Bloodborne (PS4) "To Byrgenwerth we go!"

[Solkia]

You're telling me the elevator at Firelink Shrine is the wrong direction?

 

Well fuck.

[Chronozoah]

Invasion works differently in this game.

 

When you ring a beckoning bell and successfully get a co-op partner, a bell witch will spawn in your game and start ringing a sinister bell. This calls any players ringing sinister bells into your game for an invasion. Alternatively, if two players ring sinister bells, one will randomly be chosen to invade the other. 

 

There are specific levels in the game where bell witches are already present - I've gotten invaded numerous times here, and done a lot of invading myself. 

[Kuzu]

You're telling me the elevator at Firelink Shrine is the wrong direction?

 

Well fuck.

 

Yea, you'll make it there eventually but for not, go through Undead Burg, the bonfire isn't that far off.

[Sami]

You're telling me the elevator at Firelink Shrine is the wrong direction?

 

Well fuck.

If it makes you feel any better I accidentally went down to the graveyard my first playthrough. They reward you with some really good weapons if you go to harder areas first. My favorite weapon in the game is right there in the graveyard.

I've seen the prompts for a sinister woman appearing (and disappearing) a couple of times, but nothing ever came of it, so my experimentation with interactivity has been limited mostly to that one guy I summoned who walked off an edge and died instead of using the ladder. No PvP so far and limited co-operative play. How is PvP?

 

Yeah, you'll want to head for the Undead Burg. If you're headed on the right path, you should reach a large bridge. Have fun there.

Once you actually connect it's great. Very fast and combat is as deep as ever. No more magic Havel bullshit either.

[Kuzu]

If it makes you feel any better I accidentally went down to the graveyard my first playthrough. They reward you with some really good weapons if you go to harder areas first. My favorite weapon in the game is right there in the graveyard.

 

 

I also got raped by Skeletons when I did that lol. I also accidently killed the merchant, so I couldn't even get arrows.

[Solkia]

Okay I took Sami's advice and found a new Bonfire. I thought Bonfires restored Estus Flask though

[Chronozoah]

I'm sure it won't take long for the community to find the next Giant Dad or Havelmonster.

 

Oh yeah, I accidentally killed that merchant too. I just happened to buy all the stuff I needed from him beforehand. Funny how these things work out, eh?

 

Bonfires only restore flasks when rested at. If you rested at one but somehow ended up with less uses than you had at some point earlier, it means someone kindled a bonfire near you and granted you additional, temporary uses.

[Kuzu]

Okay I took Sami's advice and found a new Bonfire. I thought Bonfires restored Estus Flask though

 

They do, how many do you have?

[Solkia]

7, but going to the bonfire didn't restore them

[Wraith]

7, but going to the bonfire didn't restore them

 

Bonfires restore your Estus up to 5 until you use Humanities to "Kindle" them, which makes it so they restore your estus up to 10.

[Dobkeratops]

Once you actually connect it's great. Very fast and combat is as deep as ever. No more magic Havel bullshit either.

 

The lack of 10 minute turtling sessions ending in lagstabs means PvP is now about actual fighting. I find myself actually enjoying invasions for the first time since Demon's.

[The Pit of Mystic Cave]

7, but going to the bonfire didn't restore them

[Chronozoah]

Reached 40 insight a while ago. 

 

What is Cthulhu doing in my Bloodborne.

 

[Dobkeratops]

Reached 40 insight a while ago. 

 

What is Cthulhu doing in my Bloodborne.

 

That's only the beginning. Just you wait.

[Chronozoah]

Spellcasting eyeball lanterns and eldritch abominations are just the beginning? Excellent. I do look forward to seeing what new moves or habits the other enemies have developed.

[Sami]

The fight against

Gehrman

was fucking stunning, holy shit. Amazing backdrop, great music, and sublime fight mechanics. Very, very, very easily up there as one of the best fights in the whole series. The fight was Artorias tier imo and that's saying a lot.

 

Even without DLC and pre-patch I can safely say this is my favorite Souls game. That's saying a lot considering Demons Souls used to be my favorite game in general. Bloodborne delivered exactly what I hoped for and expected - took the core concepts that made Demons Souls the best game I'd ever played, and improved upon them with the help of more dev experience and more powerful hardware. 

 

It's a beautiful, challenging, immensely satisfying game and I love it to fucking bits. <3

[Gregzilla]

After playing all three extensively, I've come to the conclusion that I can't pick a favorite.  All three have unique things to offer.  Demon's Souls is very tightly designed and has the best atmosphere, in my opinion.  Dark Souls is the most grand and feels like the most epic adventure, with the most gameplay and setting variety.  Bloodborne has the best visuals on a technical level and the most satisfying weapons, in addition to being deliciously dark and gothic.  I collectively consider them to be my favorite games. 

 

I guess to make things simpler I'll just say Hidetaka Miyazaki is my favorite video game.

[Sami]

Kotaku - What's Really Going on in Bloodborne

 

MASSIVE spoilers, but an extremely interesting read for those who still haven't gotten a handle on the story. Imo, it's Miyazaki's best yet.

[SuperStingray]

 

Here's a great video on the influences of Lovecraft on Bloodborne.  Spoilers ahoy.

[Dobkeratops]

Some of these chalices are stupid hard. Got to layer 2 of Loran and had to call it a day because jesus fucking christ. At least I found a sweet new weapon out of exploring.

 

I suppose some are meant for NG+, so I'll deal with them on future playthroughs (wherein I hopefully won't fuck up every sidequest as well).

 

[Milo]

Bloodborne has now sold one million units worldwide.

 

 

 

SCE Japan Studio and From Software collaboration a success.

Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Studio and From Software’s PlayStation 4 action RPG Bloodborne have cumulatively sold through more than one millin units worldwide as of April 5, Sony announced.

The number includes both Blu-ray disc sell-through quantities and download version sales on the PlayStation Store.

“Bloodborne was a new challenge for us, and our goal was to create a title that took full advantage of the power of PS4,” said SCE Worldwdie Studios president Shuhei Yoshida.
............

 

 

[Teoskaven]

Small related news.

Dunno if it was confirmed officially, but apparently, Sony contacted an italian Youtuber specialized in FromSoftware-related videos to inform him that Italy is the country with the highest number of sold copies of Bloodborne in the european sector and congratulate with him.

 

...i guess we love the Soul series a lot. Personally, it's fine for me, but i tend to play it's games a few years after they're released. I'll probably do the same for Bloodborne.

[SuperStingray]

Has anyone else had trouble finding people online?  I've been playing a good 80 hours now and not a single bell ring or dungeon search has been successful for me.  I've been invaded once, but that's about it.

[Sami]

Close the game fully and go back in, or reset your PS4. There's a weird issue with suspend mode and online connectivity.

[Gregzilla]

The game has now been patched. There's apparently some bug fixes and stuff, but the main draw is the loading screens. So far they seem to vary from like 25% to more than 50% faster than before. Thank goodness!

Plus, now there's item descriptions to read while you wait like in the Souls games!