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.

HIGH Charging up an axe attack that stuns large dudes so I can rip their innards out. Neat! LOW The Chalice Dungeons look and feel almost identical no matter which variations are triggered. WTF The 'real' ending. Who thought that would be a satisfying conclusion to a forty-plus hour adventure?

Charging up an axe attack that stuns large dudes so I can rip their innards out; Neat

The Chalice Dungeons look and feel almost identical no matter which variations are triggered

Bloodborne is as glorious as it is grotesque, a harsh and unyielding exercise in getting battered mercilessly while feeling encouraged the whole painful way. While very much a Souls game through and through, the switch from methodical and slow progression to a faster, ultimately more savage...

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.

This is part 3 of an on-going review of Bloodborne. Read Part 1 and Part 2. This is a long reflection on what's it's like playing and discussing the game, rather than a strict focus on the game itself.

While Bloodborne never reaches the same dizzying heights of Dark Souls, it still retains the creative spark that made it so special. The dark atmosphere, the intense boss fights, and the minimalistic storyline still work to make a game that feels like nothing else out there on the market.

I've been playing From Software's Souls series since the very beginning with the release of Demon's Souls, and since then, my play-style has largely been the same; From title to title, I don a suit of plate armour, pick up straight sword and shield, and rigidly stick to that kit from beginning to...

The fact that Bloodborne carries so many stark similarities to previous games of the Souls series means that it can't escape from comparisons with them; and; in many ways; its deficiencies will stick in the craw of some of the series' fans