So, all Bloodborne players who haven't played Souls before, how's it going?

I played Dark Souls for like 30 minutes and just didn't get it. Since Bloodborne looked cool I decided to give it the ol' college try and I gotta say I'm glad I did. I played this game pretty much all day yesterday and got my ass handed to me tons of times. The thing is, every time I died I felt like it was my fault and that there was something I could have done to stay alive. I ended up beating the second boss and heading towards what I think is the next main area. There is something awesome about overcoming the odds (Which seem to be stacked against me.). I'm glad I picked it up.



EDIT: It also means I'll be buying Scholar of the first Sin at some point.
 
So if I Quit During a boss Battle, the next time I boot up the game I'll be right at the boss again?

Or do I start in the Hunter's Dream?

I suspect you will pick up from exactly where you left off, still in the middle of the fight. It's either that or right ouside the boss door. I haven't tried this since Demon's Souls so I don't remember exactly what happens but I'd be amazed if it teleports you back to the Dream.
 
The difficult part for me is retraining myself to not play this like a regular videogame.
In a regular game, a mob of like 4 people isn't a big deal because I'm the hero and I have bigger guns/better skills/etc. than the people I'm fighting. That's not always the case in this game.

I agree completely. I think part of it is also not knowing things or at least finding the little things out. I didn't realize that when I kill some one if I got hit I can still hit the dead corpse a couple times to regen a little health (obviously when possible) and totally wasted an opportunity if I needed it to gain a little health back. I think what was happening is i might hit another person and think I was getting it back from the "alive" person.

I also noticed that and this probably so ridiculously obvious for people who played souls games before is that you can't just run in, you might have to wait for a group to pass and another group to come down and out of the way before you go and take out a couple people but once you get rhythm down of how they track around everything just seems more manageable.

Still I die a good amount but I can definitely see where I am improving. Which I like.

Needless to say, patience isn't my strong suit and it forces you to be patient.
 
The default difficulty IS the normal experience. It's integral to the game itself, especially so in dark souls 1 where it serves a thematic purpose. And like someone above me said, not every game has to appeal to everyone. As far as sales go, it's clear that Miyazaki cares more about making a quality experience than selling a game. This is not to say they're mutually exclusive, however I question the necessity of streamlining games-things like waypoints, over the top tutorials, regenerating healthy, etc.

Not everyone likes every book, movie, or tv show ever made, so why do games have to appeal to everyone?

That's all fine. I just think making a more accessible non-standard mode, if well thought out, could be done without ruining the integrity if the game. Obviously the developer had no interest in it. That's fine if a bigger audience is not a priority. I don't think Kid Mode in Viewtiful Joe or Ninja dog mode in Ninja Gaiden lessened the experience for those playing per default design, for example. Trying to block out such things merely to maintain the stigma of being too hard for average gamers seems a bit silly to me if future titles or the studio could benefit from increased exposure.
 
I'm enjoying my time a lot so far. Combat is very satisfying, gorgeous art direction. I feel the game should be 60fps though, it doesn't seem to be pushing the PS4 at all tech wise

Only gripe is the lack of any decent tutorials. I know that throwing you into the world and letting you figure things out on your own is done on purpose, and I like a challenge, but being obtuse for the sake of it isn't a good thing imo. Should at least be quick tutorials besides the occasional messages. I spent a couple minutes trying to see how I could equip weapons in the beginning of the game when that could have simply been explained real quick.
Did you read the manual?
 
I will put it this way. A better tutorial would go a long way. It took me a good 45 minutes to beat the werewolf at the beginning and then another 45 minutes to figure out how to equip my damn weapons. It's growing on me but I have to get use to the mechanics and the non existent save points. LOL
 
I will put it this way. A better tutorial would go a long way. It took me a good 45 minutes to beat the werewolf at the beginning and then another 45 minutes to figure out how to equip my damn weapons. It's growing on me but I have to get use to the mechanics and the non existent save points. LOL

Reading the manual is the tutorial.
 
