How replaying Bloodborne changed my mind
So back in 2015, I had made a review for Bloodborne, in which the outcome didn't come across very good. As any 'non-soulslike' player might have experienced, Bloodborne and its predecessors are one of the toughest game to play to this date.
Fast forward to last year when Sekiro was released (March 2019), I played the game due to my biased and interest in the Japanese culture, in which realizing this game is just as hard as Bloodborne which I disliked. A close friend set the expectation for me when playing a 'souls' game. The words "you're supposed to die" kept ringing in my mind. In fact, with Sekiro... you pretty much have to die in order for the narrative to continue on. After many months of playing Sekiro, and even taking a 10 month break from a broken PS4 controller, the game was completed... but that's a story for another article.
Post-Sekiro completion, I played Fallen Order... in which was initially scared as most people compared it to Dark Souls... which, to my surprise, wasn't anywhere near it in terms of it's toughness. It was more like a child's game. From that point on, the realisation that games by FromSoftware were the only way to give me the same euphoric feeling of beating a boss fight or completing the game, which lead me to going back to Bloodborne.
Much like an addict waiting for their next hit, Bloodborne is a type of game that requires a lot of patience, strategy, and focus. Yes, the camera rotation, physics, controls and graphics feel dated... but that's not what the game is about. The game is extremely tough to better your skills and tactics so long as you're willing to take the time to persevere, and push through. To reiterate, dying is a very normal thing most people experience numerous times in this game.
In terms of storytelling... my previous review clearly showed how much dislike I had for the narrative through its vagueness. However, much like playing the entirety of the game, you have to push through for the story to be slowly revealed. Playing this game through actually made me come to the realisation that everything was created specifically with purpose. The way the story is unravelled as you start off not knowing what is happening and why you're there, all the way to the item descriptions, and the environment. Hidetaka Miyazaki is meticulous when it comes to story telling that it actually commends respect. Again, this is something that needs to be explained prior to attempting the game, giving a new player expectations of whats to come. From a Souls outsider's POV, it makes no sense... but patience is the key to all of this.
That being said, I'd spend most of my mental state in the 'frustration and angry' spectrum due to the nature of how tough this game is to play. However, the moment you defeat a boss or are able to complete the section your'e stuck on for the 40th time, the feeling and emotion you get is not comparable to any other game's completion. It took months to actually understand why there's such a cult following with Souls games.
For those, like myself, who attempted to play Bloodborne for a few hours... even just days and gave up, I highly suggest you give it another shot and push through the ridiculous toughness of the game. Give it time to work out the pace and way of playing this game with dodgy and attacking without being too greedy by attempting another hit. Hacking and slashing will not get you very far with the likes of these games.
For those who manage to complete the game, or are still going through it... the wait for Elden Ring shouldn't be too far away. Sure we've seen an extremely vague trailer and can only speculate it's set in a medieval period/era, but if Bloodborne and Sekiro is anything to go by, Miyazaki's and George R.R. Martin's next game will be a masterpiece. Stay tuned for that review... hopefully in the near future!
