Bloodborne: An Addiction
At this point in time you will all have no doubt read countless reviews of Bloodborne. I will spare you the rigmarole of having to read another. I wanted to talk about a different, more serious subject. Addiction. Namely, an addiction to Bloodborne.
I was an early adopter of the Souls series. I imported Demon’s Souls from China when it seemed like the chances of a UK release were slim to none. I bought it again when it was eventually released in the West, and then went on to buy Dark Souls upon its release. Unfortunately, neither of these games completely hooked me. I gave up on Demon’s Souls, and I still find myself periodically fighting my way through Dark Souls… The games were – and still are – good, but what didn’t help for my enjoyment of the games were personal time constraints and commitments at the time. I will finish both of these games, eventually, just not yet. First of all I have another mammoth problem to work through, not Dark Souls 2, but its spiritual successor, Bloodborne.
The claws of this game are completely and utterly sunk and lodged deep into my skin, and it’s fair to say I’m hooked. Everything about Bloodborne resonates with me a lot more than of the previous games in the series managed. I love the setting and story more, the faster combat and the reliance on fast paced dodging over blocking. Everything seems to have been created with me and my personal game preferences in mind. I’m sat here writing this in April, and yet I can already confidently say that Bloodborne is my game of the year.
The trouble is, I still find myself faced with numerous time constraints which impede how much I can play. I have a review due for Yakuza Zero which has been suffering due to Bloodborne (sorry boss) – this coming from a man who labels Yakuza 3 as his favourite game of all time. But I also have a full time “real” job, and a disgruntled Girlfriend waiting at home.
I understand that BB is not a game for everyone. Some friends of mine hate it, can’t get into it or just plain can’t get very far with it due to its difficulty. Every gamer is entitled to their opinion and I can respect and accept it, even if I may disagree with it. But one thing for me is certain, Bloodborne has turned into a full blown addiction.
Every spare second I can find sees me exploring Yharnam and fighting the many beasties on offer there, or working my way towards the next boss, or preparing to fight one that has already carved me down before, or even just wandering around and drinking it all in. Even at work I find myself thinking about where to go or what strategies to employ in Bloodborne.
Facing ‘difficulties’ (read: brutal deaths) with a boss and then returning to battle it again at a later date with new successful strategies feels amazing. Discovering bosses by accident whilst holding tens of thousands of souls and then managing to slaughter them first time is exhilarating. Doing so has to be amongst some of the most exciting and rewarding moments I have ever had during my gaming career, and often I found myself buzzing and shaking after my hard won battles. Thankfully, I still have plenty of these experiences left ahead of me, as well as opportunities for trying (trying being the key word here) them all over again on the more difficult ‘new game +’ for which I cannot wait.
The whole game is wonderful to me, and this extends beyond just the bosses. I love them, of course, but I’m also enamoured by the other enemies, the fighting, and the world, offering plenty of secrets to uncover. There is so much left for me to discover in Bloodborne, and even after way over 24 hours of play (not a lot of time by some gamer’s standards, I’m sure) the sense of wonder is still just as strong as it was twhen I first sat down with Bloodborne. I have only just started playing online, the online elements of the game bringing with it new excitements as I help other players vanquish bosses they may be stuck battling, or for when I’m feel particularly horrible and mischievous, I can invade other players and snuff out their dreams.
A full blown addiction some might say, and I’m inclined to agree, which only seems to be growing. One particular friend of mine seems to be playing the game more than me. His PSN always shows him on it and he is frequently texting me talking about his experience (spoiler free I might add). His blood is also deeply infected with love and addiction for BB, although he won’t admit it. He simply tells me that the game is ‘OK’. Too afraid is he to admit to me that he has a problem, he won’t open up and talk about it yet.
With time he will openly accept this game and the trials it presents for us gamer’s, and admit to being obsessed with it. And I guess that’s the whole point of this article – helping me by allowing me to tell you guys openly about my problems as well as giving everyone a platform to talk about theirs. Whether you love this game, hate it or find yourself sat on the fence, let me know in the comments so we can share our experiences, both good and bad.
Together we will get through this.