Bloodborne: Game of the Year Edition
- November 27, 2015
- FromSoftware
Thrilling and masterfully crafted, Bloodborne is a gorgeous, grim and gruelling adventure,and unarguably the first essential exclusive of this generation.
"Bloodborne" is a dark, action-packed RPG set in the grim city of Yharnam. The game offers a harrowing tale of hunters fighting grotesque creatures, while uncovering the city's disturbing secrets. The Old Hunters expansion extends the chilling experience, introducing new NPCs, areas, and weapons to master. This complete edition includes both the base game and the expansion for a comprehensive Bloodborne journey.
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
PlayStation
Reviews
- Bloodborne features fast-paced, aggressive combat that enhances the gameplay experience.
- The game boasts a beautifully crafted world with a haunting atmosphere and imaginative enemy designs.
- It offers great longevity and replay value through features like Chalice Dungeons and New Game+.
- The game suffers from long loading times that can disrupt the flow of gameplay.
- Some bosses are considered bland and uninteresting, and AI companions can be disappointing.
- Framerate issues and occasional camera problems can detract from the overall experience.
- atmosphere10 mentions
- 80 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is consistently praised for its haunting and immersive qualities, featuring beautiful environments, intricate enemy designs, and a captivating world that enhances the overall experience. Reviewers highlight the combination of stunning visuals, moody settings, and engaging themes, which contribute to a rich and atmospheric gameplay experience. The game's art direction and sound design further elevate the sense of immersion, making it a standout aspect of the title.
“Bloodborne takes what made souls amazing in the past, and infuses it with speed, risk-reward play, and a haunting atmosphere.”
“It also has a compelling atmosphere and a captivating world to explore, full of beautiful vistas and horrific creatures to battle, as well as an ample background to slowly discover.”
“Great atmosphere, massive in scope and scale, art direction is top-notch.”
“Bloodborne takes what made Souls amazing in the past, and infuses it with speed, risk-reward play, and a haunting atmosphere.”
“[Combat is smarter, faster, and bloodier; trick weapons add versatility and personality to your arsenal; engrossing atmosphere and themes; bosses and enemies are varied and exciting; chalice dungeons and NG+ provide tons of replayability.]”
- gameplay8 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Bloodborne is praised for its smart level design, satisfying mechanics, and a thick, moody atmosphere that enhances the overall experience. Players appreciate the well-balanced difficulty, replayability through multiple endings and procedurally-generated dungeons, and a strong multiplayer component. However, some criticisms include a lack of gameplay variety and issues with bugs and design.
“Bloodborne is truly a remarkable game, more appealing than its predecessors, more cohesive, and more satisfying from a mechanical point of view.”
“Bloodborne is not only exciting to play because of its combat mechanics but also through the structure of its world and the creativity exhibited by its makers, through the foreboding feeling that creeps inside you the more you explore its dark secrets and leaves you craving for more.”
“A brand new setting and new gameplay mechanics add a freshness to the Souls formula.”
“[unintelligible story, stripped-down customization, little gameplay variety, rife with bugs and design issues]”
- replayability6 mentions
- 83 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, the game offers high replayability due to its fluid and satisfying combat, diverse enemy designs, and beautifully crafted environments. Features such as chalice dungeons, multiple endings, and a well-balanced difficulty enhance longevity and encourage players to revisit the game. Additionally, the inclusion of new game+ modes and strong multiplayer options further enrich the replay experience.
“Chalice dungeons and New Game Plus provide tons of replayability.”
“Lots of replayability thanks to New Game Plus, three different endings, and procedurally-generated dungeons.”
“Procedural chalice dungeons ensure replayability.”
“The procedural chalice dungeons ensure replayability, but the combat can feel repetitive after a while.”
“While the massive and intricate maps are impressive, they don't offer enough variety for true replayability.”
“The rewarding and challenging combat is great, but once you've mastered it, there's little incentive to replay.”
- graphics6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning gothic visuals and intricate designs, effectively conveying a dark and atmospheric mood. Players appreciate the extraordinary detail in environments and character models, which enhance the overall immersive experience. However, some critiques mention issues like slow loading times and modest weapon variety, though these do not significantly detract from the visual appeal.
“Fantastic atmosphere, great looking visuals, weapons and upgrade system are well tuned, intricate enemy designs, long and strategic boss battles, and fun and engaging combat system.”
“Great visuals and art direction, engrossing atmosphere, solid combat, very good level design, very challenging.”
“Visually, these beautifully rendered, gothic-themed environments look absolutely gorgeous and communicate Bloodborne's melancholy mood effectively.”
- story5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The game's story is described as surreal and ambitious, featuring a religion-themed narrative set in an interconnected world that invites exploration. However, many players find the story difficult to follow, with obfuscation and unintelligibility detracting from the overall experience. Additionally, technical issues such as long loading times and frame rate drops further complicate the storytelling.
“Surreal religion-themed story goes big--very big.”
“Interconnected world makes every discovery a wonder.”
“Fantastic artistry with a clear and inviting visual arc.”
“obfuscated story, very challenging”
“story is hard to follow, frame rate drops, long load times”
“unintelligible story, stripped-down customization, little gameplay variety, rife with bugs and design issues”
Critic Reviews
Bloodborne Review
A superb, intelligent evolution of the series.
100%Bloodborne Review
Bloodborne changes up the "Souls" formula radically with faster and more aggressive combat. The Lovecraftian horror and Victorian setting only add to the charm. One of the best PS4 releases to date.
80%A Born-Again Masterpiece -- Bloodborne Review
Bloodborne takes what made Souls amazing in the past, and infuses it with speed, risk-reward play, and a haunting atmosphere. Only a few technical hiccups hold back a masterpiece from Miyazaki and From Software. This is a must-play game for any PS4 owner with a masochistic side.
95%
