Bloodborne

[OL]

I do have one complaint on the aesthetic side though... there's a pretty distinct dearth of characters so far. I mean, sure, you can knock on doors and get canned, singular responses in some places, but there aren't many characters I've come across so far that actually have names, that actually have backstories, that actually have these things cleverly revealed through implicative dialogue and item descriptions (kind of a trademark of the Souls series).
I mean... where is all that stuff?
I've been exploring like mad while I stockpile on blood vials, and I've come across surprisingly few actual characters out there.
Granted, I've only beaten three main bosses, explored the labyrinth and fought some in there, and I still haven't moved beyond the checkpoints shown on the first gravestone in the Hunter's Dream (with one exception, where I ventured further than I should have). So it's not really a place to judge it concretely of course. But I've got a lot of hours under my belt already, and I'm just a bit surprised at the lack of major characterization and lore so far. It's all a little hollow up to this point.
Hopefully that picks up.

[AnimeGamer183]

So I have some questions about the game. Does it have difficulty settings (easy, normal, hard, prepare to die mode etc)? How does it compare to the Souls series in general (and of course difficulty and game play wise)? I'll probably hold off on it for a little while longer, im still trying to make sure its a game i will enjoy.

[Henry Spencer]

I do have one complaint on the aesthetic side though... there's a pretty distinct dearth of characters so far. I mean, sure, you can knock on doors and get canned, singular responses in some places, but there aren't many characters I've come across so far that actually have names, that actually have backstories, that actually have these things cleverly revealed through implicative dialogue and item descriptions (kind of a trademark of the Souls series).
I mean... where is all that stuff?
I've been exploring like mad while I stockpile on blood vials, and I've come across surprisingly few actual characters out there.
Granted, I've only beaten three main bosses, explored the labyrinth and fought some in there, and I still haven't moved beyond the checkpoints shown on the first gravestone in the Hunter's Dream (with one exception, where I ventured further than I should have). So it's not really a place to judge it concretely of course. But I've got a lot of hours under my belt already, and I'm just a bit surprised at the lack of major characterization and lore so far. It's all a little hollow up to this point.
Hopefully that picks up.

Yeah, I agree with that so far. I beat the first boss, so how far along are you? A couple of bosses after that or not that far along? Guess we'll see how it comes together the more we play. Hopefully more characters appear further in?

I'm guessing the gravestones in the central hub are other areas/stages, if so, I'm still on the 1st area of the game at five hours in to the game and not come across the 2nd boss yet, which is most impressive. At least the length will be good for me, since I explore these games like crazy.

So I have some questions about the game. Does it have difficulty settings (easy, normal, hard, prepare to die mode etc)? How does it compare to the Souls series in general (and of course difficulty and game play wise)? I'll probably hold off on it for a little while longer, im still trying to make sure its a game i will enjoy.

If you're enjoying Type 0, there's really no rush [which is actually a surprisingly tough Action RPG in its own right]. Its combat system is definitely faster than the Souls series, which had playable main characters all armoured up and with a shield, whereas the main character in Bloodborne is way faster and it's more about dodging as opposed to defending. It's kind of a shame there isn't a demo for you try out to see if you like it or not, but I guess all you can do is check out YouTube to see if it's for you. And no, there's no difficulty levels.

[AnimeGamer183]

My gut just keeps telling me ill be dying alot and possibly breaking things IRL.

[OL]

Nah, all you have to do is go into it with the explicit understanding that dying is literally a core component of the game. You will die, and a lot. But the goal is to learn from each death and hopefully do better the next time.
I usually start to get pissed if I keep dying in other games, but with this series, dying just makes the eventual victory even sweeter.

Yeah, I agree with that so far. I beat the first boss, so how far along are you? A couple of bosses after that or not that far along?

I figure names don't really spoil anything, so I'll say I've beaten Father Gasciogne (great fight, by the way), defeated the Blood-Starved Beast (which I just read is actually optional), and am currently working toward beating Vicker Amelia.
I put that off for the moment though, and have started grinding a little bit.
Also gone down three layers in the first chalice dungeon, which is really interesting. I think I heard pre-release that the chalice dungeons are procedurally-generated, so they'll be put together differently for everyone. So far it's probably the creepiest areas I've been to.

[AnimeGamer183]

so my gut was right? But if its as you say I probably wont be breaking things? haha maybe my learning curve wont be so bad, if its fast paced combat I think I should be ok. But you die in every game and the point is to learn and do better next, thats gaming in general honestly, but I think I get what you mean, its more of a skills challenge than just leveling up and dealing more damage to kill enemies more efficently, right?

[Axm]

^Yes. And you do level up. It helps, but your skill is way more important then your level.

And buy it now, buy it later.. just buy it eventually. Dont deprive yourself on whats now easily the best game on the system. (Besides Last of Us)

In other news,
Oh man theirs times you feel you're making all the progress in the world and then you die twice in a row. You feel like shit but then realized you learned way more about the game because of it. Now I opened up the short cut to the first boss and it feels great.

