This game was my personal introduction to the Soulsborne series and has been my favorite installation ever since.

The atmosphere and artistic design are unmatched, with stunning visuals that convey the environmental narrative flawlessly.

Its shift towards a more action-oriented combat system really sets it apart from the other games, while also making it a bit easier for new players of the genre. When the combat clicks, the player feels rewarded for being aggressive and taking risks!

The lore is hidden in the setting, from item descriptions to hidden dialogues but it is one of the most fascinating stories anyone has ever attempted to tell. You will need to watch lore videos to get the full picture but - to me - this is another example of how the game manages to captivate the player's attention and leave them wanting for more

The boss fights of the base game are suffering a bit, since almost half of the bosses are mostly focusing on being more of a spectacle rather than a well thought-out challenge, however the DLC completely changes by delivering some of the most challenging and amazing bosses that FromSoftware has ever created.

The level design is extremely pleasing visually but is also the game's biggest strength mechanically. The way the levels intertwine, along with the very well designed item placement and the enemy variety all compose some of the most intricate "dungeons" I've ever explored (personally, I still haven't found a first level that is as good as Central Yharnam)

One last minor issue is that the game is capped at 30 FPS, but if this is your only excuse for not experiencing this artistic masterpiece - please grow up, you'll get used to it!

Overall, Bloodborne is a game that features fantastic artistic design, wrapped in one of Miyazaki's best stories and it still holds up almost 9 years later, and despite its flaws it has left a huge impact to everyone that has played it and surely deserves its praise.

Probably the best Soulsborne game and one of the best action-adventure hack n'slash games of all time. What can one say about this masterpiece? Aesthetically, it may be the most original game, with a sick and dark atmosphere that engulfs you in its world, a world clearly inspired by the writings of H.P. Lovecraft and Victorian England, with unparalleled art direction and clever level design. Like most souls-like games, it falls into the metroidvania category, as all the levels are interconnected, forming a strong unified world with multiple side areas to explore. The incredible musical score also greatly enhances the atmosphere, with perhaps the best soundtrack ever composed by FromSoftware.

In terms of gameplay, it clearly draws influences from Dark Souls but adds a new twist to the existing formula. Instead of rolling, evasion is done through dodge/side step, and instead of a shield, the character is equipped with a pistol, which is used for parrying attacks. All these changes work positively for the title, making the combat more aggressive and attack-oriented. Of course, the game lacks the variety in builds and weapons, as it is not a pure action RPG, and this may disappoint some players. However, the game includes some of the best boss fights in the genre, and overall, the challenge one would expect from a souls-like game is present here.

Overall, the experience offered by the game is incredibly high-quality, with over 60 hours of gameplay, including one of the best DLCs ever, The Old Hunters. I highly recommend it to everyone, even if they are newbies to souls-like games

First of all, this title is a category on its own. For example, I don't like racing games, so I won't spend time on them, and if I do and I don't enjoy it, I won't criticize the game for it. When I played it, I thought it would be something between a hack and slash and an open world game, but it simply uses these elements and is something more. On the other hand, you don't know if you will like it and you buy it, I made a mistake at first and got frustrated in the first hour of gameplay, so I gave up. I tried again and realized early in the game that it is a great game, and I say this because the game rewards you accordingly and more. The gameplay is perfect once you get used to it, with many cool enemies and many ways to confront them.
Also, it doesn't have difficulty modes. For example, when I played God of War, I would play on easy to relax and switch to normal if I wanted to immerse myself in the gameplay. It's not for casual gaming, it requires tryharding and constantly thinking about your next move.
It is a game that is based on the Souls series gameplay, with the first one being Demon Souls in 2013, which didn't target a wide audience and even had bad reviews at first. But the Souls games managed to be considered some of the best games for exactly this reason. Because they have actual gameplay. They don't give the player anything ready-made. Even the game's story unfolds through NPCs and objects, not cutscenes. Personally, after playing this game, I bought the Dark Souls trilogy and I'm hooked.
For those who want casual gaming and a cinematic style, Horizon will cover them.

Recently I finished it on the PS5 through PS Plus. Let's start from the beginning! It definitely appeals to a specific group of gamers. Being a gamer for many years now and having played dozens of games, I can say that it didn't challenge me so much to the point of pushing me to extremes, breaking controllers, and such. Of course, someone who is not regularly involved in gaming would naturally find it difficult. I found it disappointing that the game still runs at 30fps on the PS5. The online component is almost non-existent, although it is logical since these types of games are intended for solo play. The amazing soundtrack and overall atmosphere they have created, the variety in enemies, weapons, and areas will keep the player engaged for hours. I simply laugh at some of the negative reviews I see, like "garbage," "waste of money," "too difficult." The fact that someone can't finish it doesn't mean the game is bad. It offers great value for money and is worth investing in. The story has more or less the same structure as previous Souls games. The game only requires leveling up and patience, nothing else. Don't give up on the first boss and fall into the trap of thinking it's not for you!

Fantastic world but Miyazaki's logic finds me opposed.
The game is not accessible at all as there would be even more audience who would love to experience it. But the unified difficulty level makes it a game for a specific audience who has plenty of hours to spare in order to possibly respond at some point when they have perfected their skills. Anyway, those who would want the ultimate challenge to test their skills would play it at the maximum difficulty level as it happens in most games, so even the logic that the game was built on doesn't cover me. Especially as people's obligations increase, mental energy and time to spend on a game are limited things. So in order for a game to give you a sense of satisfaction, there must be corresponding progress. Not to lose again and again and be stagnant at a point until you become flawless for hours in order to reach the checkpoint.
Fortunately, I tried it for free from the plus and realized that it's not for me, at least for now all the souls-like games and Elden Ring have entered the depths of my list.

