Bloodborne - Commentary and Critique

Patreon: / josephanderson
Twitter: / jph_anderson
Books: www.amazon.com/Joseph-Anderson...
Section Links
The Opening - 1:27
Central Yharnam - 5:20
Cleric Beast and Father Gascoigne - 16:17
Cathedral Ward Part One - 19:50
Old Yharnam and Blood-letting Beast - 22:43
Cathedral Ward Part Two, Amelia and Hemwick - 29:47
Forbidden Woods and Shadow of Yharnam - 38:00
Byrgenwerth and Rom, the Vacuous Spider - 45:52
Nightmare Frontier - 50:45
Cainhurst Castle - 56:30
Unseen Village, One Reborn, and Darkbeast Paarl - 1:00:50
Nightmare of Mensis, and Friends! - 1:06:34
The Orphanage and One and a Half Bosses - 1:12:05
The End - 1:15:20

[@SilentTree12]

If all the ladders from the souls games were collectively attached to one another, I wonder how long the combined ladder would stretch.

[@JosephAndersonChannel]

Underrated comment.

[@iWillWakeYouUp]

+SilentTree I give my life... not for honor, but for blooooooooood. In my time... there will surely be someone else. Crime is the way, I will hunt tonight. I'm still in a dream, still dreaming... ...The Doll, it looks, like Maria... and she talks, in a voice, so soothing... and I love, the way, she looks... so feminine, best wai-hi-fuuuuuuuuuuuu I'd give my life... not for honor, but for blood. I'm still in a dream, still dreaming....

[@orangesoda4535]

I'm stiiiiiiiilll in a dreeeaaaam snaaaake eeeaterrrrrr!

[@GREATGAIWAIN]

Too damn high.

[@boneneedle3360]

Approximately 647 and 41 centimetres.

[@LoudMouth_]

Joseph: "Lets talk about boss X." Me: "I remember that boss, gave me a load of trouble" Joseph: "The problem is it's far too easy" Me: "..."

[@somedogsarecops2354]

A boss can kill you with frustrating mechincs but is still an easy boss.

[@LunaVictoria9]

@@somedogsarecops2354 yupp. Cheesy bosses doesn't mean hard bosses. Say micolash, in the second and last phase, when he starts using A Call Beyond, it seems BS and cheese untill you find out he never uses it if you just stay close. If he uses it as you enter the arena tho...

[@IWantToStayAtYourHouse]

The struggled so hard with the one reborn but everyone saying he's easy -.-

[@Skeemac]

Judging by how much damage he was dealing and how little he was taking, he was likely very over-leveled during a lot of these encounters, which is probably why he thinks the game was too easy. If you didn't find the optional areas and didn't attempt any chalice dungeons, you probably had a pretty rough time. I know I did.

[@agent_albert]

@@Skeemac I wasn't overpowered and the only boss that I struggled with was probably the blood starved beast on my first playthrough. I don't say that this game is easy but most bosses can't do a lot if you are aggressive.

[@Corrupted]

The virgin joseph: "sorry for this 1 hour video" The chad joseph: "here is a 20 hour analysis of all witcher games and books and I learned polish btw"

[@twinguy9633]

Na wen sieht man denn da 😁

[@faketoddhoward7280]

This comment made me laugh way too much time

[@henrycrabs3497]

Another dead verified account

[@businesserinokripparino404]

Na hallihallo, es gibt auch deutsche, die gute Videos zu schätzen wissen!

[@zigsynx5364]

Wartet mal. Wenn die Russen ankommen, greifen wir Polen nochmal an. Diesmal besitzen wir den Sieg, sodass Joseph Anderson stattdessen Deutsch lernen muss.

[@CHR1SZ7]

Looking at the game as a whole, it appears to have whole sections dedicated to every common fear you can think of. Spiders, snakes, the dark, heights, getting lost, going mad, zombies, skeletons, werewolves, ghosts, dogs, insects, disease, even trypophobia. The fact the game puts so much emphasis on nightmares makes this feel like it surely must be intentional; the game does horror not through cheap jumpscares, or simple gore, but by creating areas that produce visceral unease and force you to confront every possible fear you might have head on.

[@kuppikahvikeisari9120]

Never seen this connection made before, great observation!

[@bleachisrad]

thats because its inspired by lovecraft :)

[@kuppikahvikeisari9120]

@@bleachisrad Duh :D

[@bleachisrad]

@@kuppikahvikeisari9120 and lore in the game is so vast i am still finding out new things about it haha

[@kuppikahvikeisari9120]

@@bleachisrad Yeah, I just think summing it up "its lovecraft" is taking credit away from the writers of the game and theories observative players come up with :)

[@corvus418]

Mergo's Wet Nurse's health bar taking a bit to disappear was on purpose, because the Wet Nurse wasn't the Nightmare. Mergo was the Nightmare, so the Nightmare Slain appears once Mergo stops crying. Fun fact: Mergo laughs before fading out if you play the music box.

[@zaken1235]

Was going to make a comment about this but you already did. Good.

[@amo1704]

Lol does it really start laughing? The amount of detail in this game is mind boggling. Did you know you can hear vicar amelia talk after you kill her if you have enough insight?

[@corvus418]

+Jomez j I never paid attention to that and I'm on NG+2 lol. I'll have to pay attention next time.

[@dmc1673]

The tiny little details in this game are so good. I wish I was better at noticing them....

[@altairdabestsevenfold345]

Corvus Veis fun fact 2: a wet nurse's job is to breast feed the baby

[@JCWigriff]

"I can imagine some guy who spent hours of his life trying to figure out to get through with no results." That guy was me. :( lol

[@JosephAndersonChannel]

Sorry bro. :(

[@JCWigriff]

Hahahaha. It's fine. I was at the end of the game, after my initial launch playthrough, and was tying up loose ends. I remembered the door and went back to find a way through. After a couple hours I finally googled the issue, and found several reddit threads by people wanting to know the same thing, so at least I wasn't alone. :) Btw, I've now watched every single one of your Souls videos, and I adore them. Keep up the good work man.

[@MrRjwagner]

I don't understand why the door is intractable. It's pretty clear at one point in development, that door was to link back to the bridge that leads into Central Yahrnam. The whole shiny coin trick pretty much proves that theory straight up. Maybe the developers thought it was a pretty useless pathway. Maybe they worried that players might not talk to the Dweller and know of potential NPC's to save. Who knows? But I do agree with Anderson that the door should not be intractable.

[@crazybeatrice4555]

It took me 3 hours to get through asylum demon in remastered and even that was only because I looked at a walkthrough.

[@arbiter-]

@@crazybeatrice4555 Uh how is that even possible? It literally dies in like 4 hits.

[@calvinware7957]

Bloodborne: You can parry Sekiro: You WILL parry.

[@Red-nl4lk]

You NEED to parry. Like your life depends on it.

[@akoCmudshake]

You mean spam L1?

[@gu3z185]

@@akoCmudshake L1 spam only gets you so far, Isshin or True Father need good parry timings to even have a chance of beating them.

[@juniperrodley9843]

@@gu3z185 Also, as a lot of people haven't realized, spamming L1 reduces the deflection window's duration to almost nothing. I'm not exaggerating, it cuts out 3/4 of the frames that the deflection window normally lasts for. That's why, for example, Genichiro's fourth arrow in his jumping shot attack seems nigh-impossible to deflect.

[@ubebred9853]

@@gu3z185 god damn isshin made me a parry God after 4 fucking days

[@CorporealHunter]

"Why would the boss even have his throne up here on the roof?" around 59:30 I'm not sure if you're joking like you did the bugged ball of light, but he's not a king, he's an executioner who couldn't kill Annalise because she's immortal so he's protecting the entrance to her domain so no one who might want to help her can reach her. His 'sacrifice' by doing this is also why he's a Martyr. And the delay past Mergo's wet nurse is intentional, because the baby stops crying after you kill her. People say it dies but I personally don't know for sure, felt like it fell asleep to me.

[@EinFelsbrocken]

Idk; Ive always felt since Mergo never really existed in the real world anyway were just freeing him of eternal imprisonment and eternal childhood in the mensis nightmare...so; imo; he dies; but its okay-ish..

[@xshullaw]

The issue with Logarius is that in an older version he actually was the King of Cainhurst, and they didn't change his model so he looks nothing like the Executioners or anyone from the Church.

[@arthurcuesta6041]

Behind him there's a throne.

[@xshullaw]

@@arthurcuesta6041 It's more like just a chair tbh.

[@titusshaver6983]

@@xshullaw and who can blame him, can you imagine staying on that roof for the rest of your life AND STANDING that whole time? Nah man, fetch me that stool

[@Galaxy40k]

The delay after killing the Wet Nurse is intentional. If you pay close attention, after you kill the Nurse, the baby the nurse was caring for (the baby you've been hearing since Rom) starts crying. Eventually, the crying stops, and then immediately you get "Nightmare Slain." The implication is that the baby, Mergo, was the Great One, and the Wet Nurse was taking care of it. You kill the caretaker, baby dies, and we get Nightmare Slain.

