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LTTP: Bloodborne

I agree with everything here... one of the best games I've ever played.

The two
sky changes
were holy shit moments even though I knew about them before I played it. The effect was not lessened.

When it first got
dark I noticed that the two enemies to the left of CW weren't there anymore. I go around the corner looking for them and died to this strange new bag enemy which transported me to a new area. And then that
beautiful music in Hypergean Gaol started playing and I see the
nun parting for help!
That was one of the most memorable BB moments for me. The whole build up to Paarl was so great that I probably enjoyed that fight much more than I had any right to considering how easy it is. His cool design definitely helps.
 

Bold One

Member
I never found the lore of the other souls games particularly appealing because while obtuse once discovered was what it was, however with Bloodborne the lore is explicitly unconfirmable so I found interpreting it much more appealing. It also made the lore videos about it next to useless as I disagreed with a lot of them ;)

make your own lore vids, I'll watch them ;)
 
Bloodborne is one of those rare games we get per gen that will be remembered just like Demon's Souls and Dark Souls are. Both it and TW3, last year was a good year.
 

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
You beat Orphan of Kos in less than 3 tries?
First time playing the DLC, I did it in 2 tries, same with Laurence. Ludwig took me 3-4 tries IIRC, and Lady Maria took like 10 tries. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
But on different characters, I died to Laurence more and wrecked Lady Maria. Overall I'd say Maria is easier even though she gave me more trouble.

Orphan is hard, but he's not as bad as Laurence or maybe even Ludwig, honestly. He seems more predictable.
 

MikeyB

Member
I got partway through the DLC and completed everything in the main game minus the chalice dungeons and the final boss.

Is there still a fairly active online community? Reading this made me want to get back into it.
 
I got partway through the DLC and completed everything in the main game minus the chalice dungeons and the final boss.

Is there still a fairly active online community? Reading this made me want to get back into it.

Yes, we just got to OT6. Plenty are still posting in it.

First time playing the DLC, I did it in 2 tries, same with Laurence. Ludwig took me 3-4 tries IIRC, and Lady Maria took like 10 tries. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
But on different characters, I died to Laurence more and wrecked Lady Maria. Overall I'd say Maria is easier even though she gave me more trouble.

Orphan is hard, but he's not as bad as Laurence or maybe even Ludwig, honestly. He seems more predictable.

LM is tougher than some seem to give her credit for. OoK is probably harder, but Maria gave me more trouble personally. I barely squeaked out a victory on my second try. The first phase you can stunlock her, but the second and third phase keeps you more honest. Probably depends on your build though.
 

DaciaJC

Gold Member
Orphan is hard, but he's not as bad as Laurence or maybe even Ludwig, honestly. He seems more predictable.

I found his second phase to be tortuous. Granted, I've only played the DLC in NG+, but that infernal creature took me hours upon hours to defeat.
 
I found his second phase to be tortuous. Granted, I've only played the DLC in NG+, but that infernal creature took me hours upon hours to defeat.

I actually beat Maria on my first try but the joke boss before her took me two. Ludwig was probably the hardest for me, then Ebrietas, then the Eileen final hunter. Abhorrent Beast is the only boss I cheesed though, fuck that.
 

kizmah

Member
Thank you everyone for your answers. I think I will give the game a shot after I finish Uncharted 4. It's just looks to close to my horror taste (when it comes to art direction and lore) to not at least give it a fair try.
 
Bloodborne made me give Souls games a second chance. I'm glad you like it. I just beat Dark Souls 3 and I enjoyed it (mostly) but my main takeaway from that game was that it re emphasizes how incredible Bloodborne is and why it's by far the best souls game and the best Miyazaki game.

The weapons are unique, look amazing and actually give you completely different options in combat - I fully upgraded the threaded cane, Rakuyo, HMGS and blades of mercy and they let me completely switch up how I played the game. DS3 weapons are all literally just reskinned versions of 4-5 basic types which all end up being pretty similar in AR per stamina upgraded anyway. The move sets in Bloodborne are light years ahead as well with some real differences between attacks and weapons. Also BB dodge dash >>>> souls roll.

The world design is on another level. Nearly every location feels part of the same world and they all interconnect beautifully. You can actually see where you started in Central Yarnham through the water in the final area of the DLC. The enemy design is amazingly varied and offers much more variety than DS3s predominantly humanoid based theme. The bosses are much more challenging with the best fights in the series happening the DLC. I'd only rate 3 DS3 bosses as good enough - the dancer, the twin princes and the soul of cinder.

The only areas Bloodborne gets it wrong is build diversity and armor types. The armor is honestly just reskins and guns aren't fully fleshed out or viable until much, much later in the game. But I'll take those flaws over everything else it gets so incredibly right.
 
