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Help me bridge Dark souls and Bloodborne

In a few words, could someone describe exactly what elevates Bloodborne from the rest of the souls games? Coming from Dark souls 1, which I'm most familiar with, describe what makes bloodborne a unique souls-like experience.

I haven't played Bloodborne since I mostly play PC games. I have played Dark souls 1, 3, and Sekiro. I understand the appeal of these games. I like these games. Sometimes I really like these games.
But in conversations discussing souls games people might describe Dark souls 1 or any of the souls games as 'unique' or 'an experience', but with bloodborne the adjectives get way out there. 'Best experience in gaming', 'GOTGOTY', 'I didn't know what games were before this'.
Yes, as always there's a lot of hyperbole, but the praise bloodborne gets is unique even among the high praise the souls games get.
Why is that?

Or am I seeing something that isn't there?
 

GuinGuin

Banned
I don't think it is better than them just different. But if you're a fan of their work spend a couple hundred measly dollars on a Playstation to try it yourself and then you can resell it any make most of your money back anyway.
 

I_D

Member
Bloodborne was the first Souls experience for a lot of people, so it hit them a bit harder than the other games.

My favorite Souls game switches all the time, as I love them all, but BB certainly has some really obvious problems that keep it from being definitively the best. Even something as simple as resting at a bonfire is too complicated in BB, and there's lot of other little details like that.

It's still a fantastic game, though, and my top-favorite game on the PS4.
 

cormack12

Gold Member
No shield, better dodge mechanics bring out a more action based play style, trick weapons give the combat more depth.

Bloodborne is probably over praised but that is because imo it was easier than souls (except III), and people being able to beat it in more straightforward ways finally ascending into the souls fanbase.
 
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I don't think it is better than them just different. But if you're a fan of their work spend a couple hundred measly dollars on a Playstation to try it yourself and then you can resell it any make most of your money back anyway.
Eh. Wouldn't call myself a fan. Their stuff is exceptionally great, no-one can honestly deny, but fan is a little far.
At least not enough of a fan to get an entire console primarily for Bloodborne.
 

GuinGuin

Banned
Bloodborne was the first Souls experience for a lot of people, so it hit them a bit harder than the other games.

My favorite Souls game switches all the time, as I love them all, but BB certainly has some really obvious problems that keep it from being definitively the best. Even something as simple as resting at a bonfire is too complicated in BB, and there's lot of other little details like that.

It's still a fantastic game, though, and my top-favorite game on the PS4.

It didn't sell that well. I think Demon's Souls and Dark Souls were far more likely to be people's first souls game.
 

GuinGuin

Banned
Eh. Wouldn't call myself a fan. Their stuff is exceptionally great, no-one can honestly deny, but fan is a little far.
At least not enough of a fan to get an entire console primarily for Bloodborne.

Then I don't really see the point you are trying to make with this thread if you have no intention of ever playing it.
 
In Bloodborne you are the Hunter. In Dark Souls you are the prey.
No shield, better dodge mechanics bring out a more action based play style, trick weapons give the combat more depth.

Bloodborne is probably over praised but that is because imo it was easier than souls (except III), and people being able to beat it in more straightforward ways finally ascending into the souls fanbase.
So, better power fantasy and more direct?
 

elliot5

Member
Bloodborne is more aggressive and action focused. You have the rally mechanic of hitting back to heal, unlimited blood vials to heal with vs limited estus flask sips. More combat = more fun. That's basically it. The setting and art direction is arguably more interesting, too.
 
Then I don't really see the point you are trying to make with this thread if you have no intention of ever playing it.
My man, I'm not making a point. I'm not asking whether you guys think I should play it or not. I like FROM games, I'll almost definitely play it at some point. Whether on a future sony console or on PC.
This is just curiosity about something I'd noticed in souls games discussions.
 

Dark Star

Member
I personally enjoy the lore/story of Bloodborne more than anything from Souls series. It's so mysterious and unique.

I do think many areas in DS and DS3 are amazing and perfectly crafted, and even outshine some of BB, but BB is such a cool looking game. BB nails that cosmic horror gothic atmosphere so well, and it's a very cohesive experience. The shortcuts, the bosses, the weapons, the fast paced combat, the music/score. It all works really well and doesn't feel forced. I enjoy watching speed runs of BB and I think it's the best FromSoftware game to speed run.