[@sharsasuke01]

The delay made me paranoid af. I thought something was coming next. lol

[@BrorealeK]

In general he avoids talking about the story. Either he doesn't want to ruin it, or he doesn't get it. Not "get it' as in the pretentious "you interpret it wrong" way, but as in he was genuinely confused. Like the entrance to Cainhurst. Dreams and nightmares are mentioned so incessantly in the game that I dunno how the concept of entering Cainhurst on dead and rotted horses can throw him through a loop. Then again he misstated the Amygdalas in Cathedral Ward just to troll people so he may be doing the same thing here.

[@godihateyoupeople7173]

poor babby

[@ALocalClown]

This. Joseph has a real tight understand of game mechanics and layout/progression, but is pretty basic when it comes to narrative. The fact that he continues to 'not buy' that Dark Souls has a pretty in-depth story speaks to this. EDIT: Not throwing shade, I dig the guy's content.

[@Sassy_Witch]

The ball comment was a joke? Really? It sounded way too serious to me but I guess I'm not good at getting sarcasm

[@GREATGAIWAIN]

Bro, stop telling me about video length like I have a life and am not a sad, pseudo-intellectual who likes to have opinions on games I never play.

[@GerSHAK]

+

[@theashennamedjerry3203]

The Great Gawain So fucking true its sad.

[@TheMymimi100]

wow that just hit me with the stick of truth right in my jaw... q.q

[@bobbybob3804]

Ouch

[@omarsullivan5166]

Most relatable comment right here

[@jober1905]

Something I noticed recently, is that the first Brick Troll in central Yarnham (the one banging on the doors) is there to teach you that YOU are the Hunter, not the prey. It does this by punishing you for not killing it, as it will sneak up on you if you run past...

[@alexradice8163]

Oh so I guess you play as a hunter in dark souls too

[@taitia8619]

There are a lot of cool teaching moments like this in Bloodborne :)

[@who19950]

It's a super hidden thing and it's NEVER explained in game, but the reason you were one shot at 48:38 is because attacks do extra bonus damage if they hit you in the few frames right after your i-frames, notice how you were hit as you were finishing your roll. not very fair, but not random. its why some attacks that deal a normal or set amount a damage suddenly seem to one shot you, it's more noticeable on some boss attacks.

[@AdminAbuse]

Counter damage is brutal in BB, from what I know it's 100% extra damage, while DS games only have 50%.

[@HumansFreshlyBorn]

I’m pretty sure it’s meant to punish trying to i-frame through AOE’s. I was wondering why Paarl’s AOE would do little damage sometimes and one hit me sometimes

[@derfloob7427]

It is fair, BB wants to tell you with that, that your timing matters and you can't just hit the role button all day long

[@alexradice8163]

How is counter damage super secret? Its been in the games since demons souls

[@dudder2008]

@@alexradice8163 well i dident know about it and ive been through BB twice sooo

[@SergioSergio12345]

"I really liked Rom." Disliked, unsuscribed, flagged, uninvited to my birthday party.

[@SergioSergio12345]

1:18:20 "Rom, the Best Spider." Yeah don't.

[@SergioSergio12345]

i dont know what to put as my username I legit wanna make a blog or something on why I hate the guy so much, really.

[@coolbeans3635]

i would invite hundreds of rom haters and make them protest against miyazaki until he improves the boss fight. too bad he doesn't give a cent to bloodborne.

[@SergioSergio12345]

i dont know what to put as my username The boss is so bad it can't even be improved tbh.

[@PatFagan]

sergiocast345 I don't know. I really like how you have to work your way through his mobs of spiders to get to him, and how his ice attacks are each telegraphs by his specific rolling and positioning. His main problem for me is that he deals too much damage. You could tell me to "git gud," sure, but I don't think it's fun to have icicle meteors one-shot you. But ya... Micolash is the best boss in the game. Any game.

[@ahmz1404]

I know "no items" is one of your rules but it wasn't really balanced for that, that's a self-imposed challenge, and if you're critiquing an element such as frenzy while not taking advantage of what the game gives you, it's not really fair to critique the game for that. You can use sedatives to reset the bar instead of taking damage. Apologies if this was already mentioned.

[@flepty]

hate how it charges even after u hide or kill the brain mob thing, ure never actually sure when it will stop charging up. terrible mechanic imo

[@DodderingOldMan]

Yeah, this. I personally also never summon help in these games (which makes it tough because I really, really suck), but not using items? That seems really unnecessary, given that the game is really balanced around using them. I mean, it's a valid choice to play the game with that self-imposed rule, but it's definitely going to skew your understanding of many of the mechanics.

[@TwistedxGamer101]

I agree with your statement but I really agreed with him. I feel like frenzy was absolute garbage of a "status effect". It's bullshit how the mechanic works and I really don't understand why it needs to exist. I actually despise Byergenworth after getting to NG+7. The mosquito things that can jump on you frenzy you and almost immediately kill you from the amount of damage they do. Not to mention the damn brain head things that frenzy you from looking at you. It's unfair mechanic and is really to me, the most bullshit thing in this game for me.

[@TheMMObro]

Buffoon1980 yeah, i do the rest of the rules but no items is silly lol. I tend to hoard mine tho

[@bridgetgaribaldi5149]

I know this comment chain is old, but more Insight means you'll have more vulnerability to Frenzy. I think it was a little disingenuous on the end of the reviewer to mention Frenzy in regards to the brains (and especially Ebrietas) when he has 99 insight. I had low insight and never got frenzied by Ebrietas for this reason.

[@Z3rostar]

Serrated weapons and fire are strong against beasts and you're given clues or just explicitly told so. You can also throw blood at it and the description says it attracts _beasts._ Using those tools is part of the game. You're a hunter of beasts.

[@MeanMustard650]

Not one torching when fighting the suckers Not one sedative used. I can understand not wanting too play with people on your first play through but no items seems like you’re depriving yourself.

[@scottbecker4367]

Items aren't super necessary. I almost never use them because then I have to stop and think about it too much. I only really resort to them when I need them. I've almost never used fire or bolt paper, and when I have, it usually didn't help me much.

[@jethrobreek8340]

@@scottbecker4367 then you’re using them wrong because fire and bolt papers are extremely helpful against certain bosses

[@scottbecker4367]

@@jethrobreek8340 *certain bosses being the key words there.

[@dashman8499]

@@scottbecker4367 its also never not helpful though. At the very least it's extra damage.

[@matty6796]

The reason the way to ebriatas is so obscure is because it's based off a h.p Lovecraft book where it says you have to smash a window to see the Eldrich horrors

[@masterduelcentral]

not using antidote in this game makes no sense

[@maxvanleeuwen1273]

Eh, there is something to be said for having to choose between avoiding BSb's poison or going in for the quick kill, and then racing your own health bar, frantically trying to decide whether to go all out or pull back and heal. The first time i beat BSB I died half a second later to poison. Wasn't even mad.

[@masterduelcentral]

@@maxvanleeuwen1273 fair enough man, I don't really agree with my 4 year old comment anymore regardless

[@Catterjeeo]

@@masterduelcentral Character Development

[@BiollanteSpawn]

The locked doors part hits Dark Souls 3 hard as well. Dark Souls 3: Does Not Open From This Side Edition.

[@algirdassalomskas9050]

+2 Lainz if there was some sorta thing that you had to do on the other side, to be able to open the door would make this all fine like a mandatory key you pick up in a corridor near it or a contraption, but the only reason for it is because your character does not know if to pull or push the door and only tries once and says 'ah to hell with it' and walks away :D .

[@Rbrt92]

hahhh! :D

[@xLetalFTW]

19:25 on the music box: "There are enough hints and clues that someone who is can work out that Gascoigne is this father". I mean, the item description literally states: "Inside the lid is a small scrap of paper, perhaps an old message. Two names can be made out, however faintly, Viola and Gascoigne."

[@goldenpants1239]

For most people reading item descriptions is really paying attention. Maybe not for you but for most people it is

[@nestormelendez9005]

Exactly most people will play these games without reading a single item

[@brendanmonshall9834]

@@goldenpants1239 spot on.

[@bleachisrad]

also wasn;t he eating the mother of the child? so that's another hint

[@nicholasgreer6072]

@@bleachisrad he most definetly was not eating anyone although he did kill his wife he was cutting beast up thought his wife was a beast and killed her.

[@arielclark6782]

"Yeah I don't use whatever is best, just what feels good" "Man this Holy Blade slaps don't it?"

[@saltyshrimppasta]

Holy Blade is trash. Stake Driver for life

[@Sophie_ZeroZeroSeven]

@@saltyshrimppasta Oh, I see you are a Powder Keg of culture as well.

[@Krieklow]

Very good critique but I disagree on a few fundamental points. I think that Gascoigne is, himself, the best tutorial in the series and perfectly teaches you how to excel at Bloodborne. I also don't think it is fair to lump bosses like Amygdala as "just another flailing beast". Amygdala is completely different from the likes of Amelia, Cleric Beast and Paarl.

[@MegaZeta]

Cool, but that says absolutely nothing in support of your statements.

[@Amandor2011]

@@MegaZeta ???? what are you talking about lol The only similarity that Amelia and Amygdala have is the fact that they are both very big They play differently, have different approach and feel to the fight

[@coastalalpaca852]

@@MegaZeta beyond the fact there is literally no mixing up those two bosses, they have completely different move sets and animations. There’s your supporting arguments, I suppose op just assumed people would actually play the game to know what he’s talking about

[@user-cn8me5nh8g]

@@MegaZeta I feel like you just took (& barely passed) a freshman course on persuasive writing & are now repeating things you heard from your professor without really understanding them. While a full-fledged reply to Joseph’s critique of Bloodborne would need “support” to be convincing, Krieklow’s comment -- a model of brief, respectful, informed disagreement -- is perfectly sensible without detailed explication.

