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Eric the Red · Apr 20, 2015

Pre Rec Bloodborne Review

Their previous shellacking and burning of The Order 1886 was a fun (and thorough) send off to that whole post release collapse.
It makes this an interesting palette cleanser for them since Bloodborne holds to completely opposite values.
Watch for 1) genuine game design appreciation 2) disagreements on the value of being obtuse 3) Rich screaming.

edit - No story spoilers, no boss spoilers, shows beginning enemies and only 2 later-ish enemies.

Rurunaki · Apr 20, 2015

Eric the Red said:
Pre Rec Bloodborne Review

Their previous shellacking and burning of The Order 1886 was a fun (and thorough) send off to that whole post release collapse.
It makes this an interesting palette cleanser for them since Bloodborne holds to completely opposite values.
Watch for 1) genuine game design appreciation 2) disagreements on the value of being obtuse 3) Rich screaming.

Pretty spot on imo. Valid criticisms (loading, etc.), although they striked me as if they hadn't played the previous Souls games.

Crossing Eden · Apr 20, 2015

Spoilers for story?

Wynnebeck · Apr 20, 2015

These are really not good. I can't even explain it.

Handy Fake · Apr 20, 2015

"...wwwwwWWWWWWAAAAAGHHHHH FUCK MY NUTSACK."

Swiftean.

plasmawave · Apr 20, 2015

Rurunaki said:
Pretty spot on imo. Valid criticisms (loading, etc.), although they striked me as if they hadn't played the previous Souls games.

They say that in the video. They only played a little bit of DS1.

Handy Fake · Apr 20, 2015

Also, I'm a fan of that mantra.

"You are in control, and it's all your fault."

mrklaw · Apr 20, 2015

7 minutes in and hopefully there aren't too many more spoilers (already

snake head guy

that I haven't gotten to yet)

I kind of agree on the tutorial part. Maybe not specifically a tutorial, but I would have liked something along the lines of fighting game practice arenas, so I can play with how lock on works vs not locked on, camera control, combos etc. Even if it isn't telling me the moves directly. I think that would be a fair in-between option between massively obtuse and overtly hand holding.

mrklaw · Apr 20, 2015

Wynnebeck said:
These are really not good. I can't even explain it.

I think it is too one-sided. The guy on the left seems to be more of a gamer than the other guy. When it is movies related, they have so much more of a background to pull from for comparisons etc compared to games. And when they are commenting on the games it is often on a story/character/art design level which is perhaps back to their movie roots and more comfortable for them.

Its ok, but not a patch on their other stuff IMO.

thebloo · Apr 20, 2015

mrklaw said:
I kind of agree on the tutorial part. Maybe not specifically a tutorial, but I would have liked something along the lines of fighting game practice arenas, so I can play with how lock on works vs not locked on, camera control, combos etc. Even if it isn't telling me the moves directly. I think that would be a fair in-between option between massively obtuse and overtly hand holding.

You can kinda do that by yourself. At least that's what I do. I've ran the bonfire area a lot in order to get a better feel for my limits and the new mechanics. I agree that some arenas with basic layouts would be great.

plasmawave · Apr 20, 2015

mrklaw said:
I think it is too one-sided. The guy on the left seems to be more of a gamer than the other guy. When it is movies related, they have so much more of a background to pull from for comparisons etc compared to games. And when they are commenting on the games it is often on a story/character/art design level which is perhaps back to their movie roots and more comfortable for them.

Its ok, but not a patch on their other stuff IMO.

You're not familiar with their twitch streaming?

FATALITY · Apr 20, 2015

yep i agree with best looking game in this gen. the art design is gorgeous!

Holundrian · Apr 20, 2015

How many people complaining about no tutorial have read all the messenger tips, I wonder?
I'm inclined to believe very few did and just went out and tried shit which is way more fun than reading those messengers.

red731 · Apr 20, 2015

I like this review.

Tutorial and abtuse talk was meh, but nowadays, people want to know what they are getting into and THEY DON'T WANT TO HAVE FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE. Not even in real life.
I am glad I was killed by my mistake or curiosity, because that way, I've learned what and who does what. Enemy, environment and item wise.

Can't wait for the patch to drop. On my NG+ and I couldn't recommend this game enough.

Loading sucks balls, but you know you don't want to die - so the game (not loading) does a good job of scaring you of death.

PKrockin · Apr 20, 2015

Wynnebeck said:
These are really not good. I can't even explain it.

From the the videos I've watched, I can't say they brought any insight to the table that I wouldn't have noticed myself, even regarding games I hadn't played. I dunno, maybe the series is trying to be more about two guys just talking about video games and I'm wrong for expecting something more in-depth for a 20 minute video. But having only played Demon's Souls for a bit and not having followed the series at all, I don't really feel like they contributed anything I couldn't guess from my experience with a few hours of Demon's Souls and the bits and pieces I've overheard regarding Bloodborne.

Finally seeing some actual footage of the game, it's surprising how unrestricted the movement is. I think playing so much Monster Hunter and hearing it compared to Souls over and over colored my memory. I thought Souls had the same kind of animations for turning around and coming to a stop, and restricted turning speed while running that made even basic movement require a bit of commitment.

gelf · Apr 20, 2015

On the tutorial aspect even just limited to Souls games BB does do it worse then the others. Its mostly just a spam of messengers in Hunters Dream. The Dark Souls area on the other hand spreads them out and puts them before situations where you can use what you've been told. Just being more like that in BB would be better. Just don't do obnoxious popups or anything like that.

Castef · Apr 20, 2015

I've read "BloodBjork".

Eric the Red · Apr 21, 2015

PKrockin said:
From the the videos I've watched, I can't say they brought any insight to the table that I wouldn't have noticed myself, even regarding games I hadn't played. I dunno, maybe the series is trying to be more about two guys just talking about video games and I'm wrong for expecting something more in-depth for a 20 minute video. But having only played Demon's Souls for a bit and not having followed the series at all, I don't really feel like they contributed anything I couldn't guess from my experience with a few hours of Demon's Souls and the bits and pieces I've overheard regarding Bloodborne.

Finally seeing some actual footage of the game, it's surprising how unrestricted the movement is. I think playing so much Monster Hunter and hearing it compared to Souls over and over colored my memory. I thought Souls had the same kind of animations for turning around and coming to a stop, and restricted turning speed while running that made even basic movement require a bit of commitment.

Purposeful obtuseness has been a pretty contentious issue regarding FROM games, so it was interesting to see it being argued both ways. I also thought it was interesting them pointing out how games with objective markers cause you to tunnel through environments and then developers insert cutscenes when they want you to appreciate some vista. On the other hand BB gives you early enemy ambushes and seeming corpses getting up when you walk by promoting cautious play and organically causing you to take in your environment and appreciate those vistas.

It's definitely not comprehensive but there were interesting things in there imo.

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