Bloodborne is considered one of the greatest PlayStation exclusives of all time and saw millions of players try a FromSoftware title for the first time on their PS4. With fans hoping for either a 60 frames-per-second patch for the PS5 or even a sequel to the game being in the works, plenty of newcomers are trying the game for the first time.
Some are Dark Souls veterans new to Bloodborne and others have never played a game from FromSoftware in their life. The difficulty seems like a big hurdle, but it really just takes patience and perseverance.
10 No Shields Here
A running joke among Dark Souls fans is the idea of playing through the games with a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. It's all about attacking and blocking in a spiraling motion of actions and making sure to use the shield as both a physical and emotional layer of protection.
From the beginning of Bloodborne, this support system is removed from the player, and in its place are secondary weapons used to parry enemies. This isn't about opting to not use shields, but rather to let the player know that the game was designed with the idea of eliminating the player's reliance on them.
9 Learn Enemy Attacks
All of the enemies in Bloodborne have a pattern to their attacks and a finite number of attacks they can do. By taking the time to learn what these are for each enemy, it can create open windows for the player to attack and come away unharmed.
This tip can be applied to almost every FromSoftware game, and once a player gets it they can hop into any of their titles with a base of confidence. Understand that knowing attacks is half the battle and being skilled enough to attack and dodge at the right time is just as important.
8 Assess The Situation
With every new area a player steps into in Bloodborne there's an opportunity to be screwed over and tricked by the traps and pitfalls FromSoftware implemented. As designers, they're very good at understanding player behavior and in turn lean on this knowledge to troll and trick the player.
It's done so well that the player often feels like the one responsible, as opposed to pointing a finger back at FromSoftware. New players should take their time in new areas and get acclimated to what this unknown place has in store in terms of layout and enemy variety.
7 Learn From Death
Difficult games are designed in a way that often makes the player feel inferior and as if they should avoid death at all costs. Despite the penalty of dying in Bloodborne or any other Souls-like game, death should be seen as a tool for education.
Every time a player dies it's an opportunity for them to work on their craft and get better at the game. Deaths that happen to feel like a lucky shot or a product of misfortune can be seen as a point in which a player can devise a new strategy to take down the challenge laying in front of them.
6 Faster Than Dark Souls
Critics of Dark Souls often point at its slower pace of play as an issue with the game. In reality that has to do more with personal preference as the game was designed with the notion of forcing the player to slow down and analyze things during combat.
Bloodborne was meant to turn that on its head and make veterans of Dark Souls now speed up their actions and become much more aggressive. Though Bloodborne can be played rather methodically, it doesn't sing and feels like the game it's intended to be until that appetite for aggression finally starts to resonate with the player.
5 Your Gun Is For Parries, Not Attacking
Bloodborne is a game that doesn't want the player blocking, as was mentioned earlier when the lack of shields was discussed. Players can carry a secondary weapon that's one of a couple of guns. The initial thought from players is that the gun is an additional offensive tool, but in reality, it's meant to be used as a support weapon to parry and stagger enemies.
Those looking to make the most of their firearm should focus on the timing of its parry mechanic and less on it as a weapon of destruction. By parrying with it players can do much more damage in the short and long term.
4 Blood Vial Hoarding
Blood vials are the Bloodborne equivalent of what Dark Souls veterans know as estus flasks. They're items that help heal the player in a time of need. In Dark Souls the estus flasks refill every time a player rests at a bonfire. For Bloodborne, the blood vials are a one-use resource that has to be gathered as drops from enemies.
This means that some players feel it is necessary to grind and accumulate a large reserve of them so they can spend their time focusing on the combat instead of micro-managing when and where they heal themselves.
3 Explore At Your Own Risk
FromSoftware as developers and level designers have always encouraged the player to explore the world around them. They do such a good job of interconnecting the separate parts of the worlds they craft and tying them all together.
Exploration is often rewarded in several different ways from finding hidden items, to fighting optional bosses, to even simply meeting new characters. This sense of wonder isn't safe though and those willing to venture off the beaten path should be weary of danger from any and every angle.
2 It Might Scare You
The Dark Souls trilogy has its moments of being dark and depressing, but it never really feels like a horror-filled experience. Bloodborne on the other hand leans into its cosmic horror imagery and the world can become quite frightening to certain people.
This is important to know going in as to not be caught off guard. That being said, at the end of the day, it's an action-adventure title so it shouldn't be expected that there's a jump scare around every corner. Just be prepared to see some things that might cause a stomach ache or lead to an uneasy feeling.
1 Aggression Is Rewarded
Bloodborne for many reasons did a good job at reinventing the formula in the Dark Souls series that helped them make a serious imprint on the industry. The biggest and most apparent change had to do with what they asked of the player.
Unlike Dark Souls, Bloodborne asks the player to constantly be engaging with the enemy. By remaining aggressive, players are rewarded with the ability to gain back health. As mentioned earlier the game also doesn't have a shield meaning that players are meant to be on the offensive.