[@hydrasent563]

yeah, but i get what he means about amygdala, i wish we got more bosses like shadows of yharnam and martyr logarius.

[@Rittermark]

I believe the point of little story being given by Gehrman where he tells you to not think about it, and kill monsters thoughtlessly is because he's a unreliable narrator. The more you play the game, the more you find out how he's not right in the head, thus you shouldn't really trust anything he says.

[@fallvegas]

or the fact that he is either willingly or unwillingly helping another nightmare, god thing. I felt that after you kill the wet nurse and mergo you were done, you accomplished what you were suppose to. Gehrman didn't want you to question why you were doing this, questioning led you to the second and third possible endings.

[@BFCnational]

Navnet Mitt gehrmans job is to work for the moon presence and send hunters out to kill other great ones, and him telling you to go hunt is him pushing you down that slippery slope

[@chosenundead3174]

Actually, he is pretty right in the head and tries to save you in the end from the moon presence and the dream.

[@sebdrum92]

Actually it makes complete sense that he would say that since he's been suffering for a long due to his thirst for knowledge and insight. He belives that ignorance is the only way to live a happy life

[@Gabrieliuka]

On one hand, I really appreciate a technical breakdown and analysis, because it's very different from other commentaries on the game, all the lore collection videos and speculations on what design features infer what. At the same time, it sometimes feels like Joseph is dismissing story explanations and in-universe context to a fault. This stuck out to me, personally, in Cainhurst section, calling Logarius the king and making a side comment about his throne not making sense. Maybe it's just me. Certainly don't need to go into lore about in a mechanics video, but it could have been avoided entirely.

[@Jackson-pn4pn]

He purposefully sets rules for himself that diminishes the intended way to play. He ignores the lore and world building. He instead focuses on his stubborn thick headed way of playing and critiques that. Which is totally valid mind you, play the game in the way thats fun or fulfilling to you. However, hes almost reviewing a different game than most everyone else enjoyed.

[@BygoneT]

@@Jackson-pn4pn But I think he's reasonable in the restrictions he uses most of the time. It's kind of ridiculous what he said about Logarius though. From games are built to give meaning to lore, insignificant details like a tiny texture can reveal a lot, like the big chunk of Farum Azula below Gurranq, or how the lord vessel is in pieces in Majula, inside the basement of the old wooden house. So to discount lore completely as he does here is like he is playing another game as you say.

[@christiangamer1752]

I don't understand the "too many city levels" critique. The city of Yharnam was always meant to be a key part of the game's gothic/victorian identity. It's also incredibly ironic to me that Joe LIKES the chalice dungeons even though they are much more visually bland and repetitive in comparison to the various city levels.

[@arthurdurham]

I think he's looking at it from a pure gameplay perspective, not lore. I agree with you that it fits the narrative, but if you're looking at it from a macro level it is pretty redundant. Didn't bother me but I see where he's coming from

[@MegaZeta]

You're right, you don't understand the critique. You've been trained to think like an Internet rage machine, complete with shrieking by the third line of your comment, so a more considered critique, like you'll find on this channel, probably isn't for you.

[@TheHrnBy]

@@MegaZeta @Mega Zeta wow someone is mad- but the thing that the main comment wanted to make is that the importance of those gothic themed cities is correlated to the game design and its mechanics. From Soft has always designed their souls games with the intention of discovering the story as you play it. Their games are designed to tell you the story as you explore it; if you see bloodborne in the view of a generic game then the points brought up on the video make sense, but looking at bloodborne as a From Software Game, as a game with the theme of cosmic horror, desperation and the feeling of isolation, then most of its mechanics are greatly implemented along with its basic game design. The main issue I found with the video was looking at it as a game similar to dark souls, when in reality its the entire opposite- from its design, the type of lore it gives. The type of weapons, the combat mechanics. Its not that he didn't understood the critique- it was that critique wasn't made as "a sole bloodborne critique" but more like "a bloodborne critique in comparison to dark souls." Which again is not bad, but its poorly implemented when not looking at it as a macro perspective.

[@danielporisch2676]

@@MegaZeta the guy that is reflexively white knighting on at least 8 different comments trying to talk down to others about how they handle criticism is laughable. The complete disregard of how and why the story is deliberately parsed the way it is, and the lack of effort to understand it, contributes to how hollow this critique rings. Combined with the rather paternalistic "new people vs pros" views he tries to present, rather than just telling us about his experience, is the reason I could only stand 26 minutes.

[@jaredarmstrong385]

@@MegaZeta wow you really have a hard-on for KZbin man don’t you?

[@JosephAndersonChannel]

Enough time has passed now that the video isn't new anymore so here we go: finish watching the video before you call me names and tell me to kill myself because I called the something a "bugged ball of light" at 21:48.

[@LetsGoRelo]

Hey, i just want you to know that i appreciate the content you putout so much, i dont even play any of the games that you have reviewed, but your content is so in depth, comprehensive, and well thought out, and i love the style of your videos and your voice is godlike to listen to. Thank you for the videos youve put out and i look forward to watching any further content you put out.

[@stefflondion2411]

I stopped the video immediately after you said that to see what kind of heat you got in the comments

[@elronman]

I was going to make a comment asking if you were joking about the bugged ball of light. now I'm more confused.

[@raidkoast]

Craziest thing about Fromsoft is that you're probably NOT overanalyzing the thing about Wherewolves and the fear.. Their attention to detail and connection in their games run on insane levels.

[@jerodwolf5582]

Joseph Anderson i love how people commented before finishing the video. I mean come on, you think Joseph would do a eighty minute video and miss the Amygdala?

[@WritingOnGames]

I just got to the bit where you reveal you were joking about the 'ball of light bug' and immediately scrolled down to the comments - lo and behold, it turns out a lot of people comment before watching the whole video.

[@JosephAndersonChannel]

Some people are really mad about it. I'm surprised by how many. It really was meant to be a way to communicate this cool "holy shit that was there the whole time" moment to people who hadn't played.

[@J-Dizzle95]

+Joseph Anderson I thought you made it pretty obvious for anyone that has played the game before.

[@kranklg2s]

@@JosephAndersonChannel I usually hate when people comment on things before a video is over, but since you are calling this a *critique* one does expects a serious, disciplined analysis - not trolling. So in this case I think it's pretty fair to criticize your presentation. If I read an essay and found I couldn't take it seriously, I wouldn't keep reading it. I know this comment is almost 3 years late, but I hope you can understand my point, if you read this.

[@aiGeis]

@@kranklg2s He won't read it, moron.

[@kranklg2s]

@@aiGeis maybe not, but the fact that you read it (and got so pissed off you wrote that lovely little piece of poetry) suggest my point got across regardless ^^

[@KenjiKussano]

"No items" hahahahah. Love your videos, but it's kinda funny when a rule you created for yourself interfere on the critique

[@Buffalo93]

btw this is quite a flaw of soulsborne that lazy design provoke discussion about "right" way of playing the game, like exluding some option for better experience. I beat standard Ebriatas by sticking inbetween her back tentacles and one in dungeons by hitting those tentacles from the sides. Both those ways are sometimes considered cheesing, although it's far from throwing dung on Capra Demon from behind the wall. Similarly, I sigh when I hear about excluding parring from the game. This mechanic is not easy to learn, but really satisfying in the end and it's strange that it's considered cheesing. I don't even mean that people shouldn't critize others or about fear of judgment, it's just that playing one way or another doesn't feel right. Sekiro did much better job at this, as it seems that using any means possible feels valid.

[@darrenfleming7901]

@@Buffalo93 I think the communities are 95% responsible for the whole "playing the right way" bullshit. So many players think their way of playing is the "right" way and wanna shove that in other peoples faces, which in the end makes these games less accessible than they should be. The game design I think is great, because it gives you all these tools which dumbasses will call cheesing, but that contributes to the replayability because you can do one build that relies on parries, another that relies on beasthood, another that relies on spells/arcane, etc. as opposed to just spamming the same build that boils down to "me hit with sword" and calling everything else cheesy. At the end of the day youre just gatekeeping yourself and other people from mechanics that are enjoyable, and intended to be used.

[@adaptorperish1322]

@@Buffalo93 Yeah, they also gave us a good excuse to use every advantage: Sekiro is a shinobi, all means are good. That’s player should feel no shame skipping Gyobu and Blazing Bull lol

[@Buffalo93]

@@adaptorperish1322 Actually, this is definitely cheesing - during Blazing Bull skip you see part of the location that is out of bound. It's just utlizing obvious bug, which imo is not a valid walkthrough. Of course you can enjoy game by abusing it, that's absolutely fine, it is just a different discipline :)

[@AzariahWolf]

12:10 (Four years later, I know) I really don't get this mentality. The point of the armors is stated clearly in the description of both the Hunter's Set you're discussing there and the one set of strong physical armor you find later. Nothing has great physical defense because Hunters learned that being fast was better than being slow and protected. Thus all armor has about the same PHYSICAL defense. By contrast, many of the armor sets you find specialize in particular subsets of resistance: charred hunter garb for fire defense, Gascoigne's set for poison, etc. All armor does have very similar physical stats, but the other resistances are the highlights, especially given how many enemies specialize in one particular attack category. I mean, Gascoigne's set pretty much trivializes BSB up to and including the BL4 fight.