BB was my first Ps4 game I got last week. Really digging it so far. Still haven't beat the first area, the boss is killing me...a lot.
 
Bloodborne made me give Souls games a second chance. I'm glad you like it. I just beat Dark Souls 3 and I enjoyed it (mostly) but my main takeaway from that game was that it re emphasizes how incredible Bloodborne is and why it's by far the best souls game and the best Miyazaki game.

The weapons are unique, look amazing and actually give you completely different options in combat - I fully upgraded the threaded cane, Rakuyo, HMGS and blades of mercy and they let me completely switch up how I played the game. DS3 weapons are all literally just reskinned versions of 4-5 basic types which all end up being pretty similar in AR per stamina upgraded anyway. The move sets in Bloodborne are light years ahead as well with some real differences between attacks and weapons. Also BB dodge dash >>>> souls roll.

The world design is on another level. Nearly every location feels part of the same world and they all interconnect beautifully. You can actually see where you started in Central Yarnham through the water in the final area of the DLC. The enemy design is amazingly varied and offers much more variety than DS3s predominantly humanoid based theme. The bosses are much more challenging with the best fights in the series happening the DLC. I'd only rate 3 DS3 bosses as good enough - the dancer, the twin princes and the soul of cinder.

The only areas Bloodborne gets it wrong is build diversity and armor types. The armor is honestly just reskins and guns aren't fully fleshed out or viable until much, much later in the game. But I'll take those flaws over everything else it gets so incredibly right.

The armor was disappointing. Don't get me wrong, they look great, but more variety would've been welcome. That was one of the few sore spots for me as well. I don't care too much about having more build diversity because it just feels so good to play. Everything is so fast and fluid and the trick weapons help spice things up.
 
Probably my favorite game of all time . The only two games that compete for that title for me are The Legend of Zelda on NES and Resident Evil 4.
 

Ferr986

Member
I found his second phase to be tortuous. Granted, I've only played the DLC in NG+, but that infernal creature took me hours upon hours to defeat.

Same, my first run was on NG++ SL 120 and Orphan took me 2 hours, and it was one of these epic wins without vials left and close to death and you go for that greedy hit (that someone succeded). The second phase is just nuts.

Maria in comparison took me just a couple of times.

Ludwig took me and hour too....
 

butman

Member
Jumped in again after 6 months with my first NG+. I'm lvl 84.
Damn the enemies are hard they butcher you with each hit, and i can't beat Blood Starved Beast i do him tickles with my Ludwig Sword +4.

Any recommendation? Should i level up more?
 
Jumped in again after 6 months with my first NG+. I'm lvl 84.
Damn the enemies are hard they butcher you with each hit, and i can't beat Blood Starved Beast i do him tickles with my Ludwig Sword +4.

Any recommendation? Should i level up more?

Well, for starters, upgrade that sword!
 
I purchased a PS4 just prior to Uncharted 4's release along with UC4 & Bloodborne. Uncharted 4 was a decent game, but largely a disappointment due to it's pacing issues and some odd design decisions. On the other hand, Bloodborne made me wonder why I hadn't bought one sooner.

I'm a big Souls fan and they all have their strengths and weaknesses, but I feel like Bloodborne is peak-Miyazaki. .

You are correct my good sir.
Game is a masterpiece.
 

Bold One

Member
Vaatividya has some interesting thoughts on several mistranslations in the English version of Bloodborne in this video:

https://youtu.be/WglvyYOKJpY

Lol at
Rom, the stupid spider.

glad you like the vids, It really helped to flesh out the straight up obtuse shit in this game, though the vid admits to its assumptions. I appreciate to illumination on some subjects like the Healing church, the old hunters and the old ones.

I am not asking for exposition, but there should be a nice middle ground
 

DaciaJC

Gold Member
The weapons are unique, look amazing and actually give you completely different options in combat - I fully upgraded the threaded cane, Rakuyo, HMGS and blades of mercy and they let me completely switch up how I played the game. DS3 weapons are all literally just reskinned versions of 4-5 basic types which all end up being pretty similar in AR per stamina upgraded anyway.

I think that's being unfair to the Souls games. The DS3 wiki lists the game as having twenty different weapon classes, not including shields and magic casting items.. Some of these, like greatsword and ultra greatsword, play similarly enough that you could consider them one class, but even then, you're left with certainly more than "4-5 basic types." I mean, to use your examples of Bloodborne weapons: the threaded cane is a combined whip and short sword, the Blade of Mercy is a combined dual sword and curved sword, and the Holy Moonlight Sword is, well, the Moonlight Greatsword. The only one that doesn't have a direct analog, as far as I can tell, is the Rakuyo, whose one-handed form has the appearance of a twinblade but operates quite differently.

