Making this thread just as the credits start rolling. This is my first Souls-esque game I've played. I did actually play a bit of Bloodborne at a friends last year not long after launch but I was terrible (couldn't even get to Cleric Beast). Bought the GotY Edition in April but stopped playing for a while due to university and other games. Finished it today.
I went into this game blind with the exception of one boss that's still quite early game (Vicar Amelia). What drew me to the game was the Victorian setting which appeals to me more than the Medieval setting of the Souls games (although I am going to play them at some point). I had no idea it was going to go Lovecraftian Cosmic Horror but honestly that didn't ruin it for me, in fact I enjoyed it more since Cosmic Horror is also something that interests me. I did think it was weird when I first saw the Celestial Mob enemy in Forbidden Woods. Caught me by surprise a lot there.
At first I had the mindset of playing this like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta so I was too aggressive and died a few times by making mistakes. One quick lesson in being patient and I was able to take my time in battles. Once I had done that I learned to appreciate the combat more and get more out of the game. Always did enjoy the feeling of a successful parry into a visceral attack.
The atmosphere of the game was great and honestly had me tense at times, most notably in the Forbidden Woods and Nightmare of Mensis. The music really helped with that as well; Yahar'Gul's theme (before the red moon) was haunting, Rom's battle theme was quite melancholic, Mergo's Wet Nurse theme being a lullaby was creepy (more on this later). Overall just a great soundtrack which really added to the tone and atmosphere.
Boss battles ranged from okay to fantastic. Really enjoyed the battles against Father Gascoigne, Gehrman and Maria from the DLC. My favourite is definitely Maria though, wanted to fight her again immediately after winning. Some bosses were basic for me, such as Rom and Amygdala which were annoyances but nothing too special in my opinion. Least favourite boss is probably Celestial Emissary since it just underwhelmed me and feels kinda rushed in that it's just a larger version of enemies I've already fought against.
Now onto the DLC. I started it before fighting the Wet Nurse but finished it only a few days ago. Was challenging throughout and very few moments were an annoyance to me. I did get annoyed in the Research Hall but that was my fault for getting annoyed after deaths and trying to rush back and failing (you'd have thought by that point I would have not be getting annoyed at deaths but nope, still happened). Can't say I was a fan of fighting Laurence either, the small(ish) arena plus the camera made it more of a nuisance than anything. And the Living Failures was a quick stop-gap before Maria and nothing too special either. But overall it had some great bosses (and my favourite boss in the game in Maria) ending with an intense battle against Orphan of Kos, who killed me more than any other boss. Also fuck those fish giants down the well. They hit extremely hard but thankfully I was able to hit one with a Shaman Bone Blade to turn them against each other before I killed the winner.
Story wise I did spend time reading item descriptions and listening to NPC dialogue to get some lore and I like the world they built with the game. Would definitely like From to revisit it in a sequel to see where they can take the concepts. I do have some questions though on stuff I might have missed around the end of the game:
1) Why is there a chest with Iosefka's Blood Vial inside before the Wet Nurse Battle? I'm not sure if I missed something but did she have a connection with Mensis?
2) In front of the elevator that took me to where the Wet Nurse was there was a woman in white crying? Am I right to assume that's Mergo's mother?
3) Mergo's Lullaby is the same song that's in the Music Box Gascoigne's daughter gives you. Is the lullaby something that is widely known that originated in Mensis or is there a connection between Father G and Mergo?
Overall though I had a great time with this game and will eventually get the other endings (I found the umbilical cords and defeated Moon Presence before turning into an infant Great One) and get the Platinum. Not to mention finish the Chalice Dungeons (most recently made the Cursed and Defiled dungeon). Also I hate spiders, damn things in Chalice Dungeons kept swarming me so there were many times where I just dashed through rooms to kill bell maidens.
Tied with Bayonetta 2 as my game of this generation which is mighty high praise considering I love the action games like DMC and Bayonetta. I probably missed something in my rambling so feel free to ask my thoughts on particular moments.
I went into this game blind with the exception of one boss that's still quite early game (Vicar Amelia). What drew me to the game was the Victorian setting which appeals to me more than the Medieval setting of the Souls games (although I am going to play them at some point). I had no idea it was going to go Lovecraftian Cosmic Horror but honestly that didn't ruin it for me, in fact I enjoyed it more since Cosmic Horror is also something that interests me. I did think it was weird when I first saw the Celestial Mob enemy in Forbidden Woods. Caught me by surprise a lot there.
At first I had the mindset of playing this like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta so I was too aggressive and died a few times by making mistakes. One quick lesson in being patient and I was able to take my time in battles. Once I had done that I learned to appreciate the combat more and get more out of the game. Always did enjoy the feeling of a successful parry into a visceral attack.
The atmosphere of the game was great and honestly had me tense at times, most notably in the Forbidden Woods and Nightmare of Mensis. The music really helped with that as well; Yahar'Gul's theme (before the red moon) was haunting, Rom's battle theme was quite melancholic, Mergo's Wet Nurse theme being a lullaby was creepy (more on this later). Overall just a great soundtrack which really added to the tone and atmosphere.
Boss battles ranged from okay to fantastic. Really enjoyed the battles against Father Gascoigne, Gehrman and Maria from the DLC. My favourite is definitely Maria though, wanted to fight her again immediately after winning. Some bosses were basic for me, such as Rom and Amygdala which were annoyances but nothing too special in my opinion. Least favourite boss is probably Celestial Emissary since it just underwhelmed me and feels kinda rushed in that it's just a larger version of enemies I've already fought against.
Now onto the DLC. I started it before fighting the Wet Nurse but finished it only a few days ago. Was challenging throughout and very few moments were an annoyance to me. I did get annoyed in the Research Hall but that was my fault for getting annoyed after deaths and trying to rush back and failing (you'd have thought by that point I would have not be getting annoyed at deaths but nope, still happened). Can't say I was a fan of fighting Laurence either, the small(ish) arena plus the camera made it more of a nuisance than anything. And the Living Failures was a quick stop-gap before Maria and nothing too special either. But overall it had some great bosses (and my favourite boss in the game in Maria) ending with an intense battle against Orphan of Kos, who killed me more than any other boss. Also fuck those fish giants down the well. They hit extremely hard but thankfully I was able to hit one with a Shaman Bone Blade to turn them against each other before I killed the winner.
Story wise I did spend time reading item descriptions and listening to NPC dialogue to get some lore and I like the world they built with the game. Would definitely like From to revisit it in a sequel to see where they can take the concepts. I do have some questions though on stuff I might have missed around the end of the game:
1) Why is there a chest with Iosefka's Blood Vial inside before the Wet Nurse Battle? I'm not sure if I missed something but did she have a connection with Mensis?
2) In front of the elevator that took me to where the Wet Nurse was there was a woman in white crying? Am I right to assume that's Mergo's mother?
3) Mergo's Lullaby is the same song that's in the Music Box Gascoigne's daughter gives you. Is the lullaby something that is widely known that originated in Mensis or is there a connection between Father G and Mergo?
Overall though I had a great time with this game and will eventually get the other endings (I found the umbilical cords and defeated Moon Presence before turning into an infant Great One) and get the Platinum. Not to mention finish the Chalice Dungeons (most recently made the Cursed and Defiled dungeon). Also I hate spiders, damn things in Chalice Dungeons kept swarming me so there were many times where I just dashed through rooms to kill bell maidens.
Tied with Bayonetta 2 as my game of this generation which is mighty high praise considering I love the action games like DMC and Bayonetta. I probably missed something in my rambling so feel free to ask my thoughts on particular moments.