[@thefatherinthecave943]

This guy is one of those people who're like someone who has a really abusive ex (dark souls 1) and just can't help but keep defending their clear, egregious flaws and comparing everyone they meet to said abusive ex

[@gringofajitas8914]

Mhm fair point, but Fashion souls That's how I took it, that since every set was roughly the same in stats and there were few things that items couldn't make up for, I just choose whatever looked the coolest.

[@castellante8160]

Ehhhh, I don't think the emphasis on speed over protection really justifies that the second set of armor you acquire being some of the best in the game. And I'd paradoxically say the armor values in Bloodborne are the least and most important in the entire series. If you use the base Hunter Set and swap over to the Charred Hunter Set to increase your fire defense against fire enemies, you probably just increased your survivability from three hits to four. But on the other hand, if you decide not to use the Charred Hunter Set up against the Watch Dog of the Old Lords in the Defiled Chalice, you'll probably die in a single hit.

[@nono-lz9qr]

@@castellante8160 hunter set isn’t the best though. For physical damage the cainhurst and executioner sets are the best (from what I remember)

[@Noxtibs]

I disagree with your choice to not use items. They're part of the game, that's why you wasted vials on BSB and Amelia. You didn't want to use antidotes or numbing mist.

[@JosephAndersonChannel]

I don't think I'm "right" to not use items. It's only a preference I picked up after years of saving consumables and ultimately never using them. They're definitely part of the game and intended to be used.

[@mAnIaCoOkIeS]

Joseph Anderson Feels like you are cutting out an interesting layer of Bloodborne, I think this game utilizes tools and items quite well compared to other souls games.

[@MoonTaLoo]

I do the same thing in games. It's like a compulsive need to save my consumables because I never know when I'll need. However, I never end up using them so it's kind of just a waste. It's part of the reason I never used drugs in Fallout 4 which I hear are a lot of fun to use.

[@superjosifus]

+MoonTaLoo I agree for the most part, but buffout was my guilty exception, it's so strong.

[@wonderguardstalker]

I still dont understand why you complain about slow poisoning eating yer vials then if its just something that yer doing to yerself.

[@joeysands8893]

I noticed you saying that you don't how the Blood Starved Beast is related to the door that opens when you kill it. It's what Alfred mentioned, the upper echelon of the Healing Church is glad you've taken care of the last bit of proof that the Healing Church likely intentionally killed off everyone in Old Yharnam while first testing the old blood. It's a tiny "thank you" gesture that gets you a bit closer to where your goal is (or where you should think it is at that point).

[@nono-lz9qr]

Wow, I’ve never known that! I always thought it was just a gameplay thing with no lore behind it, but that makes way more sense.

[@meathir4921]

This is still far and away the most bizarre happening in the entire game and not clearly explained at all.

[@CallumHick]

As much as I like this critique, I do find the fact that he makes a rule about not using items, then complains about sections or events being unbalanced that the items were designed for, a bit irritating. Items are a massive part of the gameplay, being in combat (both close and ranged), movement or neutralising effects. Saying that you're going to cut out a massive section of the game, then complain when it affects your gaming experience is a weird way to critique. Also a large amount of the strange gameplay or world events are explained when you look into the lore (Story) a bit, but the game is being vague on purpose, so who knows.

[@thebeastmodeism]

Lol at least he didn’t complain about something like build variety because he decided the square button was a no go so half the utility for his arcane and bloodtinge stats was gone.

[@swootproonce634]

The game is mostly designed for not using items except for fixing status effects. The items are there to make the game easier. Plus the designers can’t know if a player picked up a certain item anyway

[@MegaZeta]

I find it irritating that you have done nothing more than to repeat whining found elsewhere in the comments. Someone else typed it years ago, then you copied it, and that's irritating to me. It's a funny world. ("Lore", though, can be safely dismissed as a poor substitute for story.)

[@CallumHick]

@@MegaZeta I didn't copy anything. I guess what I said had been on other people minds as well. I had only just seen this review after finishing the game for this first time, and the things he was complaining about had very obvious answers or solutions because it was still very fresh for me. So saying "he should use items, I find it annoying he isn't then complains about it", was literally just me saying "he should use items, I find it annoying he isn't then complains about it", it wasn't me seeing someone else's comment and thinking I could steal other peoples issues. And for what, attention? It's a 6 year old video and I had no thoughts what I said would get any attention at all. So you coming at me with this just seems weird.

[@jackhurds6157]

It also really bugs me that he talks about how tough the werewolves and brick trolls are, and refuses to acknowledge using your pistol? These are the spearmen of Bloodborne. Easy to Parry, and built to teach you this mechanic. Very frustrating.

[@mpbiggame1010]

*guy opens fire out of a gatling gun for you to dodge and run away* "That is something new for the series!" *laughs in Anor Londo archers*

[@JosephAndersonChannel]

Someone asked for times for DLC spoilers in the last video. I reuse some of the footage at: 46:23 - 46:30 and 47:08 - 47:18 So scroll down and hide for those parts if you don't want to see the first boss in the DLC.

[@myBacau]

+Joseph Anderson Awesome content! Are you doing your Dark Souls 3 critique now or after the DLC?

[@JosephAndersonChannel]

I'll do a video on Dark Souls 3 in May. I have to play the game again but I don't think that'll take long. I won't know how long it'll be until I write the script but I'll guess at around 30 minutes. I'll probably do similar looks at the DLC as it comes out and then a full-on critique when all of the game is released. If this video on Bloodborne is well-received I might do a similar "runthrough" of Dark Souls 3 as well. If anyone's curious right now: I think that Dark Souls 3 is the best in terms of almost everything. I prefer Bloodborne's combat and Dark Souls 1's world (not level) design, but Dark Souls 3 does everything else better. However, it's my least favorite, because it was too easy. I'm not trying to be some cool-kid "easy game breh lulz"--there were no steps taken in order to keep the series challenging for those who really love it. There was quite a bit of discussion yesterday about whether or not it should have an easy mode. I think what it really needs is a hard mode.

[@LocoTony64]

+Joseph Anderson I think it's just you bro, difficulty seems to be fine it just has more of a curve now which is better IMO. and end game seems pretty tough for me.

[@QuantumVTX]

+Joseph Anderson Is it really easier though? Or are we just significantly better? Maybe it was the "my first souls game" experience? Im starting to think DS3/BB are objectively the harder games despite me dying less on them, enemies have; a much larger moveset, are more aggressive, track even harder, and to some extent have more HP. Going back and playing the older titles again, they are so easy in comparison to BB/DS3 it hurts, enemies are far too slow, have barely any attacks, and just arent that aggressive. Comparing the bosses are even worse, Iudex vs Asylum demon, i shouldnt even need to speak about this, Iudex has double the moveset of asylum demon, and is more aggressive, not to mention ass demon starts at 1/2 hp if you followed the tutorial. Vordt vs Tarus? Tarus has 3 total moves, and can be killed in 3 hits with the plunge attack, at least vordt has speed on his side, even though i did first try vordt, i would never say hes easier than tarus, thats just flat out wrong. I think you should compare the bosses/areas/mobs in a separate video if you want, that would be really cool. Maybe you'll see where im coming from, idk.

[@JosephAndersonChannel]

It's almost certainly that we've gotten better. The series hasn't taken that into account as much as it should have, or maybe it's not reasonable to expect the game to cater to people who have played the previous ones for hundreds of ours like we have. That's why I mean when I say it's objectively the best in the series but left me with a bad experience, because I feel like I'm not the intended audience anymore. :(

[@darron13]

Wasn't the ball @ 21:50 just an Amygdala that you can't see as yet (due to lack of insight)? EDIT: Okay, nevermind but if its any consolation I did *not* call you an idiot :p

[@actnorm2588]

Yes

[@elliskaanjones4976]

Darron Pirtheesingh o

[@dabossman5650]

Darron Pirtheesingh I spent my insight-do u need it?

[@Mygrandpaspodcast]

Got me

[@darthxlev6028]

Youre correct, also an entrance to old hunters dlc

[@jakestandifer1756]

I'm 4 years too late, but whatever, I'll add my 2 cents I honestly think disregarding the story does you a disservice in this game, more so than the darks souls games even. The reason Mergo's Wet Nurse takes forever to acknowledge you defeated her? She isn't the nightmare, Mergo, the baby is. after you kill the nurse, Mergo cannot survive, and you hear her final cries. That's why you get the special message "Nightmare slain". Defeating Rom and unveiling the bloodmoon is another big moment made better if the story is understood. There's actually a note way back in the room where you find the blood gem tool talking in vague terms about this very moment. Rom was a "shield" of sorts to make the townspeople, and perhaps even some hunters, unaware of how truly twisted and terrible things have become. Rom was the churches last hope to hide the truth, and you killed her. The story here is definitely my favorite of all the games. It's the only one with a definitive beginning and end (obviously, as it has to be), and most of the big moments are directly because of the player's actions. Where in dark souls, you're one of thousands who have made the same journey, in Bloodborne, you carve your own path, especially towards the end of the game, fighting the great ones themselves, as no hunter before you has done. As an aside, I'm sad to see you were disappointed by the bosses in this game. They're my favorite set in all of From's games. They feel far more fleshed-out (with the obvious exceptions) than dark souls bosses. Ludwig, Gehrman, Orphan, Maria, Gascoigne, Ebrietas, Logarius, and even early bosses like Cleric beast all have many more attacks and animations than dark souls 1 and 2 bosses did (possibly even 3 as well). Helps make them feel more like true fights to me, rather than a sequence of repetitive animations, though sometimes that is still the case. And that's it for my late and pretentious nitpicking. Thanks for the nice vid to respond to.

