• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

LTTP: Bloodborne and Old Hunters DLC (Greatest From Software game ever)

Back in end of 2020 I ended up experiencing Demon's Souls Remake and from there on I ended up playing and completing the Dark Souls trilogy. I'd previously bought Bloodborne during it's launch period in 2015 and I'd barely played it. Why didn't I bother playing it back then? Well for starters I never understood the game, it's mechanics or it's story and found the game too dark, scary and intimidating. I lacked the maturity to appreciate and find From Software games immersive and engaging. With the PS5 generation, my eyes were opened to the greatness that's From Software games and my deeper appreciation for souls games had me jump into Bloodborne from scratch.

The level design in Bloodborne gave me the identical omg type moment when I managed to progress through Central Yharnam and find myself all the way back to where I started to unlock this crazy short cut. It reminded me so much of Dark Souls 1 in regards to one cohesive massively connected world. As I played Bloodborne, I ended up reading up items description and started to better understand the story and the ending left me with glossy eyes. The Old Hunters DLC was equally great and shared more light into the backstory of what led to the turn of events in Yharnam. The more action paced combat (no more roll/shield) with pistol parrying/visceral attack turned out to be sublime experience.

In many ways Bloodborne isn't just a souls game, it came across as a pure survival horror RPG game and that's probably why I now find it so memorable. There are so many frightening areas and encounters in the game with jump scary moments. The music in Bloodborne is one of the most impactful I've heard in games in recent memory. Right from the main menu themes all the way to the final boss fight which to me is the best final Boss OST ever in a video game. Gosh I can't stop thinking about Bloodborne. I even ended up platinuming the game. If the game gets a 60fps patch or heck even a remaster, I'd gladly re-buy it on PS5. Thank you EviLore EviLore for the suggestion which finally led me to "join the hunt".
 

Lognor

Banned
Yeah, it's good!

I had a similar experience. I tried Demons Souls back on the PS3 and hated it and swore off Souls games for years.

Then Dark Souls released on the Switch and I said okay, I will give it one more try. And that is when it clicked! After finishing Dark Souls, I played through the next two games and wanted MORE!

I didn't own a PS4, but I had to play Bloodborne, so I bought a PS4 just for Bloodborne. Played through the base game and Old Hunters and promptly sold the PS4 afterwards. It was worth it!
 

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
Framerate and samey looking locations aside it's one hell of a game. Glad you got to play and finally enjoy it OP.
 

Heimdall_Xtreme

Jim Ryan Fanclub's #1 Member
Back in end of 2020 I ended up experiencing Demon's Souls Remake and from there on I ended up playing and completing the Dark Souls trilogy. I'd previously bought Bloodborne during it's launch period in 2015 and I'd barely played it. Why didn't I bother playing it back then? Well for starters I never understood the game, it's mechanics or it's story and found the game too dark, scary and intimidating. I lacked the maturity to appreciate and find From Software games immersive and engaging. With the PS5 generation, my eyes were opened to the greatness that's From Software games and my deeper appreciation for souls games had me jump into Bloodborne from scratch.

The level design in Bloodborne gave me the identical omg type moment when I managed to progress through Central Yharnam and find myself all the way back to where I started to unlock this crazy short cut. It reminded me so much of Dark Souls 1 in regards to one cohesive massively connected world. As I played Bloodborne, I ended up reading up items description and started to better understand the story and the ending left me with glossy eyes. The Old Hunters DLC was equally great and shared more light into the backstory of what led to the turn of events in Yharnam. The more action paced combat (no more roll/shield) with pistol parrying/visceral attack turned out to be sublime experience.

In many ways Bloodborne isn't just a souls game, it came across as a pure survival horror RPG game and that's probably why I now find it so memorable. There are so many frightening areas and encounters in the game with jump scary moments. The music in Bloodborne is one of the most impactful I've heard in games in recent memory. Right from the main menu themes all the way to the final boss fight which to me is the best final Boss OST ever in a video game. Gosh I can't stop thinking about Bloodborne. I even ended up platinuming the game. If the game gets a 60fps patch or heck even a remaster, I'd gladly re-buy it on PS5. Thank you EviLore EviLore for the suggestion which finally led me to "join the hunt".

You can also give thanks to Japan Studio.

Both companies give the magic result.
 
I too played Bloodborne about halfway through but then just gave up on it back in the day.

With Demon's Souls Remake I fell in love with FromSoft I played all of the Souls games except I still haven't started DS2 and Bloodborne.

BB is still a big skeleton in my closet because I just don't want to start playing because of the choppy 30 fps.

Me and my friend like to play FromSoft games while we get wasted. The last time we did that we started playing BB from the beginning and my god the game is just awesome. I still just want to believe that the nextgen patch / remake isn't far away.

I think BB will become my favorite From game. Now the number one in the podium is Sekiro.
 

Con-Z-epT

Live from NeoGAF, it's Friday Night!
There is just so much to love about it. Overall it profits from a more condensed and refined experience. Artstyle and lore are key aspects of its success i think.

I loved the trick weapons so much since it gave the game a good sense of depth in terms of combat and lore without overwhelming the player with too many weapons. Something i still value very high. And the whip just screamed castlevania. Research Hall and Fishing Hamlet are also deeply embedded in my mind. Chalice Dungeons where also a cool idea. Could go on forever about why i love so many aspects of the game.

I'm glad that you played and liked it!
 
Last edited:

Mr Hyde

Member
I so wish I had a

forget will smith GIF


so I could play this again with fresh eyes. What an incredible experience it was playing this for the first time (and second, third, fourth etc). Probably the best game ever made.

