“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and
the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” -- H.P. Lovecraft
So…I faced off with Gehrman, refused to sacrifice myself, fought and defeated him, and got hugged by the Moon Presence just before I defeated it. Afterwards I am assuming I ascended and turned into a cute squid for the doll lady! Very exciting!
Once you dive deep into the Souls series and explore the games out there as I have, coming late to the party, you see a continual progression of games. Demon’s Souls lead to Dark Souls, which spawned two more games, Dark Souls 2 and 3. However, you spot one game, Bloodborne, that sticks out as an oddity. It’s a sidestreet to the Souls series that takes you to a new gothic world of the Great Ones, where hunters roam the streets in a waking nightmare.
I can see why many people think this game is the best of the Souls games. The world is encapsulating, not that the other Souls game are lacking, but there is something special about Bloodborne. The HP Lovecraftian vibe and feel throughout the game is very enriching; the game sucks you in to the bloody darkness around every corner.
The boss fights aren’t simply boss fights, they are art, where you engage the bizarre accompanied by incredible music that enhances the dreadfulness or mystery of the experience. When you first drop down to fight Rom the Vacuous Spider, it is such a bizarre experience that is visually stunning and incredible; I will never ever forget this boss fight. It is ingrained in my memory. Chasing Micolash (which is actually one of the easiest bosses in the Souls games) through foggy corridors while distorted insane piano music is playing is amazing.
If you have played Souls games and rely on blocking with a shield, this game breaks you of that habit; it teaches you to parry. I like the concept of the trick weapons too; it creates a lot of versatility in fighting. My preference for my first playthrough was Ludwig's Holy Blade.
My one complaint about Bloodborne is I feel the player doesn’t get enough cool weapons till later in the game. I feel like they chose to remedy this in the DLC: The Old Hunters.
The storyline is mysterious, but a little vague and can leave you a little confused as to what’s going on. I actually searched youtube to find a good synopsis of the story. This guy does a good job at putting it all together:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjWOy6ioVHI
Overall, I really really hope FromSoftware and Hidetaka Miyazaki decide to keep exploring further in this world of Yharnam and the Great Ones. Bloodborne is by far one of the best Souls games and might be the best of the Souls genre. Give us more Bloodborne!!!
