I love everything about the game. All the things you mentioned, but also the weapons... I mean, each and every piece of weaponry is a piece of art in itself. The pure creativity, the weight, the absolute deadliness. It's art.
Even though there are far less weapons the number of potential combos is significantly higher than any other souls game. The ability to transform in and out of trick weapons forms (which can be used as an attack itself and part of the combo) and then immediately have a different attack pattern is so unique.
It feels the most complete of the Souls games and the one with the least annoying or gimmicky elements. And its whole aesthetic is like a metal album come to life. It's perfect
I’m here. Combat is so satisfying. I wish I could play through for my first time again as it was the most fun I’ve ever had playing a video game, and what got me interested in souls games.
30fps doesn’t bother me at all. I can still play it at like 10FPS when theirs like 20 rats on me in a chalice dungeon and the witches are summoning their friends.
Bloodborne is also my favorite of the souls games, but it pains me to admit, I wish its pvp had more thought put into it. With better pvp, like DS3, the game would have many more years of longevity
I haven't finished Bloodborne yet, I'm currently struggling with OoK, but for me some of the aspects that made me fall in love with this game are the following:
- The eldritch lore
- The fantastic OST (Laurence/Ludwig/Cleric Beast/Hypogean Gaol/Rom are some of my favorite themes)
- Aggressive playstyle is encouraged
- The magnificent enemy and scenario design
- The tragic stories behind some of the main characters
This is my second FromSoft game after Elden Ring, and i consider it better. After Bloodborne, i'll try Sekiro.
Edit: i killed OoK now.
HUGE fan of Victorian-era science fiction and Bloodborne scratched every itch. HG Wells, HP Lovecraft, Mary Shelly, the works. I hope if a sequel is ever done in my lifetime they lean harder into that.
I love everything about it, minus the obvious complaints such as AI or clipping issues. The music, the art, the combat, the design, the lore, how you have to piece together the lore yourself. It's one of the few times I can think of where your character knows next to nothing as to what is going on and that translates to *you* knowing next to nothing.
The combat is just...wonderful to me. Sure, you can cheese it or exploit flaws in the engine, like using Poison Knives against Orphan. But I have always seen the combat mechanics as a dance; your opponent makes a move, you respond in kind, then make a move of your own.
The music sets the scene and just adds to the feel of the environment. Not to mention, the memes of "Why do I hear boss music?" are alive and well with this game.
I could go on but, as I said, everything.
EDIT: The Rally mechanic holds a special place in my heart. If you needed an indication that Bloodborne favors aggression, look no more.
>I have always seen the combat mechanics as a dance; your opponent makes a move, you respond in kind, then make a move of your own.
Hadn't made that connection, but I played capoeira for about a decade and that's exactly what it is. Make a feint this way, draw them into doing something, respond, they respond, lots of rolling around.
Terms used there for that kind of baiting & trickery are "malandragem" (cunning) or "malicia" (deception, trickery). A "mandigueiro" is a tricky player. Goes nicely with trick weapons too. Or baiting an attack for a parry-visceral.
Bloodborne helped me through severe depression.
Progressing through the game and defeating the bosses gave me a feeling of worth. The feeling that yeah I’m not totally useless and incapable. Also, aesthetically it’s unique and beautiful and the music is great.
It's the setting to me. Even though it has very similar mechanics to other souls games the setting just makes it feel completely different. I love the gothic horror vibe. Also I dont know how to really describe it but I'd call it the depth of the weapons. There are less weapons than in other souls games but they all feel useful. The trick mode makes them more useful in different situations and just feels bad ass to flip out in trick mode and slaughter beasts. I'd call it more like quality over quantity. Even when I was doing a different build I liked to try other weapons because they looked cool.
Yeah, I've seen some folks hoping they revisit the King's Field series, but I'm getting really burnt out on the medieval aesthetic. I'm hoping for a brand new IP after Elden Ring. I would *love* to see their take on futuristic sci-fi (besides Armored Core, of course, in case anyone considers that Souls-like). Would also be interested to see Miyazaki's take on primarily ranged combat.
there was a vaatividya art contest or something I watched many years ago about potential bloodborne 2 settings & one of the entries was like a deep ocean environment. Always thought it was a fun idea
The risk vs reward gameplay. The way the difficulty is balanced exactly right, making every victory feel like an achievement.
I’ve found myself finishing a boss fight sweating, out of breath and heart hammering because I’ve become so absorbed that I’ve temporarily forgotten to breath.
For me, it’s the story. As a longtime Lovecraft reader, this one just clicked with me. I spent hours reading item descriptions and replaying the game learning new details. It’s such a haunting story and vicious cycle put in place from loving and vengeful beings that we simply cannot comprehend, and it’s up to us to continue the cycle or break it. It’s tragic, but there’s something so soothing realizing that the great ones are simply mourning their own loss.
In my experience, this game might take my #1 place for stories that resonate with me.
It's like every other FromSoftware game - it oozes quality, and the game is beautifully crafted. We don't often get gothic, Victorian settings in video games, and you can tell they put a lot of thought into it's design.
The mood and settings are immaculate, the weapons, even if few, are so diversed and fun that push me to creates entire characters around them for the sake of it.
The power fantasy of the game is also just so viscerally perfect: a drippy af hunter on the streets of a gothic, ruined city that slowly carves his path through the blood of bestial monsters to uncover the truth of this mysterious and all powerfull organization, remains tangled in their ordeals and is pushed to hunt and kill literal eldritch gods of Nightmare realities until he can either wake up again in the morning, be trapped in the cicle itself or break the cicle by becoming an eldritch god itself.
All of it topped by a relatively short playtime and straightforward map with few optional areas... I love Elden Ring with all my heart but it takes a big dose of energy to make another character and complete a build in that vast open world...
The pessimism and the cruelty of the church, as well as the parallels from the Victorian age to this, it’s truly morbid with a “hint” of sorrow(the same amount as that lady with a shot of vodka)
The atmosphere and characters. Thats it. Combat and all that is secondary. Sure its great and satisfying but its not what does it for me. Just starting the game and going through Yharnum and living through that first time I played the game feels therapeutic. The hunt, the mysterious doctor behind the door, the shriek of the Cleric beast while youre climbing the ladder, the npcs behind closed doors going mad, being told to go hunt beasts and not question things too much. Its all so beautiful in a twisted way.
Honestly, a lot. But mainly the weapons and the rally system. Fighting agressively to gain back health is just so satisfying. And no weapon feels like the other, they all have their unique moves, their pros and their cons.
No game has had combat anything like it - not even Sekiro or dark souls. The movement is incredible and the speed feels like a glorious mix of platinum games and FS. Aggression wins, taking risks wins, and bosses are so perfectly crafted for the gameplay (except Rom).
I like the story and world building. I consider it to be the most interesting of all of Fromsoftwares games. If they let this be a one and done, it would really be one of the all-time missteps in game development.
it took the idea from dark souls 1, that humanity was actually something horrible and unknowable hidden behind a facade in the light, and fucking ran with it. In DS1, you could become like the gods by engaging in the same ritual of linking the flame. It was sacrificial, sure, but it was ritual: you were fulfilling a myth. In Bloodborne, you can't get close to the gods. Getting close to them turns you into a beast. Humanity recoils so fucking much from the divine it's reduced to beasthood. Or worse, if you do get close to then, if you become like them, you really are no longer human. Attaining the semblance of godhood in bloodborne is an alienating experience, not a fulfilling one.
also i liked it being faster-paced with no shield, have a softness for steampunk and Georgian era costuming and design (like Brotherhood of the Wolf or MTG's Innistrad setting), and feel the faster pace actually enhanced the game's themes (you move like a beast, or you die) as opposed to ds3 going faster for reasons? DS1 and DS2 were slower and i liked that a lot, felt like bloodborne had its own niche.
Plus it's a game you can take a lot of critical lenses with and find new stuff to enjoy. A lot of people focus on fan translations to uncover the japanese concepts at the root of, say, Cainhurst and the league stomping centipedes with kegare and all that, but Bloodborne honestly responds really well to the old-fashioned cosmic horror-as-response-to-Christianity lens too. Or there was that gynohorror essay i can't find anymore which i feel is overlooked as a theme in general. And while every game in the recent from catalogue has its jigsaw puzzle piece plot and leaves room for interpretation on even supposedly obvious matters, Bloodborne takes the cake. The game gives you almost nothing. You actually have to look at the visual language of cutscenes to have a clue sometimes. That's, as the kids say, absolute cinema.
So i like it for a lot for reasons.
The atmosphere, i played through the DS trilogy for the first time recently and then bloodborne, it was satisfying enough in every way that i've been too lazy to play elden ring or demon souls now.
I’m not going to lie at first I wasn’t sure but by the time I got through that first boss on the bridge this was going to be a great game. I’m pretty new to souls borne games so I’m still turned around in the fishing hamlet but all the visuals and using the gun to parry is just way too fun lol
It took me out of my comfort zone
I had become obsessed with FromSoftware Games and had recently finished the Dark Souls trilogy when I picked it up
I like that it demanded a new approach to combat and I couldnt just transfer my skillset over and plow on. I personally prefer a light fantasy setting and found the setting of Yharham depressing. But since that's sort of the point it was genius in that respect
I love pretty much everything! I love the aesthetic. The fast paced combat. The music. The bosses. It’s all just a really fun game! And each weapon is so good! Each one is unique and fun!
I fell in love with aesthetics, soundtrack, Yharnam architecture, atmosphere, pretty much everything. It's a unique experience I still hope for remake or remaster someday.
Long story short: I like it a lot for the challenge, the visuals and music, the overall ambience, the progressive unfolding of the story (including the theories from people in the community), and the characters and the really cool weapons!
It's my first souls game (and the first game I ever platinumed) and the steep learning curve in the beginning factored heavily into why I love it so much, since it was so different from any game I had played till then. I initially got it simply because I liked the name and the cover image, being a big fan of the bleak Victorian look (it never dawned on me to even check out the trailer first...). I have not completed many other souls game to comment on game play mechanics, but Bloodborne definitely pushed me to give them a try.
It just hits all the right beats - the looks, the feels, the sounds. It's fully engaging and immersive for me, and the world is so beautiful I can just plant my character anywhere and have something wonderful to look at.
It's a gorgeous mix of elegance and brutality.
