What a fucking masterpiece.
/thread
Just kidding. But really, it is. Not gonna lie, I absolutely love Demon's Souls and Dark Souls, I haven't played Dark Souls II (yet). I went in with the mere expectations of being a fan of the previous games and having read good critics, and I got everything I could've asked for and more. Now I can't decide if I like Demon's Souls or Dark Souls more, every time I think about it I just can't choose one over the other. I have too many good memories of DeS and it being the first one I played, I've got a special spot for it. They're two absolutely fantastic games and two of my favorites ever, though being objective I could say Dark Souls is a bit more of a well-rounded game and a complete masterpiece. The two of them are 10/10 for me anyways.
And of course, so is Bloodborne. (Spoilers ahead) (Shitty compressed screencaps so it doesn't look too wall of textish. It is anyways).
Seriously, how can From Software be so fucking good so many times in such short times? I can't being to talk about how awesome this game is. I'm used to the fantastic combat and gameplay of the series, and I liked the faster approach of this one. Weapons are super cool and look incredible (the crane/whip is just so smooth and swaggy[sorry]), the new dodge dash feels and looks great too and I found the game to be as challenging as the other ones, none of that "casualsouls" bs I used to read about. At this point people who like these games are used to the controls, combat and gameplay in general being spot on, but boy can you open your eyes again when you try other things like The Witcher 3 or AC: Syndicate, which I tried in my brother's XBO before. Felt like amateur games with unplayable, laggy, clunky and messy mechanics/controls, especially AC. Oedon Almighty, must it be hard to beat a game based on these gameplay systems.
Anyways, what about that setting though? The graphics are really good, much better than what I expected. Maybe it's because I went from Dark Souls PC (Durante just for upping the res, no 60fps mod or anything) but it totally was a generational leap. I guess not so much had I played DS2 PC before it. Them cloth physics. Graphics aside, the art direction in this game deserves every award and more. I can't describe how sublime the atmosphere in this game is. Geniuses. I'd rather walk through three streets of Yharnam than a full map of Skyrim or some other generic, by-the-numbers, dispersed world. I couldn't stop making screenshots through the whole game, I must have like 5GB worth of screen captures and videos, I was just constantly awed by how unreal this game looks and how immersive the world is. Speaking of which, I liked that the level design was closer to DeS than DaS in terms of "openness". The one thing I disliked most about level design in DaS was that there were some needlessly wide areas that led to some emptiness and dispersion that differed from the tight design of the rest. Anor Londo had way too big spaces for instance, though these weren't a chore to go through since they were beautiful and there weren't any frustrating enemies along the way. That fucking forest tho... Fuck those trees. Or the place before Ceaseless Discharge, worst too. DeS had open places but they weren't near as wide, and so were in BB, I found, which I appreciated.
I liked the lore in the other games but I have to love BB the most in this regard. Gothic setting, victorian horror, lovecraft novel... It felt like a nightmare through and through, a delightful one that you can't stop getting back into. There were moments like when you're abducted and wake up in the hidden village that were more terrifying and oppressive than most "survival horror" I've played. It happened to me with Dark Souls (less so with DeS because of the hub world giving away what you could expect in terms of levels, places and duration of the game), advancing through the game and realize they will just keep delivering. I was already satisfied with what I had played after defeating Rom (the way to this fight being one of the best gaming moments I've played in the last years), and it just kept going on and on and on with even more wonderful, awesome stuff.
Imagine how shocked I were when I read there were areas I hadn't even played, like Cainhurst (which I regret because I totally could've done with more BB but oh well, that's how it is in these games and I didn't have a choice because I don't read guides or watch videos of people playing, I go completely blind and I missed it) and the DLC (well I wasn't shocked with this one because well, it's obvious I hadn't played it because I didn't have it). It took me 78 hours to beat Dark Souls with DLC (might be around 70-75 actual hours because Steam), 55 to beat Demon's Souls and 42 to beat Bloodborne, but it didn't feel short AT ALL. In fact, I could've sworn I was past 50 or even more. I have no complaints whatsoever in this regard.
