Having introduced gamers to the punishing world of Dark Souls, Developer FromSoftware is gearing up for a brand new, PS4-exclusive title inspired by the incredibly challenging RPG. Bloodborne looks set to pick up where Dark Souls left off, with visceral melee combat, a crushing difficulty curve and plenty of mystery and lore to explore and get your head around as you progress.
We've got all the information released about the game so far in one place, so you don't have to trawl the web for the latest trailers or juicy news stories. Read on if, like us, you can't wait to put Hidetaka Miyazaki's latest and greatest through its paces.
Bloodborne Plot
Based on the few early glimpses we've had of the game, Bloodborne will be a much darker, more foreboding game than any of the Dark Souls titles, with lots of gothic, victorian London-esque locations to explore. Players will take up the role of a traveller on a pilgrimage to Yharnam, an ancient abandoned city legends tell of being home to a medical remedy that can cure all afflictions. Once you get there, however, it's clear the city has been overrun with a curse that has turned the city's inhabitants into deranged and violent monsters.
Bloodborne Gameplay
Bloodborne is a third person action RPG, where light and heavy attacks have to be mixed in with dodges, rolls and counterattacks in order to prevail in battle. Unlike Dark Souls, which practically encouraged defensive play with a large selection of shields, Bloodborne will instead force players to take a more aggressive stance if they want to surive. Not only are enemies faster, more agile and able to chase you down should you miss a heavy attack, but with a weapon in either hand you can't simply block and soak up damage.
To balance this, players wil be able to use te risk vs reward Regain system, which restores a portion of your health if you strike an enemy right after taking damage. The amount recovered appears in yellow on the health guage and drains rapidly, so you'll have to hit back quickly in order to get the most back. With the Regain system able to keep you alive for longer, it's unclear whether there will be an Estus Flask-style health item available for healing up outside of battles like there was in the Dark Souls games.
Whereas Dark Souls players mainly used melee weapons, with only a few ranged magical abilities and crossbows to attack from a distance, Bloodborne will include firearms. The shotgun shown in the reveal trailer is still best used up close, however, as it can stun enemies and drop them out of their attack animations, leaving them vulnerable to a rapid slash or heavy attack.
"Trick" weapons will have transforming properties, like the saw cleaver shown in the Gamescom gameplay reveal trailer. When folded up, it can be used like a large dagger, but when flicked open the player has more reach and can attack from a greater distance. The transition itself is even an attack, letting you combo multiple attacks into one stylish chain.
Other aspects still have yet to be decided, including the levelling system and general character progression, although players will be able to customise their avatar in great detail. There will still be a punishment for death, but it probably won't be as severe as it was in Dark Souls; Miyazaki explained that death will still come frequently to players that aren't always alert to approaching enemies and the hazardous environment.
Bloodborne Multiplayer
One of Dark Souls' most intriguing features was the way players could invade other gamers' worlds, becoming a terrifying spectre that could end an unwary player's journey in a flash. Although game director Miyazaki has priomised Bloodborne willl also have a unique approach to online gameplay, the development team isn't yet ready to talk specifics and it's uncertain how the game will play against other gamers.
Bloodborne Release date
Originally slated for a 2015 release, Sony confirmed that Bloodborne would actually arrive some time in the next six months at Gamescom this week. That means it is likely to arrive no later than June next year, meaning we don't have quite as long to wait as we thought to give the game a try.
