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LTTP: Bloodborne is *amazing*

S

StoppedInTracks

Member
Preface:

0) Platinumed Demon's, Dark 1/2/3.

1) My favourite RPG ever is Demon's Souls. It is ahead of Deus Ex, Ultima 7, Baldur's Gate 2 etc. which are placed 2nd, 3rd and 4th.

2) I think Dark Souls 3 is the best "Dark Souls" game. It is infinitely better than DaS2 and slightly better than DaS1 due to incredible amount of polish, incredible level design (The Cathedral of the Deep is one of the best Souls levels, EVER), world design (after you beat Vordt you can see the whole game world before you) and throwbacks to earlier games (the moment I understood I am in Anor Londo was the 2nd best Souls moment for me). DaS3 does not make a single mistake through its entirety.

Given the above, after ~10 hours of Bloodborne and 4 bosses down (Beast, Father, Vicar, Bloodstarved-Beast) it goes dangerously close to being #1 along with Demon's Souls.

Why is that?

There are couple of reasons:

1) BB feels fresh: weapons

I spend ~500 hours in the medieval, sword & board fantasy world of Demon's and Dark 1/2/3. No matter how much they differ they still feel as the same material. You can be a spellcaster with Souls Arrows/ Lanes, you can be a turtle with Havel's shield or a Katana wielding death machine think Satsuki from Demon's.

In BB I have a useless shield, a useless gun and no magic whatsoever. Instead I have a variety of incredibly original weapons like:

- spear rifle
- sword & hammer in one weapon
- axe/ polaxe (I main it 100% of the time)
- mini-flamethrower (looks awesome)
- I also saw Ludwig's blade on a loading screen which uses its sheath to transform into a fucking Great Blade

So I did not know how to use them at the beginning. I had to learn them after knowing almost every other weapon from Souls series. It was super fun to try them out because every single one of them just *feels* different.

2) BB forces me to play in a different way: no shields

I was a super turtle in all Souls games. Artorias? Block his every attack with his own shield. Manus? Block his *entire combo* with Artorias Greatshield. Smelter Demon? Block his every attack with the 100% Fire Proof shield. Sir Alonne? I never even flinched with my shield up. I even blocked Nameless King with that Lightning Shield... etc. etc.

Of course there were some bosses that I simply could not block. My super shields were useless in those fights:

- Aava the King's Pet
- fucking Fume Knight
- Old King Allant
- Pursuer
- Champion Gundyr
- Flamelurker

Those bosses first frustrated me, then humiliated me and then forced me to 2H my main weapon and just git gud. And guess what? The biggest "FUCK YEAH!" moments were when I finally beat them, without having a shield equipped. I felt the biggest dopamine shot right there at those very moments.

In BB every boss is like that. I cannot block them. I must evade them 100% of the time.

Gascoine fight was literal pandemonium with him being all the time on my ass while I was rolling/ dashing through the graves around him.

Bloodstarved Beast fight was incredibly satisfying. Just me and him, no shield, no magic, no bullshit - a true beasto-a-mano fight with only one... beast standing left.

3) BB has top of the tops level design

I think we can all agree on that. The bonfires are *miles away* from each other unlike DaS2 *cough, cough*. The shortcuts are well hidden and concealed and are the biggest reward for searching through the levels (the elevator from the Bloodstarved Beast area ot the rooftops of Old Yharnam - which I found after literally 50 minutes of playing, shaking with fear, shaking with anger that I will have to redo the crazy Ritual Room area - the moment I found where it leads to and opened the shortcut... it was such a relief... I think biggest since I opened the shortcut in Valley of Defilement 5-2).

BB levels easily rival DaS3 levels and guess what? They were FIRST.

4) BB is scary

The whole change from Medieval to Victorian setting did wonders to this "genre". At the same time it feels like a Souls game and does not. The monsters are different with amazing, horror-like design (the big skeletons from Cathedral Ward are my favourite so far). The bosses are straight Silent Hill monstrosities. The levels are dark as fuck (or as Tomb of Giants) etc. There is a super coherence in play here when it comes to graphics, dialogues, music and ambient.