There are a lot of things I've probably left behind in my playthrough (and in this thread), I've read a lot about the lore (both in-game and on the internet) and I've got a decent idea of what a lot of things are and what was going on all along, and despite not knowing everything with certainty (which I don't mind because I feel it's just the way it's intended, more or less), it's already one of the best and most interesting lores in gaming for me. The more I discover from writings in the internet, videos and some other info (like the Doll being a Great One or the theories about the moon phases and the whole thing about the connection between the interdimensional beings, the babies and the erudites, the vilebloods and the choir, the reason behind the hunters and the hunting nights, the Old Yharnam story) the more I'm in love with this.
Seriously, probably less than 15 minutes of cutscenes and still better than most videogame stories, even those with more cutscenes than gameplay (like The Order, which I played before this and well, needless to say, felt like a poor's man BB automated tech demo).
Oh and what about that soundtrack? Definitely the best in the whole series thanks to such wonders like the Hunter's Dream themes, the ending theme or the Amygdala and Blood-Starved Beast fight themes, and of course, that marvel that is the Gehram fight theme that rounds what is probably my favorite moment in all of From's games. I thought Artorias and Maiden Astraea were the most epic fights in the whole series but this topped everything, even O&S. How genious is that you have the final boss (or second last depending on what you do) right in front of you from the beginning of the game, and the fact that it turns out being a good guy after all if you piece things together.
I liked the Chalice Dungeons, mainly the pre-made, shared ones because I didn't feel they took away from the main game. I'd rather do them than resetting in bonfires and farming the same areas over and over to be honest, and they're nice for co-oping. Of course they're a quite rough attempt but I enjoyed them for the most part, even the random ones. But yeah, they could use some work if they ever try again. There are probably a few more things I didn't like about the game but they're probably nitpicks considering I can't even remember them, which isn't too hard anyways when the game is so good.
TL;DR
From Software are one of the best developers ever and Miyazaki is a genius. Bloodborne is just another example of this; another instant classic masterpiece and yet another lesson in game development from these guys. I'm so glad they bless the current industry and hope they stay for long. Can't wait to play DaS2 next holidays.
/thread
Just kidding. But really, it is. Not gonna lie, I absolutely love Demon's Souls and Dark Souls, I haven't played Dark Souls II (yet). I went in with the mere expectations of being a fan of the previous games and having read good critics, and I got everything I could've asked for and more. Now I can't decide if I like Demon's Souls or Dark Souls more, every time I think about it I just can't choose one over the other. I have too many good memories of DeS and it being the first one I played, I've got a special spot for it. They're two absolutely fantastic games and two of my favorites ever, though being objective I could say Dark Souls is a bit more of a well-rounded game and a complete masterpiece. The two of them are 10/10 for me anyways.
And of course, so is Bloodborne. (Spoilers ahead) (Shitty compressed screencaps so it doesn't look too wall of textish. It is anyways).
Seriously, how can From Software be so fucking good so many times in such short times? I can't being to talk about how awesome this game is. I'm used to the fantastic combat and gameplay of the series, and I liked the faster approach of this one. Weapons are super cool and look incredible (the crane/whip is just so smooth and swaggy[sorry]), the new dodge dash feels and looks great too and I found the game to be as challenging as the other ones, none of that "casualsouls" bs I used to read about. At this point people who like these games are used to the controls, combat and gameplay in general being spot on, but boy can you open your eyes again when you try other things like The Witcher 3 or AC: Syndicate, which I tried in my brother's XBO before. Felt like amateur games with unplayable, laggy, clunky and messy mechanics/controls, especially AC. Oedon Almighty, must it be hard to beat a game based on these gameplay systems.
Anyways, what about that setting though? The graphics are really good, much better than what I expected. Maybe it's because I went from Dark Souls PC (Durante just for upping the res, no 60fps mod or anything) but it totally was a generational leap. I guess not so much had I played DS2 PC before it. Them cloth physics. Graphics aside, the art direction in this game deserves every award and more. I can't describe how sublime the atmosphere in this game is. Geniuses. I'd rather walk through three streets of Yharnam than a full map of Skyrim or some other generic, by-the-numbers, dispersed world. I couldn't stop making screenshots through the whole game, I must have like 5GB worth of screen captures and videos, I was just constantly awed by how unreal this game looks and how immersive the world is. Speaking of which, I liked that the level design was closer to DeS than DaS in terms of "openness". The one thing I disliked most about level design in DaS was that there were some needlessly wide areas that led to some emptiness and dispersion that differed from the tight design of the rest. Anor Londo had way too big spaces for instance, though these weren't a chore to go through since they were beautiful and there weren't any frustrating enemies along the way. That fucking forest tho... Fuck those trees. Or the place before Ceaseless Discharge, worst too. DeS had open places but they weren't near as wide, and so were in BB, I found, which I appreciated.
