Bloodborne was released on March 24th, and it is glorious!
Current Metacritic (4/6/2015): 93/ Universal Acclaim score with 80 critics (not a single mixed or negative review)
Genra: I would classify Bloodborne as "Horror Action RPG". There are statistics (you chose where to spend points), levels, Weapon "crafting", loot, and even "moral" choices which will have deep impacts on the way the story unfolds and potentially who survives.
Player #: Offline - 1 / Online: Up to 3 Co-Op (Host + up to 2 Guests) or PvP (Host + up to 2 Invaders). It is possible to play chosing "Online" or "Offline", thus preventing possible invasions (non consensual PvP).
Length: Typically 40h+, but it can be much more.
Types of Play: Single player campaign, Procedural Dungeons (under the city), Co-Op battles, Co-Op dungeon, and PvP invasions
Levels: In a typical first run, you would probably go from level 10 (minimum, unless playing as "waste of skin" which starts at 4), to level 60-70ish. You can then continue the game in NG+, with a (theoretical) cap of level 999 (like in the DeS and DS series).
although is is in practice "possible" to play the whole game from start to finish without ever leveling, even at level 4, I would strongly advise against it unless you like pain
Stat Caps (Soft / Hard - Here meaning past Soft Cap = "diminished returns", and past Hard Cap = "becoming so futile it is nearly not worth it"):
Vitality (HPs): 30 / 50
Endurance (Stamina): 40 / 50
Strength (Str based Attk weapons): 25 / 50
Skill (Dex based Atk weapons): 25/ 50
Bloo tinge (Guns): 25/ 50
Arcane (Magic): 25/ 50
Weapons:
example of some weapons found
Gear: Tons of armor sets with various resists can be found (I think at least 30 armor sets can be found atm)
One interesting point that differs from the Souls series: All gear is cosmetic in a way (aside from the resist stats), meaning that by en large what you will equip will depend on your playstyle and look preferences, instead of having "mandatory upgrades".
Loot is also more rare than the Dark Souls series it seems. By mid game, looking around and shopping, I had access to at least a dozen weapon/ guns though (you increase your options by adopting a "dual" spec" of Str/ Skill (weapons scale based on one ofr the other), but you might also hamper your damage by doing so, so it is a choice.
It is to be noted that a lot of gear and armors can be found in the Chalice dungeons, and are not present in the standard campaign (same goes for some bosses).
Story:
Quote:
Bloodborne takes place in the ancient city of Yharnam which was known for housing a medical remedy, a "panacea" which, it is said, would cure any disease. Over the years, many travelers made pilgrimages to Yharnam seeking the remedy to cure their afflictions; the Hunter is one of these travelers. Upon arriving in Yharnam, however, it is discovered that it is overrun with a plague which has transfomed most of the townsfolk into terrifying beasts. The player must navigate the streets of Yharnam and defeat its insane inhabitants and horrifying monsters in order to survive.
IMPORTANT START TIPS:
1- Do not try to kill the first ennemy bare handed. Weapons await you in the Hunter's Dream.
2- Buy the Hunter Armor fro mthe shop asap
3- You cannot get in the Hunter's Dream House (which contains the workshop to upgrade weapons) until you reach the second lantern in Yarnham.
4- You cannot level up until you find the first boss (Cleric Beast). Just finding it and dying is enough.
5- Level up and upgrade your weapons as often as possible
Where to go Next? The steps to Madness (spoilers):
[Show spoiler]
Quote:
1 - Clear the intro stuff and in Central Yharnam you will easily find the 1st boss, Cleric Boss. This boss is optional.
2 - At the end of Central Yharnam, you will fight 2nd boss, Father Gascogine. Note there is an item you can find to make this boss easier. After this boss is item to be able to upgrade weapons.
3 - Progress through the Cathedral Ward into Old Yharnam. Note killing the gattling gun guy loses a gesture you can get from him later. At end of Old Yharnam is 3rd boss, Blood Starved Beast. This boss is optional. Note that upon beating this boss, a 'kidnapper' enemy will appear in some locations. Being killed by him will get you 'kidnapped' to a late game area, Yahar'gul, where you can fight an optional boss 'early'. This also lets you rescue a NPC if you figure out the 'puzzle' involved in doing so. She will give a gesture. This NPC will be dead if you come here 'normally' so you might want to get her now. Otherwise, I will assume you don't do this as the enemies and boss here is hard for your level. Also note that beating the Blood Starved Beast unlocks a path in the chapel, all optional stuff, some can be completed now, some is locked to be completed later in the game.