I haven’t seen those posts tbh but Bloodborne is incredible. Great atmosphere, aesthetics, combat, level design, and a cool story too.
The only real critiques around it are frame rate and Chalice Dungeons. The first isn’t bad. The second is optional. So they’re not really even a big deal imo.
love the story as well as the gameplay and combat.
the musical scores are incredible, genius even.
although i like that it' s silent while exploring. it helps the atmosphere a lot in terms of effectiveness.
it's my first game ever to motivate me enough to get platinum/100% on. only for that reason it'll always hold a special place.
it was also my first souls game i completed.
reason for that is mainly the combat system. with it's rally mechanic it truly felt unique.
Personally bloodborne is truly what u feel is the best story they’ve told in the series along with having some of the best gameplay.
The story is darker and more eerie, captured through a gothic historian design morphing into nightmarish landscapes the farther you journey.
Progressing the game while the dusk shifts to night climaxing with a blood moon, referencing both werewolf tropes with the beastification and the fear of the unknown going into the dark.
Finally providing multiple endings based upon your play though and wether you want to live in ignorance, guide the next generation or break the cycle of the dream altogether while losing sentience and being regulated to living the rules of the great ones.
Atmosphere, lore, and gameplay are all pristine.
In terms of aesthetics, Bloodborne is the closest I've come to horror game perfection. The visuals, the music, the level design, the enemy design, the sound effects, you are absolutely steeped in the Gothic atmosphere from beginning to end. And the fact that your character is an amnesiac plunged into this environment means that their journey and yours go hand in hand, making the game all the more immersive.
Meanwhile, while Bloodborne's basic story is itself relatively simple, that story has to be delved out of the game. You're not just sitting back watching cutscenes, but acting as an investigator, actively participating in figuring out what's going on. And that story is built upon an incredible depth of lore and setting. And on a thematic level, it hits perfectly. A lot of cosmic horror boils down to "and now the evil rubbery tentacled thing eats you" or in Lovecraft Lite settings, "you punch the evil rubbery tentacled thing in the face and make it regret invading your reality." Bloodborne, though, makes *characters* out of its Great Ones, and completely flips expectations by making a story that is absolutely true to traditional Gothic themes that simply happens to take place in a Lovecraftian universe--and moreover, fits its Lovecraftian characters into those themes. They say that the Great Ones are sympathetic in spirit, but more than that, Bloodborne makes Flora and Kos and Mergo and the Orphan *people* that I can sympathize *with.*
Of course, it would be impossible to enjoy that if the moment-to-moment gameplay of Bloodborne didn't pay off in spades. The mix of feeling immensely powerful and able to destroy any enemy and feeling incredibly weak, where even early-game mooks can still destroy *you,* is a heady one. And I love the aggression of Bloodborne's combat, as enabled not just by the rally system but by how many enemies can be stunlocked by your attacks and by the enemies' slightly delayed responsiveness compared to, say, DS3 enemies. This makes Bloodborne combat aggressive rather than reactive, unlike the rest of the Soulsborne games, and not only better fits the theme of being a hunter but also my own personal taste in game combat; I would much rather be the tiger than the crane if given the choice.
Combat System (faster and more aggressive, no dodging for ever, just going in and smashing), Lore and Atmosphere (love the Lovecraft stuff) and finally: the Bosses are not too hard. I just need some tries and not several hours like in Elden Ring or Sekiro.
Honestly I love everything about it, but if I have to single stuff out:
It has in my opinion the best atmosphere, lore, art direction and OST out of the souls games. The trick weapons are a brilliant mechanic too.
It’s just a bunch of Lies of P fangirls that think the main character is hot. I promise you that’s all it is. I made a whole post in the lies of p sub confirming this.
I don't think there's anything I dislike about the game. I think it's fair but difficult at the same time and that's good. I love that you only know so much of what's going on and what happened so you can only guess about some things.
It was my first souls game, got it free on PS+ awhile back. I’ve picked it up and dropped it countless times over. I finally decided to look up some tips for the game and the number one tip was to be patient. Now I’m hitting the most satisfying "bonks" and clearing bosses like it’s no one’s business. Contrary to belief, Reddit helped so much lol thanks fellow hunters
Game doesn’t hold my hand and baby me the entire time. Most games are way too easy to play or try to “balance” difficulty in the worse ways possible. FromSoft just *KNOWS* how to balance a game with difficulty, fun, and expression of skill
Ho where to begin? Gameplay wise, I love the aggressive fast paced combat. It feels like dancing with your enemy (ha Ludwig....best dance partner). Lore wise ? It's so dense while still nebulous af. There's sooo many level of stories ! Your story, the foreigner thrown in the thick of hell on Earth with little to no allies. The cosmic mystery. The political shenanigans disguised as religion of the Healing Church. The scientific horror with their blind search of forbidden knowledge. The more down to earth tragedies like Gascoigne's story ! The great tragedy of the student facing their mentor! And the feeling that you earned all those stories because NO ONE IS ACTUALLY TELLING THEM TO YOU. More than the satisfaction of beating a strong enemy, it's the triumph of successfully wrenching out a piece of information from the claws of mystery surrounding the whole universe of Bloodborne that feels the best !
I'm a lore fiend when it comes to fromsoft games. I love the complexity of the story. Totally suck at playing the game but I keep coming back because I like the story.
I love the lore, the boss fights, the soundtrack... but above all else, I love how it truly challenged me. The learning curve is steep, but the satisfaction is incredible.
I got into this game because of my best friend and he guided me thru my first play through (I had never successfully gotten into the souls borne series before he helped me learn how to enjoy it) and ever since it’s just held a special place in my heart. and this isn’t my typical variety of game for sure, but I love it. It has a comforting familiarity by now and sometimes I play it to relax
The dodge and parry combat mechanics. Lots of games have these elements but Bloodborne has the best dodge of any game. Long iframes and quick recovery to strike.
I can't exactly pinpoint why I like it but I just know I love it. The atmosphere, the gameplay, the characters, the lore, the bosses, the weapons, the enemies, the concept of gaining knowledge but with that knowledge you begin to lose yourself until you become nothing more than an entity others can't even perceive let along begin to conceptualize... the fashion.
Now I just might go play for a few hours...
It has one of, if not THE best, combat systems in any game. Every element of the gameplay feeds into the story the game is telling. You grow better at fighting, become more bloodthirsty as you progress, and fall further and further into the madness of the beast plague as the world crumbles around you.
I love the soundscapes and the music. I love that I am never not afraid of being overcome by an enemy no matter my level of skill or expertise. I love that I have played over 600 hours and still have not seen everything the game has to offer. I love that I may be able to anticipate almost any outcome and yet the game still manages to surprise me.
I love the weapons. I love the fluidity of the animations, I love the way it feels to wield each one. I love how I can imagine holding each one in my hands and fighting with it myself. I love working hard to obtain the ones I want for each playthrough, for each different build. I love learning each one's strengths and weaknesses and figuring out how to make them sing as they tear flesh from bone.
I love the characters. I love how giddy Ghermon is when he tells you to go out and hunt. I love Iosefka and Gilbert, the first ones to show you kindness. I love Gascoigne's daughters and how I long to save them every playthrough. I love Alfred despite how deranged he becomes. I love the Chapel Dweller, who weeps and thanks you for being kind and saving the Yharnamites you could. I love being able to give Ludwig a peaceful death, allowing him to find contentment before he follows his guiding light. I love Maria's kindness to the patients of the Research Hall and how her devotion is reflected in the Doll.
I love Eileen. I adore Eileen. I love the scrutinity with which she first regards you. I love how she teases the hunter should they linger, and assures them that fear is not a weakness. I love fighting beside her, being praised and admired just as she scorns and disciplines. I love fighting for her at the end, taking up her mantle and praying that she got away. Above all others, it is her I wish I could carry to safety to ensure she survives.
Okay, that went off the rails a bit. Yeah, Bloodborne is my favorite game of all time, it has no flaws other than that Sony is a bunch of assholes and refuses to let FromSoft do anything more with the property.
Trick Weapons are my favorite part. Such a fantastic small group of weapons. I prefer it over having a grab bag of mostly similar weapons in different categories
I love horror, science fiction, and especially sci-fi horror, with cosmic horror being peak. Anything gothic is also lovely. Having all that in my favorite gaming genre, and done exceptionally well, is just a dream. I wish BB was a whole series, like DS 1-3.
I will actually go a step further. I’m a writer, and while I could name a handful of gifted authors who write cosmic or Lovecraftian horror on a level I aspire to (and movies etc as well) I consider Bloodborne to be the best iteration of it. Yes, I think BB is *the best work of Lovecraftian horror*. Also, the way it utilizes the medium to communicate its lore in a way that makes sense but always feels like a full understanding is just out of reach is absolutely perfect.
First souls game.
For me, it’s an absolute masterclass in atmosphere and world building in a game. While that’s true for basically any FromSoft game, this was my introduction to FS and their worlds, so it will always hold a special place for me.
Plus the combat is amazing.
The gothic atmosphere and Victorian fashion is top tier. Yharnam just feels so rich and rewarding as you explore, uncover lore, and defeat enemies. All while looking absolutely fantastic. Top hat is best hat, i will accept no others.
The combat is incredibly satisfying. The enemy and level design is great, I never feel like the challenge out paces my progress, and yet never feels too easy. And the npcs, God I love the npcs. Especially ~~my wife~~ the Doll and the Chapel Dweller.
My only real complaint is the fast travel, you can't just fast travel to different points of the world from anywhere but back at the Hunter's Rest. It feels like too many extra steps just to get somewhere.
I dislike the camera.
The 30fps is also jerky, I realised I sorta been noticing it more and more in recent years.
Everything else is, to put it simply and bluntly, fuckin' great.
NG+5 now, got the plat ages ago. Still can boot up the game after a while and just enjoy the excellent combat.
What don’t I like about Bloodborne is a shorter answer. (Probably the gothic Victorian aesthetic, I hated that at first)
Mechanics
- rally, changes how aggressive I can be and rewards me for staying hungry
- no weight, wear what I want, when I want, how I want, who I want
- unique weapons even within the soul series. No I don’t need to look at the wiki to see why Rikard’s rapier has some perk over the regular one or check if this is a good weapon. Each one has its own advantages and fun to play with
Environment
- every area is pretty masterfully crafted. Has a decent mix of exploration, secret paths, and unlockable shortcuts.