Fear the old blood!
 

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
I still have PTSD playing this for the first time on NG+

Never again. I will replay base games 1000x before I ever repeat that mistake.

as someone who hasn’t played the dlc until new game plus I’m currently trying to beat Laurence and orphan of kos. Jus got to them today and Kos I can get to like a qaurter of health left but Laurence is absolutely annihilating me.

I will do it…but man ng+ on Laurence seems broken.

awesome game though.
 

kingpotato

Ask me about my Stream Deck
I mean, that's great and all, but... EvilLore was the only person on this forum to suggest you check out one of the most beloved From Software titles?
 

V4skunk

Banned
as someone who hasn’t played the dlc until new game plus I’m currently trying to beat Laurence and orphan of kos. Jus got to them today and Kos I can get to like a qaurter of health left but Laurence is absolutely annihilating me.

I will do it…but man ng+ on Laurence seems broken.

awesome game though.
Laurence is a savage boss. Hardest in the game.
Kos is very aggressive but quite easy. You need to be super aggressive with Kos and always sidestep into his attacks.
 

Nobody_Important

“Aww, it’s so...average,” she said to him in a cold brick of passion
Completely agree. Don't get me wrong I enjoy Dark Souls immensely, but bloodborne just had a certain kind of feel to it that I've never gotten from another game before.


The trick weapons in particular were a masterpiece of game design which meant that you could have a relatively small amount of weapons in the game but just an immense number of ways to use them. Which made the game very easy to balance and made PVP a genuine joy to play.


If I could snap my fingers and have any game in the world have a flourishing population again it would be bloodborne just so I could jump in and start farming bosses again and wreck people in PvP.
 

MiguelItUp

Member
I'm holding out on playing more of this in hopes that there is a patch/remaster announced. I mean, I feel like there has to be at this point. Especially with the state of releases as of late.

What I played I already adored, I just want to hold out.

I still can't believe that the Demon's Souls remake is what finally tapped that nerve for me, and now I'm all about them. Always loved everything about them, except the gameplay, at least until I beat the Demon's Souls remake. Then everything changed in the best way, haha.
 

Chittagong

Gold Member
Ludwig is the only From boss that had me throw up my hands, after tens of gos I made almost no progress at all. And I have finished DeS, DS1-3 and DLCs without many problems
 

Ulysses 31

Member
Don't try to make sense of the story too much the first time, it's Lovecraftian (by design to take place in a universe you understand little of with forbidden knowledge that corrupts).
 
Last edited:

Elog

Member
Not completely sure what game I would name as the best game ever for me but Bloodborne would be the first to come to my mind. Simply an amazing game.

"Gehrman joins the hunt"
 

stn

Member
I prefer the aesthetic of Nioh, Sekiro, and the Dark Souls games, but Bloodborne is fantastic. I have yet to beat it but am planning to this year.
 

Y0ssarian

Banned
Yes. When I was about 1/3 of the way through Bloodborne I was thinking this is the best game I've ever played (in 2018). I still consider it one of the best. The Old Hunters is a great DLC. I found Ludwig and Orphan of Kos easy but had trouble with Vicar Amelia
 

NeverYouMind

Gold Member
I would give that accolade to Scholar of the First Sin for balanced variety of tools, easy access to said tools, and very open ended progression.

Bloodborne shows great potential with smooth 2-handed Rakuyo combo transitions and the charge up mechanic of Tonitrus, but mechanically it cannot commit fully to action gameplay and half asses rpg elements. The movement is a big improvement over other games, but stamina system seems out of place given aggressive enemy AI, trash shields, and hit-back health regeneration window. For many weapons transformations are nothing more than weapon switching with an extra animation and hitbox. The guns are extremely ammo limited and lack a sensible manual aiming option. Their level design is convoluted with unnecessary loops and mandated detours, but progression is extremely linear. Worst of all, acquiring things is extremely tedious as the fun stuff is locked deep in the game and the chalice dungeons are nothing but extra padding for experiencing everything the game has to offer. It has an interesting setting, but is never really comitted to story telling or character interactions.
 
Last edited:

anthony2690

Banned
Castlevania advanced collection.
Finished Dracula X yesterday.
Now I'm playing Castlevania circle of the moon, I'm really enjoying it.
The game doesn't look as good as I remember, but switching to pixel perfect made it look a little better.
Just defeated the zombies dragons, but I'm a little confused how to even use the cards on the game.
 

Con-Z-epT

Live from NeoGAF, it's Friday Night!
Castlevania advanced collection.
Finished Dracula X yesterday.
Now I'm playing Castlevania circle of the moon, I'm really enjoying it.
The game doesn't look as good as I remember, but switching to pixel perfect made it look a little better.
Just defeated the zombies dragons, but I'm a little confused how to even use the cards on the game.
confused bugs bunny GIF by Looney Tunes
 

Perrott

Gold Member
I WANT 4k/60 PS5 VERSION SOOOO BAD! WHY DONT THEY SAY ANYTHING!!!!!
Elden Ring.

I'm glad OP managed to see Bloodborne's greatness, the gameplay is SO GOOD that I really can't wait for a re-release to come so I can start a new playthrough and platinum the damn thing again.
 
Last edited:
bloodborne is one of my favourite games of all time.

it was my first from software game and honestly i hated it so much and regretted buying it. once i "git gud" it was fun. the DLC is great too. i've lost count how many times i've played it. i want to play it again but not had the time.

would love a PC version so i can run it at 4K 140fps. it's criminal it's locked to 30fps. realistically any new version will be capped at 60fps due to engine limitations but if it came to PC someone would mod it straight away.
 
Top Bottom