4 - At this point, if you haven't already, you should buy the Hunter Chief Emblem from the shop in Hunter's Dream. This lets you progress into the Grand Cathedral. You can also get into this area from the recently unlocked side path in the chapel. This area has the 4th boss, Vicar Amelia. Note that after beating her, any door/window NPC you talk to will give you a tonsil stone. This essentially lets you go into an optional area, Nightmare Frontier (connected from lecture building), where you can fight an optional boss earlier than you otherwise could. Again, I will assume you don't do this as you will be under leveled and the reward is ultimately a chalice you can just get later.
5 - Enter Hemwick Charnel Lane, which has 5th boss Witch of Hemwick, who is optional. This gets you the item to use runes (which are rings basically).
6 - Enter Forbidden Woods (requires beating Amelia). Note that there is a semi-secret connection to Iosefka's clinic from here that will get you an item needed for an optional area, as well as some other things. Note that killing the (potentially hostile) NPC here, at this point, will make you miss a rather important item to get later. At end of forbidden woods, defeat 6th boss, Shadow of Yharnam.
7 - Enter Forsaken Castle Cainhurst by taking the Summons from Iosefka's Clinic to a certain spot in Hemwick. Defeat 7th boss, Martyr Logarius. This boss, and area, is optional. Note this area and boss is fairly hard, don't be afraid to come back later, this is just the earliest you can do this. This gets you a covenant access as well as ability to complete a npc questline.
8 - Enter Brygenwerth from the Forbidden Woods. At end of area defeat 8th boss, Rom, the Vacous Spider. IMPORTANT NOTE: defeating this boss will change the world a bit, and is a trigger event for many NPC questlines (like Eileen), and non-rescued NPCs at this point will die/disappear.
9 - Enter Yahar'gul, Unseen Village. Here, you can encounter 9th boss, Darkbeast Paarl. He is optional and you could have fought him earlier if you found the 'early' access to this area.
10 - At end of this route is 10th boss, the One Reborn.
11 - Within Yahar'gul, there is a key that lets you go to an optional area behind a locked door in Cathedral Ward. Use this to enter Upper Cathedral Ward. You will run into 11th boss, Celestial Emissary. He is optional.
12 - At end of Upper Cathedral Ward is 12th boss, Ebriteas, Daughter of the Cosmos. She is optional. Note she is fairly hard and you can always come back to this completely optional area later. This gets you a chalice and access to alter that is related to a npc quest/covenant.
13 - Continuing on from the Yahar'gul route, enter the Lecture Building. From here you can go to Nightmare Frontier or Nightmare of Mensis. The Nightmare Frontier is optional and contains the 13th boss, Amygdala. She is optional and you could have fought her earlier if you found the 'early' access to this area through the tonsil stone. She gives a chalice.
14 - Enter Nightmare of Mensis. You will find 14th boss, Micolash, Host of the Nightmare.
15 - At end of area, you will find 15th boss, Mergo's Wet Nurse.
16 - You have now reached the split point for the multiple endings (there are 3 endings). The first ending is to let Gherman kill you. There is no boss for this ending. The second ending is to refuse Gherman and you will fight 16th boss, Gherman, the First Hunter. Assuming you have not achieved certain conditions, this will be the second ending.
17 - To get the last ('true') ending, you must find and eat/use three 'third umbilical cords'. Upon doing so, refuse Gherman and fight him, and then instead of ending you fight the 17th boss, Moon Presence and get the last ending.
18 - As to the third umbilical cord locations, there happens to be four of them in the game for some reason. One is from beating Mergo's Wet Nurse.
Another is in a secret area in the Cathedral Ward (behind an auspicious door heading down the 'pit' area). Another is when you take the Forbidden Woods path to Iosefka's Clinic, there is a character on an operating table you can kill to get the item. The trigger for that character to be on the operating table is killing Rom. Killing the character before it reaches the operating table 'stage' of its plot-line (i.e. before killing Rom) will permanently miss this umbilical cord. The last one is from bringing a certain NPC (the '*****'), who is behind the Hunter Emblem gate, to the Chapel and at the end of the game, she will give birth to a baby you kill to get a umbilical cord. This one is also permanently missable because window/door NPCs disappear after a while (When you kill Rom) and if you didn't talk to her by then, she is dead/gone. Also, if you bring her to the chapel and also bring the 'beggar' character from the forbidden woods, that character kills all npcs in the chapel over time meaning you will miss this item because she gets killed by him. It is also missable (I presume, have not tested) if you bring her to Iosefka's clinic because everyone sent there gets killed. Finally, it is can also be missable if you bring the nun NPC to the chapel because sometimes the nun NPC will kill this character, it is currently unknown what exactly triggers the nun to do this. As far as I know, it is ultimately possible to miss 2 of the 4 umbilical cords and be unable to get the true ending so make sure not to mess it up.