Thats why this series is so effective. Small victories leading up to big losses, but then that big loss become an even greater victory. Now its time to focus in on that boss and die probably 10 times over.

[OL]

But you die in every game and the point is to learn and do better next, thats gaming in general honestly...

Eh, not really. Old NES platformers, for example, specifically require good twitch reflexes; it's not really about figuring anything out, so much as being quick on the jump button when necessary. Bloodborne requires twitch reaction, sure, but it also has a lot to do with honing your own strategies for any given situation, experimenting with various moves, and (seriously) finding glitches or game limitations to exploit. It doesn't dumb anything down, it barely ever explains how to proceed, and it expects you to be smart rather than just quick.
It's one of those things where you can tell someone about it the whole day long, but they won't really "get it" until they've played it for a few hours. I had no idea what was so great about Dark Souls before playing it, but eventually I gave it a try based on my usual love for From Software's other properties, and I fell in freaking love.

[Axm]

Just beat the first boss. Wasnt as hard as I expected. Beat it after only a couple attempts.

Now starting to aquire more weapons.
I'm still using the Hunter Pistol and Saw Cleaver cause I upgraded them abit.
What are you guys using now past the first few starting weapons?
Also what gear now?
Also what do you guys think about putting points into the arcane stat? Alot of people out there arent putting any points into it at all.
ASL plzkthx?

[Axm]

I'm using a weapon called the Steak Driver which is pretty cool, along with Ludwig's Rifle. Neither one is starting equipment.



And yeah, I don't see much point in the arcane stat so far. It occasionally might raise an attack stat by about 1, but that's all I've noticed up to now.

[Axm]

Ah and just beat the 2nd boss now. Only took a couple try's. First time I had him down a good 75% until I strafed into a tree and he started wailing on me.

Second time I rang my little bell and called another player into my world. We had him beat super quick but at the end he killed me at the same time he died but pop went the trophy and boss was defeated. Came back, collected my souls..er..echos..and lived happily ever after.

Loving this game!
And atleast so far, its not nearly as frustrating as I thought it would be.

I guess cause I have plenty of experience in Demon's Souls and Dark Souls. Really glad I played some Demon's Souls before I started Bloodborne cause I think it set the pace for me well.

[Raithos]

I'm still rocking the blunderbuss and saw cleaver, the cane wasn't that great so I started over pretty quick. I upgraded them so don't want to lose them just yet. I'm past the first two bosses so far. I was able to kill Cleric Beast on the first try. It was not a clean fight by any means though, I used upwards of 15 blood vials before I realized I could target his head lol.

[OL]

Figured out the arcane stat a bit.
It does a couple things. It increases the item drop rate as you kill enemies (which becomes very useful once you're in dire need of blood vials), and it increases damage done with fire, bolt, or arcane attacks. So for example, there's a weapon called Tonitrus which can spark up with electricity; aside from the strength and skill stats increasing its basic damage, the arcane stat adds extra electricity damage to it. I think it might also work in conjunction with when you use bolt or fire paper on your weapon, but I can't be sure.
Plus, I just found an item that seems to kind of work like magic spells did in the Souls games; I didn't know what it did at first, but it required an arcane stat of 18, is used like a consumable item, and has unlimited uses, so I figured it must be something relatively good. So I buffed up to 18 arcane to try it out, and it's pretty damn cool:



That's me shooting tentacles out of my hand.
It uses quicksilver bullets as a medium. I'm not sure who it'll be most effective against, but it looks cool so I'm keeping it.

[Axm]

Wow sounds powerful. Let me know how that goes.

Sent from my SO-02F using Tapatalk

[OL]

It's not all that effective unless the enemy is specifically weak to arcane, unfortunately.
It does have a knock-down aspect though.
Also found a couple more items like this, which rely on the arcane stat and use quicksilver bullets as "ammo." So there kinda, sorta, in a way is a "magic" system in here, it just takes a long time to get to, and really is secondary to the melee combat.

Just hit quite possibly my favorite area so far in the game: Cainhurst Castle. The whole game has great art design, sure, but most areas are specifically created to be kind of "ugly"; dark, gritty, twisted, cluttered, slimy, or what have you. It's even further on the horror scale than any of the previous Souls games were. But this is the first area (outside of the Hunter's Dream) where it's actually... beautiful. Like in a more classical sense.
It's also huuuge. Standing out in front of it and looking up gave off the same sense of scale I got when doing the same thing near the Notre Dame Cathedral in AC Unity; you get the notion that yeah, this really is some next-gen shit. I hate some of the enemies that reside right outside of it, but the rest of the castle is excellent so far.

Oh, and for anyone playing the game, make sure you venture into the chalice dungeons. There are some genuinely great bosses in them, and the items found in the dungeons are giving a lot more lore info than most of the stuff I've found in the main game. Totally worth it, even if they are randomly-generated (like a Diablo dungeon).