[devindotcom]

I've been playing Bloodborne every evening for the last week or so, and it is tremendous. It's the only game that minor spoiler has ever gotten Lovecraftian horror correct in a really convincing way. The tone is pretty much one hundred percent on target.

I'd love a couple of my cosmic-horror-loving friends to play it, but it is fucking hard. I'm not sure they'd make it to the first boss, to say nothing of past it and the next however many there are.

As someone else points out, it may unfeasible for you to get a copy of your own (it's a PS4 exclusive), so you can of course watch others play - but seriously, it's not the same thing. Creeping around corners waiting for an ambush, inspecting hideous statues, hearing the slither of some nearby yet hidden hostile creature - the mindset you enter while playing is important to the consumption of the content. Watching another play, you don't quite have that. If at all possible, don't watch, just wait for your chance to play it - outside of Dark Souls and to some extent its prequel and sequel, it's pretty much a one-of-a-kind experience.

[doktrin]

> I'd love a couple of my cosmic-horror-loving friends to play it, but it is fucking hard. I'm not sure they'd make it to the first boss, to say nothing of past it and the next however many there are.

> outside of Dark Souls and to some extent its prequel and sequel, it's pretty much a one-of-a-kind experience.

Weird. Bloodborne is the first of the "series" that I've even been remotely tempted to play. The combat mechanics look fresh and exciting. Every video I've ever seen of its predecessors featured gameplay that looked boring and clunky (even if challenging).

[cdr]

The combat in Dark Souls was amazing. The hitboxes were so finely tuned you could just about dodge by a hair. The Artorias boss fight was the most fluid battle I've seen in a game, though maybe Bloodborne can top it. The PVP was absolutely great also, with skill-intensive counters for everything meaning the most skilled player almost always came out on top.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWLsLb-tK8A (audio possibly NSFW)

[alacritythief]

The hitboxes are done very well in Bloodborne, to the point where the Bloodborne subreddit has dubbed it "hitbox porn".

Examples: http://gfycat.com/FlatOffbeatDrake http://i.imgur.com/WWUzhSe.gifv http://gfycat.com/LinedCookedKoodoo

[doktrin]

Thanks for sharing that. It's one of the more interesting DS vids I've seen. However, and this is subjective, it still looks clunky and slow. I also don't care for the aesthetics.

From what I've seen of Bloodborne play, both of these concerns have been addressed. The removal of sword and boarding and the non fantasy/medieval setting make it so much more appealing to me than DS ever was. Just my personal opinion.

[JimmyM]

> It's the only game that minor spoiler has ever gotten Lovecraftian horror correct in a really convincing way. The tone is pretty much one hundred percent on target.

I would recommend the game Darkest Dungeon, which convincingly nails the atmosphere of some of Lovecraft's work, for me. It's pulpier and less serious (more purple) than Bloodborne, but I believe that Lovecraft himself was pulpier, purpler, and less serious than Bloodborne (going so far as to hide inside jokes in his work).

[cousin_it]

Lovecraftian horror in video games? I have just the link for you! :-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF_cCOKXgvk