That's all fine. I just think making a more accessible non-standard mode, if well thought out, could be done without ruining the integrity if the game. Obviously the developer had no interest in it. That's fine if a bigger audience is not a priority. I don't think Kid Mode in Viewtiful Joe or Ninja dog mode in Ninja Gaiden lessened the experience for those playing per default design, for example. Trying to block out such things merely to maintain the stigma of being too hard for average gamers seems a bit silly to me if future titles or the studio could benefit from increased exposure.

Here's an analogy:
It's like a chef refusing to lets his or her guests put ketchup on a steak.
 
That's all fine. I just think making a more accessible non-standard mode, if well thought out, could be done without ruining the integrity if the game. Obviously the developer had no interest in it. That's fine if a bigger audience is not a priority. I don't think Kid Mode in Viewtiful Joe or Ninja dog mode in Ninja Gaiden, lessened the experience for those playing per default design, for example. Trying to block out such things merely to maintain the stigma of being too hard for average gamers seems a bit silly to me if future titles or the studio could benefit from increased exposure.

Sorry if I was vague in my explanation. The difficulty in souls games is tied to the themes of the world and the lore. I don't know if you've played dark souls 1, so I don't want to spoil the story, but you are nothing in dark souls 1. You are lied to and used by almost every npc who matters, all monsters and creatures want you dead, and you mean nothing to the world. Everything important to the world happened before you came, and you are nothing but a cog in the machine, even at the end.

Now, with all this in mind, would it not makes sense for the difficulty/gameplay to reflect these things? Even in bloodborne, npcs talk about how everything happening to yharnam is "your kind's" fault. You're not wanted here. The game is trying to portray that through the gameplay. Everything wants you dead, and nothing cares about you.

The difference between something like this and something like vewtiful joe's difficulty mode, is that it's difficulty mode does not play into the theme or story of the game. It's a goofy game about a guy who loves movies and wants to be a movie super hero, then it happens! It's awesome! He has super powers and super strength! It makes sense to add a mode to help people who might not be good at video games to help them feel that way. I haven't played ninja gaiden black (though I want to someday), so I can't comment on that.

And like I said in another post, the difficulty I find, tends to be exaggerated by people who haven't played it. I know a lot of people who refuse to buy it because they think it's too hard. My best friend was in that same boat, but I convinced him to give it a shot, and he was hooked by the time he got to the belfry gargoyles (2nd or 3rd boss, depending on how you look at it). He ended up beating it within a week or so.

Maybe I'm just incredibly biased (
I am
), but I love these games for what they are. I sincerely don't believe they need a difficulty option. "The souls experience" is known for many things, and difficulty is one of them.
 
I will put it this way. A better tutorial would go a long way. It took me a good 45 minutes to beat the werewolf at the beginning and then another 45 minutes to figure out how to equip my damn weapons. It's growing on me but I have to get use to the mechanics and the non existent save points. LOL

You know that the first time, you don't have to beat that werewolf, right?
That's how you get to Hunter's Dream the first time. You die.
 
Jumped in last night for a couple hours, died so many times. Still so awesome.

Started off a little rough, but once I got the hang of the controls, I went exploring. I somehow completely missed the 1st boss and ran into the 2nd boss. He promptly destroyed me. Went back to try again, found
Eileen?
, accidentally attacked and well, that went even less well then my last death.

After that death I went looking for the 1st boss. I found him (and where I went off course to get to the 2nd boss, was distracted by a shiny corpse with loot) and I'm not really sure what happened at this point, but I remember just staring at the boss in awe and didn't even try to dodge his first attack and again was promptly killed.

Can't wait to get home and keep playing tonight.
 
Awesome, thanks!

Any tips for dealing with pitchfork enemies? I try dodging a lot but keep accidentally touching their pitchfork, which hurts you.

