Longtime readers will know that Eshi and I enjoy video games, and lately there has been one game that has been getting a lot of attention from me: Bloodborne. For those of you who don't know, Bloodborne is a game made by From Software, the guys who made Demon Souls and Dark Souls.
The premise is very similar: monsters are vicious and can kill you quick, but by killing them, you get exp (called echos) to level up your character. Bloodborne is slightly easier than its predecessors (the game's director didn't want a game that was only for "hardcore" gamers) but remains a fun and difficult game. I love the lovecraftian vibe throughout the game since the art is inspired by Bram Stoker and Lovecraft in general and it really excels at creating that kind of atmosphere.
Bloodborne also does a few things that I wish other games would do as well. I don't mean that all games should be Bloodborne, that would be terrible, but they could learn something from the way it presents itself. Bloodborne doesn't really hold the players hand at all, it is up to the player to piece together a story and learn how to play. There is a path you can take through the game, but it isn't always completely obvious where to go, so you get to explore, which is nice. Also you can miss huge sections of the game if you don't explore. Out of like 17 bosses only 7 are required.
There are a few cutscenes but they are light on actual exposition. I am not complaining though, I liked having to figure out the mysterious situation my character was thrown in. As a nerd, I love reading into things deeply. Also, there is no real tutorial. When you start the game you are in a fistfight with a big, fuck-off werewolf what wants to eat your face. After being eviscerated the player is transported to a place called "the hunter's dream" where you get two weapons and can read messages that tell you how to play the game. The thing is, you don't have to read them, you can just get the weapons and go straight back to the respawn point like I did my first time through. The game Dragon's Dogma (which we also really liked) did something similar. You are told about the world, and you get a tutorial where you play as a person who was in the same position as you in the past, but then doesn't tell you how to progress the main story, it leaves the exploration up to you. That kind of thing is great.
I love exploring games and finding all the little secrets and story chunks, it's great. That's not to say that linear stories are bad, they are just ubiquitous. Games today have a tendency to assume that the people playing the game have no idea what its all about and try to coddle the player. This seems like a good idea when games are trying to cast as wide a net as possible by making it playable for every person who picks it up, but making that a standard alienates a lot of people who already play games (the bulk of the market). By making a game that makes players explore and learn from experience From made something that melds with subtle storytelling very well and leaves the player wanting more. Speaking of which, I am going to go play more now. =p
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