Game Debate #90: Bloodborne

[Reed Rothchild | 9,964]

[TDIRunner | 2,913]

I haven't played it and it doesn't really look like my type of game, so I probably never will.  I hadn't played either game in the choices last week, but I was hoping for the other game to win because I was curious about others opinion on that game.  Maybe we will see it again down the road.  

[Brickman | 4,215]

10 for me. I’m a huge souls fan and I loved this flipping of defensive combat seen in the souls series to requiring you to having to constantly attack. 

The levels were interesting and a good challenge and the boss really ramped up the challenge.

The hardest part is deciding if I like Dark Souls or Bloodborne more.

[AstralSoul | 523]

I struggled between a 9 and a 10. The game is near-perfect and has an amazing aesthetic, and as a huge Dark Souls fan I appreciated the transition to a new environment and story. Ultimately I gave it a 9 because as Dark Souls is a 10 for me, I just prefer the Souls games more. That's just personal preference. I feel like they are (as hard as it may be to believe) more forgiving than Bloodborne and I like that your character is essentially more customizable in Souls. Other than that they are near equals. Just perfectly crafted games in my opinion. Playing Elden Ring now as I type this

[YOURTURN | 1,258]

This game was a 6/10 for me. 

It was one of the few games I bought digitally, with intent of playing with my friends. When one of them said that was an issue I made an effort to play it myself. In the end I did enjoy some of the differences between this and the Souls games, and the Ravenloft-like feel I felt while I explored. The rest made it be a "If I was in the mood and had others to join me." type of game, as opposed to being a game I want to see how far I can get into before I either beat it (or feel burnt out and quit).

[themisfit138 | 523]

5/10 not a fan of any of the souls games. I have played them all but there is no fun in any of them. They feel like a chore to play. For reference I have beat souls 1.

[Gloves | 12,274]

10, obviously.

[Webhead123 | 753]

I'm clearly not the kind of player that From Software is pitching to with the Souls-like games. I really gave an honest try to Sekiro (I loved the concept, the art design, playing as a one-armed friggin' ninja-warrior) but...I just couldn't stick with it. I'm not sure why some older games with punishing, play-it-until-you-get-it-right game play work so flawlessly for me and yet these modern games with the same sensibility fall so flat. I'll happily beat my head against the wall for hours to finish Castlevania 3 but the 10th time trying to beat a random mini-boss in Sekiro just drained my will to live.

As such, I haven't played Bloodborne and, if I'm being honest with myself, I probably never will...but this game in particular has garnered such a rabid and vocal fanbase that I keep feeling like there really must be something worthwhile to it. If a copy ever falls into my lap, I'd be willing to give it a shot. I'm pretty sure that I will get frustrated and lose interest a half-dozen hours in like I did with Sekiro but I'm willing to try for the sake of saying that I did.

Question for anyone who's played Elden Ring: Considering the above statements about how I just don't enjoy the core game play loop of the other Souls-like games, is there anything that Elden does that would make someone like me actually enjoy it enough to play all the way through? It's the new super-hotness right now and it has me curious...but I'm not spending premium dollars on something that I'll just end up uninstalling 5 hours in.

Edited March 17, 2022 by Webhead123

[fox | 1,772]

@Webhead123

Elden Ring is open world Souls.  The mechanics and difficulty are unchanged.  What is different is the open world which is really well done with lots of things to explore, find, and fight.  So if you are stuck you can go do something else and come back at a higher level with different weapons, spells, and summons.