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[Molemitts]

My brother and I where thinking about getting a gaming PC, but we're both huge Dark Souls fans. This is seriously pushing me to get a PS4.

Game looks beautiful. I hope they can keep it at 1080p (considering the unstable frame rate) the backgrounds are stunning and presumably like in Dark Souls will show off future and past areas, having that be sharper is very nice.

I also love the setting. I just hope the level design is as good as in Dark Souls, the squeal was a disappointment in that aspect. Haven't really seen enough gameplay to tell, though.

 

[viveks86]

I don't really see overreaction, just people pointing out flaws in a preview build. They have already said that the framerate consistency has improved dramatically since the E3 demonstration.

I wonder if the Gamescom build is the improved version or if it's the same as E3. May be someone who has seen both could weigh in

 

[IAmRandom31]

It's published by Sony. It will never be on a Microsoft or Nintendo console.

Not just published, it is being co-developed by Sony Japan, same as Demons Souls.

The game will hit other consoles the same time Demons Souls does. N.E.V.E.R

 

[Vire]

I wonder if the Gamescom build is the improved version or it it's the same as E3. May be someone who has seen both could weigh in

It's definitely a new build. The framerate at E3 would drop to the teens in odd situations (climbing a ladder).

The IGN preview for Gamescom talks about how much it improved.

 

[checkeredknight]

It's published by Sony. It will never be on a Microsoft or Nintendo console.

Yep! Just like Demon's - which means I'll definitely be picking up a PS4 when I go next gen.

 

[Mikey Jr.]

Holy shit Germany, you are failing with the videos.

Isn't this demo public?

Why have we only gotten 1 potato quality video so far? Da fuq?

 

[Pound_lb003]

After looking, it looks like I'm wrong. They haven't explicitly said "0 shields." My confusion came from the statement that Miyazaki made in a recent interview about moving the game away from shields and defensive play in general, but that doesn't necessarily mean no shields I suppose. If you Google "Bloodborne no shields" you'll see that virtually every article is saying the same thing though... "No shields," "Shields replaced by guns," etc.

So far the only shield we've seen in released/leaked footage is a single wooden plank shield on a random enemy. My guess is that if shields are in the game, they're incredibly weak/rare. Why would he want the game to revolve around more aggressive combat then provide a way to go back to the passive style?

Just for options, really.

You could play all of Demon's Souls with ranged weapon in left hand and sword in right if you desired to mimic the gameplay Bloodborne has. (I think you could anyway, Catalyst and sword?)

I just hope that, given the demos offered very specific character builds, this is what they're trying to push - this faster paced way of looking at the Souls design. Much like they pushed sword and shield in early Demon Souls demos. I'm just hoping it doesn't mean you don't have the option.

 

[Bundy]

Not just published, it is being co-developed by Sony Japan, same as Demons Souls.

The game will hit other consoles the same time Demons Souls does. N.E.V.E.R

Not only co-developed.
Sony OWNS the IP, just like the Demon Souls, Uncharted, The Last of Us, Gran Turismo, etc. etc. etc. IP.

 

[viveks86]

It's definitely a new build. The framerate at E3 would drop to the teens in odd situations (climbing a ladder).

The IGN preview for Gamescom talks about how much it improved.

I see. No wonder the older version was behind closed doors. Really hope they polish that up. As you said, fps and aliasing are practically the only flaws.

 

[SteamyPunk]

Holy shit Germany, you are failing with the videos.

Isn't this demo public?

Why have we only gotten 1 potato quality video so far? Da fuq?

People aren't allowed to take video so only ones getting through are from people being very discreet. As the event wears on, the Sony defenses will weaken and we'll probably get some better videos.

 

[Ambition]

This completely removed any fears, Fromsoft/Sony, i'm ready for this.

 

[DaciaJC]

Rev3games impressions:
http://youtu.be/AWJ9u7knotQ

This is in the comments:

Rev3Games
1 hour ago

+garjian Nope! There were no menus / inventories of any kind other than a very standard pause screen with an option to invert the controls. The PR person told me they're 'not talking about that yet.' -Nick

I wonder if that's just a temporary replacement for the "start" menu of the Souls games or if From actually intend to add a real pause screen.

 

[Violater]

Fix the framerate and finish the game my money is ready.

 

[TheStruggler]

Holy shit Germany, you are failing with the videos.

Isn't this demo public?

Why have we only gotten 1 potato quality video so far? Da fuq?

have a feeling they are really watching the phones because in video i saw the guy was 10 seconds recording and someone came to him and told him to turn off the camera, security is stacked

 

[FlutterPuffs]

I won't be surprised if this game ends up with less than inconsistent framerate and IQ.