Basically the majority of the game feels like: Tower of Latria: The Game. And we all love Tower of Latria and Valley of Defilement, no?

Incredibly well done.

---

To sum up: I am really surprised how surprising this game is for a Souls veteran. It really is amazing how a simple change of setting and main mechanics (no shield) gives you a totally different game that feels familiar but is not.

If anyone of you did not play BB yet: you are doing yourself a disservice. The game stands tall next to Demon's Souls as the best Souls game ever.

Was BB2 ever confirmed? Say yes, please.
 
MadYarpen

MadYarpen

Member
It is great.

What I didn't like in a way, was how NOT relaxing was playing this game. After a difficult day at work having ass kicked by BB wasn't nice. I guess that's why I haven't tried it with DLC yet.
 
N

Newtype-001

Member
Ikr game is gotg and my GOAT

Given the above, after ~10 hours of Bloodborne and 4 bosses down (Beast, Father, Vicar, Bloodstarved-Beast) it goes dangerously close to being #1 along with Demon's Souls.
Click to expand...
Not played DLC?
Aint seen nothing yet boi
 
M

Maxximo

Member
A useless gun?

WHAT? Riposting is one of the most satisfying BB mechanics.

And unfortunatlely BB2 is still up in the air.
 
A

aravuus

Member
Just finished it yesterday for the first time. I couldn't get into it when it was released, but something just clicked a week or so ago and I played it for hours every day.

Fucking loved it. It's kind of impossible for me to rank the Souls games, but I'd say BB was probably the best single player experience of the lot.

I kind of feel like starting a new playthrough right away even with the worse build variety vs. Souls games.
 
R

RedlineRonin

Member
Picked this up a few months ago when I bought my pro assuming there would no doubt be a pro patch.

=(

I should probably just suck it up and start the game. I keep seeing threads like this and know I'll really like it, esp the aesthetic.
 
B

bosseye

Member
It's the only Souls game I've completed. Loved it. I did all the optional areas and bosses too. I even had a good stab at the chalice dungeons. I love the speed of the combat, it really suits my playstyle especially regaining health by going on the offensive. The world and atmosphere was just something else, again right up my street.

I also completed the entire game without using the parry/counter mechanic (who wants to fucking touch me) as I just couldn't get the timing down.

I'm an odd Souls player in that I don't really like boss encounters, they just break the flow for me as I'm not good at them; Bloodborne was at its best for me when I could make slow, careful, tense progress so Hemwick lane up to the Witches was awesome, the forgotten woods etc. Luckily I was able to summon on some of the bosses, but I was proud of myself for beating a fair number alone.

Real shame they never fixed the framepacing issues or did a Pro mode. I got used to the janky nature of it though.
 
D

Defuser

Member
Guns useless?lol Bloodtinge build says otherwise. That build alone couple with bone marrow dust wrecks bosses so hard.
 
S

sn00zer

Member
Love how lean it is compared to Dark Souls. Recently finished DS3 and around the last third I felt 'done' with it. Was tired of figuring out the items, stats, etc.

Bloodborne really tore out a lot of the backend stats so you spent much more time just playing rather than managing.
 
S

Spiritwalker

Member
Parrying is useful but not necessary. I'm on NG+++ and haven't really touched guns/firearms. Blades of Mercy + hunter tools are all I need. <3

That said.. I am totally stuck in the DLC :(
 
S

StoppedInTracks

Member
It is also incredible how FROM got the blueprint for a 10/10 Souls game down:

You are tired with medieval swords? Here, take Victorian setting.

You are tired with Victorian setting in 2020? Here, take Sci-fi Souls. Or Dinosaur Souls. Or whatever. They can do this shit with their eyes closed.
 
N

Nuno Pinto

Member
It really is OP, gotg right here. And you ain't seen nothing yet :D

Guns are very useful. Gascoigne is a good example, if you get the parry timing right the fight is really easy.

