-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
My friend is afraid to play Bloodborne.
- Thread starter Djostikk
- Start date
PancakeBurglar
Member
Sure but Bloodborne goes beyond just the asethetic of horror. Out of curiosity why do you not consider Bloodborne to be horror.
Weltall Zero
Member
That makes no sense. By that token nobody can find movies scary since you don't even have to button mash, just sit there. Hell, they even progress if you're not watching.
Bloodborne's oppresiveness comes more from the grimness (and griminess) of the setting and the design of everything, including but not limited to enemies. Frankly, I absolutely love it and makes it kind of hard to go back to the (relatively!) more vanilla Dark Souls, but I can understand how it might unnerve some people.
I want to know too!
xrnzaaas
Member
You missed the point completely. The game may be scary and unsettling to someone just because of the design of the world and the monsters inhabiting it.
I fully understand that attitude and it's nothing to be ashamed of. I'm pretty much immune to stuff like heavy gore in movies and games and have no problems with jump scares etc., but whenever spiders or insects pop out I move on or try to fast forward to the next scene.
I can see why your friend would be afraid to play.
Similar thing happened to me last night actually. I'm currently in the Upper Cathedral Ward so I decided to launch the game after smoking a bit of green. Dark room, headphones on and the game loaded into the Hunter's Dream. I could hear people crying and all sorts of strange noises around and just this super oppressive atmosphere weighing down on me already.
After beating a few wolves in the dark hallways of the Upper Cathedral Ward I was like "fuuuuck this" and put the game down for a few minutes cos it just got too stressful. I love it though, no other game makes me feel this way. A fucking masterpiece
Similar thing happened to me last night actually. I'm currently in the Upper Cathedral Ward so I decided to launch the game after smoking a bit of green. Dark room, headphones on and the game loaded into the Hunter's Dream. I could hear people crying and all sorts of strange noises around and just this super oppressive atmosphere weighing down on me already.
After beating a few wolves in the dark hallways of the Upper Cathedral Ward I was like "fuuuuck this" and put the game down for a few minutes cos it just got too stressful. I love it though, no other game makes me feel this way. A fucking masterpiece
I really enjoy horror films and have done since I was a child but bloodborne actually gave me nightmares. I got over it and finished the game but the first four hours or so really fucked with me, weirdly I wasn't conscious of being scared but I guess it burrowed into my subconscious I think it was the crushing difficulty combinded with the groups of enemies which constantly chase you at the start.
Complete lack of vulnerability, for one. It's difficult to be scared when you can defend yourself as well as you can in Bloodborne, all while looking like a badass.
NPCs also fail to sell the situation IMO. They're too similar to the standard Souls archtypes.
In addition the story is too vague. While keeping things mysterious is an important part of horror here they take it too far IMO and don't give your imagination enough to go wild with.
I mean, if someone has a phobia from some of the stuff shown that's one thing but I really don't think it's a horror game. Like I said, here it feels to just be an aesthetic, nothing more.
Movies are not interactive and the director has full control of what they want to show you.
Also, that comment was mostly just me fooling around ;p
I can't play games like PT w/o having nightmare. BB on the other hand, I relish. I do think it is because of the heightened sense of player agency and power.
I would say that there is a feeling of dread in the atmosphere and theme, but not horror, or maybe it is the same, it just doesn't bother me as much when I don't feel helpless.
I would say that there is a feeling of dread in the atmosphere and theme, but not horror, or maybe it is the same, it just doesn't bother me as much when I don't feel helpless.
Hitokiri03
Member
Tell him to stay away from Demon's Souls.
Isn't that more like Dark Souls? He was waiting for Demon's Souls Remaster on PS4.
sublimit
Banned
It's the scariest out of all Souls games.
sublimit
Banned
Yeah i think they went a bit overboard with the sounds in Bloodborne.
He is not alone, Bloodborne is one of the best gaming experiences I've had in my life, if not the best. However at some points it would scare the **** out of me to the point I thought I wouldn't be able to finish it.
It wasn't only about the creepy setting but also about the difficulty, the combination of those really was psychologically heavy for me sometimes.
It wasn't only about the creepy setting but also about the difficulty, the combination of those really was psychologically heavy for me sometimes.
Yabberwocky
Member
Oh, man, I tried muting OoK, but I think I must have gotten use to relying on the sound cues, so sadly up went the volume again. scream screech scream screech scream screeeech
THOSE GODDAMN SHARKS,
especially down the well
You're a good person, OP.
