I waited in line to see just what From Software had cooked up for their newest PlayStation exclusive game. As a longtime fan of Demon’s and Dark Souls, Bloodborne looks amazing.
The most interesting thing is the new 19th century Gothic styling. Beyond the setting change, the graphics are turned up to new levels. It looks better than Dark Souls 2 on PC by far. Additionally, the game world, or at least the one being shown off, was a lot more intricate and looped back onto itself in a way that reminded me of Demon’s Souls and some of Dark Souls. This I think has to do with the fact that the demo was in a city environment.
People have come to this city seeking a cure to their ailments but have ended up will some kind of illness (I’m guessing it is bloodborne budumtish) instead. Speaking of these people, a lot of the enemies were humanoid and many were seen walking around. They were following an AI routine which is something that the Souls games never did. There were also a lot more of them than I’ve even seen in Souls but this large mob was not challenged.
Other changes were shown in a new weapon type that was a shorter blade that could be folded out to become a much larger but slower attack. The other weapon in this dual wielding set up was a shotgun. I was against guns being in the souls games but the setting eliminates the possibility of machine guns and then I also realized that magic is kind of like a gun anyway. It looks powerful but… there was no shield shown. I don’t even recall any of the enemies having shields. The idea of a shield-less Souls game is interesting but it was probably just not in this presentation. Another new weapon was the torch. Now it looks like you can attack with it to set enemies on fire, and they will continue to do the same to you.
The whole game looked a touch faster in how the character moved and attacked. New this time was a quick side step similar to the current Souls backstep but it covered a larger distance. With all this increased speed, I noticed a lot more blood being tossed around. It stained the ground and the character’s cloak. By the end he was almost completely covered in it.
Beyond those changes, combat looked about the same. New, large enemies were shown with the cow sized bird-like creatures that hopped around on the ground being a highlight. The rest were more standard fare but the larger mini boss enemy showed off an impressive amount of attack variation. He was quick and ruthless and I loved watching it.
Another hunter was shown fighting with some enemies and it was explained that the player can choose to help or leave him be. Similar things have been done in Souls before but this other hunter looked to hold his own and it was implied that NPCs being in the world like this could be more common.
The presentation ended in a large boss fight that showed off some unique attacks but it was also instantly familiar. While a lot has changed it is very clearly a Souls game. Items dropped by enemies leave little orbs. Souls absorb into the character’s body. Rolling and other animations were clearly the same. This is all great though. It is Souls adapted into a bit of a different mold and it makes it new again. Plus the new dark styling is very welcome.
I cannot wait to play Bloodborne, and it has single-handedly sold me a PS4.
