Upon playing FromSoftwares gothic horror masterpiece, Bloodborne, it is immediately apparent that the game is the very definition of a passion project.
I don't think I have ever seen a video game with a world as detailed and utterly enthralling as Bloodborne. The environments are as nightmarish as they are beautiful and captivating to explore. The game's imposing cities take heavy inspiration from English Victorian era architecture. They are filled with larger than life gothic cathedrals, clocktowers, mansions, castles, and other imposing structures that are undeniably spectacular. The sky is a stunning blood red. The alleyways and streets within the cities are claustrophobic, dark, spooky places where monstrous enemies wait around every corner to surprise you! Almost every area in the game is remarkably immersive thanks in part to this stunning art design, as well as the bone chilling sound design.
The horrifying sounds of Bloodborne are wrought with disturbing bloodcurdling screams, the menacing howls of werewolfs, and the snarls of ghastly beasts. This type of sound design is present in nearly every area, and this, combined with the aforementioned foreboding architecture, has the effect of making the player constantly tense and on edge in nearly every area.
The game's story and dialogue as well as the art design for the characters in the first half of the game also take heavy influence from the works great Victorian horror authors such as Bram Stoker, and Edgar Allan Poe. In the second half, the game becomes much more similar to an H. P. Lovecraft story, with numerous cosmic horror themed imagery and storytelling. This unique style gives the game a sense of personality and identity not present within most games in Bloodborne's genre. It also makes the game feel fresh and distinct from other, more traditional fantasy RPGs.
However, if Bloodborne was all style and no substance it would not be considered a masterpiece. Luckily, Bloodborne's gameplay systems are every bit as masterful as it's art and world design.
Bloodborne's level design is some of the best in the gaming industry (typical of FromSoftware), with numerous shortcuts, optional paths, and even whole optional areas that greatly reward exploration on the player's part. The varied enemy design and layouts throughout the levels is also top notch. Every area in Bloodborne has it's own unique enemies with movesets completely different from enemies in previous areas. This helps keep players engaged with the game as they uncover new regions.
The combat system of Bloodborne is another one of the games major strengths. The main unique feature of Bloodborne's combat system that distinguishes it from FromSoftware's other soulsborne games is it's "trick weapon" system. Every weapon in Bloodborne has the ability to transform into an entirely different weapon with a completely different moveset from the base weapon. This allows the player to exucute a great variety of combo attacks with their weapon, by switching back and forth between the weapon's two forms.
When this system is combined with the fact that every weapon in Bloodborne has a totally unique moveset, you get a combat system with an immense amount of replayability. It is incredibly fun to test out different weapons on repeat playthroughs and this is one of the main reasons why the game has maintained a consistent playerbase for so many years since it's release.
Another unique feature of Bloodborne's combat system is how thoroughly it rewards aggression. Bloodborne features a "rally" system which allows the player to gain a portion of health back if struck by an enemy through attacking the enemy in return. Morover, the dodge roll of the Soulsborne games has been replaced with a quickstep dodge with more invincibility frames, encouraging players to dodge into their enemies aggressively. In addition, the shields of the Dark Souls games have been replaced with guns which, when shot at an enemy right before they attack, can stun them, giving the player the opportunity to counter with a high damaging strike known as a "visceral attack". All of these combat features reward an aggressive, in your face playstyle which makes the combat of Bloodborne an endless adrenaline rush.
The player's knowledge and skill with this combat system is also rigorously tested by Bloodborne's many challenging and creatively designed boss battles. The boss roster of Bloodborne (especially in the highly acclaimed Old Hunters DLC) is phenomenal. Bloodborne's best bosses are an outstanding combination of stunningly grotesque visual design, deeply tragic lore, and challenging attack patterns that reward the aggressive playstyle Bloodborne attempts to cultivate within it's players. Despite how monstrous and aggressive some of the bosses can be, players must learn to overcome their fear and become just as aggressive and ruthless as the bosses if they wish to slay them. Some of the boss fights have since become some of my all time favourites. Many of the bosses can also be incredibly challenging and are capable of taking players hours to finally conquer them. However, much like FromSoftware's other Souls games, this always rewards patient players with a great sense of accomplishment whein they finally do overcome the boss that has been killing them over and over again.
The experience of battling these incredible bosses is also further enhanced by Bloodborne's epic and haunting musical score. Many of the soundtracks for the bosses have a chilling choir element to them that makes them absolutely eargasmic to listen to.
Overall, when all of these elements are put together. The extrodinary art design, the marvelously detailed world, the deeply memorable storytelling, the unique combat system, and the unforgettable bosses. You get an experience that is more than worthy of being called one of the greatest gaming experiences of all time.