Try dodging them. I died pretty often from the pitchfork enemies but i think i'm slowly starting to get better at dodging (unless the camera fucks you). I feel like it's pretty much a learning experience, imo i already got a lot better than i was when i started yesterday.
 
The 4th time something something clicked, and even today I still fire up Demons Souls from time to time and play for a few hours. I don't know what the turning point really was, but when I hit it, I fell in love with the game, then Dark Souls 1 and 2, and now Bloodborne, even tho it's different/harder in a few ways.

Just saying, I wouldn't completely give up, let what you know and have seen soak in, maybe in a few weeks/months, come back to it.

The click comes as soon as you get a knack for the mechanics. Not only combat wise but also when you understand how to navigate and explore. Heck, with Demon's Souls I quit for a month or so cause I searched hours for the monumental but couldn't find him. Came back for the combat the second time I started the game. It was then that the serie grabbed me.

The click is really specific for and sensitive to the formula cause when I played DS2 around launch, the game simplt felt cheap to me. Nothing like the well designed Souls games I was used to and I stoped playing the game near the end.
 
I have never played a Souls game so I am like Bambi in the woods with Bloodborne, currently 4hrs in. There has definitely been a learning curve with the mechanics and overall difficulty of the game but I am embracing it, and loving every minute. I love how I feel improvement with every death and have already had a couple "Lightbulb" moments that reinvigorate me and melt away some of the frustrations. (Took me 30 min to figure out where my weapons were must have died a dozen times fighting the first wolf barehanded. And over an hour to realize I could heal with Triangle button lol). Last night I started learning how to time the gun and stun enemies for the critical strike(which I didn't even know existed). I also love how I really value each life I have because definitely have a lot to lose if you die, so I approach situations a little more cautious which is a great change from most games.

I am at work right now and I can't wait to get home and dive back it. Lots of deaths ahead and lots more to learn!
 
Any tips what to choose at start?

Primary and secondary weapon + "type" of origins?

Thanks.

I dunno if it's a "tip" but I picked "Violent Past" because it had a decent blend of health, stamina, and strength to start with, and then i picked the saw and the pistol. Haven't regretted either choice yet.
 
I get what you guys are saying, but agree to disagree I guess. I'll see if how I feel changes once I start playing it. For now though, it seems unnecessarily exclusionary to me to take such a hard line on it.

Let the person enjoy ketchup on the steak, as long as they're not putting it on other peoples' steak, I say.
 
Honestly, I was ready to throw in the towel within my first hour, after seeing how easily any encounter can lead to death. Silly, I know, but I just never really got into games with this level of challenge, and felt it was foolish of me to think things would be any different with this game. I just wasn't seeing how this could be fun.

BUT, lo and behold, after several deaths, and pathetic attempts in vain at taking down the Cleric Beast, I spent a good hour or so on a Blood Echoes farming run to attempt to level up my character and try to make the game more fun for myself...and it seems to have worked. I'm hardly a killing machine, but everything just felt, well, fairer. The Cleric Beast still took some work, but I felt I was in control the entire battle, and beat him convincingly. I called it a night at that point, satisfied.

I'm really appreciating most everything about the game...the visual design, music and sounds, lore, etc. are all very appealing, and I am trying to learn to love the steep difficulty. I'm hoping I can handle the rest of the game in the same manner as what I've done early on (i.e. if I feel hopeless in certain battles, I can farm to level up some more while learning patterns) and make it manageable.
 
Played Dark Souls till Blight Town and I am loving Bloodborne but, have quit playing it till the loading time patch comes out. I die a lot and waiting 40+ seconds to respawn is killing the drive to play.
 
I've only played it for about 3 hours but I love it, the combat system, the atmosphere, the enemy design everything is amazing
I'm still getting use to the lack of check points though lol.
Also soo much this⬇
Haven't tensed up so much while playing a game in a very long time.
 