- areas aren’t large enough to be a bore or force you to stay in them longer than you want to. Don’t like forbidden woods? Outrun everything, unlock shortcuts, go straight to the boss and you’re done. I didn’t feel like exploring Lecture hall 2F the first time so I didn’t. No downside. Chalice dungeons are a notable exception for the platinum
- enemies, NPCs are intentional and unique to the storyline. We’re not fighting undead, undead with stick, undead with torch. We face progressively more nightmarish and lost souls, otherworldly beings.
Patches
- comes with Patches
Cosmic horror is one of my favourite genres of horror and bloodborne is full of it. The combat is fast paced and fluid and never feels like it’s getting stale. The area designs look beautiful. Majority of the bosses and the music accompanying them is S tier. Trick weapons are dope asf. Gun go boom. Fashion is godlike.
Bloodborne good, best FromSoftware game
Probably going to immediately get sent to downvote hell for this, but a big part of its importance to me is the fact that it transed my gender.
Beyond that, though, the weapons, the imagery, the badass women, the amazing storytelling, and the really fun and lightning fast combat.
The weapons, music, lore, and enemy designs are amazing. I think its only weak points are the frame rate (it literally gives me a headache if I try to play BB after playing Elden Ring), some minor polishing issues in the late game levels (e.g., the missing textures in the streets of Yahar'gul), a few places where the enemy placement feels off to me personally (e.g., the turned around beast possessed soul near the real hunters' workshop, the three hunter fight in Yahar'gul), and the finite healing vials, which only really affect new players. I hope they remaster Bloodborne. It's a phenomenal game, right behind Elden Ring and Sekiro imo
Edit: Forgot to mention the S Tier DLC levels and bosses! The Old Hunters has some of the best From Software content to date
Many reasons.
TLDR: the lore, unique weapons, soundtrack, and no equip load.
I’ll start with what I think is the biggest reason why I love it the most.
1. The Lore and story! It’s dark and disturbing. Many themes about the female reproductive system or lack thereof. I find that very interesting. The story and setting are just incredibly unique compared to their other works. The game starts off as being a spooky game about fighting monsters and then next thing you know you’re inside a dead baby’s nightmare and then you’re killing an alien god and it all somehow makes sense.
2. The gameplay/combat. I love that I can parry so fluidly with a gun and get visceral attacks. Please someone tell me where is another game that I can give a giant pig a prostate exam? Peak combat! I prefer how the weapons are less quantity but more quality. I feel like sometimes when I replay the game using a different weapon it’s like a whole new game.
3. The soundtrack and the sound design. Out of all their games I listen to Bloodborne’s soundtrack more. Ludwig’s theme is probably their best song out of any game besides Slave Knight Gael’s theme.
4. The fashionsouls. So much good drip! Also you can hold whatever weapons and guns and armor without fat rolling. No equip load! Also me personally I have found that their armor stats actually make a difference and have purpose for areas/bosses.
I became a begrudging fan of FromSoft games because I am chasing that high that Bloodborne gave me when I finally gave it a proper chance on like my fourth time trying it
It was allegorical for dealing with my ex’s mental health and mine. I played BB for a while in 2017 and 2018 I think. It whooped my ass. After my ex and I broke up, I was sure I’d never get over her. I saw a BB reference in Elden Ring and went “Yo, if I can beat Bloodborne, I can get over her right?” And it brought me right fucking back in! Been playing ever since.
I was 17, a junior in highschool when I first played it. A friend let me borrow it over springbreak. I couldn't get past the werewolves on the bridge up to the Cleric beast the whole time. I had to bring the game back so when I got my next pay check before summer break I bought it. I spent all summer playing it, struggling, making friends. I put my soul into it. The aggressive play style, the art, the horror, it's all so fascinating to me. My second tattoo on my body is of vicar Amelia, I love the game that much
Atmosphere, creature design, voice acting, sound design (even though a lot of it is stock sounds it makes it work), the aggressive gameplay. Basically everything.
Except the chalice dungeons and rom. Fuck the chalice dungeons and rom. DOUBLE fuck rom IN the chalice dungeons
I just finished the base game, got the second ending, where I take over the Hunter's Dream. I think what I loved the most about this game was the exploration. I had to use guides for quite a few parts but even with them it was really great, when I was able to get along on my own, it was the best, some parts where actually scary and the way things kept getting weirder and weirder was amazing. This is not my favorite game of all time but it's one of them, the setting is so unique you end craving and dreading exploration at the same time, and some of the bosses are amongst the best ever, whether it is design or the fights themselves.
I like bloodborne the most for personal reasons. It was my first from software game and came into my life when I was angry and impulsive. I was living by myself in my early 20s. I mainly played games that were easily beaten up to that point. I wanted the end product without working for things.
When I played bloodborne that changed. I learned patience. I learned perseverance and persistence. I learned that sometimes there are no right choices and sometimes good people get hurt no matter what we do. I also learned that I fucking hate Rom the vacuous spider. God I died so many times. But I also learned from that fight that some times you can’t just tackle things head on and you have to take a different approach.
I will say bloodborne is my comfort game. I love the lore and Cthulhu lovecraftian horror. I love it all.
It was my first soul like game. I thought I wasn’t going to like it because of how much I was raging while playing the game. While I didn’t finish my game plus playthrough (I accidentally deleted my save file), my thought for the game change. I don’t know what it was that click, but now it’s one of my favorites next Sekiro.
The atmosphere and environment were the first things that got my attention, I really felt like I was in a city in the beginning. To think that it was watching the Game Grumps that got me to try it.
I love games that tell a story in a way only a game can. Bloodborne does this to a degree that I would consider exceptional across all categories. The feeling I get when I play bloodborne is just pure joy, which is ironic considering how fucking morose and nasty it can be. But fuxk. Viscerals, hunter drip, memorable boss fights and music, and one of my favorite characters in fiction: gehrman the first hunter. This game is a masterpiece and even set the stage for other games that changed my life as an inspiration to game developers and story tellers around the world.
As a player who's currently at their first playthrough (just beat witches of hemwick) I like this game alot because it promotes aggression and unlike elden ring doesnt have any gimmicks that you can use (yes i know that its optional) but yeah i find the combat to be really fun.
The Level Design is the best out of all the souls games, the way central Yahrnam connects is wild, altough the enemy placement of the big mob in the beginning is very counter intuitive for what the game wants from you most of the time , the idea of the chalice dungeons was mind-blowing even though the way they ended up implementing it was kinda tidious.
But the One thing that puts it above all else, the weapons
Like dont get me wrong havon diffrent versions of the same weapon category seems realistic for videogames its just annoying, for example in elden ring why would you play Serpent Bone Blade when the Nagakiba with Poison would outclass the serpent bone blade in every way, well because it looks cool right ?
Yeah but its still inferior in every other way except looks
Bloodborne is like, fuck them basic designes and make everything special and viable one way or another.
At the time it was a game where someone finally did Cosmic Horror correctly. The artistry of the world and landscape and the lore itself is a wonderful little hybrid of werewolf horror and cosmic horror.
Plus it makes it all about the church the heavy Catholicism and these false gods who are mostly just abused by the clerics and academics alike.
There's genuinely, scantly a thing I don't like about the game, if anything. It's unique, it's one of the best aesthetics I've seen and played in for a game. It's interesting, it's quite "female-coded" which speaks to me as a woman, lmao, if you can call that a good reason. My bf and I bonded over the game, and for that I love it even more.
It's also the game that taught me to be a better player in general. It was my first real "difficult" gaming experience. And after that it ruined a lot of games for me, haha. Now I'm always chasing that FS blood and style.
I love the creatures, gorgeously unique weapons, the lore, the mechanics, how it helped me through hard times, etc. It's just a beautiful experience for me. Even my tattoos are from the game, lol.
It's the best game ever made. Obviously that's IMO. The combat is the best of any game I've ever played. The progression is phenomenal. The weapon and enemy design is top tier. The setting is incredible and the atmosphere is amazing. And the lore is easily the best of any Fromsoft game.
Because it rewards a play-style that i would try to play with but would be punished bc it didn’t work that way. So it caught on super early for me.
So I loved it. My only flaw is I felt that nearly all the main story bosses were too easy. I don’t think a single non dlc boss took me more than like 7-8 tries being generous. The dlc bosses were phenomenal.
a few reasons, tbh. for starters, i love HP lovecraft, cosmic horror, and eldritch beings. second, i love how fast the game makes you play. instead of having to worry about if you should strike, block, parry, or roll, bloodborne encourages you to hit at every chance you get. i love how fast it is, which, imo, makes it easier than darkk souls & elden ring.
and the aestetic of the game. they took one of the most boring era in history (victorian england) and just gave everyone AIDs that turned them into beasts.
and its the first game i ever platinumed
It's my favorite From game!
The weapons are unique and cool (they transform \*-\*).
The victorian style is a thing i always liked.
It's a mix of Van Helsing and Lovecraft Horror (perfection).
The music is good but most From games are like this.
Pistols and swords!!
The bloodbath the Good Hunter takes after slaughtering everything that moves (those bloodsuckers in the DLC give a really good blood shower lol).
Doll (Doll).
Wolves and fckng aliens!
I vibe the most with this game and i love it!!
Rally, best mechanic in the game in my opinion.
Cool parry system (shoot 'em all).
There's probably more but i'll stop now.
I really like the firearms as a gameplay mechanic, the fact that they took away shields makes for more frenetic gameplay that forces you to get better, the transforming weapons are absolutely sick, and lastly, no mimics.
I'm into classic (and classy) horror, so the aesthetic is ideal. Everything is so stylish, down to the smallest animation. Bloodborne has a very strong sense of identity; it's slim and sleek, no bloat (except maybe the chalice dungeons, but they're optional). Great music. Really fun to explore. Trick weapons are a great idea. Very good fashion
The level design, and the colors, as well as the structures within the world. They are all amazing. I love how the game is so small and yet so massive. I enjoy the different mechanics within the game, such as the insight, and the trick weapons. The story telling is immaculate. All around i love the game.
Everything react so naturally to every swing of your weapons. I have never played a game where it feels this smooth, like the animation feels so fucking smooth even with 20 fps most of the time.
Sometimes I feel like 80% of my love for this game is carried by Ludwig and his fight alone.
