense and defense, as shown by how the hunter can regain a silver of health with every attack on multiple enemies.

For as difficult as it is, though, I rarely felt the game was unfair. Enemies get progressively tougher, like they would any game, and some are placed in positions that force any player to remain on their toes as they’re becoming content with the mechanics and style. But that’s never too much of a problem, especially with the blood absorption, and how the game provides a serious abundance of Blood Vials for healing. It’s also nice that when your hunter has the maximum number of expendable items or sub-weapons on them, extras are automatically sent to storage, and replenished automatically upon returning to the Hunter’s Dream. It’s a tough game, yes, but nonetheless user-friendly in ways that prevent certain aspects from being tedious.

Interestingly, I had a much more difficult time early on, as I was adjusting to its unique control system. It’s a little tough to come from most action games and acclimate to using the shoulder buttons for physical attacks, while the face buttons are for actions like running, dodging, sub-weapons, and items. But it works and feels natural after using it for only a short while, to the point that I could never blame the controls whenever I died. Leave it to From to make a system that’s comfortable despite being unorthodox.

As I mentioned above, another key aspect that drew me to Bloodborne is its setting, which offers a harrowing, Lovecraftian take on a dilapidated Victorian-inspired environment, and it’s oozing with atmosphere. They designed a world where every location is connected, giving it the feel of a 3D Metroidvania title — and making it the best of its kind and what a 3D Castlevania should have been. It also manages to be an action game that contains a better Gothic-inspired atmosphere than many others. That means it bests likes of the original Devil May Cry in terms of both aforementioned key elements.

Enhancing the ambiance is the lack of music in each area, which places large importance on hearing to background sounds. It’s useful for knowing where you could be attacked from, as enemies sometimes have banter among themselves or breathe heavily while in hiding, but it does its job in enveloping the player into its atmosphere. Most of the music is relegated to the Hunter’s Dream, boss battles, and cutscenes, and what’s there provides an excellent range of fast-paced and melancholy orchestral music.

If you’ve reached this point, you’ll know that I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Bloodborne, and I’m glad to have finally made my first jump into one of From’s newer titles — despite it not playing identically to the Souls games. I still have a lot of catching up to do, but at least I know for sure that I can handle a game like this, though I didn’t doubt it too much. I’m assuredly not the only one out there who hasn’t jumped into a Souls-style game just yet, and if you are, you can’t do better than this game.