It's the night of The Hunt. Supercilious laughter joins the suffused glow of lamplight spilling from beneath locked doors and barred windows. You are a hunter, expected to exterminate the beasts taking over the twisted laneways of Yarnham.

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

Update: Now that Bloodborne is out in the shops for real people to buy, Brett has finally had a chance to check out its multiplayer functionality. His impressions are below, and you can see his final score over there on the right. You've probably seen it already. That's OK.

I was given this game as a gift, but I'm thinking it's the best game I've played for a long, long time. I haven’t played the Souls games which preceded this, and I'm not usually a combat-centric game player, but this game is completely contrary to current games in that you actually have to take care instead of saving then wading in guns and all. I've found myself playing the same level over and over to try and skill up, and perversely loving every minute. Except some of the boss fights. They can be hard. Must level up more..... It's not easy (for me anyway), but if you like a challenge and can handle things not being laid out in front of you then I thoroughly recommend it. I'd buy a PS4 for this game.

Simply amazing in every way.

Being a casual player and new to the genre, I personally find it extremely dificult, yet very addictive and rewarding at the same time. The feeling of accomplishment after surviving the brutal boss fights is like anything I have experience in previous games.

The evolution of the Souls formula to the next generation, this game demands your time and attention.

Super aggressive combat; fantastic world and art design; and wonderfully mysterious environments

Death sometimes comes from slight control and camera issues rather than a player mistake

It took longer than we would have hoped, but here it is: the PlayStation 4's first must-have exclusive. From Software's Bloodborne is a beautiful, brutal masterpiece that differentiates itself just enough from the standard Souls formula while still retaining what makes that series so extraordinary.

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

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