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Bloodborne: An immersively thick cut above its gaming rivals

It's bloody and it's marvellous - even when you're dead

Game Theory I dreamt I was in Yharnam last night, swirling dark cloth fluttering on the edge of my consciousness; Bloodborne has me hooked like a horrid nightly visit from a Lovecraftian succubus. This game is no fleeting weekender like The Order: 1886 it’s time for some true graft.

Bloodborne

Character modelling

Just like The Order: 1886 which El Reg reviewed recently, this PS4 exclusive has been hyped to heart attack levels.

Bombarded with PR promises of next gen sparkle and the foundation of a new generation of action RPG’s (it also has werewolves), the only question in my mind is: will I be able to man up to the punishment I’m about to receive at the hands of Hidetaka Miyazakis’s newest game? Pray for my soul.

Waking up in a distinctly unhygienic clinic laid out on a gurney, and a blind, wheelchair-bound tramp tells me, as a Paleblood, I will need a Yharnam blood transfusion to make me tough enough to explore the gruesome Bloodborne world.

This transfusion brings on horrific images including a wavering vagina-faced ghoul. Ah, the Japanese mind at its finest!

Bloodborne

Troubled Childhood? No problem, get tooled up and you're ready to go.

Jumping into the character creation, which represents my contract as a hunter, I was impressed by the variety of customisation options including some that are too close for comfort.

Of the Origin options (class options), I just had to try Troubled Childhood but then, after a particularly horrible death at the paws of some hyena descended dogs, I restarted as a Military Veteran.

Origin determines my starting stats and trust me, you’re going to need as much strength and endurance as you can get. These Character creation tools were comfortingly similar to the Soul's games so as to lull me into a false sense of security. To be fair, I have spent the vast majority of my time in Yharnam, so far wearing my cloak and pirate hat with a scarf around my face and head to toe in blood – so I wouldn’t spend too long choosing a hair colour.

Bloodborne

Perhaps all you need to work on is the eyes when creating a character

On waking, I wander the clinic until catching sight of a huge glistening werewolf, who, even though I try to get in a couple of roundhouses with my fists, takes me down pretty fast. After death I am transported to Hunter's Dream, a peaceful ethereal churchyard where I can level up for blood echoes, upgrade my weapons and travel to different locations using the tombstones.

Next page: A ghoul's paradise

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