Bloodborne is the latest game from the Japanese developer, and once again we go beyond death. We play as a traveller searching the ancient town Yharnam for a cure to a deadly disease, only to find the place has turned into a hellish nightmare.

Yarnham is a character unto itself, its twisting streets, imposing Gothic architecture and unnerving flickers of light work to both play torturous tricks on you as well as draw you deeper into its labyrinth.

Imaginative, powerful and coherent, Bloodborne is genius.

A masterclass in design, and a lesson for other developers.

I can't stop dying, I'm sure the game is good, but I can't take 5 steps without dying and having to try again.

It was a wild ride but my journey through the nightmare is complete. Unfortunately, it's happened a tad premature. As I approached the final boss, I had a feeling it was him but I had to be certain.

Watch a full 20+ minute video review of Bloodborne from Joaby embedded above Bloodborne is an action RPG created by FROM Software, a Japanese company most famous for its Souls series of games.

Bloodborne is the next evolution of From Software's RPG niche, taking us from dark medieval fantasy worlds where shields are king to an even more unforgiving gothic backdrop where striking first and hard is the way to go.

+ Atmosphere and setting unmatched; + Combat is challenging & satisfying; + Enemy & weapon design delightfully evil; + Changes from Souls welcome; not unwanted

- Frame-rate dips & enemy pathfinding issues still persist from Souls; - NPC character models & character creation need improvement; - Loading times can take a bit too long

Bloodborne is one of this year's most highly-anticipated console exclusives. Does it live up to its forebearers? Matt Maguire files the following tear-sopped review.

Harsh but fair; Terrific level design; You can bring friends into your game; Terrifically imaginative

Long load times; Some minor camera issues; Difficulty and reticence can be off-putting

"Grossly Incandescent." More than 70 hours into Bloodborne, seeing the credits flow is in itself a beautiful as well as a heart wrenching feeling. Sure there lies the New Game Plus [...]

Level Designing and Narrative; Fighting Mechanics; Character Models and Environment Art; Immersion; Souls like Sense of Achievement

FROM Server Issues resulting in Insight Deduction; Framerate dips; A few rehashed boss fights; WTF is Arcane