I mostly like it, although I'm not a huge fan of the total lack of any direction. I prefer it when the difficulty of a game is in executing the tasks you're given rather than trying to figure out what those tasks are. Luckily there are plenty of guides online for me to use, so when I get stuck it's not as frustrating as it could be.
 
I had a rough start, but after almost 4 or 5 hours (fuck you, I'm a noob damn it lol) I finally got Boss #1 down and I was goddamn ecstatic. Before I dropped that boss, I was seriously contemplating stopping the game but now all I want to do is get more kills.

The only comparable rush I've ever had is back in my WoW days when my guild would finally drop a raid boss we had had trouble with.

I'm loving it!
 
Wow, i didn't think there would would be so many new people embracing Bloodborne even though they have not tried it before.

I expected to see tons of people going "this game isnt well crafted at all, its just cheap/i don't even see the allure of this game at all, you just run around and hit things, its boring/this game only got good reviews cause PS4 doesn't have any exclusives" ect

I definitely have seen that around to be sure, but on gaf that seems to be a little less the case.
 
I've only played Souls games for about 4 hours previously but I'm loving this. I've said it before in a previous thread though that I absolutely disagree with the design choice for the starting area. Too many enemies in too large a mob with only 1 lantern. This would not be so bad save for the fact that you can't use your blood echoes for any leveling up until you beat the first boss. This means that you just keep losing items if you die (because you're using them and they don't replenish when you load back up). Which means you can get stuck grinding for blood vials. Not fun.

At one point I wandered into some aqueducts because I had no idea where to go. I did eventually find the Cleric Beast boss and got the "lay of the land" but I feel like putting new players into a maze filled with tons of enemies with no clear direction was a mistake. I can see a lot of people giving up on the game early on.

Again though, I am really liking the game so far. Once I got past the gripes about how the begging is setup, I fell in love with the creep-tastic atmosphere, awesome combat (it's quirky but I love it), and the difficulty / suspense.
 
Reading the manual is the tutorial.

I didn't say it didn't have a tutorial. A better one would be nice.


You know that the first time, you don't have to beat that werewolf, right?
That's how you get to Hunter's Dream the first time. You die.

Of course I figured that out when I walked in the room. I'm saying it took me 45 minutes after the first death to get used to the mechanics Also, the camera angles did not help in this room at all. Once out of there it opens up a bit.
 
I've only played Souls games for about 4 hours previously but I'm loving this. I've said it before in a previous thread though that I absolutely disagree with the design choice for the starting area. Too many enemies in too large a mob with only 1 lantern. This would not be so bad save for the fact that you can't use your blood echoes for any leveling up until you beat the first boss. This means that you just keep losing items if you die (because you're using them and they don't replenish when you load back up). Which means you can get stuck grinding for blood vials. Not fun.

If I remember right, they have a drop right before that area of about 10 pebbles. Souls games do this a lot, it's kind of a "hint-hint: you should use these soon" kind of thing. I abused the hell out of those pebbles with the big mobs, and didn't die once.
 
Any other noobs having trouble with the parrying system? During a farming run, I was trying it out on lower level enemies, and they either completely disregarded my blunderbuss shots, or didn't stagger to a knee to where I could hit them with a visceral attack. It seems to be more effective on larger enemies, but even then, it seems to be real hit or miss. I know it needs to happen during certain frames, so perhaps this window is smaller than I'm thinking.
 
One thing I learned the hard way...

On some bosses and fights, if the enemy uses a non-combo attack on you, it's sometime OK to let the enemy hit you that one time - because it puts you in the position to land a Heavy R2 attack and then bounce-out and heal as they are about to go into their combo-attack. You heal up while they whiff away at empty air and then you jump right back in on them. The trick is to get familiar with their basic 1-hit attack vs. their combo-attacks.

I've done this with a couple of those bigger dudes who are a bit slower, that have a 1-hit attack that takes you down to like 50% health, but doesn't kill you right away like their combo-attacks does.