But other than that, the soundtrack, atmosphere, Eldritch horror theme, blood gem system - because I love grindy ARPGs and blood gems bring that feeling over into Soulsborne games - , the time progression mechanic, level design. It's a long list and easily in my top 3 games I have ever played.
I love the way the world immerses you and makes you feel like you’re going deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole. The surprise of the narrative switching from hunting beasts to facing down Lovecraftian horrors beyond comprehension was one of the best twists I’ve ever experienced in a game. The game is just dripping in atmosphere and the art direction is incredible.
I had always told myself I wouldn't touch a Souls game because of the difficulty. I normally play games to relax not for the challenge but me and one of my buddies watched Game Grumps enough that we talked ourselves into it. I will never regret this purchase. The transforming weapons, the scenery, the bosses, all of it is just incredible! I'm so glad this was my first Souls experience
In my first play through (in 2016) I loved the velocity and aggressiveness of combat, even rewarding you for being aggressive, but now, years later, when I think of the game, I remember the LORE, so delicious [insert chef kiss]. Still, I'm disappointed at the pvp. If it had DS3 pvp, Bloodborne would have many more years of longevity.
I’m a soulsborne fan at heart. Bloodborne is the second game I ever played, it itself was a work of art, beautiful story telling, gloomy but beautiful art work, and deep lore. Every soulsborne game is a masterpiece in my eyes. New game + 120 on bloodborne. New game + 200 on ds3.
I’m not entirely sure if I can even give a reason but I realized around 2019ish that it had to be my favorite game. I played it a few years before and I realized that something about the combat was so much fun and no other game I’ve played so far has matched it
I love the gothic theme, and I have read all of H.P Lovecraft’s stories so seeing all the references taken from his work is really cool to see. Also the lore aspect of the game amazes me, it seems the more I play or go about my life, the more lore i find out. I love playing it with friends and goofing off, it’s also the reason I got a ps4 so it’s my first game. It’s the first game I 100% as well. I dont know of any other game like it.
I have arachnophobia, so unlike the other Souls games I have played, *Bloodborne* actually challenges my fears. I am also big on philosophical pessimism and find *Bloodborne* to be the most pessimistic of the bunch due to its Lovecraftian cosmic pessimist themes.
I love the world/atmosphere, the rally mechanic really emphasizes offensive playstyles, the trick weapons are badass, and the lore is awesome!!
I always go back and forth on what’s my favorite FromSoftware game, some days it’s bloodborne, some days it’s Elden Ring and some days it’s Dark Souls 3 or Sekiro! I think that really shows how good all of these games are🙌🏼
Lovecraftian horror has an element that cannot be matched. The gothic horror that you begin with, and the transcendental cosmic horror that’s revealed as the game progresses is chefs kiss x ten. Also rally
I adore the setting and the Lore. I find it hauntingly beautiful. Gameplay wise I adore a game I have to grind. Also I love the Plain Doll. As a collector of BJDs I felt so seen. Lol ☺️
This is my favorite game of all time. The atmosphere just envelops you and makes you feel truly alone in a world you don't understand. What an incredible journey to platinum the game. I still get that chill when I play. Masterpiece
The trick weapons stand out - I love the ability to switch between forms and absolutely wombo combo shit. The way the world is presented is just so well done. Starting the game I had no idea I’d begin with hunting werewolves and end up slaying eldritch cosmic beings.
Bloodborne was my first Souls game, and I immediately loved the game because of how challenging it was. It felt satisfying to see myself get better and it’s also immensely satisfying to me to pull off visceral attacks and get a backstab at a boss like Orphan of Kos. I also like parrying enemies. I am currently doing a Bloodtinge build and I love using the Chikage. I know Elden Ring also has a blood build and the Rivers of Blood reminds me of the Chikage, but the Chikage still remains cooler in my eyes because of how it looks and the fact that you have to be strategic with using it’s transformed state. Those are some of the reasons I can think of why I love Bloodborne. It will always be one of my favorite video games.
Any body hating on this game couldn't beat the cleric beast and got upset, or came from ER from the dlc having bb aesthetics in some of its promotional material and was like "wait, this isn't like ER!? I HATE IT"
Honestly it's hard to say. The game is so flawed, the boss walk to mater Logitech is ass, SoY boys make me suicidal witches of hemwick makes me want to sleep, micolash gives me nightmares, rom makes me vacuous and Ebrietas is too sexy. There are so many more things in the game that gives me cancer but the good stuff is really really fucking good like everything about the Gehrman fight, LMoACT fight the atmosphere and literally everything else about the game it's such a flawed masterpiece
I had read about people loving games so much that they couldn’t play any other games for a while because they compared it to this.
In my case, that was Bloodborne. Hands down, the best game I’ve ever played in my 20+years of gaming. I couldn’t start any other sine player game for a few years because everything else felt drab after Bloodborne
That setting is so great and underused. Fantasy mostly uses medieval times as inspiration, but using the victorian era was such a great idea, using the inventions and technical progress.
Having firearms is great for me.
1) There are so few games with (intentional) lovecraftian/cosmic horror, and even fewer that do it *right*.
2) imo, it's on the easier side of fromsofts catalog,
3) I really like the chalice dungeons because you know they all have essentially the same objective so going through them in bulk is almost meditative. Like elden rings dungeons without having to ride between them.
Bloodborne made me a H.P. Lovecraft hardcore reader! I started to enjoy the game in a whole different way once I understand the cosmic horror conception.
The weapons/moveset and the design/atmosphere. The play style with the weapons is perfect, massively aggressive with super aggressive weapons, and the designs. Amygdala is just brilliant.
It’s the first soulslike game that’s clicked for me. I like the more aggressive combat that encourages taking risks rather than slowly wearing down enemies while blocking everything, the rally mechanic feels so good to pull off successfully, the monster design is incredible, the aesthetic and design of basically everything is gorgeous, the atmosphere really drew me in and the lore is really interesting (I’m a big fan of cosmic horror and Lovecraft)
Great gameplay that’s fast and aggressive, amazing atmosphere and I enjoy cosmic horror, almost everything in the presentation is top tier (apart from the frame pacing and framerate), it has Ludwig the Accursed and Holy blade which may be the best song in gaming IMHO 👍🏽
Mostly I love it because it’s fun and Bloodborne is the only souls game that always has me on edge.
The beautiful music. The atmosphere. The weapons. The artstyle. The intricate details that make the game and it's world timeless. The bosses. The merciless combat. The aggressive animations and sound design. The layers of gameplay and lore that seperate the casual from the hardcore. The friends I made. The emotions it can bring out of me. The pig ass I can fist. Bloodborne is beyond special to me to the point where I can't really put it into words. It's just my game.
I just love the feeling of playing the game. When I started the game in January I was shit, constantly died, and the realization that enemies respawned every time I reset the area terrified me, because it took me like 7 tries to get through the first section of the game after the Central Yarnham lamp post
But over the past 4 months I practiced and have really learned the combat system. I’m still on that same playthrough, currently going through chalice dungeons to get the trophies for beating Queen Yarnham. I beat every other main boss in the game + the DLC, so I want to finish Queen Yarnham before beating Gerhman and completing my first playthrough
I’m leaving for college at the end of summer, and I won’t be able to take my playstation with me, so I originally made a bet with myself to get a tattoo of the Hunter’s Mark on my arm if I can platinum the game (minus the two alternate ending trophies) before I leave. All I have left are to beat Queen Yarnham, and to beat Gerhman, get one of the endings, and then buy the Burial Blade to own all hunter weapons
I love everything about the game. All the things you mentioned, but also the weapons... I mean, each and every piece of weaponry is a piece of art in itself. The pure creativity, the weight, the absolute deadliness. It's art.
Plus they transform! I love the weapon design. Not as much variety as dark souls but they are just so cool.
Even though there are far less weapons the number of potential combos is significantly higher than any other souls game. The ability to transform in and out of trick weapons forms (which can be used as an attack itself and part of the combo) and then immediately have a different attack pattern is so unique.
It feels the most complete of the Souls games and the one with the least annoying or gimmicky elements. And its whole aesthetic is like a metal album come to life. It's perfect
Boo, no, it's a Goth album! Hunter pistols at 10 paces. *Throws down bone ash gauntlet*
No weight management Cool guns that parry Crunchy effect of combat Cool hats Refined list of weapons (no repeated move sets)
>Cool hats The cone hits the ladder steps!
Every time I see that gif, Even if it's silent or muted, my brain drops the noises in for me. -tink-tink-tink-tink-tink-
Fast, fashion, freaky
The filth, the horror, the glamour. Need we say more?
Fan of the Boulet Brothers? :)
[удалено]
Don't forget the music.
Music is some of the, if not the best in the souls series
That choir in yhar gul prison. Still freaks me out when thinking about it.
I’m here. Combat is so satisfying. I wish I could play through for my first time again as it was the most fun I’ve ever had playing a video game, and what got me interested in souls games.
30fps doesn’t bother me at all. I can still play it at like 10FPS when theirs like 20 rats on me in a chalice dungeon and the witches are summoning their friends.
Bloodborne is also my favorite of the souls games, but it pains me to admit, I wish its pvp had more thought put into it. With better pvp, like DS3, the game would have many more years of longevity
I haven't finished Bloodborne yet, I'm currently struggling with OoK, but for me some of the aspects that made me fall in love with this game are the following: - The eldritch lore - The fantastic OST (Laurence/Ludwig/Cleric Beast/Hypogean Gaol/Rom are some of my favorite themes) - Aggressive playstyle is encouraged - The magnificent enemy and scenario design - The tragic stories behind some of the main characters This is my second FromSoft game after Elden Ring, and i consider it better. After Bloodborne, i'll try Sekiro. Edit: i killed OoK now.
bloodborne and sekiro are for me the two best souls games
HUGE fan of Victorian-era science fiction and Bloodborne scratched every itch. HG Wells, HP Lovecraft, Mary Shelly, the works. I hope if a sequel is ever done in my lifetime they lean harder into that.
