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[EU] Bloodborne Alpha Test

GribbleGrunger

GribbleGrunger

Dreams in Digital
Lucent

Lucent

Member
GribbleGrunger said:
I'll move these here because people seem to be ignoring the other thread:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJYj7M2iWkA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUuTUq1NaVo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdLhbLH06Z8#t=1055
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE2tEp8W6r4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-hJSMIThOs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJiejuSAsBU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erxcIIB-5IY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSpsCR3xE7o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6IwWPsiWeQ
Click to expand...

Holy shit! Thanks! The game is looking really amazing. I just hope they get the framerate cleaned up and the load times after death sped up.
 
P

Pie and Beans

Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
LOv1Y5R.jpg

AIZSlXJ.jpg

wRXM6jd.jpg

4Dqkxmq.jpg


I bloodied the beast, but I did not Defeated.
 
R

R_thanatos

Member
Discoid said:
Someone please upload some really clean footage - direct feed or just a share button file.
Click to expand...

Mr_Appleby said:
Share button is disabled.
Click to expand...

The first thing you get when you start the game is that the share button is disabled.
otherwise i would have flooded my facebook/twitter of bloodborne stuff

I honnestly didn't see where was the frame'rate problems.
For me it felt like a cleaner Soul game with darker lightning that didn't feel like you were totally in the dark creating a very nice contrast.
 
N

Nesther

Member
R_thanatos said:
The first thing you get when you start the game is that the share button is disabled.
otherwise i would have flooded my facebook/twitter of bloodborne stuff

I honnestly didn't see where was the frame'rate problems.
For me it felt like a cleaner Soul game with darker lightning that didn't feel like you were totally in the dark creating a very nice contrast.
Click to expand...

At the bridge theres some noticeable issues. But everything before that was smoother than any of the previous Souls titles.
 
E

Emouse

Member
R_thanatos said:
The first thing you get when you start the game is that the share button is disabled.
otherwise i would have flooded my facebook/twitter of bloodborne stuff

I honnestly didn't see where was the frame'rate problems.
For me it felt like a cleaner Soul game with darker lightning that didn't feel like you were totally in the dark creating a very nice contrast.
Click to expand...

I had a few frame drops but I found it mostly fine, and I agree the lighting was great and in one area pretty much forced you to use the torch unlike DS2
to the point I forgot I had the torch and screeched when the old guy in the wheelchair blasted me in the pitch black
 
C

Canis lupus

Member
There were a few dips here and there but nothing major that made it unplayable, already better frame rates than Souls games actually. Confident they'll get it to locked 30fps in time for February.
 
N

Nibel

Member
This game.

Played every class in the alpha and thought the first two (scythe/blunderbuss and hunter axe/pistol) were the best suited for me; the other two felt incredible in their own right, but also felt like they take more skill to be played perfectly.

This truly feels like more of a Demon's Souls successor than a Dark Souls one despite similarities. You still double tap circle to backdodge or jump while running, you use items with square and every attack button is located on the shoulder buttons. The world feels very 'Castlevania'-ish with the amount of doors and such I've encountered. I was shocked when I saw another player just on the street fighting; I've helped him and thought it was a NPC at first, but soon realized that he was seamlessly integrated into my game world which felt very natural. I was confused by the small inventory and how 'different' the game felt to actually control, but the more you play the more you realized that this is a fantastically streamlined version of the souls games.

Having a heal function mapped on the triangle button is so much better than having to scroll though the item submenu, especially during combat. Being able to transform your weapon with one button outside or even during combat is a bless and opens up the possibility to do fast and stylish combo chain attacks that have not been seen in any of the previous Souls games. The interface consists of way less elements and feels less cluttered than the other ones and doesn't interfer with the beautiful presentation.

The realization of the setting they chose is astounding; yes, there are crazy framerate drops during some segments and not every texture is sharp as a knife, but seeing this in motion with the horsepower of the PS4 behind it is something else. The use of decent motion blur during movements, the reflection of moody light sources in water puddles scattered on the street, the cape physics and the unbelievable sense of scope that puts Anor Londo to shame create an ominous yet exciting atmosphere that many games wished to come close to. The amount of assets is levels above anything you've seen in the previous Souls games: the inside of houses look way more detailed, the streets are filled with abandoned carriages, coffins, boxes, barrels, statues with facial expressions you can recognize and walls and railings and roofs and doors and architectures that are filled with crinkum-crankum.. and then there are this perfect moments during combat where you dodge and you witness the interplay of lighting, bloody coats, motion blur and think "Holy shit". This game is a looker to me.

