Next Tuesday, thousands of gamers will disappear from the face of the planet. Husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters will be snatched away in an instant.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, they won\u2019t have gone far; they\u2019ll just be locked away playing Bloodborne, <\/em>a game that could well take over your life.<\/p>\n Bloodborne<\/em> is the spiritual successor to the cult classic Dark Souls, <\/em>a notoriously difficult RPG that both infatuated and infuriated gamers. While it\u2019s not a sequel, it shares a developer (From Software) and, as we\u2019ll find out shortly, quite a few gameplay elements too.<\/p>\n As the title suggests, the plot of Bloodborne<\/em> centres on a nasty illness that turns people into deranged beasts. Your character, who you create from scratch, visits the city of Yharnam, a Victorian-esque metropolis pulled straight from a nightmare to try and find a cure. Unfortunately, most of Yharnam\u2019s residents have Derangedbeastitis and quite fancy having you for dinner.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t go expecting hours of cutscenes and dialogue explaining the origin of the disease or your purpose in the world, though; as Dark Souls<\/em> veterans will attest, From Software prefer to take the less is more approach to storytelling. You\u2019ll get the odd conversation here and there, but for the most part you\u2019ll have to discover Yharnam\u2019s secrets yourself.<\/p>\n Gameplay-wise, Bloodborne<\/em> shares quite a lot of characteristics with Dark Souls. <\/em>If you\u2019re not familiar with Souls<\/em>, that pretty much means hours of exploration, a difficult-to-master combat system and lots and lots of dying.<\/p>\n However, early previews suggest a couple of key differences. The main difference, and perhaps the one that\u2019ll convince people who didn\u2019t like Dark Souls <\/em>to give Bloodborne<\/em> a try, is the combat system. Whereas Dark Souls<\/em> relied on methodical defence and perfectly-timed attacks, Bloodborne<\/em> is faster and sleeker,<\/a> with characters able to dual-wield guns and swords.<\/p>\n
\nBorne again<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\nThe hardest, longest game ever…possibly<\/strong><\/h4>\n