I tried... (and tried again...) Bloodborne

Come with me, and you’ll be, in world of bloody ruin. Take a look, and you’ll see the blood-starved beasts. We’ll begin, with frenzy, travelling in the eternal nightmare. What you’ll kill will defy... Damn-nation! Allow me to tell you a story, the story of my first experience of dread in Bloodborne.

Traversing the runescape in eternal night, slaying beasts that came, starving for blood. Two behemoths of Werewolf like anatomy came bounding towards me, severely underprepared with the little damage I dealt with my axe, fire became my last resort. Incarcerating them to damnation, I readied my bloody axe to strike my next victim. Little did I know, the hulk of flesh that stood before was not my threat. Out with a roaring bellow that sunk my sullened eyes came a Beast of great stature, lumbering over a gate with relative ease. My exit blocked, with it came a battle I was not prepared for. Torn and shredded, the battle turned into a dance of axe and claw, swapping blows with ducks, rolls and leaps. I feared my end, but I laid the final blow. With it came a deafening cry that erupted smoke, amidst it an unlit lantern, my first glimmer of hope in this flesh covered hell hole.

Not bad for a first attempt one thinks

Okay, aside from the slight delusionment of reality and romanticisation on beating my first boss on Bloodborne in my first encounter. This fight both set the tone and my despondency with this game as a whole, I saw it for all its worth and yet after an experience like that, gave me great credence to stop playing. I mean, what good is a videogame if it makes you shaky and unnerved to the point of being unable to sleep because your heart is pounding from the tension. I took my break, and thought what about the game made me tense.

To FromSoftware’s credit, this is the one game I appreciate immensely for doing everything right in terms of consistency. Everything about this game shows calculated and precise decision to the theme’s colour palette and design to setting the player’s expectations with the minimalist use of words, letting the game tell and teach the player. I can love to appreciate its design, but this for me almost does it too well.

Fast forward three months later and I finally pluck up the confidence to have my second attempt at playing the game, armed with knowledge from my previous encounter my next boss fight, it proved much the same. I found it, after a plethora of challenging foes, within a graveyard that appeared to have no end. Better equipped with axe and pistol in hand, the Father was no more, and I repeated my first encounter. Frightened, thrilled and exhausted. I did better to have my encounter in the middle of the day, for much the same, the Father had torn and shredded me. Maybe the bosses were a testament to FromSoftware’s refinement of making them standout akin to Legend of Zelda bosses like Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time and beating the Pokémon league on your first run to enter the hall of fame.

There's no shortage of death in this endless plague...

I was ready to drop the game, the tension building that the game does is phenomenal and the pacing is consistent with its delivery of monsters to slay and learn from. I remained calm in these encounters, entertained but still - almost too - afraid and tentative in wandering into new areas. In comes my friend who’s a fan of Dark Souls, eager to give it a go, I let him try and kill a gunner hidden on the tops of a clock tower that I had struggle to beat. It was whilst watching him play that I realised I wasn’t playing in my comfort zone, the game sets the tone of play which followed, and then he died. I laughed as he banged his head against the formidable foe with a gun, progressing no better than his first attempt with a slither of health left.

I learnt from my mistakes, and much like a hero’s journey I grew stronger. I took my time, treating the game like Monster Hunter, wielding a lance I readied my defensive strategies. Ready to finish the clock tower gunner from before in time for dinner I headed for battle. Drawing my pistol, I fire my first shot, it stumbles back and returns in kind, but I was ready. This would be a fight on my terms, firing again and again, further closing the distance only to watch it fall from the shock of my pistol. It perished in the darkness, much like its death I felt empty. Not ten minutes in had I killed the foe that had sent me into the salt mines a great deal of times. With it, I made my push. Determined for vengeance for the hollow victory, I preceded to my next target of boss-like proportions. Once karma had killed me for said cheap win via the means of pressing the wrong button and leaping to my own death in slight hilarity.

Again, I charged with my faithful axe, slaying everything that sought to do the same to me. Again, I was pitted against formidable foes that would test my patience for the monster hunting lancer I was. With it came the beast that was truly starved of blood, its boss-like stature was something I would later mock. I danced its dance, and I played it for the fool it was. Emptying the remaining bullets into its decrepit head, it fell dead.

Third time's the charm, but my hunt has only begun

But this time, I was calm, my palms weren’t sweat soaked. They were quell like my heart, was I finally ready to venture further into this hellscape. Maybe, at least I know this though, the hunt has only finally begun for me. I look forward to facing my next opponent with a grin on my face like a Saiyan in battle. Props to FromSoftware to tricking me into dancing its rhythm, because this is the first game I dropped and picked back up with the intent to complete it - unlike my list of PS2 and Xbox 360 games I have yet to pick back up to play/complete.