Melchiah
Member
So, I guess Little Nightmares and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter aren't horror games on that basis either? If the genre was defined by everyone's personal interpretation, and what's scary on a subjective level, all horror games could be disputed the same way.
Swimmer9800
Member
Am I a sociopath? I cannot recall that anything horror related phased me.
Little Nightmares seems like a horror game, but I didn't follow it much. I know nothing at all about Vanishing.
We just don't get the horror genius of Miyazaki.
Bloodborne is horror, just not survival horror in the sense that it gives you a fighting chance.
But dat atmosphere man...
Upper cathedral with those mutilated children and the 2 werewolves waiting for you in the dark... Not even counting the disgusting brain sucker ready to jump on you while dragging around and making those gurgling sounds.
BB is best played alone and with a headset imo. If you can take the tension that is.
Honestly imo, if you do not feel tension and dread while playing BB, you are missing something there.
Papo Swing
Member
Too scared to play a video game like Bloodborne but not Dark Souls? Ok,makes no sense to me.
Melchiah
Member
It also features Lovecraftian themes, and since it's a "walking simulator" there's no survival elements involved, yet it's a horror game.
Adam_Vania
Banned
lol my friend was a Souls noob and would come over and watch me play DS1/DS2 and whenever i tried to give him the controller he would go "No, no way". anyways eventually he got a PS4 and he decided to give Bloodborne a try. i was with him on his first day and he was hiding behind trees and stuff, trying to avoid the basic enemies, and meanwhile they were popping out all around him, doing all these jump scares, it was hilarious.
the next day he calls me and tells me he beat the first boss and that it felt so good. i knew what he meant. it was all about that journey from "Holy shit are you serious?" to "I came, I saw, I conquered". no other game series can touch this feeling rn.
the next day he calls me and tells me he beat the first boss and that it felt so good. i knew what he meant. it was all about that journey from "Holy shit are you serious?" to "I came, I saw, I conquered". no other game series can touch this feeling rn.
BannedEpisode
Member
Bloodborne made me feel like a badass. Not scared.
Games like outlast I have a tough time playing because you spend most of it in the dark or getting prepped for jump scares. No thanks.
Games like outlast I have a tough time playing because you spend most of it in the dark or getting prepped for jump scares. No thanks.
I actually understand OP's friend quite a bit.
I wouldn't say I get "scared" of games per se, but I would certainly say that certain atmospheres in games (Bloodborne, Outlast, RE7, etc.) tend to make me uncomfortable and in the end I just don't like playing them. I'm not a huge fan of being creeped out, and I just don't end up "getting into" these types of games for that reason.
I'd rather play something like Majora's Mask where the creepiness is still charming lol.
I wouldn't say I get "scared" of games per se, but I would certainly say that certain atmospheres in games (Bloodborne, Outlast, RE7, etc.) tend to make me uncomfortable and in the end I just don't like playing them. I'm not a huge fan of being creeped out, and I just don't end up "getting into" these types of games for that reason.
I'd rather play something like Majora's Mask where the creepiness is still charming lol.
Yeah, they're disturbing. I played Bloodborne at launch and just a week or so ago I found out that eyeballs bulge out of their heads during certain parts of the boss fight. The picture, for some reason, really unnerved me.
Lumination
'enry 'ollins
One of the few games I cannot imagine playing without headphones. It's not horror game levels of oh god I need to rip these headphones off, but just enough to keep you permanently on edge.
I would say BB has a gothic horror and at times Lovecratian inspired art direction to it, but I wouldn't call it a horror game. And I most certainly would not call it a "survival horror" game as one doofus called it on GAF.
I personally never found BB scary in the slightest, but was more so in awe at its art direction. My absolute favorite of any game.
I personally never found BB scary in the slightest, but was more so in awe at its art direction. My absolute favorite of any game.
SlimySnake
Flashless at the Golden Globes
I was so fucking terrified by the woods i missed all three shortcuts and kept running past snakes and snake dudes and other weird things in the woods. Ended up at the boss fight and promptly died, had to do the whole thing again.
Masterpiece.
Passing through? What do you mean? Cleric beast is an optional boss. Father G is the only one you need to beat to progress through to the story. Both bosses have shortcuts that you get there within a minute. Cleric beast is only like 30 seconds away if you unlock the shortcut.
