Just in case you're not a super nerd, here's a quick crash course in From Software's run directly leading to Bloodborne. First there was King's Field (1994) which set the tone for the super difficult to penetrate action RPG. This was a PS1 game that didn't even make it over to the US, which might sound confusing because there was a King's Field on PS1 in the States, but that was actually King's Field II with a different name. Then From Soft did a whole bunch of other stuff which probably included mechs until they finally gave us westerners Demon's Souls (2009) on PS3.
Demon's Souls was a critical darling and sort of a sleeper hit. It also solidified the blueprint for what they'd become best known for. There's no doubt that King's Field was the predecessor, but it's more like a practice run. Demon's Souls is the real deal and basically should be your barometer on whether or not you like From Soft games. It's both brutal and brilliant. I'm truly terrible at Demon's Souls, but I still really like that game a lot. And probably more importantly to most gamers, it led to the creation of Dark Souls (2011). Dark Souls feels like the first phenomenon that From had in the US. And make no mistakes - this was Demon's Souls in everything but name. I mean literally, they just lost the license to use that name. So Dark Souls was it. It was dark and punishing and confusing and lonely. And gamers ate it up. Personally, I enjoyed attempting Dark Souls, but it demolished me. If you're starting to notice a theme here, I promise it's not just in your head. I really appreciate these games, but I'm not good at them and I have little patience for improving that. Dark Souls II was released in 2014 and I skipped that one at the time. I just sort of recoiled in terror at the thought of attempting it. My memory is that critical analysis was mixed. Some fans seemed to think it strayed to far from the established formula. Others thought it was too much of the same. So I don't know. And then after that, From made Bloodborne. A totally a new game in their now referred to "Soulsborne" series. I've always hated that name, honestly. Why don't we just call these From games? I mean that's what they are. But whatever. Bloodborne was created as a PS4 exclusive. It was very much in the mold of Demon's Souls, but rather than a sort of classic European dungeons and dragons tone, it leaned hard into HP Lovecraft and horror and existential dread. Honestly, this all stuff that I should eat up. But I don't know. The vibe never really grabbed me. I speak as a guy who read a bunch of Cthulhu mythos in college and watched most anything that Stuart Gordon or Brian Yuzna or Dan O'Bannon did that adapted the work of Lovecraft. And yet when Bloodborne was released and everyone was excited I was kind of like "eh, they should just make another Dark Souls." Which they eventually did and I bounced off of. But that's neither here nor there. What exactly is the definition of masochism? I've got the internet at my fingertips, but I don't feel like looking it up because I'm just trying to make a quick point here and getting too technical isn't even necessary. I'm writing this in early 2024 and in recent months I've found myself experiencing some sort of FOMO. I've been trying to dig into critically acclaimed games that I've missed out on to see what exactly I did even miss out on. And so here we are at Bloodborne because frankly, it's part of my PS Plus subscription. It's free to me, or I'm paying for it so I should check it out. Whichever way you view the situation. My own definition of masochism is bringing pain upon yourself. Or maybe even enjoying the pain that you bring upon yourself. I don't know if I enjoy it, but I do it to myself. I play these games that the world at large loves and I hate them and yet I insist that it's necessary. I need to play them so that I'll have the experience. I play them so I can tell you that I have and I can tell you why I didn't like them. I play these games so I can be informed and talk from a place of knowledge rather than ignorance. Or maybe I play them because they're free on PS Plus and what else am I going to do? I need to settle on what to play somehow, or else I'll just spend even more hours on Balatro. Variety is the spice of life, and I need some spice else I'll just over-eat the same thing. The character creation in Bloodborne is classic From Soft. It's one of those editors you can spend way too much time in. I'm not the creative type, though. So I end up making the same sort of character in all of these things. Usually a small redhead that's scrappy named Newt. It's just easier to roll the same sort of character in all these kind of games rather than spend too much time overthinking. It's possible that part of my immediate love for Horizon Zero Dawn came from the fact that Alloy was exactly the sort of character I'd have created in any kind of modern action RPG adventure. Launching into things, there's that classic From intro level. You know the one. It's foreboding but manageable. And it ends with a boss fight that there's zero chance you'll survive. It follows the same into template that was started with Demon's Souls. I will say that the horror inspired werewolves are cool. And then you get into the meat of the game, which is again borrowed directly from Demon's Soul's structure. You've got a hub world. You've got various levels to venture into. You've got the whole ability to die and try to get back to your dropped gear to pick it back up. This is undoubtedly just Demon's Souls But Gothic Lovecraft Version. And yet something just feels off about it for me. I know in all actuality I'm in the tiny minority here, but the controls feel wonky in this one too me. Like the game is running too fast. Or the controls are too sensitive. Or just not quite responsive enough. I can't put my finger on it, but it doesn't feel as good to me as Demon's Souls or Dark Souls or Elden Ring. Look, I know fans love this game. And I know I probably should as well. But I just don't. I feel like it's a good idea I guess. But things just feel wrong. They just don't land for me. And I can't quite articulate it other than that. At the end of the day, I still appreciate this game. It's always cool to survey the work of From Soft as they're such a niche studio doing what they want to do and keeping things interesting. They exist in their own little bubble. But for me personally, Bloodborne is probably my least favorite of From Soft's output that I've actually put any time into.
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