Bloodborne (FROM Software) [PS4]

[Chaos2Frozen]

Eurogamer article with Miyazaki interview http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...dborne-preview

We might quite possibly not have any shields in this game.

It's a city gripped by disease, as told by the coffins that line its streets and the infected that stalk its dark corners. Yharnam's bleak architecture reflects Bloodborne's downbeat premise: the city was known for a medical remedy, attracting the afflicted who are now permanent citizens, often unaware of the horrible plight that still consumes them.

It's a city told in exquisite detail, too. The legacy of the Souls games is evident in how fully formed Bloodborne's aesthetic is - and it's also evident in a frame-rate that makes some dramatic plunges from time to time - but the fidelity makes it feel like a clear generational leap. Clock towers glow orange on the horizon, while stonework glistens with an imposing damp, painted thickly with gargoyles and etchings that all help make Yharnam an architectural wonder.

Some of that darker philosophy shows in your character, decked here in a flowing coat that over the course of the demo soon becomes drenched in blood. Miyazaki's games have never shied away from violence, of course, but in Bloodborne it's a more tangible, more sickening force that makes for an atmosphere somehow bleaker than the Souls series. "I want players to feel that every fight could be their last one," says Miyazaki. "You're going to see a lot of blood splattering. When you face an enemy, you're going to face death. You'll constantly face terror and horror."

As such there's no shield in Bloodborne - instead, you're dual-wielding weapons that themselves have dual purposes. In your right hand is a saw that doubles up as a cleaver, transforming from one form to another with a flick of the wrist. The act of transformation is an attack in itself, suggesting that the shotgun in your left hand acts not as a cheap ranged weapon but as a perfect flourish to pepper off a counter-attack. The emphasis might be on the offensive, but it's been complemented by a deepening of the strategic options at hand.

Enemies, too, have more nuance. The diseased villagers that patrol the city have broader behaviour patterns - a mob of them may converge in a town square, working together in a hunt, before the familiar ring of a town bell will send them back out again on their own individual paths. It makes for a more organic, more emergent place to explore - enemies no longer simply spawn, it seems, but rather patrol the city according to their own internal logic. There's tragedy to that logic too, their behaviour part of some ritual the citizens of Yharnam are unwittingly locked into.

Unravelling how exactly that ritual relates to Yharnham's own history is of course one of the core pleasure's built into Bloodborne, and like Drangleic and Lordran before it this is a location steeped in enigmas. There are other, more straightforward enigmas surrounding Bloodborne right now, too. At one point you chance across an NPC locked in combat, and aiding them will grant you a little assistance when you face off against the area's boss, a hulking hybrid of Pan and a werewolf dubbed the Cleric Beast. As to how exactly the process of fighting alongside other players will work, Miyazaki's coy. "The key concept, or phrase, that we have right now is it's an open explorative community," is all he'll give away.

[Duo Maxwell]

I'm not sure about the idea of locking out the shield. It's one of those thing that helped me keeping calm in Demon's Soul. Hopefully it won't turn into a cheap shot at artificial difficulty by forcing the players to die without way to defend themselves.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by Duo Maxwell

I'm not sure about the idea of locking out the shield. It's one of those thing that helped me keeping calm in Demon's Soul. Hopefully it won't turn into a cheap shot at artificial difficulty by forcing the players to die without way to defend themselves.

The way I see it if they want us to be more aggressive, or pro-active as he calls it, that means our character would have to be faster and stamina would be less of an issue. I suspect it would still be there because otherwise they would have noticed it in the demo.

EDIT:

This part hasn't been confirmed yet, but--

from what people who read the leaked Famitsu have said it's going to be kind of a side game to the Souls series and more low fantasy compared to high fantasy. They are replacing magic with gadgets, guns and such. Main mechanic seems to be related to blood and blood is also used to regain your HP and gain various other benefits. You get blood sucking it from corpses or items. Sucking too much blood will turn you into a beast which I suppose is this game's Soul/Hollow form. The game will apparently become a lot harder to play/control when in beast mode. To become a human again you need human blood and is where the online component comes into play.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost...&postcount=990

[Flying Dagger]

Hmm... I find myself not bothering with a shield much in DS2, and I think I prefer it that way.

The shield in DS1 provided this "stance of absolute defense" which arguably can make a good part the game "kind of easy".

I wasn't too into magics in DS, but I am dying to shoot things up with revolvers...

[Chaos2Frozen]

Hmmm quite the opposite, personally I feel that DS2 taught me that my shield is the last resort while dodging should be my first line of defense. Greatshields are heavy and require a lot of stat investments, while anything that's not a greatshield has quite poor stability, but whichever shield you use holding them up would reduce your stamina regen and that could prove fatal.

Not to mention with the bash mechanic that instantly stuns you when connected to the shield I only ever have a shield up in the case of tricky enemies whose attack pattern I haven't yet learned.

