With The Playstation Experience now a thing of the past, Sony fans have a lot to look forward to in the near future. Since it’s announcement earlier this year, one game that’s been at the top of many a wish list is From Software‘s upcoming PS4 exclusive, Bloodborne.
If you managed to peruse one of the few demo reels posted online over the weekend, it’s safe to say that Bloodborne is coming along nicely. We caught a glimpse at 3-player co-op in action, received information on the procedurally generated co-op mode Holy Chalice, and witnessed the main character die at the hands of massive boss monsters.
During last night’s Bloodborne panel, Director Hidetaka Miyazaki took part in a Q&A session to shed even more light on the action RPG. Fans of the Souls series have a lot to look forward to, but as a game that’s supposed to be a new IP, is it too similar for its own good? Isn’t the point of a new IP to be.. new?
The title of this article is more of a personal gripe, since I’m still hoping for more than just a prettier Dark Souls. Sure, we’re getting a fully dedicated co-op mode, and there’s still plenty of time before Bloodborne hits the PS4, but the more information From Software reveals, the more it feels like another Souls game and less like a new IP. It definitely has some gameplay mechanics that separate the two, like a more offense-driven combat system and its risk-versus-reward health regen concept, but the features are–more often than not–ripped straight from Miyazaki’s previous Souls games.
Here are a few highlights from the Q&A session, courtesy of Gamespot:
- There are 10 different maps within the world, each with its own unique “situation” to complete.
- The Holy Chalice co-op dungeon is procedurally generated, including boss fights, and will span the entire underground of the game’s overworld.
- Each area in Holy Chalice has a holy chalice to locate. Doing so will open up another section of the dungeon.
- After generating your dungeon through the Holy Chalice ritual, it will remain fixed. This will allow you to master your own dungeon, as well as share the completed dungeon with friends online.
- Holy Chalice is not tied to the Bloodborne campaign and will remain optional.
- Difficulty will be relatively high and won’t be “easy to breeze through.”
- Character customization will be on level with Dark Souls 2.
- PVP is confirmed.
- The concept of dying and Hallowing from the Souls series will be present in Bloodborne in some way.
- There may be moments where players control boss monsters to battle a player’s hero character, like in Dark Souls 2.
- Final specifications for frame rate will be determined by what the developers feel works best for the experience, but gameplay footage looks relatively fast paced.
As someone who enjoyed Demon’s Souls and the original Dark Souls, I’m excited to see what From Software and Hidetaka Miyazaki will come up with in Bloodborne, but I can’t shake the feeling of familiarity as I read through the bulletpoints. I’m not pessimistic about Bloodborne, as more Souls is generally a good thing, but I’d still like to see From Software stray from the familiar to make it feel more like a new IP and less like Dark Souls 3.
What are your thoughts?
Bradley Keene is the Executive Editor here at What’s Your Tag?, generally handling news, reviews, public relations, and our social media communications on Facebook and Twitter. He’s an aspiring video game journalist, Baltimore native, and an on again/off again WoW player that blasphemously favors consoles over PC. As a Marylander, he naturally puts Old Bay on everything, loves the Orioles, drives aggressively, and says “son” too much. Contact him by e-mail at the address above, or follow him on Twitter.
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