Depending on your level of skill and/or patience the upcoming Bloodborne from From Software, which is due to launch on the PlayStation 4 at the end of March this year, is either going to make your gaming session or break you completely.
Read More: Dark Souls II review
That’d be because From Software is best known for their Souls series of games, which offer a substantial challenge to a certain type of gamer. With Bloodborne, they’ve taken their distinctive gameplay style and expanded it somewhat to include a (slightly) more narrative-capable location – though we’d expect even this latest release is going to be a bit thin on the ground when it comes to major story elements.
Bloodborne takes place in the gothic-looking city of Yharnam and places them in the shoes of a Hunter. By the look of the lengthy intro video that was released (via IGN), gameplay and combat mechanics are going to be very similar to Dark Souls and its ilk but the developers have made matters slightly more complicated. That’s nowhere near a bad thing.
For starters, prospective hunters will have access to a nifty character creation setup, the most notable of which is the origin story setting which, by the brief look we’ve managed to get of the feature, will be used to determine player classes and base stats.
This isn’t a deviation from what we’ve seen from From Software in the past, which has allowed players to pick from a variety of fantasy staples (Knight, Rogue, and so on) as classes – we’re hopeful that the Noble Scion or Lone Survivor origin settings will play an actual part in the narrative this time around.
Combat looks familiar as well, though there’s more complexity available this time around with the addition of extra weapon types – suitable to the gothic location – and actual firearms.
Early on, players are going to be swarmed by enemies toting farming implements and also by large hairy beasts. As well as oversized dogs. In a similar mechanic to Dark Souls, death is not permanent, leading instead to a base area where players can prep for another go. Players will have to light lamps to resurrect deeper inside the city, harking back to the campfires of previous games.
Players should be able to handle the threat involved in their search for a cure to the mysterious disease that grips the city, though knowing From Software we probably should not expect a happy ending. Gamers are being encouraged to be more aggressive and there’s definitely more to face off against this time around. We’ll be taking leave at the end of March in order to give Yharnam the attention it deserves.