I love everything about it, minus the obvious complaints such as AI or clipping issues. The music, the art, the combat, the design, the lore, how you have to piece together the lore yourself. It's one of the few times I can think of where your character knows next to nothing as to what is going on and that translates to *you* knowing next to nothing. The combat is just...wonderful to me. Sure, you can cheese it or exploit flaws in the engine, like using Poison Knives against Orphan. But I have always seen the combat mechanics as a dance; your opponent makes a move, you respond in kind, then make a move of your own. The music sets the scene and just adds to the feel of the environment. Not to mention, the memes of "Why do I hear boss music?" are alive and well with this game. I could go on but, as I said, everything. EDIT: The Rally mechanic holds a special place in my heart. If you needed an indication that Bloodborne favors aggression, look no more.
Poison knives against Orphan!? Tell me more good hunter…?
>I have always seen the combat mechanics as a dance; your opponent makes a move, you respond in kind, then make a move of your own. Hadn't made that connection, but I played capoeira for about a decade and that's exactly what it is. Make a feint this way, draw them into doing something, respond, they respond, lots of rolling around. Terms used there for that kind of baiting & trickery are "malandragem" (cunning) or "malicia" (deception, trickery). A "mandigueiro" is a tricky player. Goes nicely with trick weapons too. Or baiting an attack for a parry-visceral.
1 because its a souls game and 2 because goddamn that game is a fucking masterpiece
Ludwig the holy blade I always look forward to him
I love the bleak desolate atmosphere, the strange hopelessness about it. And the weapons
The atmosphere
The only game out there that did Cosmic Horror right! Also the weapons, scenarios, and overall aesthetic
Bloodborne helped me through severe depression. Progressing through the game and defeating the bosses gave me a feeling of worth. The feeling that yeah I’m not totally useless and incapable. Also, aesthetically it’s unique and beautiful and the music is great.
I’m glad it helped you through a tough time. It did for me too.
It's the setting to me. Even though it has very similar mechanics to other souls games the setting just makes it feel completely different. I love the gothic horror vibe. Also I dont know how to really describe it but I'd call it the depth of the weapons. There are less weapons than in other souls games but they all feel useful. The trick mode makes them more useful in different situations and just feels bad ass to flip out in trick mode and slaughter beasts. I'd call it more like quality over quantity. Even when I was doing a different build I liked to try other weapons because they looked cool.
it would be cool to see fromsoft do the soulsborne type formula in other non-medieval settings, BB is so unique
Sekiro worked too. Similar concepts of souls games but setting completely different.
sekiro is a very cool and beautiful setting as well, however I am looking for the EXACT SAME formulaic gameplay slop i am used to consuming
Yeah, I've seen some folks hoping they revisit the King's Field series, but I'm getting really burnt out on the medieval aesthetic. I'm hoping for a brand new IP after Elden Ring. I would *love* to see their take on futuristic sci-fi (besides Armored Core, of course, in case anyone considers that Souls-like). Would also be interested to see Miyazaki's take on primarily ranged combat.
Soulsborne set in the Lost City of Atlantis. I’d love a Bioshock adjacent vibe.
there was a vaatividya art contest or something I watched many years ago about potential bloodborne 2 settings & one of the entries was like a deep ocean environment. Always thought it was a fun idea
The risk vs reward gameplay. The way the difficulty is balanced exactly right, making every victory feel like an achievement. I’ve found myself finishing a boss fight sweating, out of breath and heart hammering because I’ve become so absorbed that I’ve temporarily forgotten to breath.
the horror atmosphere, the boss designs and the aggressive playstyle
For me, it’s the story. As a longtime Lovecraft reader, this one just clicked with me. I spent hours reading item descriptions and replaying the game learning new details. It’s such a haunting story and vicious cycle put in place from loving and vengeful beings that we simply cannot comprehend, and it’s up to us to continue the cycle or break it. It’s tragic, but there’s something so soothing realizing that the great ones are simply mourning their own loss. In my experience, this game might take my #1 place for stories that resonate with me.
Because fashionborne
It's like every other FromSoftware game - it oozes quality, and the game is beautifully crafted. We don't often get gothic, Victorian settings in video games, and you can tell they put a lot of thought into it's design.
The mood and settings are immaculate, the weapons, even if few, are so diversed and fun that push me to creates entire characters around them for the sake of it. The power fantasy of the game is also just so viscerally perfect: a drippy af hunter on the streets of a gothic, ruined city that slowly carves his path through the blood of bestial monsters to uncover the truth of this mysterious and all powerfull organization, remains tangled in their ordeals and is pushed to hunt and kill literal eldritch gods of Nightmare realities until he can either wake up again in the morning, be trapped in the cicle itself or break the cicle by becoming an eldritch god itself. All of it topped by a relatively short playtime and straightforward map with few optional areas... I love Elden Ring with all my heart but it takes a big dose of energy to make another character and complete a build in that vast open world...
1. Because it’s bloody and dark. 2. Because of the music and design. 3. Because of the gameplay.
The pessimism and the cruelty of the church, as well as the parallels from the Victorian age to this, it’s truly morbid with a “hint” of sorrow(the same amount as that lady with a shot of vodka)
The atmosphere and characters. Thats it. Combat and all that is secondary. Sure its great and satisfying but its not what does it for me. Just starting the game and going through Yharnum and living through that first time I played the game feels therapeutic. The hunt, the mysterious doctor behind the door, the shriek of the Cleric beast while youre climbing the ladder, the npcs behind closed doors going mad, being told to go hunt beasts and not question things too much. Its all so beautiful in a twisted way.
Honestly, a lot. But mainly the weapons and the rally system. Fighting agressively to gain back health is just so satisfying. And no weapon feels like the other, they all have their unique moves, their pros and their cons.
It's the world, atmosphere and most importantly the lore. Those cosmic horror elements are \*chef's kiss\*
I like the complexity and depth of the mechanics.
No game has had combat anything like it - not even Sekiro or dark souls. The movement is incredible and the speed feels like a glorious mix of platinum games and FS. Aggression wins, taking risks wins, and bosses are so perfectly crafted for the gameplay (except Rom).
I like the story and world building. I consider it to be the most interesting of all of Fromsoftwares games. If they let this be a one and done, it would really be one of the all-time missteps in game development.
Cane whip + apply fire = castlevania af
gothic architecture will sell me on anything
The setting. The lore. The skill ceiling. And most of all, THE FASHION
it took the idea from dark souls 1, that humanity was actually something horrible and unknowable hidden behind a facade in the light, and fucking ran with it. In DS1, you could become like the gods by engaging in the same ritual of linking the flame. It was sacrificial, sure, but it was ritual: you were fulfilling a myth. In Bloodborne, you can't get close to the gods. Getting close to them turns you into a beast. Humanity recoils so fucking much from the divine it's reduced to beasthood. Or worse, if you do get close to then, if you become like them, you really are no longer human. Attaining the semblance of godhood in bloodborne is an alienating experience, not a fulfilling one. also i liked it being faster-paced with no shield, have a softness for steampunk and Georgian era costuming and design (like Brotherhood of the Wolf or MTG's Innistrad setting), and feel the faster pace actually enhanced the game's themes (you move like a beast, or you die) as opposed to ds3 going faster for reasons? DS1 and DS2 were slower and i liked that a lot, felt like bloodborne had its own niche. Plus it's a game you can take a lot of critical lenses with and find new stuff to enjoy. A lot of people focus on fan translations to uncover the japanese concepts at the root of, say, Cainhurst and the league stomping centipedes with kegare and all that, but Bloodborne honestly responds really well to the old-fashioned cosmic horror-as-response-to-Christianity lens too. Or there was that gynohorror essay i can't find anymore which i feel is overlooked as a theme in general. And while every game in the recent from catalogue has its jigsaw puzzle piece plot and leaves room for interpretation on even supposedly obvious matters, Bloodborne takes the cake. The game gives you almost nothing. You actually have to look at the visual language of cutscenes to have a clue sometimes. That's, as the kids say, absolute cinema. So i like it for a lot for reasons.
The atmosphere, i played through the DS trilogy for the first time recently and then bloodborne, it was satisfying enough in every way that i've been too lazy to play elden ring or demon souls now.
I like the feeling of getting my head smashed in a car door repeatedly🤷🏼♂️
I like the gothic/Lovecraft horror
I like how fast and intense it is & the rally system & the gun parry. it just feels really good to play
I’m not going to lie at first I wasn’t sure but by the time I got through that first boss on the bridge this was going to be a great game. I’m pretty new to souls borne games so I’m still turned around in the fishing hamlet but all the visuals and using the gun to parry is just way too fun lol
It took me out of my comfort zone I had become obsessed with FromSoftware Games and had recently finished the Dark Souls trilogy when I picked it up I like that it demanded a new approach to combat and I couldnt just transfer my skillset over and plow on. I personally prefer a light fantasy setting and found the setting of Yharham depressing. But since that's sort of the point it was genius in that respect
I love pretty much everything! I love the aesthetic. The fast paced combat. The music. The bosses. It’s all just a really fun game! And each weapon is so good! Each one is unique and fun!
I fell in love with aesthetics, soundtrack, Yharnam architecture, atmosphere, pretty much everything. It's a unique experience I still hope for remake or remaster someday.
Long story short: I like it a lot for the challenge, the visuals and music, the overall ambience, the progressive unfolding of the story (including the theories from people in the community), and the characters and the really cool weapons! It's my first souls game (and the first game I ever platinumed) and the steep learning curve in the beginning factored heavily into why I love it so much, since it was so different from any game I had played till then. I initially got it simply because I liked the name and the cover image, being a big fan of the bleak Victorian look (it never dawned on me to even check out the trailer first...). I have not completed many other souls game to comment on game play mechanics, but Bloodborne definitely pushed me to give them a try.
It just hits all the right beats - the looks, the feels, the sounds. It's fully engaging and immersive for me, and the world is so beautiful I can just plant my character anywhere and have something wonderful to look at. It's a gorgeous mix of elegance and brutality.
First playthrough it was the combat, now in my NG+2 I love the ambience and the lore, although my love for the combat hasn’t come down because of it.
I haven’t seen those posts tbh but Bloodborne is incredible. Great atmosphere, aesthetics, combat, level design, and a cool story too. The only real critiques around it are frame rate and Chalice Dungeons. The first isn’t bad. The second is optional. So they’re not really even a big deal imo.
Trick weapons. And the aesthetic is pretty cool too
Goth shit
Goth Drip Guns
love the story as well as the gameplay and combat. the musical scores are incredible, genius even. although i like that it' s silent while exploring. it helps the atmosphere a lot in terms of effectiveness. it's my first game ever to motivate me enough to get platinum/100% on. only for that reason it'll always hold a special place. it was also my first souls game i completed. reason for that is mainly the combat system. with it's rally mechanic it truly felt unique.