[@tofu3193]

I agree on the story but not the bosses. I only really enjoyed Ludwig tbh. I hate those beast type bosses where most of their attacks aren't telegraphed nearly enough.

[@scottbecker4367]

I agree. He also criticizes the vagueness of your initial goal when you first wake up, but out of all of the games, I feel the vagueness works best here. You're a hunter, and you don't really know more than that. It makes the later reveal that the world has gone to sh*t that much more impactful when you realize you've delved a bit too far into things you didn't fully understand by killing Rom.

[@apodani1576]

Imo the bosses are the most epic from all the souls series but mechanically speaking I think ds3 has the better bosses because you can kinda "dance" with them.

[@LooterPenguin]

@1:11:30 That is because the credit isn't for killing the Wet Nurse. It's for killing the baby. "Nightmare Slain". If you listen, you will hear the baby's cries slowly fade out until it's silent. I know this video is years old and no one probably will ever read this. But since I didn't see any other comment about it, I decided to anyways.

[@shellblade]

The NIGHTMARE SLAIN message refers to Mergo herself, not the Wet Nurse. This is why the message only appears when the crying ceases. Also, Ebrietas' blood spit attack does not always max out Frenzy. Frenzy build up is dependent on your insight.

[@JosephAndersonChannel]

What's the cut-off on the insight counter for her attack maxing frenzy out?

[@shellblade]

+Joseph Anderson You might want to get a number cruncher on that one. I kept my insight below 15 almost at all times. I don't recall needing to use a sedative when hit by the attack.

[@daginganinja4075]

And armor and, to some extent, character stata

[@AppleOfThineEye]

@@daginganinja4075 Armor actually has a huge impact on your Frenzy counter.

[@jakereich2080]

@@daginganinja4075 and rune usage for extra RES

[@sebzero2]

this game is a masterpiece.

[@PlsDontReadThis123]

eh masterpiece is a relative term

[@venomkingx1]

100% agree, a very memorable game with excellent lore.

[@Caitlin_TheGreat]

I respect you opinion, good sir or madam, but I feel that your statement sounds too much like standard gamer hyperbole, which can lead us astray. It is a good game with many great elements. Yet I think "masterpiece" is subjective. But whatever, you have a game you really enjoy. That's always great. Pay me no mind.

[@sebzero2]

Ok Bloodborne was supposedly a playstation exclusive spin off from the Dark Souls series. Having played both, I can easily say Bloodborne has a much more interesting lore, much much more varied enemies,bosses are much more varied too and the boss fights are amazing. More exciting combat, stunning soundtrack. And my favourite thing about BB is the attention to detail, everything in this game has some sort of interesting background and linked to something else. I love discovering stuff in this game and then reading up about it after, some things are mind blowing. Then you just have to remember this game is just a 1 off - spin off. Masterpiece.... that is my opinion and I dont think I am exaggerating at all.

[@raycocker639]

Totally agree. I've played every game since Demons Souls before the hype train. Bought Demons Souls blindly on release and played every one since. And by far, Bloodborne is my fave.

[@ARiter]

Me: *enjoys micolash fight* Everyone: "No"

[@ithuhalinqua1026]

"The first bosses are too hard for new players" 5 min later: "I actually think this boss [Bloodstarved Beast] should have been the first boss." Yes, we wouldn't want any new players to win, now would we?

[@facundovera3227]

And I discovered that difficulty is subjective. I killed BSB first try, but in the Loran Chalice... oh, that was other story.

[@ithuhalinqua1026]

@@facundovera3227 What level were you? What weapon were you using? How upgraded was it? Not saying you weren't an appropriate level for the boss, simply showing that there are ways to make the bosses really easy compared to how others tend handle it. There was also a bug with boss memory when the game was first released. And also some people are more prone to handle certain situations, which can translate into how you handle bosses. I, for one, am very slow and strategic in games, so the batshit bosses tend to get me a lot. Weirdly enough I got Gascoigne and BSB first try - though I struggled a little more with them my second run.

[@nowhereman6019]

I've hated that Blood Starved Bitch since my first playthrough.

[@CuT7yFlaM]

@@nowhereman6019 Yeah watching this video, many memories came back. I did the game 2 years ago, and boy. BSB is still a bad memory compared to some others. Joseph really doesn't use guides or anything like he claims at the beginning, that probably didn't stop him from experimenting a LOT and levelling extensively, unlike most players.

[@paperbackwriter1111]

It‘s weird, I got absolutely wrecked by BSB my first few attempts, then I dropped BB for a bit and played through the DS3 DLC, came back and whooped BSB.

[@Soapboxfanmk9]

That door in the cathedral ward does theoretically lead to the cleric beast area, you can confirm by using shining coins then running all the way around the other side where you will see your coins. I agree that it is really frustrating that they left that button prompt in.

[@kyro8559]

it’s because they originally had it as a shortcut, however, they scrapped it (for some reason) and gave gilbert a line about the healing church sealing off the bridge to the cathedral ward

[@tuininness-clarke760]

For Gascoigne and the Cleric Beast, the reason the Cleric Beast is a dead end is because of lore. You're "supposed" to hear from Gilbert about the Cathedral Ward, and look up to the Cleric Beast's bridge and think "yep, that'd do it". But Gilbert also tells you that the bridge was sealed before the night of the hunt started, which is why it's a dead-end. So the Cleric Beast protects an entrance which was better protected by a functioning lock. In essence, both bosses were "supposed" to be viable methods of entrance to the next level of the game, but then FromSoft dropped a lore ball to make the obvious one (Cleric Beast) a teaching tool AS WELL as Gascoigne, because you were more likely to do both when one was a dead end.

[@iWillWakeYouUp]

+Tui Ninness-Clarke Hmmm I still think they just had to change it due to technical reasons. That door just has to be a former shortcut to Central Yharnam from Cathedral Ward. I bet the PS4 couldn't handle the transition so the had to scrap the idea very late in development, but they couldn't be bothered to change that part of the level (would've probably been too much work at that point in development). I mean just look down from Cathedral Ward to the Great Bridge. You can't even see the stage coaches, nor can you see any of the clutter or the statues and coffins. So like I said, I think the console couldn't handle the fast transition into that area and vice versa. Framerate probably tanked, or the game crashed. Who knows. IMO this is the most likely explanation.

[@BrorealeK]

As he says, he doesn't believe everything isn't done as a reason and is sooner to believe moments are included for gameplay concerns over story. That underestimates the importance of the story to From's developers imo, but I think remembering this is essential to understanding his reviews. He gave out a pretty illuminating source of his criticism in the middle of the video.

[@bruhvenant]

iWillWakeYouUp I’m years late but technical reasons is almost certainly the reason. The perpetually locked door near the chest in Cathedral Ward is the same door on the bridge behind cleric beast. If you put shining coins there you can see them on both sides.

[@ph4roh]

This vid is old, but I haven't seen anyone mention this in the comments yet: you actually can see the Brain of Mensis up close after you pull the lever and it falls down the hole. There is another cage elevator that takes you down into the abyss where you can see it lying on the ground. If you use the "make contact" gesture in front of it, you get a Moon rune.

[@trendybistro]

You get a living string for killing it too. I wasn't that high of a level when I killed it and it took like 10 mins, and it's incredibly creepy eyes kept getting more bloodshot. I kinda felt bad for the wonky thing.

[@holymayo6417]

Ebrietas: "She is both beautiful and demonic" I wonder what kind of porn Joseph Anderson watches

[@arsis6056]

fr

[@MnemonicHack]

There are a few reasons killing Bloodstarved Beast opens the door in Oedon Chapel. You could say it's Oedon itself taking an interest in you and letting you acquire it's Rune, and begins controlling you. You could say that it's the Moon Presence that triggered the door to open. You could just say that as the night went on, the Church Dweller found that he could open it. In the end though, thematically, you're not meant to know. You're a tool. You're an agent working for something bigger, whether you realize it or not, and you go towards where it guides you. Or perhaps, where multiple things guide you. Perhaps the Moon Presence doesn't have complete sovereignty over you. Perhaps Oedon used you to advance it's own agenda, when the Moon Presence didn't have it's eyes on you. Or maybe MP bartered your services to Oedon for some unknown price. One of the major aspects about the game's theme is that you're doing things for no other reason than you can, and that it's put in front of you. You seek Paleblood, but you don't get it at the beginning of the game; the old man is just telling you that Yharnam is the home of blood ministration and if there was ever a place to learn about Paleblood, this would be it. You see messengers everywhere, even when you have no insight (and it's heavily implied that seeing supernatural things requires insight, reference the Doll). Where do you first see messengers? Hunter's Dream. What owns the Hunter's Dream? Moon Presence. What do you see crawling all over you in the beginning? Messengers. Who gives you weapons, items, and the means to leave notes in a notebook for other hunters? Messengers, who are seemingly controlled by the Moon Presence.