The truly best part of it that made me giggle over and over again is the combat, and I have no idea how I should enjoy Dark Souls 2's combat ever again since I have some DLCs to finish. Bloodborne is fast. Bloodborne is brutal. You fight completely different than in previous Souls games because instead of choosing between two actions - attack and block - you have to make more decisions and button presses. Blocking always meant that you were safe to a certain extent, and that's gone now. You have no real safe options during combat surrouned by enemies; you can't just raise a shield and look for a wall behind you. You have to zig-zag dash your way between multiple enemies, keep your eye on stamina, choose the right moment to either melee attack or to shoot (which allows you to stun enemies if timed right before an enemy attack), than dodge back and then dash right back into the crowd while targeting the best target. I didn't manage to beat the Cleric Beast, but this was the first time I had a blast to fight a Souls boss again (especially since there is no dumb MaxHP-penality anymore lol). You dash around enemies, shoot them, slash them and transform your weapon to have a wider range and slash the enemies surrounding you, then you dodge a bullet and try to dash towards its shooter while being followed by mutliple enemies and then try to slash another enemy on your way because you've been hit before and the regain system makes you gamble if you want to win health back or not and and and. This has potential to be something really special because it feels soooo fresh.

This is not "I keep my finger on the shield button and walk into the room and if a enemy attacks me there is a slight chance that his attack will fall into the shield radius and be blocked". This is "I walk through open areas and if a enemy attacks I better dodge quickly into a direction where he doesn't hit me". This is "I can't stand still in a level because there are actual patrols who attack me instantly". This creates a new exciting dynamic scenario in which you never feel quite safe if you haven't killed all the enemies. And I loved it.

There were some typical Souls engine symptons though: enemies do the weird "skip animations if too far away" thing, they don't follow you all the way and sometimes have pathfinding issues. There were some other technical issues, but hey: this is an alpha, this is mostly normal. I believe the final product will be better in some areas.

All in all, I know what I'll be playing February. This is a true PS4 killer app and you will love this. Miyazaki and his team have done it again, and I can't wait to get my hands on it the next time.
 
D

Dawg

Member
Nibel said:
This game.

Played every class in the alpha and thought the first two (scythe/blunderbuss and hunter axe/pistol) were the best suited for me; the other two felt incredible in their own right, but also felt like they take more skill to be played perfectly.

This truly feels like more of a Demon's Souls successor than a Dark Souls one despite similarities. You still double tap circle to backdodge or jump while running, you use items with square and every attack button is located on the shoulder buttons. The world feels very 'Castlevania'-ish with the amount of doors and such I've encountered. I was shocked when I saw another player just on the street fighting; I've helped him and thought it was a NPC at first, but soon realized that he was seamlessly integrated into my game world which felt very natural. I was confused by the small inventory and how 'different' the game felt to actually control, but the more you play the more you realized that this is a fantastically streamlined version of the souls games.

Having a heal function mapped on the triangle button is so much better than having to scroll though the item submenu, especially during combat. Being able to transform your weapon with one button outside or even during combat is a bless and opens up the possibility to do fast and stylish combo chain attacks that have not been seen in any of the previous Souls games. The interface consists of way less elements and feels less cluttered than the other ones and doesn't interfer with the beautiful presentation.

The realization of the setting they chose is astounding; yes, there are crazy framerate drops during some segments and not every texture is sharp as a knife, but seeing this in motion with the horsepower of the PS4 behind it is something else. The use of decent motion blur during movements, the reflection of moody light sources in water puddles scattered on the street, the cape physics and the unbelievable sense of scope that puts Anor Londo to shame create an ominous yet exciting atmosphere that many games wished to come close to. The amount of assets is levels above anything you've seen in the previous Souls games: the inside of houses look way more detailed, the streets are filled with abandoned carriages, coffins, boxes, barrels, statues with facial expressions you can recognize and walls and railings and roofs and doors and architectures that are filled with crinkum-crankum.. and then there are this perfect moments during combat where you dodge and you witness the interplay of lighting, bloody coats, motion blur and think "Holy shit". This game is a looker to me.