The weapons in this game are amazing, they are the reason why I like Bloodborne's combat much more than the Souls games.

Saw Spear <3
 
Z

Zaventem

Member
Forbidden Woods is my favorite level out of all the levels in the souls series. I just love how everything loops together there, also it was super refreshing to get lost in a game. I mean I was scared to death because I was searching every nook and cranny while trying to stay alive wt the same time.
 
A

Air Zombie Meat

Member
bosseye said:
I never did ;_; No idea why, I even watched videos on it and just couldn't figure it out, spud brain that I am.
Click to expand...

Basically you just hit them with a bullet during their attack to stun them and then follow it up with a riposte. Timing windows vary by enemy, some are really easy to parry others not. Some bosses attacks can be parried too.

But yeah it is possible to ignore, you're just going to have a harder time with some enemies.
 
N

Newtype-001

Member
Since you are probably going to do the dlc i do recommend learning to parry now cause it'll help alot against a certain "Well" enemy which people had a lot of trouble with at the dlcs release.
 
B

bosseye

Member
Air Zombie Meat said:
Basically you just hit them with a bullet during their attack to stun them and then follow it up with a riposte. Timing windows vary by enemy, some are really easy to parry others not. Some bosses attacks can be parried too.

But yeah it is possible to ignore, you're just going to have a harder time with some enemies.
Click to expand...

Yeah I managed it once or twice but I could never reliably recreate it, so it was always a lottery as to whether I would cock it up and get smashed. So I stuck to my axe. Axe fo' lyf, the reach on that thing. I really ought to do another playthrough and try a different weapon.

Maybe this time I'll learn to parry.
 
A

aravuus

Member
Newtype-001 said:
Since you are probably going to do the dlc i do recommend learning to parry now cause it'll help alot against a certain "Well" enemy which people had a lot of trouble with at the dlcs release.
Click to expand...

Are you talking about those
big aggressive fuckers in Hamlet
?
 
A

Auctopus

Member
There should probably be a LTTP Bloodborne |OT| set up. Probably better than a bi-weekly thread with the same "yep, the game is great" responses.
 
S

StoppedInTracks

Member
bosseye said:
Yeah I managed it once or twice but I could never reliably recreate it, so it was always a lottery as to whether I would cock it up and get smashed. So I stuck to my axe. Axe fo' lyf, the reach on that thing. I really ought to do another playthrough and try a different weapon.
Click to expand...

Yup, the Axe is amazing! 2H strong attack has incredible reach which came in handy for Bloodstarved Beast.
 
B

Bubba_Sparks

Member
I was recently playing it and got bored of it after about ~10-15 hours. I think it is a great game, I just didn't find it different enough from Dark Souls III to keep my interest. I think it might have been someone on this forum that described Dark Souls and Bloodborne like Coke and Pepsi. I think that's an accurate comparison that encapsulates the fervent feelings people display for each series. Both are great, but feel like two sides of the same coin to me. So after recently playing Dark Souls III, Bloodborne was just too similar to keep me interested.
 
kraspkibble

kraspkibble

Permabanned.
one of my favourite games this gen. i actually only got into it a few months ago despite buying it about a month after launch. i had heard of the dark souls games and knew bloodborne was gonna be similar to them so i just ignored it as i didn't think it was for me. however, when it started getting loads of positive reviews i felt like i was missing out and decided to see what the fuss was about.

i didn't get far. never made it past the wolves on the bridge just before the cleric beast. got so frustrated at the game and ragequit. went back to it a month later and gave up again! earlier this year i decided to give dark souls a try and got into it. once i finished DS2 i felt ready to attempt Bloodborne again. it was a rough start but i did fine. i played it at the same alongside DS3.

i started my second playthrough recently and i'm currently about halfway through i think. everything is still so fresh in my mind. i know exactly where i am going and what to do. i find it so relaxing and addictive. this time i've bought the DLC so gonna attempt that towards the end of the game. not quite ready for it yet. i've heard it is a lot more challenging! can't wait for it. i know for sure as soon as i finish i'll be going straight into NG+. i want eventually speedrun through it. my first playthrough without DLC was 25 hours. i'm at 11 hours right now but who knows how much time the DLC will add.
 