 

[Ambition]

inconsistent framerate and IQ.

I'm confident the game will have none of that

 

[GuitarAtomik]

This is in the comments:



I wonder if that's just a temporary replacement for the "start" menu of the Souls games or if From actually intend to add a real pause screen.

I'm going to laugh (and rejoice) if it's a true pause. I'm going to assume it's not for now though.

 

[Vire]

I'm confident the game will have none of that

Have you ever played a From Software game before?

 

[Ambition]

Have you ever played a From Software game before?

Of course, though I feel Sony will help now that they appear to be more hands on with Fromsoftware

 

[Sami+]

The crows are seriously terrifying.

I absolutely adore their designs. It's the eyes and mouth that really sell it for me. This one trailer almost has scarier and more interesting looking enemies than most of Dark Souls II.

 

[RPGam3r]

I'm going to laugh (and rejoice) if it's a true pause. I'm going to assume it's not for now though.

Oh please be a real pause. Please fix my one noticeable complaint of this series!

 

[Pound_lb003]

Of course, though I feel Sony will help now that they appear to be more hands on with Fromsoftware

Whatever you've read from guys here, they're no more hands on than they were.

FromSoftware is developing the game. The QA process may be a bit more rigorous now it's a high profile title, but that is all.

 

[MrHoot]

I'm totally gonna gloat because I don't get to do it often

I'm going to gamescom tomorrow and staying until sunday

I'm gonna get my crummy hands on this game and play it. And I'll love it

And there's nothing you lot can do about it to stop me.

So says my owly face

 

[aly]

I'm totally gonna gloat because I don't get to do it often

I'm going to gamescom tomorrow and staying until sunday

I'm gonna get my crummy hands on this game and play it. And I'll love it

And there's nothing you lot can do about it to stop me.

So says my owly face

You better come back with detailed impressions. Or there will be Owl for dinner.

 

[ObbyDent]

I'm totally gonna gloat because I don't get to do it often

I'm going to gamescom tomorrow and staying until sunday

I'm gonna get my crummy hands on this game and play it. And I'll love it

And there's nothing you lot can do about it to stop me.

So says my owly face

You better take a video, you owly bastard.

 

[MrHoot]

You better come back with detailed impressions. Or there will be Owl for dinner.

But yeah, I'll do some impressions for the few minutes of play i'll manage to scrounge

 

[Cess007]

This is in the comments:



I wonder if that's just a temporary replacement for the "start" menu of the Souls games or if From actually intend to add a real pause screen.

Hmmm maybe there will be "Pause" in this game 'cause the online component will be different from the DeS/DS style. Dunno, i really want to know how the online will work on Bloodborne.

 

[Razma1]

Can't wait to see the character creation options and the full array of weapons in the game.

 

[Blinck]

I'm confident the game will have none of that

Unfortunately From Soft really sucks when it comes to game engine optimization. I highly doubt the game will be a solid 30fps.

I'm fucking ready either way

 

[Moofers]

Please be at PAX Please be at PAX Please be at PAX Please be at PAX Please be at PAX

Looks great. Love the gothic atmosphere. I hope the blood mechanics don't suck the fun out over the month game though. A bit nervous of what those might turn out like.

 

[boredandlazy]

Unfortunately From Soft really sucks when it comes to game engine optimization. I highly doubt the game will be a solid 30fps.

I'm fucking ready either way

Hopefully Japan Studio can help with the optimisation.

 

[Bunta]

I'm totally gonna gloat because I don't get to do it often

I'm going to gamescom tomorrow and staying until sunday

I'm gonna get my crummy hands on this game and play it. And I'll love it

And there's nothing you lot can do about it to stop me.

So says my owly face

Sounds like a hoot...haha..ha.

 

[Qvoth]

Gamescom 14 Bloodborne (off-screen)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPjdM6I4_wA

ok there's some footage of the new heavy character in there
at 1st i thought it will be like other souls games where the characters look different, but not the case here
i guess it's still very early (early beta perhaps?)

 

[Mentok]

This is the reason I bought a PS4.... and I can't WAIT for it! Everything that they're saying right now has me wanting to play this right now!

My body...

 

[IAmRandom31]

Whatever you've read from guys here, they're no more hands on than they were.

FromSoftware is developing the game. The QA process may be a bit more rigorous now it's a high profile title, but that is all.

You may be mistaken in the process a bit. This is a co-development from both Sony Japan and From, the same as Demons. Not enough love is given to Takeshi Kajii who was Producer on the project along with Miyazaki and his people at From.

