Revisiting Bloodborne in 2021
How does the groundbreaking title hold up after a half-decade of innovation?
Titles in the SoulsBorne series, for all of their critical acclaim, are quite simple — just dodge and hit. Boiling it down to these two ideas may sound reductive, but the charm lies in the execution. How your character moves and attacks are the basis of how the game feels, and personal preference dictates what feels fun or frustrating for you.
For those who enjoy the thrill of fast-paced combat but still want Souls-like gameplay, Bloodborne is the perfect fit. Much more than other titles of the genre, this game is based around a constant loop of risk and reward. Every second, the enemies challenge the player to do something risky in exchange for an advantage, whether it be extra damage or stealing health back. When you fail, it offers more chances to make it back up, and the player either redeems their mistakes, loses even more, or cuts their losses and leaves the fight to heal up. But it never pushes the envelope too far where the cards feel stacked against you.
Instead, each encounter is crafted perfectly to the point where the difficulty feels…