The truly best part of it that made me giggle over and over again is the combat, and I have no idea how I should enjoy Dark Souls 2's combat ever again since I have some DLCs to finish. Bloodborne is fast. Bloodborne is brutal. You fight completely different than in previous Souls games because instead of choosing between two actions - attack and block - you have to make more decisions and button presses. Blocking always meant that you were safe to a certain extent, and that's gone now. You have no real safe options during combat surrouned by enemies; you can't just raise a shield and look for a wall behind you. You have to zig-zag dash your way between multiple enemies, keep your eye on stamina, choose the right moment to either melee attack or to shoot (which allows you to stun enemies if timed right before an enemy attack), than dodge back and then dash right back into the crowd while targeting the best target. I didn't manage to beat the Cleric Beast, but this was the first time I had a blast to fight a Souls boss again (especially since there is no dumb MaxHP-penality anymore lol). You dash around enemies, shoot them, slash them and transform your weapon to have a wider range and slash the enemies surrounding you, then you dodge a bullet and try to dash towards its shooter while being followed by mutliple enemies and then try to slash another enemy on your way because you've been hit before and the regain system makes you gamble if you want to win health back or not and and and. This has potential to be something really special because it feels soooo fresh.

This is not "I keep my finger on the shield button and walk into the room and if a enemy attacks me there is a slight chance that his attack will fall into the shield radius and be blocked". This is "I walk through open areas and if a enemy attacks I better dodge quickly into a direction where he doesn't hit me". This is "I can't stand still in a level because there are actual patrols who attack me instantly". This creates a new exciting dynamic scenario in which you never feel quite safe if you haven't killed all the enemies. And I loved it.

There were some typical Souls engine symptons though: enemies do the weird "skip animations if too far away" thing, they don't follow you all the way and sometimes have pathfinding issues. There were some other technical issues, but hey: this is an alpha, this is mostly normal. I believe the final product will be better in some areas.

All in all, I know what I'll be playing February. This is a true PS4 killer app and you will love this. Miyazaki and his team have done it again, and I can't wait to get my hands on it the next time.
Click to expand...

tumblr_lwobmpkPmB1r6aoq4o1_400.gif
 
T

Trace

Banned
I was only able to play at PAX, didn't get in this alpha, looks very similar buildwise though.

And god damn was it fun. I haven't really enjoyed the Souls games so much, but this one was something special.

Sony pls send me alpha ty
 
B

Beeblebrox

Member
AlphaDragoon said:
Dark Souls 2 on PC, man. If you mean console only though, then you are certainly correct.

Anyway, glad to hear the game is awesome. Shame about the framerate, but maybe it'll get better as this is only an alpha.
Click to expand...
I'll take Bloodborne (and hell, even Demon's Souls or first Dark Souls), with its unstable 30-ish fps over Dark Souls 2 and its 60fps combined with their fucked up hit-boxes and slightly-off movement and controls (at least they seem slightly off to me) any day of the week.
Nibel said:
This game.
...awesomeness...
Click to expand...
Holy hell, I played it for 3 hours today and I thought I couldn't be more hyped, but your write up hyped me even more. Can't wait for Friday, just to jump in once again!
 
M

MavFan619

Banned
The impressions on the combat are so exciting I'm all for combat being more active, and pressing more buttons. Rushing bosses down yessssss.
 
Lucent

Lucent

Member
MavFan619 said:
The impressions on the combat are so exciting I'm all for combat being more active, and pressing more buttons. Rushing bosses down yessssss.
Click to expand...

I was watching the streamer play earlier and he wasn't bad but the way he handled the boss was frustrating to me. He lucked out and threw a molotov and happened to get a critical hit on him after by stabbing the boss in the head and took out like 1/4 his health. But after that he kept screwing it up and threw the molotov and stunned the boss but he took too long standing back and healing to capitalize on the stun. Being way too careful in the alpha build. I would've been like I only have 10 minutes left. YOLO! And kill it fast. lol
 
R

R_thanatos

Member
yeah i forgot to mention the patrols !

That was the things that actually blew me the first times.

I mean i was in co-op with someone and i followed him .we saw a group of ennemies in front of us and then we hoped for a co-ordinated attack and then ..when i was about to attack ..BAM i received damage from behind.. 1 patroll was there and i didn't saw them since instead of carefully adavancing i followed someone.
And then , the trap!! Pincer attack between the 2 groups of ennemies....and then we died.