I agree, however, that the animations (and sounds, I would argue) are stunning. Not just for the player character, either, but also for bosses. Even today, Mergo's Wet Nurse leaves me drooling.
 
glad you like the vids, It really helped to flesh out the straight up obtuse shit in this game, though the vid admits to its assumptions. I appreciate to illumination on some subjects like the Healing church, the old hunters and the old ones.

I am not asking for exposition, but there should be a nice middle ground

He shed some light on the Pthumerians and the chalice dungeons for me too.

Kind of unrelated, but I liked that he fought Maria straight up instead of spamming parry. I did the same and it was really satisfying beating her that way.

I think that's being unfair to the Souls games. The DS3 wiki lists the game as having twenty different weapon classes, not including shields and magic casting items.. Some of these, like greatsword and ultra greatsword, play similarly enough that you could consider them one class, but even then, you're left with certainly more than "4-5 basic types." I mean, to use your examples of Bloodborne weapons: the threaded cane is a combined whip and short sword, the Blade of Mercy is a combined dual sword and curved sword, and the Holy Moonlight Sword is, well, the Moonlight Greatsword. The only one that doesn't have a direct analog, as far as I can tell, is the Rakuyo, whose one-handed form has the appearance of a twinblade but operates quite differently.

I agree, however, that the animations (and sounds, I would argue) are stunning. Not just for the player character, either, but also for bosses. Even today, Mergo's Wet Nurse leaves me drooling.

The sound design is spectacular. I thought that Dark Souls 3 did a decent job in that department, but this was on another level.
 

Figboy79

Aftershock LA
BB is my favorite of the souls games. I loved Demon's, Dark 1, & 3, but Bloodborne just married the gameplay with a setting that I took to so hard. I'm in love Victorian style settings, and mixing that with the Souls formula just spoke to me.

It's also the only Souls game that I got the platinum trophy for. I'm not into trophies, but I played BB so much (sunk at least 200+ hours into it), that I ended up getting the most of the trophies, and decided to just polish it up.

The dlc is also really good also. In the main game, I defeated every boss by myself, but the DLC bosses were fucking brutal. A few I had to battle myself, but there were two or three that I had to summon help for. Granted, I played the DLC in new game ++. That may have had something to do with it. I destroyed Maria, but Orphan of Kos was hard as fuck. Ended up soloing him because my friend had already beat him, and the strangers I summoned kept dying immediately.

Man, I'm excited for Bloodborne 2.
 
BB is my favorite of the souls games. I loved Demon's, Dark 1, & 3, but Bloodborne just married the gameplay with a setting that I took to so hard. I'm in love Victorian style settings, and mixing that with the Souls formula just spoke to me.

It's also the only Souls game that I got the platinum trophy for. I'm not into trophies, but I played BB so much (sunk at least 200+ hours into it), that I ended up getting the most of the trophies, and decided to just polish it up.

The dlc is also really good also. In the main game, I defeated every boss by myself, but the DLC bosses were fucking brutal. A few I had to battle myself, but there were two or three that I had to summon help for.

Man, I'm excited for Bloodborne 2.

Where do you think they'd go story-wise for Bloodborne 2? It felt like they tied up a lot of the loose ends with The Old Hunters. I obviously wouldn't be opposed to Bloodborne 2, but maybe a spiritual successor would be better :p
 

Figboy79

Aftershock LA
Where do you think they'd go story-wise for Bloodborne 2? It felt like they tied up a lot of the loose ends with The Old Hunters. I obviously wouldn't be opposed to Bloodborne 2, but maybe a spiritual successor would be better :p

Yeah, I also think the story is nicely wrapped up. I was thinking more of a sequel being set in the same universe, but perhaps a different town than Yharnam. A spiritual successor would be nice too, but I assume that since Bloodborne was such a success for Sony, they'd want a sequel.
 
Yeah, I also think the story is nicely wrapped up. I was thinking more of a sequel being set in the same universe, but perhaps a different town than Yharnam. A spiritual successor would be nice too, but I assume that since Bloodborne was such a success for Sony, they'd want a sequel.

I actually remember seeing something about FROM having a 2 (or was it 3?) game contract with Sony so maybe BB2 is apart of that.

---
https://youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=JwtT8xZ9boY

Similarities between Queen Yharnam and Queen Annalise beginning at 7:50.
 

Raven117

Member
Bloodborne made me give Souls games a second chance. I'm glad you like it. I just beat Dark Souls 3 and I enjoyed it (mostly) but my main takeaway from that game was that it re emphasizes how incredible Bloodborne is and why it's by far the best souls game and the best Miyazaki game.

The weapons are unique, look amazing and actually give you completely different options in combat - I fully upgraded the threaded cane, Rakuyo, HMGS and blades of mercy and they let me completely switch up how I played the game. DS3 weapons are all literally just reskinned versions of 4-5 basic types which all end up being pretty similar in AR per stamina upgraded anyway. The move sets in Bloodborne are light years ahead as well with some real differences between attacks and weapons. Also BB dodge dash >>>> souls roll.

