I asume you never played Demon Souls or Dark souls amirite?
I didn't read a single review, but i can't help but think that most of them must at least make a reference to BB predecessors.
I’ve been an avid gamer for 25 years, and Bloodborne was one of two games I purchased and immediately sold/returned (the other being Mortal Kombat: Mythologies featuring Sub Zero). As a non-Dark Souls player but someone who was intrigued by the game being labeled an action RPG that received critical acclaim, I immediately sought out the game and was excited.
Let me start off by saying that the game gets some things right. Graphically it’s impressive. The soundtrack (what I experienced of it) is incredible, as well. That’s where the praise ends for me.
I knew the game was hard going in. I’ve played hard games. Most hard games have a system in place where if failure is anticipated, a checkpoint is kindly placed nearby. This way you don’t have to replay 15 minutes of old content in order to (attempt to) experience something new.
Bloodborne delights in having you fail, suffer through a 1 minute load screen, and then replay 5-10 minutes of content and kill respawned enemies to get the chance to see new content. Often times you’re forced to do this after being ambushed by a mob. The supposedly lesson is to remember next time that the mob is there -or- the enemy will do “that attack” after that cue.
This isn’t fun. It’s learning to swim by drowning.
To add insult to injury,
the game is devoid of any meaningful tutorial. It’s trial by fire. Which maybe worked when I was 8 years old and had tons of time, but the game seems to delight in alienating players new to the series.
I’m sure the game “makes sense” and is enjoyable to Dark Souls veterans. That’s awesome. Not every game should be for everyone. But the game does an unbelievably bad job at introducing new players to the core concepts of the game.
It’s gaming caviar – delightful to some but an acquired taste for the majority of individuals.