There’s always something unique about games from the team at From Software as well as Sony Studio Japan. Both have created tremendously creative titles and ones that constantly pushed players to the edge of their seats. Even with some of the latest games, it’s hard to say that any of them have really done what titles like Bloodborne and Gravity Rush have done. Bloodborne of course being the one that both teams worked together to create in order to bring hardcore Souls franchise fans over to the PlayStation 4 due to the titles exclusivity.
Anyone that knows me, knows that I’m a glutton for punishment, more punishment, and even more punishment when it comes to difficulty. I spent days, if not weeks conquering Demon’s Souls only to forget to save my trophy progress, back-up my save data, and unfortunately lose it all. That doesn’t mean I haven’t put the game to the back of my mind, but it didn’t have the beckoning Bloodborne did after having been stuck at the notorious boss Gerhman. Having fallen many times to his blunderbuss or even his scythe in its heavy weapon mode, I resumed coming back a good 100+ times only to die in some other manner. Finally I found myself in frustration only to uninstall the game, open up some hard drive space on my PlayStation 4, and move onto other games I had backlogged from being busy as a journalist as well as an office aid.
After spending almost a year away from Bloodborne and a 1TB HDD upgrade on the review PlayStation 4, I felt it was time to come back to the game since the DLC had launched. Last night was the adventure that I never thought I would have. Why? I didn’t play the game much in coop. I honestly didn’t find the need for it since at the time my internet router (luckily it wasn’t my ISP or the modem) seemed about as dependable as a car with little to no gas going down a highway. You see where this going, I can imagine. After a few small tweaks, new router, new HDD, and even an upgraded internet speed through the ISP, it was time to once more resume Bloodborne, but this time? In coop. As you can imagine, I did run into a few headaches where I found myself being kicked from the games server till falling upon a few suggestions to shut down my PS4 completely, and then restart it after a few minutes. After doing that I was once more on my way to attempting the Chalice Dungeon’s, farming up Blood Echoes, and even once more attempting to slay Gerhman once and for all. Sadly? I didn’t know the little trick about the umbilical cords playing a role into the games ending like I should’ve. Only having had my character use 2/3 needed for the perfect ending? I found myself with the “OK” ending and at the help of my buddy Garret Sullivan (thanks again, man!). After having killed him, it was time to head onto New Game+, but at a speedy pace with his help since I managed to pick up the DLC. 20 bucks for a bunch of new cool stuff and bosses that will make me break my teeth from clenching my jaw? Sounds like fun.
But returning to Bloodborne after a year was something different than what I thought it would be. Rather than being a small adventure of relearning everything, it was like riding a bicycle. Little by little, it all comes back, and players will find themselves once more accustomed to what they had been doing. Sure their sense of direction may be a little off, but not in the manner it might be a game breaker. We’ve all been there. Ever tried to go back to playing a game like Rainbow Six after a few hours of Call of Duty? Yea, doesn’t work out well for some. Trust me, I’d know. Heck even returning to Fallout 4 was a difficult after a few long sessions of Call of Duty or Battlefield. Though I know that is not the topic of today, but let that sink in a bit first.
When returning to Bloodborne there were a few difficulties I was faced with. One, I had to relearn the control scheme to some extent. Luckily I’ve played enough of the Souls games this wasn’t too hard to do, but figuring out a few special commands, that was a different challenge all together. Secondly, figuring out the areas I was using to farm in order to gear out. Thirdly, was the difficulty of re-learning my timing for Gerhman. Fourthly, trying not to walk away from the game again, and successfully not doing so. Fifthly, was talking myself into buying the DLC since my pal Garret has vowed to once more take my filthy casual self through the new content. But what made coming back to Bloodborne unique wasn’t like what you’d expect with games like Call of Duty where everything gets tweaked, rebalanced, and based on how players play. Instead Bloodborne finds itself with a few minor tweaks, upgrades, and eventually all new content, which it recently has. The uniqueness behind it is the fact the game is easy to come back to. While relearning your timing, footing, and pacing may be a bit disorienting at first, Bloodborne is one of those that comes back to you rather quickly once you remember where you were and through a bit of trial and error. If you can get past that? Bloodborne is a game that deserves the appraises it has gotten. It’ll be interesting to see what the future holds for the title.
IF you are interested in our review for the DLC “The Old Hunters” stay tuned to our website for it coming soon.
About the Writer:
Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.