The world design is on another level. Nearly every location feels part of the same world and they all interconnect beautifully. You can actually see where you started in Central Yarnham through the water in the final area of the DLC. The enemy design is amazingly varied and offers much more variety than DS3s predominantly humanoid based theme. The bosses are much more challenging with the best fights in the series happening the DLC. I'd only rate 3 DS3 bosses as good enough - the dancer, the twin princes and the soul of cinder.

The only areas Bloodborne gets it wrong is build diversity and armor types. The armor is honestly just reskins and guns aren't fully fleshed out or viable until much, much later in the game. But I'll take those flaws over everything else it gets so incredibly right.

I honestly...honestly think that Bloodborne was the "A" Team with more of Miyazaki's involvement, and Dk3 was the "B" team. I just...it had that "special sauce" of something familiar but not quite that gave a sense of weirdness and compelling (Just like Demon's and Dark Souls).

Come at me!
 

Ferr986

Member
I honestly...honestly think that Bloodborne was the "A" Team with more of Miyazaki's involvement, and Dk3 was the "B" team. I just...it had that "special sauce" of something familiar but not quite that gave a sense of weirdness and compelling (Just like Demon's and Dark Souls).

Come at me!

Here we go with the teams talk again.
 
Love the game, i've got the plat and bought the DLC day one. Never got the chance to play it and today i've decide to start the DLC, well when i started the game it only gave me the option to start a new game, so i downloaded my save from the cloud and guess what - corrupted!
I've started a new game and will play through the whole experience again with great pleasure.
 

Raven117

Member
Here we go with the teams talk again.

Didn't want to start another fight...Didn't know it was a "thing."

Regardless of teams or lack thereof, Bloodborne had some special sauce that I thought was missing in Dark Souls 2 and Dark Souls 3. (And believe me, this is my favorite series).
 

Ferr986

Member
Didn't want to start another fight...Didn't know it was a "thing."

Regardless of teams or lack thereof, Bloodborne had some special sauce that I thought was missing in Dark Souls 2 and Dark Souls 3. (And believe me, this is my favorite series).

Teams are shared, people move from a game to another. Its not like there's fixed teams. I think its more about being a new IP with fresh ideas, instead of being tied to the Souls world like 3.

Mind you BB is my fav after DS1.
 

Raven117

Member
Teams are shared, people move from a game to another. Its not like there's fixed teams. I think its more about being a new IP with fresh ideas, instead of being tied to the Souls world like 3.

Mind you BB is my fav after DS1.

Sure, no question....And perhaps the fresh ideas really felt that much more fresh.

Can't wait to see the next game where Miyazaki can just do his thing.

(Am I wrong to think the ending of Dark Souls 3 would be better if
the last fight was the Nameless King, and the world (as stated on the message) is completely destroyed
)
 
Teams are shared, people move from a game to another. Its not like there's fixed teams. I think its more about being a new IP with fresh ideas, instead of being tied to the Souls world like 3.

Mind you BB is my fav after DS1.

That's exactly what it is. That's another reason why I'd rather a spiritual successor over BB2.
 

ghibli99

Member
Bloodborne's easily my favorite game on the PS4, and my first Soulsborne game. It's just such a joy and challenge to play, filled with moments where you seriously consider giving up, but a simple rethinking or walking away from it for an hour gives you the clarity you need to overcome. That feeling of self-encouragement and ultimate elation is why gaming will NEVER get old for me.

Finished Demon's Souls shortly thereafter, and am heading into what I think is the last act of Dark Souls. All 3 games, despite sharing a lot of the same DNA, have been uniquely amazing for different reasons.
 
That moment you permanently lose 6000+ blood echoes cus you walked into a boss fight without knowing it.

Ha! I remember clearing out the sewers and then unexpectedly running into Father G. You can run in, grab your echoes and use a Bold Hunter's mask to return to the last lamp you've been to instead of fighting the boss. Just make sure the boss doesn't knock you out of the animation lol
 

butman

Member
Dodge left. He'll miss every time. Also parry.

Can you parry any boss?

I'm playing my first NG+ and they take a lot more time than before to take them down, so this time i need to do extra strategy, like to parry them. Also. Are theirs HP the double than before?
 
Ha! I remember clearing out the sewers and then unexpectedly running into Father G. You can run in, grab your echoes and use a Bold Hunter's mask to return to the last lamp you've been to instead of fighting the boss. Just make sure the boss doesn't knock you out of the animation lol

Too late. Went back in to maybe beat him cuz I got him down go 50% life but I got greedy and he handed me my ass on a bloody platter. I had to walk away after that. But hey; I beat the Cleric Beast today.
 
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