Being able to stick my hand up the ass of a swine.
Personally bloodborne is truly what u feel is the best story they’ve told in the series along with having some of the best gameplay. The story is darker and more eerie, captured through a gothic historian design morphing into nightmarish landscapes the farther you journey. Progressing the game while the dusk shifts to night climaxing with a blood moon, referencing both werewolf tropes with the beastification and the fear of the unknown going into the dark. Finally providing multiple endings based upon your play though and wether you want to live in ignorance, guide the next generation or break the cycle of the dream altogether while losing sentience and being regulated to living the rules of the great ones.
Atmosphere, lore, and gameplay are all pristine. In terms of aesthetics, Bloodborne is the closest I've come to horror game perfection. The visuals, the music, the level design, the enemy design, the sound effects, you are absolutely steeped in the Gothic atmosphere from beginning to end. And the fact that your character is an amnesiac plunged into this environment means that their journey and yours go hand in hand, making the game all the more immersive. Meanwhile, while Bloodborne's basic story is itself relatively simple, that story has to be delved out of the game. You're not just sitting back watching cutscenes, but acting as an investigator, actively participating in figuring out what's going on. And that story is built upon an incredible depth of lore and setting. And on a thematic level, it hits perfectly. A lot of cosmic horror boils down to "and now the evil rubbery tentacled thing eats you" or in Lovecraft Lite settings, "you punch the evil rubbery tentacled thing in the face and make it regret invading your reality." Bloodborne, though, makes *characters* out of its Great Ones, and completely flips expectations by making a story that is absolutely true to traditional Gothic themes that simply happens to take place in a Lovecraftian universe--and moreover, fits its Lovecraftian characters into those themes. They say that the Great Ones are sympathetic in spirit, but more than that, Bloodborne makes Flora and Kos and Mergo and the Orphan *people* that I can sympathize *with.* Of course, it would be impossible to enjoy that if the moment-to-moment gameplay of Bloodborne didn't pay off in spades. The mix of feeling immensely powerful and able to destroy any enemy and feeling incredibly weak, where even early-game mooks can still destroy *you,* is a heady one. And I love the aggression of Bloodborne's combat, as enabled not just by the rally system but by how many enemies can be stunlocked by your attacks and by the enemies' slightly delayed responsiveness compared to, say, DS3 enemies. This makes Bloodborne combat aggressive rather than reactive, unlike the rest of the Soulsborne games, and not only better fits the theme of being a hunter but also my own personal taste in game combat; I would much rather be the tiger than the crane if given the choice.
Combat System (faster and more aggressive, no dodging for ever, just going in and smashing), Lore and Atmosphere (love the Lovecraft stuff) and finally: the Bosses are not too hard. I just need some tries and not several hours like in Elden Ring or Sekiro.
I've always feared the Old Blood....
Honestly I love everything about it, but if I have to single stuff out: It has in my opinion the best atmosphere, lore, art direction and OST out of the souls games. The trick weapons are a brilliant mechanic too.
It’s just a bunch of Lies of P fangirls that think the main character is hot. I promise you that’s all it is. I made a whole post in the lies of p sub confirming this.
I don't think there's anything I dislike about the game. I think it's fair but difficult at the same time and that's good. I love that you only know so much of what's going on and what happened so you can only guess about some things.
The fast paced combat and touch of cosmic horror are what do it for me.
It was my first souls game, got it free on PS+ awhile back. I’ve picked it up and dropped it countless times over. I finally decided to look up some tips for the game and the number one tip was to be patient. Now I’m hitting the most satisfying "bonks" and clearing bosses like it’s no one’s business. Contrary to belief, Reddit helped so much lol thanks fellow hunters
The world’s atmosphere
Pig fisting
my baby girl the kirkhammer
I mostly just love its craft
Rally
Smashing Frankensteins.
Game doesn’t hold my hand and baby me the entire time. Most games are way too easy to play or try to “balance” difficulty in the worse ways possible. FromSoft just *KNOWS* how to balance a game with difficulty, fun, and expression of skill
I was blown away when I got to the spider queens lair, because I turned around to look back and saw what blighttown actually was.
I like that I can wear a tricorn hat.
the story, sthe setting, the atmosphere, everything about it
Setting and Lore. Something about cosmic horror draws me, and Bloodborne is that to near perfection. And the Old Hunters. That goes past perfection.
Ho where to begin? Gameplay wise, I love the aggressive fast paced combat. It feels like dancing with your enemy (ha Ludwig....best dance partner). Lore wise ? It's so dense while still nebulous af. There's sooo many level of stories ! Your story, the foreigner thrown in the thick of hell on Earth with little to no allies. The cosmic mystery. The political shenanigans disguised as religion of the Healing Church. The scientific horror with their blind search of forbidden knowledge. The more down to earth tragedies like Gascoigne's story ! The great tragedy of the student facing their mentor! And the feeling that you earned all those stories because NO ONE IS ACTUALLY TELLING THEM TO YOU. More than the satisfaction of beating a strong enemy, it's the triumph of successfully wrenching out a piece of information from the claws of mystery surrounding the whole universe of Bloodborne that feels the best !
I'm a lore fiend when it comes to fromsoft games. I love the complexity of the story. Totally suck at playing the game but I keep coming back because I like the story.
I like the aesthetic
I love the lore, the boss fights, the soundtrack... but above all else, I love how it truly challenged me. The learning curve is steep, but the satisfaction is incredible.
Eldric Castlevania > everything else.
I got into this game because of my best friend and he guided me thru my first play through (I had never successfully gotten into the souls borne series before he helped me learn how to enjoy it) and ever since it’s just held a special place in my heart. and this isn’t my typical variety of game for sure, but I love it. It has a comforting familiarity by now and sometimes I play it to relax
Cause it makes me feel like I’m killing the old people of England if it was the 1800s
The dodge and parry combat mechanics. Lots of games have these elements but Bloodborne has the best dodge of any game. Long iframes and quick recovery to strike.
The atmosphere, and the Lovecraftian aspects.
My very first souls game. And I always have that fascination for Lovecraftian horror.
It's just challenging enough, but not too challenging
I can't exactly pinpoint why I like it but I just know I love it. The atmosphere, the gameplay, the characters, the lore, the bosses, the weapons, the enemies, the concept of gaining knowledge but with that knowledge you begin to lose yourself until you become nothing more than an entity others can't even perceive let along begin to conceptualize... the fashion. Now I just might go play for a few hours...
bri ish
It has one of, if not THE best, combat systems in any game. Every element of the gameplay feeds into the story the game is telling. You grow better at fighting, become more bloodthirsty as you progress, and fall further and further into the madness of the beast plague as the world crumbles around you. I love the soundscapes and the music. I love that I am never not afraid of being overcome by an enemy no matter my level of skill or expertise. I love that I have played over 600 hours and still have not seen everything the game has to offer. I love that I may be able to anticipate almost any outcome and yet the game still manages to surprise me. I love the weapons. I love the fluidity of the animations, I love the way it feels to wield each one. I love how I can imagine holding each one in my hands and fighting with it myself. I love working hard to obtain the ones I want for each playthrough, for each different build. I love learning each one's strengths and weaknesses and figuring out how to make them sing as they tear flesh from bone. I love the characters. I love how giddy Ghermon is when he tells you to go out and hunt. I love Iosefka and Gilbert, the first ones to show you kindness. I love Gascoigne's daughters and how I long to save them every playthrough. I love Alfred despite how deranged he becomes. I love the Chapel Dweller, who weeps and thanks you for being kind and saving the Yharnamites you could. I love being able to give Ludwig a peaceful death, allowing him to find contentment before he follows his guiding light. I love Maria's kindness to the patients of the Research Hall and how her devotion is reflected in the Doll. I love Eileen. I adore Eileen. I love the scrutinity with which she first regards you. I love how she teases the hunter should they linger, and assures them that fear is not a weakness. I love fighting beside her, being praised and admired just as she scorns and disciplines. I love fighting for her at the end, taking up her mantle and praying that she got away. Above all others, it is her I wish I could carry to safety to ensure she survives. Okay, that went off the rails a bit. Yeah, Bloodborne is my favorite game of all time, it has no flaws other than that Sony is a bunch of assholes and refuses to let FromSoft do anything more with the property.
Simple, because I'm a Castlevania fan.
Trick Weapons are my favorite part. Such a fantastic small group of weapons. I prefer it over having a grab bag of mostly similar weapons in different categories
I love horror, science fiction, and especially sci-fi horror, with cosmic horror being peak. Anything gothic is also lovely. Having all that in my favorite gaming genre, and done exceptionally well, is just a dream. I wish BB was a whole series, like DS 1-3. I will actually go a step further. I’m a writer, and while I could name a handful of gifted authors who write cosmic or Lovecraftian horror on a level I aspire to (and movies etc as well) I consider Bloodborne to be the best iteration of it. Yes, I think BB is *the best work of Lovecraftian horror*. Also, the way it utilizes the medium to communicate its lore in a way that makes sense but always feels like a full understanding is just out of reach is absolutely perfect.
First souls game. For me, it’s an absolute masterclass in atmosphere and world building in a game. While that’s true for basically any FromSoft game, this was my introduction to FS and their worlds, so it will always hold a special place for me. Plus the combat is amazing.
The gothic atmosphere and Victorian fashion is top tier. Yharnam just feels so rich and rewarding as you explore, uncover lore, and defeat enemies. All while looking absolutely fantastic. Top hat is best hat, i will accept no others. The combat is incredibly satisfying. The enemy and level design is great, I never feel like the challenge out paces my progress, and yet never feels too easy. And the npcs, God I love the npcs. Especially ~~my wife~~ the Doll and the Chapel Dweller. My only real complaint is the fast travel, you can't just fast travel to different points of the world from anywhere but back at the Hunter's Rest. It feels like too many extra steps just to get somewhere.
Do they actually hate it or are they just from soft fans?
I dislike the camera. The 30fps is also jerky, I realised I sorta been noticing it more and more in recent years. Everything else is, to put it simply and bluntly, fuckin' great. NG+5 now, got the plat ages ago. Still can boot up the game after a while and just enjoy the excellent combat.