The thing is i went back to the same place hoping to clear those ennemies before attacking the main group but they weren't there. I initially thought this was a scripted event untill i realised that those were patrolls and that they were VERY agressive when they spot you. "Dumb" a little but agressive no doubt. It was at this point that i tried to understand their AI patterns

Ah the satisfaction when you double tap Circle to dodge just at the right moment to fully use that time to counter attack and inflict massive damage ... SOGOOD.gif

Another cool moment was when i had an ennemy from behind ..but i want to explore.. i was confident. i had blood vials , i had enough bullets ..and then i hit him ... he seemed like a regular ennemy and then i saw... the bullet did sh*t damage to him thanks to his armor and me i was like "oh sh*t"

MUCH positive moments and impressions from the alpha.i plan to try new classes sunday
 
J

John Bender

Banned
Nibel said:
This game.

Played every class in the alpha and thought the first two (scythe/blunderbuss and hunter axe/pistol) were the best suited for me; the other two felt incredible in their own right, but also felt like they take more skill to be played perfectly.

This truly feels like more of a Demon's Souls successor than a Dark Souls one despite similarities. You still double tap circle to backdodge or jump while running, you use items with square and every attack button is located on the shoulder buttons. The world feels very 'Castlevania'-ish with the amount of doors and such I've encountered. I was shocked when I saw another player just on the street fighting; I've helped him and thought it was a NPC at first, but soon realized that he was seamlessly integrated into my game world which felt very natural. I was confused by the small inventory and how 'different' the game felt to actually control, but the more you play the more you realized that this is a fantastically streamlined version of the souls games.

Having a heal function mapped on the triangle button is so much better than having to scroll though the item submenu, especially during combat. Being able to transform your weapon with one button outside or even during combat is a bless and opens up the possibility to do fast and stylish combo chain attacks that have not been seen in any of the previous Souls games. The interface consists of way less elements and feels less cluttered than the other ones and doesn't interfer with the beautiful presentation.

The realization of the setting they chose is astounding; yes, there are crazy framerate drops during some segments and not every texture is sharp as a knife, but seeing this in motion with the horsepower of the PS4 behind it is something else. The use of decent motion blur during movements, the reflection of moody light sources in water puddles scattered on the street, the cape physics and the unbelievable sense of scope that puts Anor Londo to shame create an ominous yet exciting atmosphere that many games wished to come close to. The amount of assets is levels above anything you've seen in the previous Souls games: the inside of houses look way more detailed, the streets are filled with abandoned carriages, coffins, boxes, barrels, statues with facial expressions you can recognize and walls and railings and roofs and doors and architectures that are filled with crinkum-crankum.. and then there are this perfect moments during combat where you dodge and you witness the interplay of lighting, bloody coats, motion blur and think "Holy shit". This game is a looker to me.

The truly best part of it that made me giggle over and over again is the combat, and I have no idea how I should enjoy Dark Souls 2's combat ever again since I have some DLCs to finish. Bloodborne is fast. Bloodborne is brutal. You fight completely different than in previous Souls games because instead of choosing between two actions - attack and block - you have to make more decisions and button presses. Blocking always meant that you were safe to a certain extent, and that's gone now. You have no real safe options during combat surrouned by enemies; you can't just raise a shield and look for a wall behind you. You have to zig-zag dash your way between multiple enemies, keep your eye on stamina, choose the right moment to either melee attack or to shoot (which allows you to stun enemies if timed right before an enemy attack), than dodge back and then dash right back into the crowd while targeting the best target. I didn't manage to beat the Cleric Beast, but this was the first time I had a blast to fight a Souls boss again (especially since there is no dumb MaxHP-penality anymore lol). You dash around enemies, shoot them, slash them and transform your weapon to have a wider range and slash the enemies surrounding you, then you dodge a bullet and try to dash towards its shooter while being followed by mutliple enemies and then try to slash another enemy on your way because you've been hit before and the regain system makes you gamble if you want to win health back or not and and and. This has potential to be something really special because it feels soooo fresh.

This is not "I keep my finger on the shield button and walk into the room and if a enemy attacks me there is a slight chance that his attack will fall into the shield radius and be blocked". This is "I walk through open areas and if a enemy attacks I better dodge quickly into a direction where he doesn't hit me". This is "I can't stand still in a level because there are actual patrols who attack me instantly". This creates a new exciting dynamic scenario in which you never feel quite safe if you haven't killed all the enemies. And I loved it.

