One of the more anticipated PS4 exclusives, Bloodborne, has finally arrived. Is this the standout new IP we've been waiting for? Let's make no bones about it – the hopes for Bloodborne have been sky high, and to a certain extent, understandably so.

Fantastic; immersive world; Beautifully detailed; Fluid combat; Challenging enemies

Little story at the outset; Some long load times

You wake up to find a strange man staring at you, only to get eaten by strange zombie-like creatures just seconds later in what looks like the end of your story before it even began.

Death isn't often a massive topic of discussion, so embracing it as a part of a game can become quite a challenge. When we die, we leave all our troubles behind, we finally find peace and an escape from our nightmares, but in Bloodborne , your death is a mere nothing in the nightmare that surrounds...

Disturbingly Beautiful | Wonderful Atmosphere | Great Combat | Lots of Fun

Loading Time | Early Bosses are Very Tough | Character Create

Demon's Souls' eventual success was a slow burn, but it was not a fluke. The Souls series is a full-blown phenomenon now, and the mania has peaked with Bloodborne . Thanks to the intriguing new Victorian setting and some really effective marketing on Sony's part, tons of new players are experiencing...

Hyper challenging gameplay; Incredibly atmospheric world; Gorgeous graphics and sound; Amazing enemy design

Unintelligible story; Stripped-down customization; Little gameplay variety; Rife with bugs and design issues

Bloodborne is in the unenviable position of being a great game that's not quite as great as its predecessors. Making the game more accessible was probably necessary, especially since Bloodborne isn't just another action/RPG - it's one of the selling points of buying a PS4 instead of an Xbox One.

Gorgeous; interconnected world; Exciting; fast combat; Eerie sound and visuals; Weird characters and lore

Not as complex as predecessors; Some graphical oddities

very depressing and macabre atmosphere lacking positive message only one character that consistently is a good role model extreme difficulty graphic and disturbing content that far surpasses the violence of others no sexual content at all no swearing save "damn" and "whore" no consumerism at all no...

Although the game is frustrating at times, it's super satisfying when you do succeed and in terms of hours played to dollars spent, it was definitely well worth it.

The version I got was the "Middle Eastern" version of the game so as you can imagine the cover and rear of the case did have some Arabic on it also, However game is fully English and aside from as mentioned with the front and back of the cover it plays no different from any NA / EU version of the...

Purgatory. Getting the chance to re-live every painful moment, every mistake you ever made, a thousand of times. The time your first pet died, that day you realised Santa Claus wasn't real, the first time you got dumped: every classic stomach-sinking moment on a constant loop. For ever.

Smart level design; Consistent; satisfying mechanics; Thick; moody atmosphere

Frequently frustrating; Obscure style may annoy

One thing's for sure though, Sony has done very well for themselves by nailing Bloodborne down as a PS4 exclusive. As enjoyable as Infamous, DriveClub (eventually) and Killzone were, they never rode such a continuous wave of hype after release.

Rewarding enemy encounters; The game world design is stunning; Regain system encourages aggressive style

Long loading times; Combo variation is very limited; Attack interruptions can be inconsistent