So when the PS4 finally came out, my funds were not nearly enough to just go out and buy one right away, which I was a little upset over, but whatever. But when I did get it, one game always stood out from the rest. One game that I wanted to try more than any other game for the system, and that game was known only as Bloodborne.
Bloodborne takes place in the fictional Victorian town of Yharnam, where you play as a hunter on the Night of the Hunt, where the town is filled with monsters and crazed hunters out for blood. It starts out with hunting werewolves and witches, but it isn’t long before you are hunting down ancient Lovecraftian gods and have to fend them off to end the Hunts for good. I plan on doing a big analysis on this games writing and atmosphere in a future Corner of Horror article, but for now, let’s talk about this game. It’s hard. It’s real hard. But it is very rewarding. Unlike its predecessor, Dark Souls, which is slow and more focused on blocking, Bloodborne is fast, aggressive, and forces you to dodge to avoid death. If you aren’t careful, even the weakest, low level enemies can be the death of you. I knew this game would be a pleasure when I stepped into the streets of Yharnam, the towns folk driven made and turned into these humanoid beasts with dark fur and long limbs, crucified werewolves burning on the stake, and towns folk that hadn’t turned cowering in fear inside their homes. All this, mixed with teaching you the basics of combat, as well as giving you an optional boss as your first boss fight in the game makes Yharnam one of my favorite starting locations in any video game. It’s as good, if not slightly better, than the village attack in Resident Evil 4. The game is also oozing with atmosphere. It’s not as breathtaking as the original Dark Souls, but there are moments that make me want to take in everything. From the bridge of Old Yharnam to the overlapping graveyards of the Cathedral Ward to the amazing scale of Cainhurst Castle. And the bosses are pretty good. While there are a few stinkers, I really like this games bosses the most. You got the insanely hard Father Gascoigne who is here to demand you learn the basics of this game or die trying, and you will die, many, many times. The fight with Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos is a real challenge that I love every second of, even if I got annihilated every second. And I won’t spoil the final boss, but it is easily my favorite final boss in any video game ever. The scenery, the fight itself, the lore behind it, the music, that fucking orchestral music is beautiful, in a game that is so repulsive.
Bloodborne is a game I recommend to anyone who has a PS4. Every day, I think to myself, “Do I like Bloodborne better than Dark Souls?” and despite which one I talked about first, it’s clear what the answer is, but Dark Souls 2 and not even 3 made me question which one was superior. Bloodborne came the closest, and for good reasons. It may not even be ten years old, but it is already a classic in my eyes.