“Say hello to nightlife!“
By now the word, tattoo, and the Twitter handle inspiration is out, I feed on Souls, I mean Dark Souls. A recent Bloodborne tutorial and gameplay video kicked me in the gut, and so here I am, popping Sun Puns and expecting what not to expect from the FROM Software team working on Hidetaka Miyazaki’s next – Bloodborne. If you dig Souls, invade NOOBS, or leave summon signs like ‘Amazing Chest Ahead’ in front of Stone Trader Chloanne, then this is me speaking to you! It’s almost time for Bloodborne, so how are you expecting it to be? In case you want some starters, hop into the speculation article.
- Death
Death is the centre of Hidetaka Miyazaki’s rewarding scheme. Death is an ultimate punishment but death is also your absolute teacher in times when you feel like just mashing a couple of buttons for the heck of it. Given the rich variety of enemies in Bloodborne , from strange undead creatures to turning werewolves, until the various bosses at every corner of Yharnam, rest assured you are going to die. With just a cleaver and a shotgun added to the Souls like game, all I can see is dodge, attack and dodge. In case I mis-time or go greedy for a second, there will sure be death telling me where I went wrong.
- Change of Sprint/Action buttons
For those who are already acquainted with the sprint and action buttons of Demon’s Souls/Dark Souls, get ready to unlearn the options in Bloodborne. The O button of Playstation, that worked for sprinting, is now replaced by the X button. While the X button, which was for your in-game actions, like summoning a Sun Bro or picking up items is now the newfound sprint button. The Sprint animation however is retained from the Souls series, with a mild jump sequence if you press it twice (thank God, because DS2 jump button sucked), that will make things lighter for Souls maniacs, only initially.
- Customizable Cleaver
The Cleaver may be your sole melee weapon in Bloodborne, and your strongest bet yet. But as shown in multiple Bloodborne gameplay trailers, it is more than a cleaver. The cleaver has an attachment that makes it a halberd kind of a weapon to fight more than two opponents at once; it detaches to become a dagger, for quick stabbing purposes. The weapon also fits in perfectly with a hammer head, aiding you to go for a slower but heavier blow on your enemy. The extensions and contractions of the weapon makes me wonder how slow vs. speedy, long vs. short weapon build with make or break boss fights, like the one we’ve already seen at Gamescom – the Cleric Beast. This is the year when you will fall in love with the L1 button of the DS4.
- The Miyazaki Minions
Dark Souls was more than a lesson learnt, thanks to the multiple times I got screwed over by enemies one tenth of my size. Can we even forget the mosquitoes at Blighttown and the leeches at the Depths? And the pain they caused? The minions of Miyazaki not only waste your health but also make you suffer all over again, lest you fail. With Bloodborne and the curse of the full moon night, I can see all kinds of ghouls, ravens (already shown in Gamescom gameplay), wolves and who knows, maybe mushroom people returning to the fray!
- No Sun to Praise
That’s the worst part about Bloodborne, from all the gameplay trailers to the CGI videos, none speak of a day and night dynamic cycle at Yharnam. The game, as of now, takes place under the full moon light or dark hallways lit by a torch that you exchanged for the shotgun you carry. I can already sense a lot of traps, dead ends, and ambushing enemies just waiting for me to get fooled again. If they do not fix the framerate in Bloodborne, I might have to preorder an extra pair of controllers along with the game.
- “Imminent Summoning Ahead”
When Bloodborne was teased at E3 2014, I was happy and also a little perplexed, majorly because they didn’t show anything about an online mode. The Souls games are hard, even for a Souls expert, getting some “non NPC” help especially when you are about to face off Quelaag or the Pursuer, is extremely kind. When Gamescom elaborated on the Co-Op mode I went mad! Although things like who am I going to co op with (with strangers like in DS/DS2?) or what will it take to find a co op bud (summoning, human form) is still kicking the insides of my brain. Miyazaki introduced the seamless online/offline mode that we call ‘next gen’ today, so expect the online mode of Bloodborne nothing but interesting and logically fitted to the lore of Bloodborne.
- Speed, Tenacity and Devil May Cry
Just going back to point 3, I think the Cleaver and the Shotgun changes the game in this upcoming Souls lookalike. The level design and the character movement warrants the Souls like experience, while it is the dash and quick drawing shotgun and melee combo that says ‘SOLD’ out loud on my ears. Speed is going to be the way of Bloodborne, annihilate as quickly as possible, dash and ram through enemies, and prove your offense against enemies with the best defense. In a way, the cleaver customization and the introduction of the close range shotgun reminds me of my all time favourite Devil May Cry – DMC4. This is a game that will come out on a next gen console, unlike Dark Souls, so the seamless animation and weapon mechanics will have to defy all that Dark Souls is all about and reach for an even higher form of being epic.
Dark Souls is one of the big reasons why I chose to write for video games, and I still dream of the day when I can factually close all the loops that exist in the narrative design of Dark Souls. To make each missing piece tie to the other. Until then, I must stumble upon each piece on my way, and articulate what it means to me, or to the world around. Bloodborne, in such a way, is a stepping stone on my way to reach the height of this genre, and I was more than convinced that I am going to stick to my decision of choosing the PS4 when the time comes. 2015 is the year for the Playstation to really explode, not literally of course, with both Bloodborne and Uncharted slated to wipe some charts off. Until then, Praise the Sun, I mean, Praise the Full Moon!