Some tidbits from an old interview with him and Miyazaki about Demons Souls

“I’m no fan of the genre westerners refer to as the JRPG,” says Takeshi Kajii, the producer at Sony Computer Entertainment who first approached From Software with the proposition to rediscover a lost breed of action game. “I’ve always loved the dark fantasy genre, from Wizardry right through to King’s Field. Yet games that assume that aesthetic these days are usually, at their heart, more like science-fiction. So my desire was to revisit this lost area of gaming, to rediscover a charismatic corner of the medium.”

”The theme of risk permeates the game itself, where players are constantly tested, and the stakes are continually raised. “Initially the plan was to have the game feature perma-death, where death of the character would result in the save file being erased,” Kajii laughs. “We all agreed we probably went too far with that. But it demonstrates the lengths we went to in exploring the meaning and mechanisms of death in the game when tuning that rewarding feeling the game was supposed to provide.”

“Our approach was really to try to sidestep preset narrative,” explains Kajii. “There is no real story unfolding in front of you. Rather the experience is all about you and the choices you’re making step by step. In a sense I feel like the game returns to the approach of early videogames where you’re anxious at every step. You feel as if death and failure are watching over your shoulder all the time, but that is tempered by the sense of intense joy when you surpass a challenge. Those very human feelings are what we wanted to explore in Demon’s Souls, and that’s where the ‘fun’ lies.”

It was very much a joint operation with From, and thankfully Sony allowed the team creative freedom in the entire process so the project never really changed much from the time of planning to implementation. Which is always important, as then you can just nail down the central themes of the project and then optimize the hell out of it all for 6 months to make it perfect, which in the end Demons Souls was.

We haven't seen or heard too much yet about what is going on behind the scenes with Bloodborne, but one thing is for certain. Yoshida himself is incredibly excited about this title so if From asked Sony for any sort of assistance in any way whatsoever, they would get it. No doubt. The fact that they already state it is a co-development project, makes me think that from the outset From has had access to the tools available to Sony.

 

[viveks86]

Wasn't there supposed to be a 1 hour behind closed door event for this game or am I misremembering?

Game Informer impressions.

http://www.gameinformer.com/games/bloodborne/b/playstation4/archive/2014/08/13/behind-closed-doors-with-bloodborne.aspx

Cool. So I wasn't going crazy

 

[Sami+]

Hah, I ran into this dude when I played the demo too! It didn't seem like I could press X to interact with him, so I kinda just ran past him. Whoops.

Could you describe the encounter? Did it seem anything like Ostrava?

 

[HIR0]

Game Informer impressions.

http://www.gameinformer.com/games/bloodborne/b/playstation4/archive/2014/08/13/behind-closed-doors-with-bloodborne.aspx

 

[viveks86]

After the player falls into a pit of rats, the demonstration ends with a giant plague pig roaring to life and charging.

Deeeelish!

The presentation moved into a Grave Town area featuring some terrifying, frenzied old woman enemies that brandished flaming weapons and scythes. They swarm and things look quite bad for our hero, but something happens - The player rolls into them. It’s then stated that these enemies, being thematically old and frail, are actually susceptible to being staggered by a roll. These rolls saved the player’s life and got him through what would have been an overwhelming attack.

Rolling as a form of attack? Interesting!

 

[IAmRandom31]

Game Informer impressions.

http://www.gameinformer.com/games/bloodborne/b/playstation4/archive/2014/08/13/behind-closed-doors-with-bloodborne.aspx

Whenever the player gets hit by an attack, they lose health. Nothing new there. But in Bloodborne, the player has a chance to regain some of that life by landing successful blows during a small window of time. It forces the player into constant dangerous choices - Do you go for a quick assault and risk taking even more damage to try and gain your lost life, or let it go. Don’t think for a second that this turns the Souls-style combat into some sort of dumbed down hack-and-slash, players will be placed in continual life and death situations and must make difficult choices based on their own skill, the environment, and the enemies in the encounter to survive.

F'in glorious

The presentation moved into a Grave Town area featuring some terrifying, frenzied old woman enemies that brandished flaming weapons and scythes. They swarm and things look quite bad for our hero, but something happens - The player rolls into them. It’s then stated that these enemies, being thematically old and frail, are actually susceptible to being staggered by a roll. These rolls saved the player’s life and got him through what would have been an overwhelming attack.

Loving that enemies will have unique situations like these.

CAN'T F'IN WAIT

While I can’t wait for details on the new multiplayer functionality, Bloodborne is hitting all the right notes right now.

Damn right it is.

