The idea of "truly perilous combat" was reiterate again and again during the presentation. Whereas the Souls series is known for its measured combat system – many players, myself included, spent a great deal of time behind a shield, sussing out the weaknesses of new opponents. Bloodborne definitely still has that aspect to its combat – more on that below – but there's a different flavour to the overall style. Miyazaki and his team want to draw players into something they're terming "mortal combat" and a "rally of deadly blows". Shields encourage tentative combat in some, and that safety has been removed.
Another way in which the player is being encouraged to be more daring is the ‘Regain System’. When you receive damage from your opponents, you have a limited period of time in which to get some of that health back by landing your own attacks. The window is brief and rewards the brave. When you’re low on health, you can choose to attack, and hope to win back some health in the process, or in a more traditional fashion, choose to retreat and use a health item.
It’s an interesting system, and one of the intentions is to make the game feel less punishing, even though the producers reiterated that the overall challenge of the Souls games will remain firmly in places.