It's weird but in this game, it seems like it's better to NOT try to dodge every single attack and to try to find the enemy's one weakest attack to absorb so you can land your strongest attacks and then bounce out safely to heal while they waste their combo-attack on empty air. The Heavy Attack you land also heals some of your own health up pretty nicely since it's within that time frame where you can recover some health right after being hit.

Just my 2 cents.
 
I have both Dark Souls. Played a little bit of DS2, I wanna say 9 hours. Didn't really pull me in, and I felt that some of the bosses were cheap. I would get hit, and I would be nowhere near the bosses attack.

I am absolutely loving Blood Borne. I've died a ton of times, but each time I learn something new. I love the atmosphere and creature designs. So far I've beaten two bosses, Cleric was easy, Father G was a beast. Took me 4 tries to beat Father G, but once I realized what attack was most effective, i destroyed him. I'm currently in Old Yaharam, unlocked all the shortcuts possible, and am working my way to beat the third boss.I love this game.
 
I HATE difficult and frustrating games, and have never had an interest in this series, but based on the reviews alone, I went and bought it. Four hours later, I'm completely in love. Yeah, combat and camera can be janky and feel unfair at times, but I just can't get enough of it!

Made it to the second boss, and my entire body is already filled with a physically sick feeling of dread. I've lost three times already and see this only getting more frustrating. Fingers crossed I can persevere. I've already lost thousands to stupid deaths and miscellaneous exploration. I don't completely understand why I'm loving the game, but can't stop thinking about it.
 
Spent half an hour creating my character, died fighting hand to hand with the first enemy. Literally 5 minutes in to the game...

I like it!
 
I started playing today and several times I've turned my playstation off, because of frustration. 10 minutes later I turn it on again. It is a really fascination game, I like it a lot.
 
Any other noobs having trouble with the parrying system? During a farming run, I was trying it out on lower level enemies, and they either completely disregarded my blunderbuss shots, or didn't stagger to a knee to where I could hit them with a visceral attack. It seems to be more effective on larger enemies, but even then, it seems to be real hit or miss. I know it needs to happen during certain frames, so perhaps this window is smaller than I'm thinking.

I haven't really figured it out yet either.
 
I dont see how the manual could be any better because it tells you everything from controls to what each main mechanic like insight does.

Unless you wanted it all incorporated into the game.

I mean, it really should be. No one is going to bother with the manual in this day and age (especially a digital one) let alone be expected to. All it would take is one prompt after you get your first weapon to explain it.
 
I mean, it really should be. No one is going to bother with the manual in this day and age (especially a digital one) let alone be expected to. All it would take is one prompt after you get your first weapon to explain it.

It is all in the game. If you go into your stats menu, there's a prompt at the very bottom that says "R3: help". If you press r3, you can go through each stat on the menu, from insight to frenzy res, and it'll tell you what they do.
 
It is all in the game. If you go into your stats menu, there's a prompt at the very bottom that says "R3: help". If you press r3, you can go through each stat on the menu, from insight to frenzy res, and it'll tell you what they do.

I'm specifically talking about the equipping weapons part here. If you need to use a help feature or have a decent percentage of players having trouble figuring out how to equip the weapons they just gave you, or don't realize they're not equipped at all, your execution of communicating a pretty basic system is lacking.
 
If you look for stairs to your right, you can bypass all of the bonfire guys and only need to fight a couple of guys on the upper walkway. When you get to the end, run down and go up the steps on the other side. There will be resistance when you do this but you can run past everything and get to the other side of the huge gate without dying
I'm anxious to get home now to try this out. Thanks!!
 
OK I put in more time and I'm starting to like it a lot more. Dying is just part of the game..

Yep.

Once you accept dying as progress in terms of learning something about your enemy, environment, or situation and not as "getting nowhere" it makes more sense and becomes (slightly) less frustrating.

Of course the desire to snap a controller in half is still part of the experience
 
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