@XVision84 said:
Hear me out, after playing through Bloodborne and the DLC, I really don't see why Bloodborne isn't in the discussion of being one of the best games of all time. Here are my arguments:
Story: The story of Bloodborne is, in my opinion, brilliant. You can run through the entire game without understanding the story and still think it's a great game, but if you really pay attention to what's going on around you, read the descriptions of items, and connect the dots then you're greatly rewarded as a player. It's unique in a way that the story isn't really spoon-fed to you but it's all there. You feel like an outsider lost in this world and you're discovering your way through it. I mean seriously, every boss has a deep background and so does every character. They're all part of this extremely convincing world and it's great to read up on it.
Soundtrack: The soundtrack for Bloodborne is fantastic. There's nothing quite like fighting a boss frantically while listening to the choir go nuts. I would post examples, but the titles of soundtrack videos can have boss spoilers in them. If you don't care about that stuff, then I really recommend listening to it.
Gameplay: The gameplay is extremely deep and diverse. Every weapon has a moveset and you can really familiarize yourself with all sorts of tricks you can pull off with each weapon. The bosses are tough but once you learn their moves and practice, the boss becomes easy. There are a lot of weapon combinations you can use, completely different character builds you can make which change the way you play the game, and more. Every weapon feels great and every level is very well designed. At some points of the game, From Soft actively tries to mess with the players which is cruel but still fun to experience.
Replay Value: Because there are so many different build options and the boss fights are so fun to do, bloodborne has great replay value. I've made many builds for co-op, PvP, and going through the story in a different way and I've invested many hours into doing each of those. There are short cuts to areas of the game and once you really know the areas, you can work your way through them very quickly.
Atmosphere: This is in large part due to the story, graphics, soundtrack, and level design. The atmosphere in Bloodborne is excellent. It's very dreadful, very dark and, as you get to know what's going on around you, it's very unsettling.
Multiplayer: You can make entire builds solely for co-op or PvP regardless of the story mode and play that way. Of course you'd need to know the levels in order to build this way effectively (shortcuts to items, etc.) but the game can definitely sustain itself on multiplayer. Helping others out with bosses, invading other worlds, it's all good fun and it's rewarding too.
Taking all of this into consideration, can we make the case that Bloodborne is one of the greatest games of all time? It's not a casual game and it's an exclusive so it doesn't have a very far reaching audience but despite that it excels because those who do play it love it. This hinders its popularity when compared to other titles such as The Witcher, but I'm talking purely from a quality standpoint. Bloodborne really does something special with its soundtrack, story, and gameplay that I think is very unique and unlike any other game out there.
Bloodborne is an amazing variation of the Souls formula that changes the environmental and mechanical aspects to freshen up the series, but offers less originality and diversity in its design than previous entries.
Story: Your praise of the story is in the way it's told. I agree. The way the Souls series handles its narrative by parsing out its knowledge for the player to discover is an ingenious way to tell it. It's narrative format parallels the enigmatic themes seen in the environmental, enemy, and mechanical design; however, this narration style has become formulaic, still good, but overtime it's become commonplace. The narrative itself isn't as original as the Dark Souls series and his direct inspiration are more painfully obvious. Read this passage:
But as I stood in the tower's topmost chamber, I beheld the horned waning moon, red and sinister, quivering through the vapours that hovered over the distant valley of Banof. And through an opening in the roof glittered the pale Pole Star, fluttering as if alive, and leering like a fiend and tempter. Methought its spirit whispered evil counsel, soothing me to traitorous somnolence with a damnable rhythmical promise which it repeated over and over:
Slumber, watcher, till the spheres,
Six and twenty thousand years
Have revolv'd, and I return
To the spot where now I burn.
Other stars anon shall rise
To the axis of the skies;
Stars that soothe and stars that bless
With a sweet forgetfulness:
Only when my round is o'er
Shall the past disturb thy door.
It's very reminiscent of Bloodborne's themes and manner of writing. H.P. Lovecraft was creating these ghastly passages long before Bloodborne.
Soundtrack: The soundtrack is good, but is often muddled by the blood-curdling shrieks of bosses. The sound design uses a minimalist approach, usually the orchestral soundtrack kicks in during bossfights, so it's disappointing when almost every boss you fight is shrieking their lungs out and obscuring the score.
Gameplay: The emphasis on action and changes to backstabbing, parrying, regaining health, and dodging were wonderful, yet it's much more restrictive than other Souls RPGs in terms of weapon choices and character builds. I don't necessarily think it's a worse thing, especially because Bloodborne wants you to play a very specific way, but I can see why other people might have problems with the lack of variety. I want to liken the changes made to the atmosphere and environments of Bloodborne; a lot of the places you visit are reminiscent of prior areas (especially in the DLC), but they're warped and made into new nightmares.
Replayability: The Souls games establish a circuit loop system on the first playthrough. Die. Repeat. So it's no wonder a ton of people want to endlessly run through the games; plus there are always areas missed on first playthroughs. One draw to replaying the souls game were different character builds which is lacking in bloodborne, so I think replayability takes a hit.
Atmosphere: Nails the gothic horror and labyrinthine lovecraftian architecture. Variety of the atmosphere takes a hit because of this, but it's still amazing.
Overall Bloodborne is amazing. It's following an award winning formula with some tweaks to spruce it up, but Dark Souls specifically outclasses it in a lot of categories.
Log in to comment