Bloodborne is a 3rd person action RPG that follows the tradition of games like Demon's Souls and Dark Souls. It is difficult and unforgiving. Mistakes in combat are punished harshly and enemies respawn when you die. Healing items are limited and you can even lose unspent experience points.

Fast and aggressive combat; huge world with rewarding exploration; unique weapons

Frame-rate drops at times; little aesthetic variety between areas, having to farm for healing items

Bloodborne is the successor to From Software's Demon's Souls and Dark Souls games. Bloodborne steps away from the sword and sorcery that defined those titles and instead delves into the macabre, alien, and grotesque, with aesthetic and story parallels to H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E.

Fluid, energetic and satisfying combat; Fantastic atmosphere; Beautiful environments and imaginative enemy designs; Great longevity and replay value

Long loading times; AI can be easily exploited; Some bosses are bland and uninteresting to fight; Large enemies can obscure the camera in close-range combat

A brutal breed of RPG that continues the Dark Souls style of gameplay. Perfectly developed story, RPG elements and graphic combat. Unique insight currency that alters the game world. Plenty of exploration and item hunt. Only on PlayStation 4.

Combat – Setting – Item hunt and exploration

Variety isn't as high as other games

Bloodborne: The Old Hunters is worth your time and money if you enjoyed the base game. For the most part, it's more of the same done better. The environments and some of the bosses are a cut above, enemy placement and interaction really stuck out, and wreaking havoc with the new weapons is almost...

The new areas are creepier than anything in vanilla Bloodborne; The rivers of gore, background elements that move and struggle on their own, and unsettling noises will feel somewhat nostalgic for Souls fans who remember the unpleasantness of Demon's Souls' Tower of Latria, New enemies are incredibly...

One of the bosses is incredibly annoying; Not just because he's difficult, but because he has a wonky hit box, an attack that can sometimes register multiple hits if it catches you wrong, and he constantly wails and shrieks in a way that grates on the nerves quickly.

Bloodborne is amazing. I'll admit, I come in with some Souls experience, but I'm still fairly bad at tough video games. Bloodborne simplifies the minutiae contained in the Souls experience but keeps the core things that make it great.

Methodical rewarding combat; expansive areas; challenging boss fights

Long load times; necessity to grind for materials

The story to Bloodborne is seemingly brief, but yet very deep and meaningful at the same time. That sounds like an odd blend, but it's one that works remarkably well as you find yourself immersed in its world.

Brutal; but yet addictive gameplay; Captivating gothic world to explore; Enchanting soundtrack; Meaningful levelling up and upgrade system; Fantastic creature design; Clever level design; with hidden rewards and smart short-cuts

Difficulty may put off some

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.

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.