[ACertainStark]

I'm not really a shield user. So it's neat they're going for that.

But since a Dark Souls 3 is likely to happen, and this is a new IP, it's better to move on as well with new ideas. It's clear he's not making it to be cheap, and that's what the Blunderbuss is for.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Gametrailers have another impression video of the demo.

http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/9...-2014--eyes-on.

He has a lot of good things to say about the city that the game revolves around And definitely a lot more stuff about what happened in the demo.

[Duo Maxwell]

Are they showing the gameplay demo right now? I've seen several impression about it, but couldn't see any video about the demo.

[ACertainStark]

Closed Doors demo. Likely because it's still early and they don't want to deal with the FPS backlash since it's unfinished. Guess we will see it at Gamescom or TGS since its not out till Spring.

Also:

Miyazaki-san "If you remember the Tower of Latria level in Demon's Souls, that's the kind of atmosphere we want to create with Bloodborne."

https://twitter.com/yosp/status/476776190250733569

[Hooves]

The hype is going to be real. I personally don't know how to feel about this. Still not enough for me to accurately deduct how much I'll enjoy this.

[ACertainStark]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GCx...ature=youtu.be

Early Off-screen gameplay. Keep in mind, about the framerate, there is a reason this was closed doors. This was also played in God Mode

[Chaos2Frozen]

The characters look... Really tall.

[Duo Maxwell]

Is there any journalist could play game, honestly? They look really bad.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Actually they didn't play it, it's strictly FROM only, hell they straight up told the Journalists that no questions allow

[ACertainStark]

Originally Posted by Duo Maxwell

Is there any journalist could play game, honestly? They look really bad.

It's just a producer from Playstation/FROM demo-ing the game. The build is likely months old and pointed out. There was 2 30/15 min demos shown from what I gather. So this is a very small portion.

Patrick Klepek confirmed that stamina is still in. It's an organic world like Dark Souls and they're still working out the consequences of death.

Alongside that here's same fan answered questions from GAF

-Are there classes in the game?-
There are character archetypes, not unlike his other games.

-Will the framerate that is reported to be low by journalists who saw the game be a priority?-
They're aiming for 1080p and 30 FPS.

-Will character classes be in the game? Is magic in the game? Thank you.-
He wouldn't say whether there will be magic or not.

-How would the bosses differ from the previous games, in tandem with the new combat system?-
He's saying that now, instead of trying to block, the focus will be on dodging. The firearm acts somewhat like a shield, though.

--Is the game more story heavy, or still told mostly through lore?-
It seems to be the same.

-Can we expect this to be about as long as any of the Souls game or will this be a shorter, more focused experience?-
As long as Demon's or Dark Souls.

-Is there a vast arsenal of different type of weapons?
Also tell him that he is my God.-
There are less weapons overall, but he thinks the depth of each of those actually available make up for that difference.

Also, he said that he's not a God, but that hopefully after he releases Bloodborne he'll achieve the status of a Demigod. That'd be enough, he said.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost...postcount=1860

[nosaer]

Shields are a great comfort in the souls games. I try to dodge almost everything, but I sometimes miss my timing and have to throw up my shield to take the hit. When I play without a shield in souls, I tend to be more aware that I'm shieldless and panic more easily in engagements.

If the game doesn't use shields though I think I could still do well in it. The way they make it sound with the enemies being more aggressive is like an evolution in the Souls games. Its kind of where they've been leading too. DkS2 enemies are more aggressive then they were in Dks1, and rush you much more frequently when you try to back off. Maybe they're making the new enemies even more aggressive then that.

[Chaos2Frozen]

[Duo Maxwell]

This or this. In case they take one down.

Pre-ordered. I can miss anything, but not this one. Note that this is, from what I heard, a leaked trailer of the old build that is supposed to be shown in TGS 2013.

[Chaos2Frozen]

I've heard about that as well from some of the people who have seen the demo at E3, it's quite possible that the blunderbuss could also be used to put enemies into a vulnerable state for riposte.

Graphical details a very good, but frame rate suffers.

EDIT:

Originally Posted by Duo Maxwell

This or this. In case they take one down.

Holy. Fuck.

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EDIT:

Bloodborne’s Victorian inspirations influence both setting and gameplay

In addition to his recently published interview with Famitsu, Bloodborne director Hidetaka Miyazaki of From Software also sat down to have a lengthy chat with Japanese publication Dengeki about his upcoming PlayStation 4 game. While some of the details are reiterating things that we’ve already covered about the game earlier this week, Miyazaki nevertheless had plenty of new things to say about the design philosophy of the game, its influences, and what to expect in broad terms with regards to how he envisions it will play, so read on for our translated summary of what transpired during the interview.

[ACertainStark]

They've at least acknowledged the framerate issues and said it would be ironed out.

That trailer is great, but I can see why they opted for CG.

We'll be seeing this game at Gamescom and TGS confirmed by Bloodborne twitter.