There were some typical Souls engine symptons though: enemies do the weird "skip animations if too far away" thing, they don't follow you all the way and sometimes have pathfinding issues. There were some other technical issues, but hey: this is an alpha, this is mostly normal. I believe the final product will be better in some areas.

All in all, I know what I'll be playing February. This is a true PS4 killer app and you will love this. Miyazaki and his team have done it again, and I can't wait to get my hands on it the next time.
Click to expand...
Can't stop the hype anymore :O
Sounds amazing!

Roboleon said:
I think you just sold me a ps4. or more like hit the final nail or something
Click to expand...

Join the club, bro.
It's waiting for you:

xIcs9gF.png
Click to expand...
;)
 
Stillmatic

Stillmatic

Member
Damn, so the Alpha times are 3am for AUS? Fuck. Already missed the last session, and doubt I can make the others if it's 3am. :/
 
Yoshichan

Yoshichan

And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
Straid said:
So, where is Yoshichan? I want to know his opinion.
Click to expand...
Y'know, I'd love to give my opinions of this game...

If Sony would fucking send me the alpha.

:mad:
 
G

GarciaHotspur

Member
Waow, why is there a big amount of thumbs down on the BloodBorne alpha videos ? People seems to be disapointted, but why ? I love what i see....
 
T

tskeeve

Member
Nibel said:
This game.

Played every class in the alpha and thought the first two (scythe/blunderbuss and hunter axe/pistol) were the best suited for me; the other two felt incredible in their own right, but also felt like they take more skill to be played perfectly.

This truly feels like more of a Demon's Souls successor than a Dark Souls one despite similarities. You still double tap circle to backdodge or jump while running, you use items with square and every attack button is located on the shoulder buttons. The world feels very 'Castlevania'-ish with the amount of doors and such I've encountered. I was shocked when I saw another player just on the street fighting; I've helped him and thought it was a NPC at first, but soon realized that he was seamlessly integrated into my game world which felt very natural. I was confused by the small inventory and how 'different' the game felt to actually control, but the more you play the more you realized that this is a fantastically streamlined version of the souls games.

Having a heal function mapped on the triangle button is so much better than having to scroll though the item submenu, especially during combat. Being able to transform your weapon with one button outside or even during combat is a bless and opens up the possibility to do fast and stylish combo chain attacks that have not been seen in any of the previous Souls games. The interface consists of way less elements and feels less cluttered than the other ones and doesn't interfer with the beautiful presentation.

The realization of the setting they chose is astounding; yes, there are crazy framerate drops during some segments and not every texture is sharp as a knife, but seeing this in motion with the horsepower of the PS4 behind it is something else. The use of decent motion blur during movements, the reflection of moody light sources in water puddles scattered on the street, the cape physics and the unbelievable sense of scope that puts Anor Londo to shame create an ominous yet exciting atmosphere that many games wished to come close to. The amount of assets is levels above anything you've seen in the previous Souls games: the inside of houses look way more detailed, the streets are filled with abandoned carriages, coffins, boxes, barrels, statues with facial expressions you can recognize and walls and railings and roofs and doors and architectures that are filled with crinkum-crankum.. and then there are this perfect moments during combat where you dodge and you witness the interplay of lighting, bloody coats, motion blur and think "Holy shit". This game is a looker to me.

The truly best part of it that made me giggle over and over again is the combat, and I have no idea how I should enjoy Dark Souls 2's combat ever again since I have some DLCs to finish. Bloodborne is fast. Bloodborne is brutal. You fight completely different than in previous Souls games because instead of choosing between two actions - attack and block - you have to make more decisions and button presses. Blocking always meant that you were safe to a certain extent, and that's gone now. You have no real safe options during combat surrouned by enemies; you can't just raise a shield and look for a wall behind you. You have to zig-zag dash your way between multiple enemies, keep your eye on stamina, choose the right moment to either melee attack or to shoot (which allows you to stun enemies if timed right before an enemy attack), than dodge back and then dash right back into the crowd while targeting the best target. I didn't manage to beat the Cleric Beast, but this was the first time I had a blast to fight a Souls boss again (especially since there is no dumb MaxHP-penality anymore lol). You dash around enemies, shoot them, slash them and transform your weapon to have a wider range and slash the enemies surrounding you, then you dodge a bullet and try to dash towards its shooter while being followed by mutliple enemies and then try to slash another enemy on your way because you've been hit before and the regain system makes you gamble if you want to win health back or not and and and. This has potential to be something really special because it feels soooo fresh.