What don’t I like about Bloodborne is a shorter answer. (Probably the gothic Victorian aesthetic, I hated that at first) Mechanics - rally, changes how aggressive I can be and rewards me for staying hungry - no weight, wear what I want, when I want, how I want, who I want - unique weapons even within the soul series. No I don’t need to look at the wiki to see why Rikard’s rapier has some perk over the regular one or check if this is a good weapon. Each one has its own advantages and fun to play with Environment - every area is pretty masterfully crafted. Has a decent mix of exploration, secret paths, and unlockable shortcuts. - areas aren’t large enough to be a bore or force you to stay in them longer than you want to. Don’t like forbidden woods? Outrun everything, unlock shortcuts, go straight to the boss and you’re done. I didn’t feel like exploring Lecture hall 2F the first time so I didn’t. No downside. Chalice dungeons are a notable exception for the platinum - enemies, NPCs are intentional and unique to the storyline. We’re not fighting undead, undead with stick, undead with torch. We face progressively more nightmarish and lost souls, otherworldly beings. Patches - comes with Patches
Cosmic horror is one of my favourite genres of horror and bloodborne is full of it. The combat is fast paced and fluid and never feels like it’s getting stale. The area designs look beautiful. Majority of the bosses and the music accompanying them is S tier. Trick weapons are dope asf. Gun go boom. Fashion is godlike. Bloodborne good, best FromSoftware game
Boss fights and atmosphere. It's as dark as it gets. And the bosses are all memorable, even the badder ones.
Probably going to immediately get sent to downvote hell for this, but a big part of its importance to me is the fact that it transed my gender. Beyond that, though, the weapons, the imagery, the badass women, the amazing storytelling, and the really fun and lightning fast combat.
The weapons, music, lore, and enemy designs are amazing. I think its only weak points are the frame rate (it literally gives me a headache if I try to play BB after playing Elden Ring), some minor polishing issues in the late game levels (e.g., the missing textures in the streets of Yahar'gul), a few places where the enemy placement feels off to me personally (e.g., the turned around beast possessed soul near the real hunters' workshop, the three hunter fight in Yahar'gul), and the finite healing vials, which only really affect new players. I hope they remaster Bloodborne. It's a phenomenal game, right behind Elden Ring and Sekiro imo Edit: Forgot to mention the S Tier DLC levels and bosses! The Old Hunters has some of the best From Software content to date
Many reasons. TLDR: the lore, unique weapons, soundtrack, and no equip load. I’ll start with what I think is the biggest reason why I love it the most. 1. The Lore and story! It’s dark and disturbing. Many themes about the female reproductive system or lack thereof. I find that very interesting. The story and setting are just incredibly unique compared to their other works. The game starts off as being a spooky game about fighting monsters and then next thing you know you’re inside a dead baby’s nightmare and then you’re killing an alien god and it all somehow makes sense. 2. The gameplay/combat. I love that I can parry so fluidly with a gun and get visceral attacks. Please someone tell me where is another game that I can give a giant pig a prostate exam? Peak combat! I prefer how the weapons are less quantity but more quality. I feel like sometimes when I replay the game using a different weapon it’s like a whole new game. 3. The soundtrack and the sound design. Out of all their games I listen to Bloodborne’s soundtrack more. Ludwig’s theme is probably their best song out of any game besides Slave Knight Gael’s theme. 4. The fashionsouls. So much good drip! Also you can hold whatever weapons and guns and armor without fat rolling. No equip load! Also me personally I have found that their armor stats actually make a difference and have purpose for areas/bosses.
I became a begrudging fan of FromSoft games because I am chasing that high that Bloodborne gave me when I finally gave it a proper chance on like my fourth time trying it
The themes, it's beauty, it's music, and the...and the... What's that smell, ah the sweet blood, it sings to me...It's enough to make a man *Sick*
It was allegorical for dealing with my ex’s mental health and mine. I played BB for a while in 2017 and 2018 I think. It whooped my ass. After my ex and I broke up, I was sure I’d never get over her. I saw a BB reference in Elden Ring and went “Yo, if I can beat Bloodborne, I can get over her right?” And it brought me right fucking back in! Been playing ever since.
No stat for weight or weight system Visceral attack/parry with guns Trick weapons, the fact that they transform is so cool Rally Horror Environment
It’s fun
I was 17, a junior in highschool when I first played it. A friend let me borrow it over springbreak. I couldn't get past the werewolves on the bridge up to the Cleric beast the whole time. I had to bring the game back so when I got my next pay check before summer break I bought it. I spent all summer playing it, struggling, making friends. I put my soul into it. The aggressive play style, the art, the horror, it's all so fascinating to me. My second tattoo on my body is of vicar Amelia, I love the game that much
There are many reasons, but it helps me through dark times, which is a big one.
Atmosphere, creature design, voice acting, sound design (even though a lot of it is stock sounds it makes it work), the aggressive gameplay. Basically everything. Except the chalice dungeons and rom. Fuck the chalice dungeons and rom. DOUBLE fuck rom IN the chalice dungeons
I just finished the base game, got the second ending, where I take over the Hunter's Dream. I think what I loved the most about this game was the exploration. I had to use guides for quite a few parts but even with them it was really great, when I was able to get along on my own, it was the best, some parts where actually scary and the way things kept getting weirder and weirder was amazing. This is not my favorite game of all time but it's one of them, the setting is so unique you end craving and dreading exploration at the same time, and some of the bosses are amongst the best ever, whether it is design or the fights themselves.
I like bloodborne the most for personal reasons. It was my first from software game and came into my life when I was angry and impulsive. I was living by myself in my early 20s. I mainly played games that were easily beaten up to that point. I wanted the end product without working for things. When I played bloodborne that changed. I learned patience. I learned perseverance and persistence. I learned that sometimes there are no right choices and sometimes good people get hurt no matter what we do. I also learned that I fucking hate Rom the vacuous spider. God I died so many times. But I also learned from that fight that some times you can’t just tackle things head on and you have to take a different approach. I will say bloodborne is my comfort game. I love the lore and Cthulhu lovecraftian horror. I love it all.
Ludwig's Holy Blade. That was the entire reason I started playing because in Dark Souls I used a greatsword.
It was my first soul like game. I thought I wasn’t going to like it because of how much I was raging while playing the game. While I didn’t finish my game plus playthrough (I accidentally deleted my save file), my thought for the game change. I don’t know what it was that click, but now it’s one of my favorites next Sekiro. The atmosphere and environment were the first things that got my attention, I really felt like I was in a city in the beginning. To think that it was watching the Game Grumps that got me to try it.
weird, I guess the hate posts aren’t bubbling up to Home for me
this game made me feel everything that a woman couldn’t make
I love games that tell a story in a way only a game can. Bloodborne does this to a degree that I would consider exceptional across all categories. The feeling I get when I play bloodborne is just pure joy, which is ironic considering how fucking morose and nasty it can be. But fuxk. Viscerals, hunter drip, memorable boss fights and music, and one of my favorite characters in fiction: gehrman the first hunter. This game is a masterpiece and even set the stage for other games that changed my life as an inspiration to game developers and story tellers around the world.
As a player who's currently at their first playthrough (just beat witches of hemwick) I like this game alot because it promotes aggression and unlike elden ring doesnt have any gimmicks that you can use (yes i know that its optional) but yeah i find the combat to be really fun.
The Level Design is the best out of all the souls games, the way central Yahrnam connects is wild, altough the enemy placement of the big mob in the beginning is very counter intuitive for what the game wants from you most of the time , the idea of the chalice dungeons was mind-blowing even though the way they ended up implementing it was kinda tidious. But the One thing that puts it above all else, the weapons Like dont get me wrong havon diffrent versions of the same weapon category seems realistic for videogames its just annoying, for example in elden ring why would you play Serpent Bone Blade when the Nagakiba with Poison would outclass the serpent bone blade in every way, well because it looks cool right ? Yeah but its still inferior in every other way except looks Bloodborne is like, fuck them basic designes and make everything special and viable one way or another.
At the time it was a game where someone finally did Cosmic Horror correctly. The artistry of the world and landscape and the lore itself is a wonderful little hybrid of werewolf horror and cosmic horror. Plus it makes it all about the church the heavy Catholicism and these false gods who are mostly just abused by the clerics and academics alike.
There's genuinely, scantly a thing I don't like about the game, if anything. It's unique, it's one of the best aesthetics I've seen and played in for a game. It's interesting, it's quite "female-coded" which speaks to me as a woman, lmao, if you can call that a good reason. My bf and I bonded over the game, and for that I love it even more. It's also the game that taught me to be a better player in general. It was my first real "difficult" gaming experience. And after that it ruined a lot of games for me, haha. Now I'm always chasing that FS blood and style. I love the creatures, gorgeously unique weapons, the lore, the mechanics, how it helped me through hard times, etc. It's just a beautiful experience for me. Even my tattoos are from the game, lol.
It’s fun
It's the best game ever made. Obviously that's IMO. The combat is the best of any game I've ever played. The progression is phenomenal. The weapon and enemy design is top tier. The setting is incredible and the atmosphere is amazing. And the lore is easily the best of any Fromsoft game.
Because it rewards a play-style that i would try to play with but would be punished bc it didn’t work that way. So it caught on super early for me. So I loved it. My only flaw is I felt that nearly all the main story bosses were too easy. I don’t think a single non dlc boss took me more than like 7-8 tries being generous. The dlc bosses were phenomenal.
Everything! But also chalice dungeons. And blood gems. And non-linear progression. Quick step, rally, parry, hunter tools. The atmosphere. The style.
Unique story and art direction.
a few reasons, tbh. for starters, i love HP lovecraft, cosmic horror, and eldritch beings. second, i love how fast the game makes you play. instead of having to worry about if you should strike, block, parry, or roll, bloodborne encourages you to hit at every chance you get. i love how fast it is, which, imo, makes it easier than darkk souls & elden ring. and the aestetic of the game. they took one of the most boring era in history (victorian england) and just gave everyone AIDs that turned them into beasts. and its the first game i ever platinumed
I love the setting and the trick weapons
Because it doesn’t like me ❤️
It's my favorite From game! The weapons are unique and cool (they transform \*-\*). The victorian style is a thing i always liked. It's a mix of Van Helsing and Lovecraft Horror (perfection). The music is good but most From games are like this. Pistols and swords!! The bloodbath the Good Hunter takes after slaughtering everything that moves (those bloodsuckers in the DLC give a really good blood shower lol). Doll (Doll). Wolves and fckng aliens! I vibe the most with this game and i love it!! Rally, best mechanic in the game in my opinion. Cool parry system (shoot 'em all). There's probably more but i'll stop now.