I could talk about BB all day, and I think it refines the spirit of previous Souls games. I wouldn't say it's better, just different (well, it is better than DS2 for sure). That's why DS3 plays a lot like Bloodborne, because it's clearly an inspiration and kind of an upgrade in some regards. The main flaw of BB is the choppy frame rate, but that's more technical issue due to hardware/software/engine limitations for PS4.
 
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Chukhopops

Member
Nothing really elevates it, it has less build variety and environment variety than Souls games, you cannot play certain playstyles, it’s 30 fps, the OST is less memorable, there’s a lot less lore overall (but it’s because there’s only one game).

edit: forgot about blood vials, the absolute most terrible idea in the series

It has great atmosphere and a few good bosses but it’s the weakest entry. Still a great game of course.
 
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FunkMiller

Member
Hold on let me transfer you to the Department of Gaming Sciences to further assist you.

*click*

Hello, department of gaming sciences. Please choose from the following options:

If you need help bridging Dark Souls and Bloodborne, press one.

If you need help coming to terms with the fact Cyberpunk 2077 was crap, press two.

If you need to vent about how your plastic box is better than the other one, press three.

If you are being pursued down a dark alley by a staff member from Blizzard Entertainment with his penis out, please hang up and dial 911.
 
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Codes 208

Member
When you said bridge the two, i thought you meant lore-wise. Which the heavy implication is that the painting at the end of 3 being made from the blood of the dark soul would lead to the events of bloodborne (fan-theory, not confirmed)
 
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Con-Z-epT

Live from NeoGAF, it's Friday Night!
The once in a lifetime atmosphere, the celestial overarching lore and the focus on the trick weapons excell it to more than just a From Software game and into an instant classic.

It is not a flawless game by any means and Dark Souls sure has its own appeal but the things Bloodborne does right are far beyond anything Dark Souls has to offer.

Play it for yourself and you will be granted eyes! :messenger_alien:


376a25fe7c55914650ed29e1c3d9c840.gif
 
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In a few words, could someone describe exactly what elevates Bloodborne from the rest of the souls games? Coming from Dark souls 1, which I'm most familiar with, describe what makes bloodborne a unique souls-like experience.

I haven't played Bloodborne since I mostly play PC games. I have played Dark souls 1, 3, and Sekiro. I understand the appeal of these games. I like these games. Sometimes I really like these games.
But in conversations discussing souls games people might describe Dark souls 1 or any of the souls games as 'unique' or 'an experience', but with bloodborne the adjectives get way out there. 'Best experience in gaming', 'GOTGOTY', 'I didn't know what games were before this'.
Yes, as always there's a lot of hyperbole, but the praise bloodborne gets is unique even among the high praise the souls games get.
Why is that?

Or am I seeing something that isn't there?
Play the game.
 

Con-Z-epT

Live from NeoGAF, it's Friday Night!
wdym? unlimited is an exaggeration sure, but you can farm up blood vials to tank through bosses and areas vs just having like 3 sips until you reset/die.
3 sips?

You can heal up to 15 times in Dark Souls 3 with the Estus Flask and 20 to 24 times with a blood vial in Bloodborne.

Just because you can farm blood vials doesn't mean you can exploit them.

It is not an exaggeration than more of a false statement.
 

Aenima

Member
In a few words, could someone describe exactly what elevates Bloodborne from the rest of the souls games? Coming from Dark souls 1, which I'm most familiar with, describe what makes bloodborne a unique souls-like experience.
When it comes to combat, Bloodborne has a more ofensive style, while other Souls games are more defensive.

In Bloodborne u dont have shields, you have a bigger dodge that lets you position faster in the place you want. And when you are hit you can recover some of your health if you hit the enemy back right after it. The combat mechanics reward a more agressive aproach. The switch weapons are also very cool and adds up to the enjoyment of the combat system.
All other mechanics are very similar to other Souls games.

I played all Souls games and they are all great. I enjoyed more Bloodborne because of the combat and setting, but is not like other souls are not as good, they are as good, especialy Dark Souls 1 with the best level design and memorable bosses.
 