BB was my first souls game and i beat father g on the first try and cleric beast on the second after getting him down to like 5 health on the first try. you are supposed to play it like an action game and dodge and attack. dont play it methodically like DS2.
Masterpiece.
Passing through? What do you mean? Cleric beast is an optional boss. Father G is the only one you need to beat to progress through to the story. Both bosses have shortcuts that you get there within a minute. Cleric beast is only like 30 seconds away if you unlock the shortcut.
BB was my first souls game and i beat father g on the first try and cleric beast on the second after getting him down to like 5 health on the first try. you are supposed to play it like an action game and dodge and attack. dont play it methodically like DS2.
The only fear I got from Bloodborne was not knowing if a new enemy I came across could one-shot me at will or just straight up give me a hard time until I went and engaged them.
With that being said....fuck Winter Lanterns. (Although manageable, I still hate them. Frenzy is ridiculous in this game)
With that being said....fuck Winter Lanterns. (Although manageable, I still hate them. Frenzy is ridiculous in this game)
LordOfChaos
Member
The best thing about Bloodborne is that confidence gradually replaces fear.
A lot of peoples experience seems to be an uphill climb for the first two bosses, and then something "clicks", that infamous Bloodborne epiphany, and the game really opens up to you from there. If you can guide them through Cleric Beast and Pappa G but let them do it themselves, the hooks may sink.
Not every game is for everyone though. This one oozes atmosphere and can be oppressive.
Oh, also, Bloodborne has enough dignity not to rely on cheap jump scares, there's none of that if that's what they fear.
A lot of peoples experience seems to be an uphill climb for the first two bosses, and then something "clicks", that infamous Bloodborne epiphany, and the game really opens up to you from there. If you can guide them through Cleric Beast and Pappa G but let them do it themselves, the hooks may sink.
Not every game is for everyone though. This one oozes atmosphere and can be oppressive.
Oh, also, Bloodborne has enough dignity not to rely on cheap jump scares, there's none of that if that's what they fear.
I played through chunks of blood borne and didn't like it as much as souls games (though with DS3 I think I realized I really like Dark Souls and not so much the entire series)
I think a part of that is the look of it. It's gross. And ugly. Same feeling Binding of Isaac gave me. I just feel uncomfortable in that world. Wish the souls team would make a game less gross and horrible.
I think a part of that is the look of it. It's gross. And ugly. Same feeling Binding of Isaac gave me. I just feel uncomfortable in that world. Wish the souls team would make a game less gross and horrible.
This.
Adam_Vania
Banned
lol the request for a nicer, sunnier, prettier Souls experience
Gai Murakumo
Member
I was never scared of the horror aspect of Bloodborne. The only thing I was ever afraid of was either getting ambushed or one-shotted if I was carrying a ton of souls/echoes, just like in every Souls game I have played.
GoldenCrow
Member
I'd play it. The Souls series was what I wanted from Zelda after playing as adult/teen Link in Ocarina of Time. Keeping the same mechanics, attention to world building, lore, how these also inform gameplay decisions and vice versa could easily be done in a more cheerful setting.
It wasn't scary to me, but it definitely has a very oppressive atmosphere, it's just heavy on your first playthrough.
I remember this feeling of relief every time I took a break. I wasn't feeling tired or anything while playing, I had to force myself to take these break because of how absorbed I was, but when I stopped, took off my phones and left the room to somewhere brighter it's when I realized just how oppressive the game feels.
It's a very immersive experience that draws you in, so if something in it scares you, it'll probably be amplified.
I think this describes it perfectly.
I remember this feeling of relief every time I took a break. I wasn't feeling tired or anything while playing, I had to force myself to take these break because of how absorbed I was, but when I stopped, took off my phones and left the room to somewhere brighter it's when I realized just how oppressive the game feels.
It's a very immersive experience that draws you in, so if something in it scares you, it'll probably be amplified.
I think this describes it perfectly.
I imagine your mind's made up, but just as a note it is perfectly possible to beat the game without using firearms. I spent most of my run with a 2H sword, and there is also a flamethrower and a few other non-gun LH weapons. You'll have a tougher time with the humanoid bosses, since fighting them revolves heavily around interrupting their attacks, but otherwise it's fine.
Road of Ease
Member
AHAHAHAHAHAHA OMG