B

bosseye

Member
Bubba_Sparks said:
I was recently playing it and got bored of it after about ~10-15 hours. I think it is a great game, I just didn't find it different enough from Dark Souls III to keep my interest
Click to expand...

Going from Bloodborne to Dark Souls 3 felt so sluggish. I was so used to the super fast side step attack mechanic in BB, I missed it so much in DS3. My guy felt like a lumpen, slow, fatty, wheezing and flopping around, slowest dodge roll in the world. I got killed so many times initially as I couldn't get used to how slow it was. Took ages to re-adjust. I made it to the Crucifixion Woods before giving up.
 
M

MoogleWizard

Member
Guns are far from useless, quite the opposite in fact. If you want the game to stay challenging, I would say don't use them lol. The gun parries make some bosses an absolute joke.

Also, there is some magic in the game (called Hunter Tools) but you only get most of it later.

Your post shows how different a Souls' veteran's experience of BB can be. I always played fast characters in Souls, often without a shield, so I didn't feel much of a difference while playing BB.
 
kraspkibble

kraspkibble

Permabanned.
MoogleWizard said:
Guns are far from useless, quite the opposite in fact. If you want the game to stay challenging, I would say don't use them lol. The gun parries make some bosses an absolute joke.

Also, there is some magic in the game (called Hunter Tools) but you only get most of it later.

Your post shows how different a Souls' veteran's experience of BB can be. I always played fast characters in Souls, often without a shield, so I didn't feel much of a difference while playing BB.
Click to expand...

i think a lot of people see a gun and expect to be able to use it as a main weapon but it is pretty much useless except for parrying. some enemies are super easy to parry and some i just can't get right at all. i try use it as much as possible because when i do get it right i find it so satisfying. the sound/animation is fantastic.
 
MadYarpen

MadYarpen

Member
The best moment this game gave me was Father G fight - attempt no. 50 or something (I couldn't beat the fucker for a week or so), I was doing good, but after it transformed and I got it to 1% of health, he almost killed me - by some mirracle I managed to parry in the last moment when it jumped on me and finished fight with visceral attack on stunned boss. Felt rally good.
 
ethomaz

ethomaz

Banned
Just a hint.

Guns are not useless in BB.

You can stun/parry enemies and bosses to use the overpowered viceral attacks.

It is extreme useful.

PS. If you focus on Bloodtinge the guns does massive damage too.
 
I

isaacnukem

Member
How come is it that few people give love to the awesome Threaded Cane?

Bloodborne being a legitimate horror game did wonders for it, can't count how many times I got spooked.

Surprised OP hasn't commented about the game's amazing soundtrack.
 
G

Gbraga

Member
By the time you complete the game and DLC, and understand (most of) its story, it'll most likely jump to your #1 position. It's that good.

The reason why Dark Souls III was a disappointing game, even though it's great and I already put 240 hours into it, and intend to play more.

Game of the Generation, without a doubt, and an instant classic.

Jawbreaker said:
Best game this gen, and one of the best games of all time.
Click to expand...

If your avatar indicates your second favorite, we might have very similar taste. :p
 
W

WITHE1982

Member
Fully agree with you OP. It really is a toss up between Demon's and BB for best souls game.

Also I think you'll love Ludwig's Holy Blade. Definitely my weapon of choice. It's quick and deadly un-transformed and hits like a truck when a great sword.

I've completed the base game and I'm just outside of the first big boss fight in the DLC
(Ludwig the Accursed - and I'm terrified)
in NG+. I've only really used the parry mechanic on 2 or 3 troublesome bosses and while fighting hunters so I wouldn't say it's a necessity but, if you can perfect it then it's a real game changer. Unfortunately I could not.