You're only really going to find the answer by playing these games for yourself but in the most absolute basic of terms possible, Bloodborne rewards aggressiveness far more than the more defensive structured Souls games do.
On a personal note, I think it's by far my favourite world in any of Miyazaki's games, I just love the stylised almost Victorian city alleys that you get to explore and murder innocent people on. Oh, I'm not sure if it's worth anything to you but Hidetaka Miyazaki has said that it's his favourite of these games and the closest one to what his vision of this type of game should be. He's also mentioned that the first game is not the end of the story he has to tell in that world.
There is a lot of content out there about all of these games, the massive amounts of lore that these games often only ever really hint about, the worlds, the person, the depression, etc, etc.
I think a good one for you to start on would be this one from Monty Zander. He's not one who specifically specialises on these games like VaatiVidya, Iron Pineapple, Zullie the Witch and loads of other people but he is the only one of the people who really know what they're talking about who has made his girlfriend play Bloodborne after making her play Dark Souls and it's a pretty good video to illustrate the differences.

 

Azurro

Banned
You will get a lot of answers, some of them a little salty or belittling the game because it's not on Xbox/PC.

However, for me Bloodborne is the game of the generation, no other candidates. It takes the combat of the Dark Souls games and turns it into a much faster, more enjoyable, more precise experience that actively encourages you to attack, not to turtle behind a shield or to attack from a distance using spells.

It brings you into the fray, and no Dark Souls battle is as intense as some of the ones you can find in Bloodborne. Bring to that some amazing visuals (at the time), interesting lore inspired by Lovecraftian horror paired with gothic visuals, a variety of weapons that offer different playstyles and well, I well and truly felt like I was playing a perfect version of Castlevania in 3D.
 

Flutta

Banned
Imagine not having played BB and calling your self a fan of souls games. Breh you need some spanking 😂
 

elliot5

Member
3 sips?

You can heal up to 15 times in Dark Souls 3 with the Estus Flask and 20 to 24 times with a blood vial in Bloodborne.

Just because you can farm blood vials doesn't mean you can exploit them.

It is not an exaggeration than more of a false statement.
Yeah yeah. You need to upgrade the estus to get more sips, which most people will find on their journey, but it's still requires more effort from the player to obtain than just harvesting them from drops. It just adds to the gameplay loop in BB that makes it more action based and generally more fun to players or newcomers. Not having to die or reset and still being able to carry on is a big perk of the game design to many.
 

01011001

Banned
Bloodborne is not really diffrent to Dark Souls... it's basically a mix of Demon's Souls and Dark Souls 3.

the biggest difference comes from the fact that you don't really get shields in Bloodborne and so the emphasis is on dodging and parrying... that that's only new/different if you played Dark Souls with mainly using shields. if you are like me who mostly dodges, it's not really much of a difference
 

Con-Z-epT

Live from NeoGAF, it's Friday Night!
Not having to die or reset and still being able to carry on is a big perk of the game design to many.
They are very close in terms of difficulty and the progression in terms of bonfires or lamps so i really don't get why you put it like that although it is actually nothing like that.
 

Astral Dog

Member
Its the fast paced combat, art and lore.

Bloodborne does not deal much with the clumsy RPG mechanics of Dark Souls, plus it was the FIRST From game for last generation, its horror art and gore made it an instant favorite, plus cool bosses. Vasically BB is a new take on Souls that resonated very well with gamers

Dark Souls 3 was basically Bloodborne 2 just with more linear design, Sekiro continued with taking away the RPG system
 
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Dark souls and bloodborne are not connected in anyways shape or form lore wise, locations wise, character wise nothing even demon souls doesnt connect to Dark souls DS 1-2-3 connect none of the other games do.
 

01011001

Banned
They are very close in terms of difficulty and the progression in terms of bonfires or lamps so i really don't get why you put it like that although it is actually nothing like that.

pretty sure he means that in Dark Souls you need to sit down on a bonfire (respawning all enemies) to refill your healing items, while in Bloodborne enemies will be your main source of healing items, making it unnecessary to reset the enemies that often... although I think that's not the case, because in Bloodborne you still have to reset because how else will you farm/buy new healing items?
 

Bragr

Banned
Slight variations in combat that favor Bloodborne are likely the main reason why people claim Bloodborne, but for me, it's the setting. The Lovecraftian vibes fit like a glove, a lot better than the rather standard gothic medieval Dark Souls setting, even though it runs bad.
 