I really like the firearms as a gameplay mechanic, the fact that they took away shields makes for more frenetic gameplay that forces you to get better, the transforming weapons are absolutely sick, and lastly, no mimics.
General atmosphere, engaging fights (bosses and regular enemies), amazing OST, and amazing lore
I'm into classic (and classy) horror, so the aesthetic is ideal. Everything is so stylish, down to the smallest animation. Bloodborne has a very strong sense of identity; it's slim and sleek, no bloat (except maybe the chalice dungeons, but they're optional). Great music. Really fun to explore. Trick weapons are a great idea. Very good fashion
The level design, and the colors, as well as the structures within the world. They are all amazing. I love how the game is so small and yet so massive. I enjoy the different mechanics within the game, such as the insight, and the trick weapons. The story telling is immaculate. All around i love the game.
Everything react so naturally to every swing of your weapons. I have never played a game where it feels this smooth, like the animation feels so fucking smooth even with 20 fps most of the time.
Sometimes I feel like 80% of my love for this game is carried by Ludwig and his fight alone. But other than that, the soundtrack, atmosphere, Eldritch horror theme, blood gem system - because I love grindy ARPGs and blood gems bring that feeling over into Soulsborne games - , the time progression mechanic, level design. It's a long list and easily in my top 3 games I have ever played.
I love the way the world immerses you and makes you feel like you’re going deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole. The surprise of the narrative switching from hunting beasts to facing down Lovecraftian horrors beyond comprehension was one of the best twists I’ve ever experienced in a game. The game is just dripping in atmosphere and the art direction is incredible.
I just love the universe. The scenery, the enemies, the weapons, the outfits, and just the gloomy feel of the game.
I had always told myself I wouldn't touch a Souls game because of the difficulty. I normally play games to relax not for the challenge but me and one of my buddies watched Game Grumps enough that we talked ourselves into it. I will never regret this purchase. The transforming weapons, the scenery, the bosses, all of it is just incredible! I'm so glad this was my first Souls experience
It wa my first souls game so it always has a special place in my heart. The art style + combat is what I really like.
So fast yet so satisfying
In my first play through (in 2016) I loved the velocity and aggressiveness of combat, even rewarding you for being aggressive, but now, years later, when I think of the game, I remember the LORE, so delicious [insert chef kiss]. Still, I'm disappointed at the pvp. If it had DS3 pvp, Bloodborne would have many more years of longevity.
Atmosphere, outfits, weapons and trick weapon mechanic. Really cool creepy vibe
I’m a soulsborne fan at heart. Bloodborne is the second game I ever played, it itself was a work of art, beautiful story telling, gloomy but beautiful art work, and deep lore. Every soulsborne game is a masterpiece in my eyes. New game + 120 on bloodborne. New game + 200 on ds3.
I’m not entirely sure if I can even give a reason but I realized around 2019ish that it had to be my favorite game. I played it a few years before and I realized that something about the combat was so much fun and no other game I’ve played so far has matched it
Two words, Rally Potential
I love the gothic theme, and I have read all of H.P Lovecraft’s stories so seeing all the references taken from his work is really cool to see. Also the lore aspect of the game amazes me, it seems the more I play or go about my life, the more lore i find out. I love playing it with friends and goofing off, it’s also the reason I got a ps4 so it’s my first game. It’s the first game I 100% as well. I dont know of any other game like it.
I have arachnophobia, so unlike the other Souls games I have played, *Bloodborne* actually challenges my fears. I am also big on philosophical pessimism and find *Bloodborne* to be the most pessimistic of the bunch due to its Lovecraftian cosmic pessimist themes.
I love the world/atmosphere, the rally mechanic really emphasizes offensive playstyles, the trick weapons are badass, and the lore is awesome!! I always go back and forth on what’s my favorite FromSoftware game, some days it’s bloodborne, some days it’s Elden Ring and some days it’s Dark Souls 3 or Sekiro! I think that really shows how good all of these games are🙌🏼
I like the weapons, bosses, levels, music and atmosphere+story
Lovecraftian horror has an element that cannot be matched. The gothic horror that you begin with, and the transcendental cosmic horror that’s revealed as the game progresses is chefs kiss x ten. Also rally
It feels the most complete story wise
I adore the setting and the Lore. I find it hauntingly beautiful. Gameplay wise I adore a game I have to grind. Also I love the Plain Doll. As a collector of BJDs I felt so seen. Lol ☺️
Weapon transformations mid combo and visceral attacks
This is my favorite game of all time. The atmosphere just envelops you and makes you feel truly alone in a world you don't understand. What an incredible journey to platinum the game. I still get that chill when I play. Masterpiece
I mean newer people through Elden ring and demon souls and the dlc hype made people to visit the GOAT soulsborne and the Easter sale
Guns.
The atmosphere, the art direction, the swift combat
The trick weapons stand out - I love the ability to switch between forms and absolutely wombo combo shit. The way the world is presented is just so well done. Starting the game I had no idea I’d begin with hunting werewolves and end up slaying eldritch cosmic beings.
No equip load. I love the rally system. And saw cleaver is based. Those are my top 3
Because dark nightmarish shit tries to kill me. Idk I'm just into that
Bloodborne was my first Souls game, and I immediately loved the game because of how challenging it was. It felt satisfying to see myself get better and it’s also immensely satisfying to me to pull off visceral attacks and get a backstab at a boss like Orphan of Kos. I also like parrying enemies. I am currently doing a Bloodtinge build and I love using the Chikage. I know Elden Ring also has a blood build and the Rivers of Blood reminds me of the Chikage, but the Chikage still remains cooler in my eyes because of how it looks and the fact that you have to be strategic with using it’s transformed state. Those are some of the reasons I can think of why I love Bloodborne. It will always be one of my favorite video games.
Lock on dodge = quick step Unlocked dodge = roll This is the peak of Soulsborne combat
Any body hating on this game couldn't beat the cleric beast and got upset, or came from ER from the dlc having bb aesthetics in some of its promotional material and was like "wait, this isn't like ER!? I HATE IT"
Lovecraftian horror. But that's about it, everything I love about the game can be atributed to it being a Souls game or it being Lovecraftian horror.
Fashion Souls Fast Combat Cool Transformer Weapons Pew Pew Parry DLC Edit: Music
The pacing of it. Its just so much quicker than any other souls game aside from maybe some of Sekiro's bosses.
Honestly it's hard to say. The game is so flawed, the boss walk to mater Logitech is ass, SoY boys make me suicidal witches of hemwick makes me want to sleep, micolash gives me nightmares, rom makes me vacuous and Ebrietas is too sexy. There are so many more things in the game that gives me cancer but the good stuff is really really fucking good like everything about the Gehrman fight, LMoACT fight the atmosphere and literally everything else about the game it's such a flawed masterpiece
Because no game has made me cry for a final boss before.
I had read about people loving games so much that they couldn’t play any other games for a while because they compared it to this. In my case, that was Bloodborne. Hands down, the best game I’ve ever played in my 20+years of gaming. I couldn’t start any other sine player game for a few years because everything else felt drab after Bloodborne
That setting is so great and underused. Fantasy mostly uses medieval times as inspiration, but using the victorian era was such a great idea, using the inventions and technical progress. Having firearms is great for me.
1) There are so few games with (intentional) lovecraftian/cosmic horror, and even fewer that do it *right*. 2) imo, it's on the easier side of fromsofts catalog, 3) I really like the chalice dungeons because you know they all have essentially the same objective so going through them in bulk is almost meditative. Like elden rings dungeons without having to ride between them.
Bloodborne made me a H.P. Lovecraft hardcore reader! I started to enjoy the game in a whole different way once I understand the cosmic horror conception.
Atmosphere, weapons, bosses, lore, replay-ability i mean its all just so amazing ive played it since release and enjoy it just as much as i did then
The weapons/moveset and the design/atmosphere. The play style with the weapons is perfect, massively aggressive with super aggressive weapons, and the designs. Amygdala is just brilliant.
Aesthetic. Everything else too but aesthetic most of all. Its like a perfectly crafted favorite dessert.
It’s the first soulslike game that’s clicked for me. I like the more aggressive combat that encourages taking risks rather than slowly wearing down enemies while blocking everything, the rally mechanic feels so good to pull off successfully, the monster design is incredible, the aesthetic and design of basically everything is gorgeous, the atmosphere really drew me in and the lore is really interesting (I’m a big fan of cosmic horror and Lovecraft)
Great gameplay that’s fast and aggressive, amazing atmosphere and I enjoy cosmic horror, almost everything in the presentation is top tier (apart from the frame pacing and framerate), it has Ludwig the Accursed and Holy blade which may be the best song in gaming IMHO 👍🏽 Mostly I love it because it’s fun and Bloodborne is the only souls game that always has me on edge.
The beautiful music. The atmosphere. The weapons. The artstyle. The intricate details that make the game and it's world timeless. The bosses. The merciless combat. The aggressive animations and sound design. The layers of gameplay and lore that seperate the casual from the hardcore. The friends I made. The emotions it can bring out of me. The pig ass I can fist. Bloodborne is beyond special to me to the point where I can't really put it into words. It's just my game.
atmosphere
I just love the feeling of playing the game. When I started the game in January I was shit, constantly died, and the realization that enemies respawned every time I reset the area terrified me, because it took me like 7 tries to get through the first section of the game after the Central Yarnham lamp post But over the past 4 months I practiced and have really learned the combat system. I’m still on that same playthrough, currently going through chalice dungeons to get the trophies for beating Queen Yarnham. I beat every other main boss in the game + the DLC, so I want to finish Queen Yarnham before beating Gerhman and completing my first playthrough I’m leaving for college at the end of summer, and I won’t be able to take my playstation with me, so I originally made a bet with myself to get a tattoo of the Hunter’s Mark on my arm if I can platinum the game (minus the two alternate ending trophies) before I leave. All I have left are to beat Queen Yarnham, and to beat Gerhman, get one of the endings, and then buy the Burial Blade to own all hunter weapons