This is not "I keep my finger on the shield button and walk into the room and if a enemy attacks me there is a slight chance that his attack will fall into the shield radius and be blocked". This is "I walk through open areas and if a enemy attacks I better dodge quickly into a direction where he doesn't hit me". This is "I can't stand still in a level because there are actual patrols who attack me instantly". This creates a new exciting dynamic scenario in which you never feel quite safe if you haven't killed all the enemies. And I loved it.

There were some typical Souls engine symptons though: enemies do the weird "skip animations if too far away" thing, they don't follow you all the way and sometimes have pathfinding issues. There were some other technical issues, but hey: this is an alpha, this is mostly normal. I believe the final product will be better in some areas.

All in all, I know what I'll be playing February. This is a true PS4 killer app and you will love this. Miyazaki and his team have done it again, and I can't wait to get my hands on it the next time.
Click to expand...

It's crazy how much Miyazaki just "gets it". I think a big reason for the lukewarm response to DaS2 was actually that the combat was getting too familiar. Dodge-rolling, blocking, waiting for an opportunity to strike - all fundamental to the Souls series, but after awhile, it was a bit repetitive. More thoughtful, aggressive combat is exactly what a Souls successor needs to revitalize the gameplay.
 
S

Sn4ke_911

If I ever post something in Japanese which I don't understand, please BAN me.
The game looks good but they really need to fix the goddamn framerate but since the other Souls games also struggled to run at 30FPS i wouldn't hold my breath.

But then again this is a alpha build so we'll see.
 
R

radyboysmith

Banned
it looks awesome with a different theme to it .

but does it differ much if any than dark souls ???

i would like to see a different stage other than the graveyard too
 
Lucent

Lucent

Member
GarciaHotspur said:
Waow, why is there a big amount of thumbs down on the BloodBorne alpha videos ? People seems to be disapointted, but why ? I love what i see....
Click to expand...

Maybe people who didn't get into the alpha and are really mad. Or people who don't have a PS4 and are jelly. I dunno.
 
G

Game4life

Banned
One question fellow gaffers. Do standard enemies and bosses also have a regain system. I remember reading somewhere that some bosses do.
 
M

MrWilson2912

Member
I'll say this, I've never played a souls game before but I liked everything about this game, the setting the combat and visuals except that its friggen hard. I like a hard game but to me this is really hard and I know I would have to grind to get through it which for me might be a problem with time. I can see others enjoying it though
 
P

Poimandres

Member
MrWilson2912 said:
I'll say this, I've never played a souls game before but I liked everything about this game, the setting the combat and visuals except that its friggen hard. I like a hard game but to me this is really hard and I know I would have to grind to get through it which for me might be a problem with time. I can see others enjoying it though
Click to expand...

Souls games aren't grindy at all, not in the way that a lot of RPG's can be. They are all about patience and knowing when to attack.

That said, be prepared to invest a good 10 hours before you really get a "feel" for how to handle these games. Definitely not for everyone!
 
T

thekiddfran

Member
Nibel said:
This game.

Played every class in the alpha and thought the first two (scythe/blunderbuss and hunter axe/pistol) were the best suited for me; the other two felt incredible in their own right, but also felt like they take more skill to be played perfectly.

This truly feels like more of a Demon's Souls successor than a Dark Souls one despite similarities. You still double tap circle to backdodge or jump while running, you use items with square and every attack button is located on the shoulder buttons. The world feels very 'Castlevania'-ish with the amount of doors and such I've encountered. I was shocked when I saw another player just on the street fighting; I've helped him and thought it was a NPC at first, but soon realized that he was seamlessly integrated into my game world which felt very natural. I was confused by the small inventory and how 'different' the game felt to actually control, but the more you play the more you realized that this is a fantastically streamlined version of the souls games.

Having a heal function mapped on the triangle button is so much better than having to scroll though the item submenu, especially during combat. Being able to transform your weapon with one button outside or even during combat is a bless and opens up the possibility to do fast and stylish combo chain attacks that have not been seen in any of the previous Souls games. The interface consists of way less elements and feels less cluttered than the other ones and doesn't interfer with the beautiful presentation.