19 - Finally, note the chalice dungeons have a host of bosses and the difficulty is roughly attuned such that the dungeons should be done when you obtain the chalices. The 1-5 'depth' number represents difficulty of the dungeon. The final and toughest boss from these dungeons (which has a trophy attached) is Yharnam, Pthumerian Queen, who is at the end of the pthumerian "line" of chalices. 1-2 depth dungeons should be completed during the game as you find the chalice or they will be too easy at end game, but later depths are end game difficulty and are best completed right before the endings (note you will be over leveled for the final boss(es) if you fight them after completing the hardest of these dungeons making the final fights anti-climatic. So maybe for best experience get the endings while you are on the difficulty curve, and then after doing so, reload the save to do the high depth portions of these dungeons, the highest depth chalice dungeons are extremely, extremely difficult, much harder then the final areas and bosses of the story) (edit: apparently chalice dungeons do not scale into new game plus, so I recommend beating the final boss(es) and doing the high level chalice dungeons (~depth 4+) in new game plus.) There are 4 chalice dungeon types, 3 are found in the main game and 1 is found within another chalice dungeon. Chalices with "root" in their name are randomized and just for getting loot like ritual materials. Ones without "root" in their name are preset. Note there is a weapon only obtainable in chalice dungeons and there is exactly one obtainable blood rock, material needed to put a weapon to +10, outside of chalice dungeons. There is a hunter tool item in the dungeons, but that tool seems to not be required for the achievement for getting all the hunter tools, the weapon is required though. Note there is one weapon that is only new game plus obtainable (edit: apparently it is findable in chalice dungeons randomly), but otherwise all achievements/items can be gotten in one playthrough if not missed.
With E3, it has been now confirmed that Bloodborne is Project Beast, and a co production between SCEJ and From Software coming in 2015.
It is described as a Action/ RPG in the vein of Demon's souls, and directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki (from Demon's souls and Dark Souls).
Introducing Bloodborne, the latest Action RPG from renowned Japanese developer FromSoftware, exclusively for the PlayStation®4 system. Face your fears as you search for answers in the ancient city of Yharnam, now cursed with a strange endemic illness spreading through the streets like wildfire. Danger, death and madness lurk around every corner of this dark and horrific world, and you must discover its darkest secrets in order to survive.
A Terrifying New World: Journey to a horror-filled gothic city where deranged mobs and nightmarish creatures lurk around every corner.
Strategic Action Combat: Armed with a unique arsenal of weaponry, including guns and saw cleavers, you'll need wits, strategy and reflexes to take down the agile and intelligent enemies that guard the city's dark secrets.
A New Generation of Action RPG: Stunningly detailed gothic environments, atmospheric lighting, and advanced new online experiences showcase the power and prowess of the PlayStation(R)4 system.
Screenshots have started to appear today of a game temporarily named "Project Beast".
It got people very excited, as it seems to stem from From Japan and also seems (rumor) to be published by Studio Japan (SCEJ). Those are the people responsible for Demon's Souls, one of the most acclaimed games on the PS3 in 2009.
The atmosphere seems definitely Souls- esque (as I have read somewhere) in the screenshots, even if the main character seems to be an Undead gunslinger with a shotgun.
Now, to even further wet your appetite, let us remember that Demon's Souls temporary name, back in the days, was
Project Dark
This is all a rumor and stemmed (I believe) from 4chan, so beware
Last edited by Elandyll; 04-16-2015 at 08:14 PM.
Reason: Updated data
If legit, I would imagine the leak comes from someone who was shown a trailer meant to be revealed at or just before E3 (as the screenshots seem to be caps of a compressed stream ala youtube)...
On one hand less surprise for later, but on the other, hype starts
If that last image doesn't prove it's Demon's Souls, I don't know what would! Looks awesome. I was turned off to the series, but after spending far too much time on Dark Souls 2, I'm back to being hooked!
I'm all for it, if it's really in the spirit of the original Demon's Souls. Dark Souls has deviated way away from that model and is now something completely different.
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