When you said bridge the two, i thought you meant lore-wise. Which the heavy implication is that the painting at the end of 3 being made from the blood of the dark soul would lead to the events of bloodborne (fan-theory, not confirmed)
Dark souls and bloodborne are not connected in anyways shape or form lore wise, locations wise, character wise nothing even demon souls doesnt connect to Dark souls DS 1-2-3 connect none of the other games do.
Yeah, that was probably a shit thread title
 

fersnake

Member
i remember playing ds1 on pc years later of is release and i didnt like it, mostly the art and it looked so bad, the performance you know all the issues. years later i try it again with the pc fix and man, i fall in love with it still the art was bad but the gameplay an finally at 60fps was amazing.

with BloodBorne was the opposite, the art and gameplay was amazing but man the performance is so bad. finished and platium it but im here just waiting for a remaster or a pc version just to play it at 60fps.
 

Aion002

Member
James Franco GIF



They're all masterworks... It's just a matter of taste.

Bloodborne has faster pace, while Souls has a bigger variety of builds.

Souls allows the player to play defensively, while BB encourages the player to be aggressive.


I think that the faster pace gameplay combined with the gothic/victorian world of BB gives it the edge to many fans. The dark medieval world of Souls lost the impact after the second (third if you include Demon's) game to many, so BB comes as a new "fresh" thing.
 

Terenty

Member
There's no huge difference in gameplay between Dark Souls games and Bloodborne, despite what BB fanboys try to claim.

It's basically the same game with a different skin. And much easier than DS1.
 

01011001

Banned
There's no huge difference in gameplay between Dark Souls games and Bloodborne, despite what BB fanboys try to claim.

It's basically the same game with a different skin. And much easier than DS1.

it depends on how you play Dark Souls, if you have a crazy tanky character with a gigantic shield and super hardcore armor fat-rolling your ass through the game... then playing Bloodborne will be completely different to you because that doesn't really work there.
if you play Dark Souls with an agile character and you use mainly dodges you will not feel much of a difference.

basically, Bloodborne plays exactly like certain classes/builds in Dark Souls, while feeling completely different to other classes/builds in Dark Souls
 
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Ozrimandias

Member
In a few words, could someone describe exactly what elevates Bloodborne from the rest of the souls games? Coming from Dark souls 1, which I'm most familiar with, describe what makes bloodborne a unique souls-like experience.

I haven't played Bloodborne since I mostly play PC games. I have played Dark souls 1, 3, and Sekiro. I understand the appeal of these games. I like these games. Sometimes I really like these games.
But in conversations discussing souls games people might describe Dark souls 1 or any of the souls games as 'unique' or 'an experience', but with bloodborne the adjectives get way out there. 'Best experience in gaming', 'GOTGOTY', 'I didn't know what games were before this'.
Yes, as always there's a lot of hyperbole, but the praise bloodborne gets is unique even among the high praise the souls games get.
Why is that?

Or am I seeing something that isn't there?
I was able to get a platinum trophy a few days ago with Bloodborne, hundreds of hours of fun (and stress), I intend to do some Chalice dungeons again after resting.
What amazes me about Bloodborne over the other Souls is, besides a change in the pace of the game (bloodborne is faster) it is how twisted it is. I do not want to go into greater detail (although as a good game in the Souls saga, the story is not explicit) there are elements of Lovecraft that are simply fascinating. Elements of dreams, nightmares, cosmic horror. I think it's a much more twisted game than "Dark Souls"
 

treemk

Banned
it depends on how you play Dark Souls, if you have a crazy tanky character with a gigantic shield and super hardcore armor fat-rolling your ass through the game... then playing Bloodborne will be completely different to you because that doesn't really work there.
if you play Dark Souls with an agile character and you use mainly dodges you will not feel much of a difference.

basically, Bloodborne plays exactly like certain classes/builds in Dark Souls, while feeling completely different to other classes/builds in Dark Souls

Not really, there's still a few things you won't get with a fast character in Dark Souls.

ranged parry
quickstep
faster and more healing
rally attack to regain health

Most bosses in BB are also designed to lean into this faster and more aggressive gameplay.
 
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