2025-08-03

Bloodborne

Yeah so I got a PS5 for Death Stranding 2 so might as well play Bloodborne. I’m not really a freak about Souls games, I find them interesting but not that special. Bloodborne is way more polished than previous Souls games, but I can’t help but think it’s the roughness that gave those games their flavor.

The world was really cool, the setting is unique and I loved seeing new areas, or things change with progress. All the level design was readable and getting to little secrets was very rewarding. But that’s kinda the same as Dark Souls, just a new coat of paint.

The real differences are in the combat, with a quicker sidestep to encourage closer combat. I liked that for being a lot faster, though some of the bigger bosses were impossible to read when closing in. I still found myself getting some distance, and only a few bosses seemed to punish me for that, so I’m not sure what exactly the game wanted from me.

I went for a skill build, and used the cane whip for the whole game. New weapons and armor were a lot more scarce, and I quickly realized they don’t really matter as much in this game. Your stats are affected by armor, but there’s no weight punishment.

The parrying system confused me, it only works during very specific animations, so trying to use parries felt way too Simon Says. It also just doesn’t work on big bosses, which is like half of the meaningful combat in these games. If it was easier to do, it would trivialize the whole game, but it’s really not hard in the first place. Maybe it’s a multiplayer thing, but I’m not buying PS+ just to get invaded by some dude who has only played Bloodborne for the last 10 years. I prefer these games in singleplayer anyways.

I’m also confused why they went back to Demon’s Souls style healing items. I never really had a problem running out, was I supposed to? It also gives out a billion bullets, as if the game expects me to be parrying normal enemies. Was I supposed to? You just run past them, that’s the standard strategy for these games. It feels like half the game has learned from earlier Souls games, while the other half is deliberately trying to make mistakes.

Like, do people actually like chalice dungeons? I only did one of them and it was extremely boring. It’s a neat way to offer rematches and cut content, but did it need to be this overly complex?

I hate asking questions in a review, but Bloodborne just constantly confuses me, and people’s excessive praise for the game makes me feel like I’m missing the point. Maybe souls fans just have really really really low standards and haven’t played many good games. I’ve heard the DLC is good, I would like to try it out sometime. Unfortunately, I beat the game so I’ll have to either speedrun on NG or dig into NG+ a little and I’ve suddenly lost all energy to replay. Maybe in the future.

Score: 2/3, it’s an extremely competent souls game but From has made 4 or 5 of those already so play it if you want or not I don’t care I’m not your mom leave me alone.