[@supremebuffalo6322]

D'you mind if I quote you out of context? "You're a tool" made me laugh. You first see the messengers in Yosefka's Clinic though, not the dream.

[@MnemonicHack]

Supreme Buffalo Feel free. Techncially you do see the Messangers outside of the Hunter's Dream, but they do come to you right before. The way I see it, when you recieve the blood ministration, that beast that appears out of the blood isn't showing up to attack you. You just got administered blood, and it just so happens that it's the night of the hunt, where Beasthood is just now beginning to go rampant. I see it more as the one in your dream is reaching out to you, palm up, offering you power if you'll give in to the beast blood. It's not happening in the real world, it's happening in your mind; in a dream. Except, a higher being took notice of you before you could give yourself over to beasthood. That's when you see messangers. They're there, because the Moon Presence claimed you, burned out the beast blood's influence in you, and sent it's minions to bring you to it.

[@supremebuffalo6322]

***** I like that idea.

[@malcolmalden]

or it could be that it's a fucking video game and its all bullshit anyway so you shouldn't be looking for an explanation into why the door opened. I don't think many people asked why a giant gorilla named Donkey would be throwing barrels down at an Italian plumber trying to climb up a really badly constructed scaffolding, but they lapped it up anyway.

[@user-lb7zw5bb7n]

Malcolm Alden good job being dumb af

[@m4k4ve1iCRO]

1:05:25 Yea, you need that door and link to Old Yarhnam in order to come behind Djura and befrend him.

[@itcheebeard]

"No items" *pops a blood vial*

[@gutterlang2322]

The amount of people falling for the "bug" joke is staggering.

[@somethingelse1388]

It's clearly not a joke. He just realized he was wrong and dint want to admit it. So he fell back on the "lel I was just joking!" excuse

[@gononhisphone6399]

Joe Mama 51:10 you’re a fucking idiot.

[@OneEyedCloud01]

@@somethingelse1388 Your brain is thinner than the most petite grain of sand.

[@hotshotroom964]

Cyber Justiciar your all twats

[@Kat-j19347]

Jacob Swift he’s gonna make a full 80 minute video on the whole of Bloodborne without even getting halfway through the game

[@CritSupport]

"I tend to find a weapon that i think feels good to use rather then one that has super powerful stats or anything" uses ludwig's Holy Blade one of, if not the most OP weapon in the game

[@GameplayKuningas]

To be fair, you get it early and it feels really nice to use

[@kyro8559]

nah man, lhb is lowkey ass

[@Kat-j19347]

With 50/50 quality build and the best gems you can get 926 ar on a +10 lhb. Just sayin’

[@kyro8559]

i have now done a LHB run specifically because of this comment and it is broken as fuck the hitstun is insane, i slept through that playthrough

[@lorenzo7402]

@@kyro8559 tbh Is a shame that it is that broken (I would put hunter axe in the same category) cuz you can steam roll trough most of the game with these weapons and not really enjoying the hunter fights (the thing that happened to Joseph)

[@thecrakp0t]

If anyone is curious, there is a reason for the cinematic mentioned at 19:58. A cinematic is used to mask the transition between the moon phases. Entering the cathedral ward door triggers the dusk phase, touching Laurence's head triggers the night phase, and interacting with queen Yharnam (NOT defeating Rom) triggers Paleblood phase. Edit: also, an extra bit of trivia: the "aliens from Prometheus" mentioned at 20:55 are the easiest enemies to parry. They, unlike any other enemy (as far as I can remember), can be parried at *any* time during their attack animation, except for the final few frames. This should be common knowledge at this point, but I thought it would be cool to mention it in case someone here never noticed. You can literally parry them on the *first* frame of their attack animation, creating the hilarious illusion that you parried them before they even attacked.

[@micolashcage267]

It’s funny that you say Gascoigne and Cleric Beast are too hard for newcomers and then suggest putting BSB at the beginning. BB was my first Souls-like game and I can say BSB is STILL one of the bosses I have the most difficulty with, and was on my first run through. Cleric Beast was fairly tough as my first fight, about five tries. Gascoigne was tough but I beat him in two tries without any molotovs, parries, or the music box. BSB took 30+ tries and caused me to quit for two months. His moves are fast and frantic and his use of poison puts his damage WAY above the other two. If he was at the beginning of the game I probably would never have continued.

[@lollipophugo]

Old comment, but for real. First time through, cleric beast gave me almost no trouble, Gascoigne gave me a fair amount of trouble, and BSB was a fucking brick wall of pain.

[@spider_wil1695]

Nate Young I could play this game over and over but unless I’m on ng+ with all my gear and levels. He is a brick wall.

[@taitia8619]

@@lollipophugo BSB is one of my least favorite bosses ever to date. Gave me the most trouble out of all the BB bosses

[@GuyWithTriangle]

I agree. BSB probably killed me more times than every other boss combined on my first playthrough

[@plinplinplonplinplonplin]

Ganked him after 20 plus tries and even then kinda got lucky. Now stuck on martyr

[@saltyshrimppasta]

I haven’t seen anybody say it so I will: Sedative counters frenzy

[@cosmicreciever]

It's mad that he critiques this after using a self imposed rule to not use items

[@watthell]

I've always loved the cutscene after Rom. The moon looming, screen slightly tremors, and the character collapsing while Mergo wails in the background was insanely cool.

[@DontSigh]

Always when I watch your other videos I think, oh it would be great to hear a simple delineation of souls games stories like this, and every time I watch one of your souls(borne) videos I'm disappointed because these are seemingly the only games you don't do that with. I get that the stories in these games are a bit esoteric but the way you dismiss them outright is just baffling to me. It may be a different way of creating a narrative that you do not like, but that doesn't mean it's not a conscious choice and a large part of the game that deserves discussion.

[@Agenta-df3gb]

To Joseph Anderson, based on what I have heard, the souslborne games don't have a story. They have lore. He doesn't talk about lore, he talks about gameplay. It's why I'm worried about him reviewing NieR: Automata. That game relies on it's story, mostly it's SUPER complicated but still understandable lore. It would be like him reviewing a tell-tale game and calling it a walking simulator with some occasional gameplay. It's also my biggest crititque with Joseph Anderson. His videos aren't full analysis videos. They are analysing the gameplay, mostly finding nits to pick, and ignoring the story without giving a reason for ignoring the story.

[@ducasse8473]

Its cause he's coming at the the game with a strong r1 spamming "honor" type of mindset. Ignoring all context and just beating bosses till the end. This type of playstyle is only going to "get" all the cool things in bloodborne if its spoon fed to him through cutscenes and exposition.

[@sandyklep]

I always saw the Cathedral Ward as the ‘hub’, akin to Firelink Shrine, in Bloodborne. Granted the Hunters Dream splits some of the activities you’d expect to find at a ‘hub’, but it definitely feels central to be with paths linking back to it, sometimes in surprising ways

[@Shlankyman545]

After watching the whole video, I feel like him not bringing any of the lore into his critique hurt some points. The lore is there so the game has more depth, keeps you wondering about the world you’re traversing through, and it gives bosses, NPCs, and even the common to uncommon enemies more personality.

[@baroncosmos6545]

He's made a separate video for lore.

[@gru6817]

@@baroncosmos6545 could you please provide a link.

[@slothful2039]

@@baroncosmos6545 It's been a year Baron. Where's the damn link!

[@Nightfurygaming247]

@@slothful2039 ​ @Baron Cosmos it's been a year and 2 months Baron!

[@mikayelhakobyan1653]

@@Nightfurygaming247 it's been a year and 4 months Baron where the fuck is it?

[@tgamagedon]

Just wanted to tell you the never opening door in cathedral ward is the same door, that is not openable after cleric beast.

[@escapefromtibet2530]

tgamagedon Vaati?

[@zacharycoleman1117]

tgamagedon is that a glitch? Did that ever get fixed?

[@escapefromtibet2530]

Zachary Coleman probably From Software planned to create a shortcut there but scratched the idea later

[@LSB44446]

I believe it's a lore thing, since Cathedral Ward is locked off from Central Yharnam.

[@ahs2011]

I was almost going to pause and whine about the blue orb part but I did so in your Uncharted video at the "facade" part and felt like a dummy when I resumed, glad my patience paid off this time. Please keep doing these jokes for some reason they're incredibly hilarious.

[@tcbobb.8782]

Its wild that in 2023 I am still rewatching this video because in 2023 we STILL dont have this game on pc. What a damn shame

[@RookFrjosa]

Very glad to have found this video. I appreciate the structure and form of how you maintain perspective about what you're talking about as well as to whom you're saying it. Also relaying technical information without getting sucked into a rambling hole on frustrating/excellent matters makes this an easy-flowing watch!

[@Ularg7070]

I've played many hours of bloodborne but when you cut those chains down in old-yharnam cath that fell and lit the floor on fire I just had a jaw-drop "Whaaaaaat?"

[@danielchavez1327]

JA: i was disappointed that the hunter wigged out and rolled off the tower also JA: i was disappointed that the abhorrent beast didn't wig out and roll off the roof

[@satoukc610]

i know this is an old video and my opinion will never be seen or cared about but if feel some of the complaints were unfounded because taking even a small amout of time to look into the lore explains why certain things occurred how they did, like wet nurse and such.