I liked the lore in the other games but I have to love BB the most in this regard. Gothic setting, victorian horror, lovecraft novel... It felt like a nightmare through and through, a delightful one that you can't stop getting back into. There were moments like when you're abducted and wake up in the hidden village that were more terrifying and oppressive than most "survival horror" I've played. It happened to me with Dark Souls (less so with DeS because of the hub world giving away what you could expect in terms of levels, places and duration of the game), advancing through the game and realize they will just keep delivering. I was already satisfied with what I had played after defeating Rom (the way to this fight being one of the best gaming moments I've played in the last years), and it just kept going on and on and on with even more wonderful, awesome stuff.
Imagine how shocked I were when I read there were areas I hadn't even played, like Cainhurst (which I regret because I totally could've done with more BB but oh well, that's how it is in these games and I didn't have a choice because I don't read guides or watch videos of people playing, I go completely blind and I missed it) and the DLC (well I wasn't shocked with this one because well, it's obvious I hadn't played it because I didn't have it). It took me 78 hours to beat Dark Souls with DLC (might be around 70-75 actual hours because Steam), 55 to beat Demon's Souls and 42 to beat Bloodborne, but it didn't feel short AT ALL. In fact, I could've sworn I was past 50 or even more. I have no complaints whatsoever in this regard.
There are a lot of things I've probably left behind in my playthrough (and in this thread), I've read a lot about the lore (both in-game and on the internet) and I've got a decent idea of what a lot of things are and what was going on all along, and despite not knowing everything with certainty (which I don't mind because I feel it's just the way it's intended, more or less), it's already one of the best and most interesting lores in gaming for me. The more I discover from writings in the internet, videos and some other info (like the Doll being a Great One or the theories about the moon phases and the whole thing about the connection between the interdimensional beings, the babies and the erudites, the vilebloods and the choir, the reason behind the hunters and the hunting nights, the Old Yharnam story) the more I'm in love with this.
Seriously, probably less than 15 minutes of cutscenes and still better than most videogame stories, even those with more cutscenes than gameplay (like The Order, which I played before this and well, needless to say, felt like a poor's man BB automated tech demo).
Oh and what about that soundtrack? Definitely the best in the whole series thanks to such wonders like the Hunter's Dream themes, the ending theme or the Amygdala and Blood-Starved Beast fight themes, and of course, that marvel that is the Gehram fight theme that rounds what is probably my favorite moment in all of From's games. I thought Artorias and Maiden Astraea were the most epic fights in the whole series but this topped everything, even O&S. How genious is that you have the final boss (or second last depending on what you do) right in front of you from the beginning of the game, and the fact that it turns out being a good guy after all if you piece things together.
I have some complaints though. The frame pacing issue, though you get used to, shouldn't be there. I don't mind 30fps because that's how I played DeS and DaS and the game just looked very, very beautiful. I prefer 60 obviously but as long as it's stable I can do 30 just fine. There were noticeable drops in online play though and as mentioned, the frame pacing issue makes the experience not as smooth as it should be. Absolutely not "unplayable" or "vomit-inducing" as I've read plenty of times, especially from some exacerbated PC fanboys, and I'm not one to ignore performance in games. Oh and please, enough of those goddamn toxic swamps.
I liked the Chalice Dungeons, mainly the pre-made, shared ones because I didn't feel they took away from the main game. I'd rather do them than resetting in bonfires and farming the same areas over and over to be honest, and they're nice for co-oping. Of course they're a quite rough attempt but I enjoyed them for the most part, even the random ones. But yeah, they could use some work if they ever try again. There are probably a few more things I didn't like about the game but they're probably nitpicks considering I can't even remember them, which isn't too hard anyways when the game is so good.
TL;DR
From Software are one of the best developers ever and Miyazaki is a genius. Bloodborne is just another example of this; another instant classic masterpiece and yet another lesson in game development from these guys. I'm so glad they bless the current industry and hope they stay for long. Can't wait to play DaS2 next holidays.