 

[komplanen]

Somehow I knew there'd be the age old "It's an old build" line thrown around.

 

[HIR0]

US Gamer impressions. Worth a read.

http://www.usgamer.net/articles/bloodborne-has-one-foot-in-dark-souls-the-other-in-hell

Though I only had about 45 minutes with the game, Bloodborne addressed some of the more common complaints about Dark Souls 2 in the sliver-thin vertical slice served to me. The city/graveyard level at the preview session felt somewhat straightforward at first, but after a bit of exploration, I began to notice it had the same dense, clustered design seen in many areas of the original Dark Souls. The square footage I fought my way through didn't amount to more than what you'd find between bonfires in Dark Souls 1 and 2, but even in this small amount of real estate, I opened up a few shortcuts I didn't realize were shortcuts until my brain made the visual connection.

 

[Bunta]

Deeeelish!



Rolling as a form of attack? Interesting!

Knock them old ladies down.

 

[mickcenary]

WHY IS NO ONE USING LOCK-ON?!

It makes the combat look so dumb.

 

[Bunta]

WHY IS NO ONE USING LOCK-ON?!

It makes the combat look so dumb.

Yeah, I cringe when I see people swinging wildly.

 

[Uncle Rupee]

Is it just me or is the ragdoll so much better? In DeS/DS the ragdoll was kinda janky (I still loved it, of course) but here things seem to have much more weight and don't just fling around.

 

[ramuh]

You, sir or madam, are in for a goddamn treat, hope you enjoy it and join our dark cul.....our band of brothers in our devotion (whether you Umbasa, or you Praise the Sun!)

Damn am I excited to finally play a Demon/Dark Souls game.

 

[DoubleTake]

The presentation moved into a Grave Town area featuring some terrifying, frenzied old woman enemies that brandished flaming weapons and scythes. They swarm and things look quite bad for our hero, but something happens - The player rolls into them. It’s then stated that these enemies, being thematically old and frail, are actually susceptible to being staggered by a roll. These rolls saved the player’s life and got him through what would have been an overwhelming attack.

Wow.

Though I only had about 45 minutes with the game, Bloodborne addressed some of the more common complaints about Dark Souls 2 in the sliver-thin vertical slice served to me. The city/graveyard level at the preview session felt somewhat straightforward at first, but after a bit of exploration, I began to notice it had the same dense, clustered design seen in many areas of the original Dark Souls. The square footage I fought my way through didn't amount to more than what you'd find between bonfires in Dark Souls 1 and 2, but even in this small amount of real estate, I opened up a few shortcuts I didn't realize were shortcuts until my brain made the visual connection.

YES YES YES

 

[Rich Uncle Skeleton]

I'd love a link to just one of the times they've said absolutely; there is no shields.



I saw that before, and I am hoping it's not just 'an old build' - everything in that trailer gives me hope.


Either way, I think I need to stop belly-aching and just wait for it to come out. I just despise the idea they're taking options AWAY from the Souls design. I want the freedom to do something unexpected, not play as the dude on the front cover.

The thing is that shields become a crutch. Caution-to-the-wind shield-less play is super fun but it's so much more "safe" to hide behind my shield that I usually just do that. If they remove that option, and design the game around this lack of a shield, it might be even more exhilarating and fun than Dark Souls, which is why many of us are so excited about this change.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

With side evasion that cost less stamina than roll dodging, I guess no shield will be pretty much manageable. Not to mention guns.

Oh cool, my prediction was correct!

My biggest concern is if there is a lack of character choices at the start. The Souls games were great in how much flexibility they gave you. Do you want to go heavy armour, or super light and parry, or lots of other options. This seems like you have basically one character type and if that doesn't gel with the kind of character you'd have rolled with in previous games it might feel a bit off?

*facepalm*
How many times must we repeat that there is a fully customizable character creator just like the Souls games? Is people's memory that short that they forgot the Demon's/Dark/Dark II demos had preset characters too and ended up having Fashion Souls?

Game Informer impressions.

http://www.gameinformer.com/games/bl...loodborne.aspx

Wow, really interesting.

Something that I wonder, maybe those who played the demo can fill me in?

Here’s another significant change - Healing items (Bloodborne’s version of Estus Flasks) no longer occupy item slots. Instead, the number of available items is simply placed in a globe near the top left of the UI, and they are usable without taking up an item slot. This leaves the player free to use some of the new consumable items we had a chance to see in the demo - Oil, molotov cocktails, and pebbles to name a few.

Does using this healing item still cause an animation that can be punished, or does it automatically refill your energy? I'm assuming (and hoping) it's the former, but I'd like confirmation.