I love it that people are still discovering how awesome this game is more than a year after release.
 
A

Altairre

Member
I'm playing through it again right now and while I agree that the first half is amazing, I feel like the second half takes a bit of a dive right when you hit the unseen village. I don't really enjoy gimmicky areas in Souls games and that's basically the only thing you get from that point on.

The bell maidens are probably the worst offender, they're fine in the chalice dungeons because they're usually close by and not too difficult to find the way the rooms are laid out but in the unseen village it pretty much encourages you to run past shit just to kill the maidens. Then there's the three hunter gank squad which doesn't work all that well because the lock on system can't handle it and without it's almost worse. The only reason I survived that encounter is because I got really good at the parry and even then I took a bunch of damage because they attack from off screen after my visceral attacks. At the end you fight the one reborn bossfight which is probably the worst boss in the game because once again you only have to run around and kill the maidens, after that the fight is a complete joke.

If you haven't been there already poison shithole lake is next with a bunch of giants that chuck rocks at you. The hitbox on those rocks is completely fucked and you can take damage from the aoe even after the rock already exploded. Once again the best strategy is to run past everything, pick up the items and move on with your life, otherwise you're going to waste a ton of blood vials for nothing. None of the enemies there are fun to fight. At least Amygdala is an okay boss.

In the second nightmare it's not poison but frenzy that gets on your nerves and hey, the rock chuckers are back as well. You can use sedatives or stay behind the rocks with the weird faces but overall the frenzy light is just kind of annoying. I do like how that area looks, it conveys the nightmarish feeling a lot better than poison shithole lake. Oh and did I say that the one reborn is the worst bossfight in the game? Micolash is probably just as bad but at least the idea behind it is somewhat interesting and the library you fight him in looks awesome. He might be the only boss in the series that actively runs away from you but once you corner him he's got absolutely nothing (except for a hilariously weak punch to the face that takes off maybe 1/10 of your health). The two bosses after that are fine.

Even despite those issues it's a fantastic game, the trick weapon system is great and the combos that switch between the different forms mid attack are incredibly satisfying. The gun parry is my favorite parry in the series, which is why I would advise you to learn it, some fights are a bitch if you can't do it. I usually don't even bother to swing at bosses that can be parried, I just visceral attack them to death. Lastly the fights against npc hunters are some of my favorites, especially the
Bloody Crow of Cainhurst
at the end of Eileen's quest line. Fought him at lvl 65 and while it took me four of five tries it was probably the most satisfying kill in the game.

I'm about to dive into the Old Hunters DLC, which I just picked up on sale. Looking forward to it, only heard good things.

Edit: Don't know if I need to spoiler tag in a lttp thread, but just in case.
 
T

Theslammer

Member
Yup, as others have said, parrying is huge in this game, and you use the guns for it.

However, there are some powerful guns later on. Some allowed me a few shots and some killing blows to bosses when I was running low on blood vials.
 
G

Gbraga

Member
Altairre said:
I'm about to dive into the Old Hunters DLC, which I just picked up on sale. Looking forward to it, only heard good things.
Click to expand...

It manages to be the best part of Bloodborne, imo. That's quite a feat. The first boss is probably my favorite boss fight of any game ever.

EDIT: About the later parts of the game, I don't really disagree with you, and I dislike the
Yahar'gul
gimmick as well.
When we visit it first as Hypogean Gaol it's a much more interesting level, imo. Doesn't help that the Paleblood sky looks like shit.

But the amount of optional content and DLC helps, since you can mix up the order to make it more interesting,
and doing Yahar'gul allows you to enter the Upper Cathedral Ward, which was a great optional area, even if a bit short.

I also really like Micolash, it's the best shitty boss fight in the series, imo.
 
A

ActWan

Member
Ohh boy you don't know what's ahead. Have fun, OP :) I have a feeling it'll become your second favorite or favorite. And yeah, I too think of it as "Tower of Latria - the game"
 
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