Game Review: Bloodborne

I’d just like to start this review off by explaining I’ve never played a proper Soulslike video game. The closest I’ve ever come to one is Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order; and that only incorporates a limited number of elements from the genre itself.  No, it’s fair to say when it comes to this area of video games, I’ve never truly had a proper Soulslike experience. I think on reflection the reason I’ve stayed away from the genre for this long is its intimidating reputation. I know full well these games are designed to be difficult in so many ways. The idea of a Soulslike game is to throw everything it can at you and ask you to take the beatings and keep moving forward. I’ve often thought I would never be able to deal with that type of expectation, that I’d be too incompetent or weak to persevere, that was until recently however. It seems fitting that my first proper dive into this genre of video games is in arguably it’s best entry; the gothic nightmare that is Bloodborne. 

Bloodborne is a PlayStation exclusive video game developed by From Software and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was released on the PlayStation 4 back in 2015 to critical acclaim, breaking sales records and earning tons of award nominations throughout the year. Hidetaka Miyazaki is a well-known name in the gaming landscape having been the creative director on most of the Souls games, Elden Ring and most importantly Bloodborne.  His status as a creative powerhouse in the industry is well earned and it’s through his creative inspirations that the world of Bloodborne took form and became the gothic, lovecraftian nightmare so many of us know today. 

The story of Bloodborne is set in the city of Yharnam. A city which was built and centred upon its medical advances. Travelling to the fabled city in search of a cure for your illness, you take part in a process called Blood Ministration. This process transfuses your blood with the rare blood that the Healing Church (Yharnam’s governing body) provides in order to cure any and all illnesses patients may suffer from. The payment for this miracle cure however is to accept a contract to take part in the Hunt. Despite its miraculous healing powers, the city of Yharnam is far from ideal; as it suffers from a beastly plague which has ravaged the city and turned its inhabitants into nightmarish monsters of all varieties. As a contracted hunter, you must venture out into the city and hunt down all manner of creatures as you seek to end the scourge that has infested the city. This is no small goal however, as you progress further through the city you will soon learn this nightmare is far worse than you imagined and there is a far darker secret lying at the root of all this madness. 

I appreciate that’s a pretty vague synopsis of the plot, but the story of Bloodborne is one you are better off piecing together by yourself.  In fact, the game actively invites you to piece together the narrative of this world if you truly wish to understand what’s going on. I’ve often heard that From Software games don’t bother on delivering a core storyline in the standard format; instead, they are known to let the world itself tell the story. I was a bit apprehensive at first about experiencing the game’s narrative in this format because I figured I would not be able to pick it up as easily as I would a conventional game’s story. I think on reflection however, that commitment to never go out of its way to tell you what’s going on actually adds to the games core appeal. As is your player character, you are lost in the world of Yharnam, forever seeking to understand what is truly going on in this hellish place. That sense of ambiguity does wonders for setting the atmosphere of this game and it makes figuring out the underlining narrative behind everything so much more rewarding. This is a dark and disturbing world, filled with all kinds of malice and dread that will seek to kill you rather than let you learn it’s secrets. Fighting your way through the environments, reading item descriptions, talking to the rare NPC’s and coming up against the game’s iconic bosses; these are all key components to the game’s storyline and piecing together this story through them is an experience I have thoroughly enjoyed. Bloodborne’s world is drowning in sorrow and despair and there isn’t a single second where the game’s not reflecting its nature to you in all the best ways. The narrative is one core format in which these themes are projected, but the other core format it can be found in is in its visual scope.

