Bloodborne has the strongest opening to any FromSoftware game

Today marks 10 years since we first got Bloodborne on our PlayStation consoles, and while I, like many, still lament the lack of a PlayStation 5 remaster or PC port, I’d like to mark the occasion by singing the game’s praises rather than something more melancholy.

Ironically though that’s a large part of why Bloodborne is so powerful, it’s melancholy at its purest. No one’s having a good time in Bloodborne, it’s not like Dark Souls where the horrors of a kingdom that once was can be offset by a chonky onion lad toasting your efforts to save it. No, no, no Bloodborne is bleak, and the only reason your characters see their way to the end is not out of heroic duty or the hope you could make a difference, but out of bloodlust that can just never be satiated.

Bloodborne is a high-octane, eldritch horror game, and it’s bloody good

While it’s not my favourite title in FromSoftware’s repertoire, upon a quick replay I reckon it has the strongest opening out of all of FromSoftware’s titles, and if you’re willing to listen to my incessant ramblings about game mechanics and level design I’ll explain why.

Like most FromSoftware games Bloodborne throws you in at the deep end, in a room with an enemy you could kill in theory, but it’d be bloody hard work. You’re better off coming back later when you’ve got a weapon or two, as unlike other titles you don’t even have a broken sword or dagger to play with when you first get into the gameplay.

At this point the game is waiting for one of two things to happen, either you die or get to the first checkpoint (lamp). Then it can transport you to The Hunter’s Dream hub area and give you your gear. If you’re a veteran player who knows this already you’ll likely just “off” yourself immediately to save time, but for new players this is probably quite daunting, at least it was for me when I first played. Running past feral beasts and angry British people without a weapon is scary, even more so when you’re doing it in Bloodborne instead of Manchester City Centre.

Even when you get your first weapons you’re not protected, as between your first lamp and the next is a long, winding path filled to the brim with hostile dodgepots. Hunters, dogs, bloated and blood-filled crows, even ogres line the way, but while it’s incredibly strenuous on your first run through it teaches you so much about the game to come.

Take corners for instance. FromSoftware loves to place enemies around corners and it often comes across as a cheap ploy to force you to use a healing item. There are a few in the first area of Bloodborne and while they mostly teach you that ambushes are a thing that can happen if you’re not wary, it also teaches you about the new health management system. Deal enough damage back to an enemy that hit you and you’ll recover whatever health you lost, and when a ghoul jumpscares you around a corner your first instinct will probably be to strike first and ask questions later. It’s a simple lesson to the player, about three to five seconds long, and the best part is you won’t need to use any healing items after the lesson is over provided you struck back fast enough.

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Which brings me onto the second point, healing items. Previous FromSoftware games aside from Demon Souls give you one healing item with multiple charges, with the item being recharged when resting at a bonfire. Playing Bloodborne for ten minutes you’ll find you pick up quite a few items called Blood Vials, which automatically go into your healing item slot. The fact you’re picking them up obviously means their finite, so A. You know to use them wisely, and B. Which enemies tend to drop them.

Putting both of those points together and you get the very essence of Bloodborne, and the main thing it wants to teach you early-doors, it’s all about the hunt.

Bloodborne is a game that rewards bold, aggressive plays and the more you hesitate in a fight the worse of a time you’re going to have. The opening segment right up to the Cleric Beast and Father Gascoigne bosses really hammers that idea home, as enemies tend to full-tilt sprint to wherever you’re standing to have a go at you. I’d imagine this was intentional as Bloodborne is such a different game compared to what FromSoftware has released before, and veteran players will have needed a firm hand to show them why their usual tricks used just weren’t going to cut it this time around.

That in a nutshell is why I think Bloodborne has the strongest opening out of all of FromSoftware’s work. The way it not only teaches newcomers how to play the game, but also how it forces veteran players to learn its rules. Every time I play Bloodborne I have to relearn its combat just because it’s so wildly different to Dark Souls. I never borrow parrying in other FromSoftware games, just Bloodborne, because you need to learn it.

There are so many other things it teaches you too, like throwing an oil pot at an enemy before a molotov, or how beast bosses can have their limbs broken, there’s so much to learn and it’s almost all taught to you in Central Yharnam. I could go on and on about how much I love this game, but I’ll save my thoughts for future features.

An extraordinary 10 years after launch and Bloodborne is still taking people to school, and I sincerely hope one day it welcomes even more students with a proper PC port, God knows it deserves it.