[@Freeformrulz]

visceral strikes are one of the most satisfying things in this game

[@Kaaniification]

Bloodborne is basically the Magnum Opus of Miyazaki (for now).

[@iWillWakeYouUp]

+Dank Sloth What a fucking dank, lazy comment.

[@Kaaniification]

Wake me up inside!

[@iWillWakeYouUp]

Blaze Howard It was a joke. His name is Dank Sloth. He even responded accordingly.

[@Sassy_Witch]

And still is. Oh man was DS3 a huge disappointment

[@jokerzwild00]

Shadow111111 It was totally worth it for me, because Gael is easily in the top 3 boss fights in the series for me. Maybe the best, if I remove nostalgia from the equation. BB is the most well made game in the series imo, but lacks zone diversity and the player character is much, much more powerful making for an easier game. This isn't necessarily bad, but something of note. Aesthetics are personal preference, but I think I prefer the "corrupted fairy tale" of DS to the Eldritch Horror of BB, though I still really like both. DS3 was definitely a masterpiece of one thing, and that's fan service. As long as they don't make another one it's a fine send off. All of the Souls games are great when taken in their own merits, it's only when compared to others in the series that preferences come in to play and make us choose one over the other.

[@thrillhouse_vanhouten]

Never played a Souls game but still thoroughly enjoyed listening to this video while working today.

[@thrillhouse_vanhouten]

GiRayne Update: I've picked up the game on sale and was able to clear the Cleric Beast on the first try, with a few deaths along the way. Haven't had time to keep playing yet, but the game definitely "feels good" to play.

[@arthurcuesta6041]

"too difficult for newcomers to the series" Well bloodborne was my first souls game, and boi I died about 40 times to cleric beast

[@darrenfleming7901]

any game that isn't Dark Souls 1 is a good introduction imo, that game is "enter at your own risk" in my opinion, its definitely a game for avid souls fans and not newcomers. Bloodborne is tough but probably the most pure and polished soulsborne along with ds3.

[@kinoman4875]

@@darrenfleming7901 yup DS1 throws you into the game with almost zero context at all. When i first played ds1 i didn’t know where to go, what to do and why i’m doing the things im doing that’s also why it took me so long to traverse blightown. But that’s also part of the fun i guess.

[@scottbecker4367]

@@darrenfleming7901 funny enough, I played DS1 two different times, once back in like 2013 and once after BB, DS3, and a good portion of Sekiro. I quit my first time because it was admittedly too hard. I didn't enjoy it. I came back to it years later and found the exact opposite problem. The game was now too easy, and I kept stomping the natural difficulty barriers and had no idea where to go as a result. The constant backtracking through areas that were way too high level for me made me actually drop the game a second time for the opposite reason as the first time. Tldr: got gud, and that made DS1 harder.

[@GutsuCoffee]

The reason why Mergo's 'Nightmare Slain' takes a while to appear is because Mergo is dying from extension, which is why they cry for a few seconds. REALLY OLD VIDEO BUT I THOUGHT I WOULD CONTRIBUTE

[@MrOkaron]

I actually reeeally liked Micolash. Of course the fight wasn't really challenging but somehow chasing him through these corridors while having him talk to me felt extremely awesome. I just love enemies that talk to me.

[@andris3210]

100% agree! "Grant us eyes, grant us eyes..." - For some reason, I find his voice similar to those in the horny Harry Potter animation thing... :D "Oh, Harry, stoooop..."

[@taitia8619]

Hahahahaha, not challenging.....having him talk to you was awesome.......hahahahaha....... I ran after him for like 30 minutes because I'm a dumbass that didn't understand how to corner him.

[@darrenfleming7901]

he was my favorite character, after foreshadowing all the madness going on with the school of Mensis I thought he really gave depth to the story and added to the atmosphere of everyone going mad.

[@Sophie_ZeroZeroSeven]

He gave me stockholm syndrome and i am fine with that

[@itskalvinlam]

It's been less than 24 hours, and I've already watched about 8 of your videos start to finish I can without a doubt say this is now one one of my favorite channels Keep up the good work Joseph c: you've earned yourself a new subscriber!

[@edwright6994]

I know this is a super old video and somebody will have already said it but at around 37:30 when you say the night progression doesn't change much, if you got to hemwick before killing Amelia those slenderman guys only show up in the boss room. It's not much but it's something

[@Guywithupsyndrone]

This is like the third time I’ve watched this video. Absolutely love your content man!

[@RetroMarkyRM]

Love proper, long video with good analysis. You tick all my boxes :) thanks for making.

[@RebirthCrusader90]

It kind of seems like you're unaware of the benefits of stacking a ton of resistance items for certain portions of the game. It somewhat trivializes slow poison and frenzy.

[@neo_marshkga]

I just discovered your channel a couple of days ago and i just have to say i LOVE the way you have analized the Soulsborne series, thanks!

[@koopa6_412]

Love these long videos I can’t find much in the site. I like listening to people while I play.

[@nathaneskin3572]

"Always keep attacking until you win" ONLY works with Ludwig's blade.

[@JosephAndersonChannel]

Worked with the hunter axe. Worked with the cane. Worked with the cleaver. Worked with the Kirkhammer. Worked UNARMED on some enemies.

[@nathaneskin3572]

Joseph Anderson Well... fair enough

[@Vini-zv3lr]

what? a person that recognizes somebody else's point? IN THE KZbin COMMENTS? INCONCEIVABLE!!!!

[@zachharrelson9971]

is this not soulsbourne 90% of the time?

[@HextechHannah]

Inconceivable*

[@Galaxy40k]

I really like how you talk about that ball of light "glitch" a bit before 22 minutes haha, nice touch. *spoilers for Bloodborne in the rest of this comment, don't read if you haven't played it* I'm a big Lovecraft fan, particularly of the Call of Cthulhu pen-and-paper RPG series. I adore how well Bloodborne captures what makes Lovecraft so great - I would go as far to say it is the best Lovecraftian adaptation PERIOD. Because of how popular Lovecraft became post-mortem, the true horror of his works that comes from fearing the unknown doesn't really exist anymore. They're still damn fine works, but eldritch horrors have seeped so deep into popular culture that a Lovecraft inspire work can't really offer that same fear because we know what to expect. Bloodborne circumvents this problem by masquerading as a Victorian style beast hunting game for all pre-release footage, and for the first half of the game. Those weird things like the "ball of light," meeting the Celestials for the first time, etc, they're unsettling because the world is so internally consistent with its beast theme and these things so out of place. When you meet and subsequently kill Rom and quite literally all Hell breaks loose.....oh man. Now THAT'S how you do a plot twist. Its some MGS2 level shit right here. Really, I feel like this atmospheric progression is what Bloodborne does best, but it rarely gets talked about in favor of the gameplay. Oh, and great video as always

[@Cavs191]

ffs no it’s popular bc it’s a great game. Those things may help a bit but this is a quality game in every sense of the word so it deserves all the praise it gets IMO

[@aingkaransuppiah7355]

I can't give enough praise for your review videos and insight into games in general. Great job and I look forward to your next video :)

[@Synchro-tq1mo]

I enjoy these kinds of video essays , so this is channel is easily one of my fav gaming channels .

[@Arkanthrall]

Am I the only one who is bothered by the weapons upgrade system? The game introduces the player to various weapons along the game, but they require such an investment in upgrades that most of the time I didn't bothered using them. This problem isn't exclusive to Bloodborne.

[@Heath-Man]

I think it's the least egregious I'm bloodborne. I started a new play through the other day and I just finished hemwick. I have a +3, +5, and +6 weapon already. Bloodstone shards rain from the sky in this game.

[@williancruz9657]

I disagree. I've been playing it lately, have been using my 2 +6 weapons for a while, came across the lightning mace weapon, and instantly was able to up it to +5, with the problem of going to +6 being my Blood Echoes.

[@Graysett]

The game throws everything up to Twin Bloodstone at you, but then Chunks become super rare and annoying to farm. So getting to +6 is pretty easy and you'll almost certainly have enough to upgrade at least 3 weapons to +6 without really trying, but getting to +9 on 3 weapons without farming requires you to be pretty lucky and good at finding the "crystal lizards" (i don't remember their name). BB is better off than DS1 and DeS though. Standard upgrade paths are okay for those games, but man, the others are awful.

[@williancruz9657]

Graysett Yeah, guess you're right. Limited, unfarmable DS1 upgrade items were lame.

[@Arkanthrall]

You're right, Graysett it has improved since Demon's Souls but it still remains a pain when you want to test a weapon to realize you don't like it in the end.

[@bongmygong1991]

I adore the congruity of the world design in this game. I agree that after the first time I beat it, especially after finishing DS, I yearned for greater area variety. But then a friend of mine made a good point. The discord between areas in DS - while thematically and mechanically refreshing - makes the world feel patchworked, even with the interconnectivity everyone including myself loved. Bloodborne has the most thematically consistent world that changes just when you need it to, but those changes still fit within the overall rules and aesthetics of the world. Suddenly going from fire, to ice just wouldn't work. I don't mind the urban stretch for the 1st third and latter stages of Bloodborne as it feels like I'm progressing through a city, and not a level within a game.