The game’s visual style does a fantastic job in accommodating its world and story as well. In fact, I feel the game’s overall design is its biggest selling point.  Bloodborne’s visual identity is unique in so many ways in that it presents its world with a major amount of style. Structures and environments are designed to reflect the overarching gothic infrastructure that Yharnam is built upon. Streets and buildings are built in a way in which you feel trapped in their scale, yet you never feel annoyed to be confined by them. There’s so much variety to these locations too, with the locales getting more and more strange the further you push into the game. This progressive development of locations helps to edge along the narrative of the game in a clever visual way, which is such a noteworthy accomplishment. The monstrous, supernatural element behind the enemies feels like the perfect mix of dark, lovercraftian designs and are my favourite aspect of the game’s visual style. Every enemy you fight, from the lower-level fodder to the big bad bosses all have this unique identity to them which truly surprises you upon the first time you encounter them. There’s not a single element of the game’s enemy catalogue that didn’t fail to scare me as well as mesmerise me; these are truly some of the most striking designs I’ve seen in any game. In a similar way to the environments, the enemies visual structure adds relevancy to their own stories as well as their placement in the narrative. Everything about the game’s visual scope isn’t just to scare you, it all serves a purpose; the world itself is the storyteller and From Software nailed the visual storytelling with these concepts perfectly.

What good is this immersive world if it isn’t supported by comprehensive gameplay though? Well fear not, for Bloodborne’s gameplay is just as important a component to this game’s success as the story and visual design is. As a hunter, you will be given access to a collection of interesting weapons to use for your killings. Each melee weapon in the game benefits from two states, by using the L1 button you can ‘transform’ the state of this weapon to benefit from a higher form of damage at the cost of its speed. The variety of weapons on hand and their implementation in combat is just another representation to how much substance this game has going for it. No weapon ever feels copied or identical to another, they all offer the player some truly unique playstyle to adapt to. The plethora of weapons within the game allows the player to find the perfect fit for them as well. As with the other design elements, the weapons themselves all feel distinctly designed and offer a visual spectacle when used on enemies and bosses. To help make these weapons feel reliable you will have the benefit of upgrading, repairing and boosting the powers of the weapons with the use of your workshop and blood gems. This system is so comprehensive and it helps players further tune their weapons to give them the edge on battles in the later stages of the game. To help accommodate your damage output is the stat system. As you progress through the game and kill enemies you will pick up the games currency which is called Blood Echoes. The echoes themselves are used for just about everything like shopping or upgrading weapons; their most important function however is put towards levelling up. You have a selection of stats you can choose to level up with Blood Echoes, keeping these stats progressing is key to surviving the nightmare of Yharnam as your weapons and survivability are dependent on them.  I love the idea that everything on this game relies on Blood Echoes as it makes it all the more important to keep yourself alive as you risk losing them upon death.  Yes, the core blueprint of any Soulslike game is its harsh perspective on dying and Bloodborne is no exception. You will die plenty of times in this game and the cost in doing so is to be sent back to the last Lamp checkpoint you find, respawning enemies and depleting you of all your Blood Echoes. This may seem like a harsh payoff for failure, but it’s designed in a way to actively encourage you to treat this game with care and master its mechanics in a way you wouldn’t be expected to in other video games. As I noted prior, I was initially intimidated by these mechanics the most before coming into the game. However, you soon learn it’s actually one of the best ways the game can encourage you to master its challenges and after I soon accepted death is a natural element of the gameplay, I was less intimidated by it.

I really want to talk about the audio and music work behind this game as well. Bloodborne has a unique set up with its composers being both a mix of Japanese and Western heritage. Their contribution towards the soundtrack of this game is remarkable in literally every sense; utilising a 65-piece orchestra and a 32-member choir for throughout its tracks. The core themes of despair and dread that is so prevalent in the world’s visuals, narrative and gameplay are just as prevalent within its music. Every boss in this game has their own dedicated score and they do wonders in reflecting the dark tragedy behind their own personal stories. Some of the best music in this game I find actually comes from it’s DLC; The Old Hunters. There is one particular boss fight with a creature called Ludwig the Accursed which has to be one of the very best orchestrated tracks I’ve ever heard in a video game. The music of this game is just another perfect component which makes Bloodborne such an experience to go through and I find myself listening to the score of the game constantly during downtime.

After all I’ve discussed, I still don’t feel like I’ve truly reflected the pure brilliance of Bloodborne. I actually feel words can’t do it justice. Bloodborne is an experience I implore anyone and everyone to go through. It’s technical and visual offerings are the very pinnacle of video game design and just shows why From Software is such a major name in the video game landscape. My time in the world of Yharnam is now over, but I will never forget the raw emotion this game drew from me on so many fronts. Bloodborne is and will forever be, one of the best video games I’ve ever played.