The game has a shark attack at the beginning. I lost ten times against the first mobs. That's why I abandoned it the first time. I knew I would give it a second chance in the future because of the rave reviews. I loved it and fell in love with it after it took its time.
In the first few hours, its aesthetics range from gothic to Victorian, urban landscape. But from the middle onwards, it starts to deviate from all perspectives and becomes a surreal, nightmarish cosmic horror fairytale. The references to Bram Stoker and H.P. Lovecraft are clear. It's a blend of Count Dracula, Jack the Ripper, and Lovecraftian horror, but it has its own character, the grotesque aesthetic of the company FromSoftware. Skeleton-like creatures with long limbs, crooked noses, and prominent cheekbones, sickness, rats, fleas, and crippled crows!
Amazing atmosphere enveloped in light mist and humidity, dark and terrifying forests. The level design is also amazing, with fantastic structures and shortcuts that make your life easier.
The gameplay is very addictive. Very fast-paced and original weapons that emphasize blades primarily and less on bullets or magic. I particularly liked the steampunk mechanism called the stake driver. As for the clothing, I loved the tall London hats and coats, but the outfit with the crow feathers is one of the best I've seen in a video game.
A night hunter with crow feathers and a plague mask slaughters anything in its path, with its main opponent being its own arrogance, as it has no place in the game and is severely punished in order to solve the mystery of a bloodborne illness that has caused a pandemic.
Bloodborne is a unique work of art - a video game that will stay with me forever, and it seems like I'm not alone in that.

As one can see, most people either find it amazing or rubbish.

The game is quite good as long as you know what to expect. It's not Devil May Cry. It's demanding in every aspect.

Let's analyze briefly the positives and negatives. I will start with the positives.

The graphics and atmosphere are incredible. Victorian architecture throughout the game, amazing scenery and effects, and a heavy atmosphere.

Combat. The strong point of Soulsborne games is the combat, and Bloodborne excels in this aspect. Here, I must emphasize that we are not talking about hack and slash where you just kill everything you find. In Bloodborne, even the simplest enemy can kill you in 3 hits regardless of your level. The difference between level 1 and level 540 is small, which makes the game difficult throughout, even in new game +++ and so on. What this difficulty system achieves is that the player has to pay attention to every battle and learn to defend properly. Learn the enemies, learn the dodge, learn the parry timing, and you will enjoy many hours of relatively fair fights.

Music. Bloodborne has fantastic music and sound effects. From orchestras to chants that reach their peak during boss fights, to crackling fires, underground waters, flowing air currents, everything contributes to an exceptional musical composition.

Story. Although I consider it both positive and negative, here I will write about the positives. Soulsborne games have a Lovecraftian style. The player doesn't learn the plot through cutscenes (although there are a few scattered throughout the game), but mainly through items and some dialogues with NPCs. If someone wants to understand the plot, they will have to read every item description and exhaust the dialogues with NPCs. Someone who lacks the appetite/time will not understand anything at all.

Now let's move on to the negatives.

I will start with the "opposite" of good graphics, performance. Unfortunately, the performance (fps) is not good. Depending on the area and the characters, it can drop dramatically. In some gang enemies, you will notice a significant drop in fps. Even worse, in boss fights when the boss is large in size and has details like hair/fire, etc. There will be moments when it feels like a slideshow and the character moves slowly. Another technical drawback is the camera. Like the fps in certain boss fights with large enemies, the camera doesn't work properly. Unfortunately, it has a limited range, and many times you can only see parts of the boss. Also, when you get stuck against a wall, there is no transparency, so the camera remains stationary and you see the character too closely.

The above, combined with the mediocre locking on, make some bosses harder than they actually are, and there will be many camera/fps deaths. Be prepared.

Next issue is leveling up. Although it seems nice in theory to be able to finish the game with both level 4 and level 540 purely based on skill, in reality, leveling up becomes almost useless. The difference between level 4 and level 540 is essentially 1 hit. I understand that this is how you make a game difficult from start to finish, but on the other hand, it also loses the essence of the leveling system. Practically, after the first run (I did a total of 4), I did speedruns for the rest and just made minimal changes in dialogues because even though enemies scale, it doesn't matter to level up once you learn dodge/moveset of enemies/parry well.
In the pointless level up, the equipment also falls short. Unfortunately, the clothes have purely cosmetic use despite having statistics. Even some with specific defense against electricity offer such a small buff that it is negligible. For example, where you would receive 800 damage while having 1000 life, with a good set of clothes, you may reduce the damage to 750. So, it doesn't matter because no matter what you do, you will die on the second hit.

In the same pattern, the weapon fortification/level up is also more useful.

The same goes for the items. Very few are actually useful, and most are extremely time-specific, and even then, not necessarily. So, they are simply there to fill in the RPG elements, like the level up and equipment.

Plot. While the idea of scattering the plot in item descriptions and NPCs seems excellent, in practice, it is bad. Unfortunately, Yamazaki has very vague descriptions in each item/dialogue, resulting in not a single person on the planet who didn't search on Google/YouTube to learn various things about the plot. It is unlikely that you will understand certain elements on your own, which are often subjective as well. The descriptions should have used simpler language. The plot, after watching 2-3 hours of videos, is quite simplistic and it annoys you that such a simplistic plot was intentionally made difficult.

There are other positives/negatives, but I have written many types (at least the most basic ones) and I don't want to bore you.

To summarize, the game is heavy and difficult, requiring patience and treating each enemy seriously. If you understand this, you will enjoy it and have a sense of achievement when defeating bosses. The atmosphere and battles are fantastic. With a few tweaks in the technical aspect and storytelling, it could be a game for 9/10. As it is, it's a 7/10.

Also, unfortunately, these games give a false sense of accomplishment/pride/masterrace to their fans. They are just games.

Thank you for your time