The realization of the setting they chose is astounding; yes, there are crazy framerate drops during some segments and not every texture is sharp as a knife, but seeing this in motion with the horsepower of the PS4 behind it is something else. The use of decent motion blur during movements, the reflection of moody light sources in water puddles scattered on the street, the cape physics and the unbelievable sense of scope that puts Anor Londo to shame create an ominous yet exciting atmosphere that many games wished to come close to. The amount of assets is levels above anything you've seen in the previous Souls games: the inside of houses look way more detailed, the streets are filled with abandoned carriages, coffins, boxes, barrels, statues with facial expressions you can recognize and walls and railings and roofs and doors and architectures that are filled with crinkum-crankum.. and then there are this perfect moments during combat where you dodge and you witness the interplay of lighting, bloody coats, motion blur and think "Holy shit". This game is a looker to me.

The truly best part of it that made me giggle over and over again is the combat, and I have no idea how I should enjoy Dark Souls 2's combat ever again since I have some DLCs to finish. Bloodborne is fast. Bloodborne is brutal. You fight completely different than in previous Souls games because instead of choosing between two actions - attack and block - you have to make more decisions and button presses. Blocking always meant that you were safe to a certain extent, and that's gone now. You have no real safe options during combat surrouned by enemies; you can't just raise a shield and look for a wall behind you. You have to zig-zag dash your way between multiple enemies, keep your eye on stamina, choose the right moment to either melee attack or to shoot (which allows you to stun enemies if timed right before an enemy attack), than dodge back and then dash right back into the crowd while targeting the best target. I didn't manage to beat the Cleric Beast, but this was the first time I had a blast to fight a Souls boss again (especially since there is no dumb MaxHP-penality anymore lol). You dash around enemies, shoot them, slash them and transform your weapon to have a wider range and slash the enemies surrounding you, then you dodge a bullet and try to dash towards its shooter while being followed by mutliple enemies and then try to slash another enemy on your way because you've been hit before and the regain system makes you gamble if you want to win health back or not and and and. This has potential to be something really special because it feels soooo fresh.

This is not "I keep my finger on the shield button and walk into the room and if a enemy attacks me there is a slight chance that his attack will fall into the shield radius and be blocked". This is "I walk through open areas and if a enemy attacks I better dodge quickly into a direction where he doesn't hit me". This is "I can't stand still in a level because there are actual patrols who attack me instantly". This creates a new exciting dynamic scenario in which you never feel quite safe if you haven't killed all the enemies. And I loved it.

There were some typical Souls engine symptons though: enemies do the weird "skip animations if too far away" thing, they don't follow you all the way and sometimes have pathfinding issues. There were some other technical issues, but hey: this is an alpha, this is mostly normal. I believe the final product will be better in some areas.

All in all, I know what I'll be playing February. This is a true PS4 killer app and you will love this. Miyazaki and his team have done it again, and I can't wait to get my hands on it the next time.
Click to expand...

This is exactly how I felt playing the alpha.

This is will be an incredible product when it is released and 100% a reason to buy a PS4.
 
A

aravuus

Member
MrWilson2912 said:
I'll say this, I've never played a souls game before but I liked everything about this game, the setting the combat and visuals except that its friggen hard. I like a hard game but to me this is really hard and I know I would have to grind to get through it which for me might be a problem with time. I can see others enjoying it though
Click to expand...

Grinding to a point where the higher stats you get from level ups make the game actually easier would take longer than simply learning the intricacies of the system and to actually play the game. Imo grinding isn't really an option in these games.
 
D

DoubleTake

Member
Reposting from the US thread.

DoubleTake said:
By the grace of gaming god my friend got into the alpha and let me come over and try it out. Guys the Hype is real. From is truly back to form with BB.

Right off the bat I could tell the game is heavily based on Demon's and Dark combat instead of Dark 2 which is IMO a good thing. I could tell by doing a simple roll attack. In Dark 2 if you rolled and pressed R1 and tried to direct the attack back behind instead of the way you were rolling it would only turn you 90 degrees, while in Dark 1 you can roll one way initiate an attack and finish it the opposite way or your rolling. Feels sooo good to be able to pull that off again and will be really fun to do in PVP.

Another thing that I dont think anyone has mentioned.

Running strong attacks. In the previous games a strong attack wouldnt chain into a different attack when you executed it after running or backstepping like an R1 would. Instead after running youd just do the regular R2 attack. Now there are actual running R2 attacks that give even more depth to the combat system coupled with the regular running R1s.

Guys. My body is ready....so ready.
Click to expand...
 
S

ShinobiFist

Banned
Love the impressions so far, but does anyone know(unless it was already answer)Can you costumize your character like in the souls games?
 
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