[@DYNB]

Man, I love your videos! Thank you for putting so much work into all of them. I hope you make a lot more! Stay awesome bro :)

[@Tausami]

I disagree with this man about specific details of a video game that we both like, and I will not rest until I get my vengeance

[@dragonwaz]

I think I've heard that Gascoigne's whole purpose is to teach returning players the value of parrying. He's supposed to be a Bloodborne noob killer. Also the music box isn't a puzzle solution, it actually makes the fight arguably harder because it does stagger him 2 to 4 times but he'll transform into his second (faster and stronger) state sooner on his health bar. There's also multiple people you can send to the chapel, at least 5 or 6 with two of them being potentially bad choices to send there. You can also happen across the Frenzy causing brain before dropping it but it frenzies you so hard up close you're discouraged from exploring that area before dropping it. Also the reason for the pause after fighting Mergo's Wet Nurse is speculated to be that the nightmare you killed wasn't the boss, the baby was, who died shortly after it's caretaker did.

[@holycowitsdave]

So, some of the stuff you criticize here is somewhat ignoring the thematic devices Bloodborne uses. i'll admit that I'm typing this as I watch, but I intend to go and edit things I'm typing if you address them later in the video. I'm only doing it this way so as not to forget things by the end of the video. It is a long one, so forgive me for that. Also popping a warning here, because this is one heck of a text wall. The first thing I notice is your criticism of the Hunter's Dream being separate from the rest of the world. From a gameplay mechanic, this is a bit more subjective. I personally think it's fine, but I can see how the Firelink Shrine approach could be preferable. however, the Hunter's Dream has to do with the central themes of the game, and the inspirations upon the game as a whole. It's probably news to nobody at this point that a large portion of Bloodborne seems to be a love-letter to Howard Phillips Lovecraft, and his particular form of horror. I bring this up, because it ties directly to the three main forms of narrative within Bloodborne. See, Lovecraft had three particular settings he used in his writing, and they all were part of the same universe. They were never intended to be put together as a linear narrative, and several locations actually jumped around a bit based on where the story would fit better, but he usually tended to stick to three different places; The Dreamscape, Arkham, and what is usually referred to as the "Cthulhu Cycle" or the "Cthulhu Mythos", but which I will just be referring to as "The Unknown". The Hunter's Dream, the Hunter's Nightmare, and the Nightmare of Mensus all draw into the idea of the Dreamscape. The Dreamscape was a place in which many 'Dreamers' found peace, and indescribable beauty. It was a place of pure fantasy, and wonder, in which a person could live their lives however they saw fit. It was also a place of despair and horror, and home to monsters and madmen. It was labyrinthine, and its geography was only navigable by those who lived there. Starting to see the connections? The Hunter's Dream was Gerhman's wish turned into a nightmare. It allowed the Hunters who passed through it to act without regard for so long as they resided in it, but also left them broken and mad. It turned some into monsters, drove others mad, and the ones with better sense left it (Eileen = bae). The next criticism you bring up is that Bloodborne is vague as to the reason your character is doing what they do, right up to the point of telling you not to think about it. Now, I agree that unless you're intent on finding all the lore pieces, you may finish the game thinking "Well why did any of that happen?" The problem is, that reaction ties into the ideas drawn from Arkham and The Unknown. You're told to "Seek Paleblood to transcend the Hunt". What does that mean? One would assume given the blood ministration and references to the Old Blood and other such things that the Paleblood is a particular form of Blood that acts as a McGuffin of sorts. You're then told not to think about it, just kill some Beasts. Fair enough though. You're a Hunter, and they're Beasts. Makes sense, doesn't it? Well, yes. It does. And that's a core part of the deception. The thing is, you're not necessarily wrong to hunt the beasts, but everyone, ESPECIALLY Gerhman... They're all hiding things from you. If Gerhman told you the true purpose of the Hunter's Dream, your character would probably quit on the spot. That's kind of the point in a lot of the Arkham and Unknown portions. The protagonists of Lovecraft's stories are very often people who've happened upon clues to some larger mystery and, driven by their curiosity, delve into things best left alone. As a result, they often either die, unleash a horror upon the world, or there is some context in the story to suggest that their narrations might not be trustworthy. The protagonist of the short story "Dagon" (of the Unknown portion) happens upon an island in the middle of the ocean, covered in rotting fish. He decides to explore the island, because the nature of its existence is weird in and of itself, without the dead fish everywhere. He happens on a sort of crevice, explores it a bit, and finds a statue of what he assumes is some ancient deity from a time unknown. There are cave-paintings and similar artwork depicting these weird deities next to humans... and then one of them attacks him and he's forced to retreat just as the island disappears from existence. Now, the reason I give that description there is because given certain context clues in the story, it's not certain whether any of that actually happened... You see, at the time this island was supposed to have appeared, the narrator was both dehydrated and sunstroke. He'd been floating aimlessly for quite a long time... and his recollection of these events was being written down several years after the fact... during which time he'd developed a quite severe morphine addiction. The entire thing could have been a fever dream/hallucination he'd convinced himself was real. Similar (though not the same) plot devices are used in Bloodborne. Nobody is willing to tell you anything of value. You meet a guy in a dream who tells you not to think about it, just kill the beasts. The partially transformed beast men in Yharnam have dialogue in which they accuse you of being responsible for everything going on. Then there's the fact that the more insane stuff you witness (like the bosses, or being picked up by an invisible force and having your mind exploded) gives you INSIGHT. By seeing things that can't be comprehended, you're given INSIGHT. You better understand what's happening, is the message this gives. And the Insight actually affects other things in the game. If you have enough of it, you can see the Amygdala BEFORE you kill Rom. The more Insight you have, the more susceptible to Frenzy you are. There are a lot of little hints like this that suggest that Insight may actually act as a sort of "Sanity Meter", wherein the more you have, the less sane you are. See the connection? The more you know, the more danger you are in... But the less you can be considered sane. On top of that, you say you miss the interconnected world of Dark Souls 1 that offers you a sort of choice in which direction to go. And yes, that was awesome... But Bloodborne does use this more linear progression in a similar manner to a lot of Lovecraft's protagonists. For many of the stories, simply finding out that there was a mystery to be solved meant that it was already too late to save them. It's the same in Bloodborne. The only way to save your character from the horrors ahead is to not play the game and never progress. But you bought the game. You've played into the mystery of the world, and thus there is only one path you can travel; forward. The paths are more linear because by discovering that there IS a mystery that needs solving, that there are questions you're curious to have answered... The only path you CAN travel is whichever path leads you to an answer. Your desire to have your questions answer, your desire to progress, is ultimately what dooms you. And i couldn't find a way to work this well into the above wall of text, but to return to the Paleblood thing for a moment... I think the fact you refer to it as blood may indicate the fact that you either missed a clue or didn't quite understand it. See, you're meant to THINK you're looking for a specific kind of blood, but in reality Paleblood refers to, as you put it, the "Corrupted Moon". You find a note not long after this change that states "Behold! A Paleblood sky!". The moon is literally the color of pale blood, and you can now complete the hidden objective of the Hunter's Dream: Kill a Great One. When you manage to kill a Great One, Gerhman offers you the chance to remove yourself from the Hunter's Dream, and if you choose to do so you awake in Yharnam. It's the morning, your Hunt is over, and you'll never return to the Dream. You have fulfilled the goal given to you in the first room. You sought the Paleblood and transcended the Hunt. And either of the game's other two endings offer you an escape from the Hunt as well. Other than that, I think the criticisms of the bosses being "just flailing beasts" is down to personal taste. I personally had no problem with them. I enjoyed these boss battles in the Souls series more than ones like Quelaag. That said, i can see how wanting more of a variety might make them an issue, and especially so for people who aren't as fond of this kind of boss battle. Pretty much all other criticisms are fair, and I agree with. The massive wall of text above is pretty much just to say that I feel the issues you had with them are only issues if you ignore the differences in theme and story telling, especially given that there are very good narrative reasons for those "issues" to be there and are appropriate enough that I don't think they should be considered issues at all.

[@derekcampbell4209]

Damn... you wrote all this and no one responded... that’s shitty...

[@mrqadaffi3638]

lol

[@phteven_steven]

Thanks for the great comment!

[@Cellyestial]

The longest comment I've ever seen, but its a gud one

[@nestormelendez9005]

No one is gonna want to argue with someone typing on their keyboard thats just too much

[@21awesome]

I deeply enjoy your videos, and think you deserve more exposure, keep it up!

[@zacharyhorvath3615]

Hey man, I really like your videos, definitely appreciate the time you put into it. Keep it up!

[@lollipophugo]

Got to disagree with Djura being the most bullshit hunter fight - no matter what level and no matter with what gear, the Chikage hunter in Amelia's boss room is by far the worst. Worse than the gank squad, worse than Djura, worse than everything. His repeating pistol CAN ONE SHOT YOU. His PISTOL. His transformed chikage similarly does ridiculous damage, and you'd think that the fact that he has so many times more health than you would be balanced by his inability to heal but no, he can use blood vials as well. He can be cheesed but so can Djura (knocking him off) but trying to take him on 1v1 is the most infuriating thing by far. If the hunter fights were supposed to be tough but fair they should have to play by the same rules as you. The repeating pistol uses 2 rounds per shot so he should get at most 10 shots, and if he wants more he should have to make more quicksilver bullets like we have to - by expending health. If he has to have a health bar 10x the size of a player character with 50 vit then he should NOT be able to fucking heal. I'm salty but this fight is not even REMOTELY close to fair and it's a fight I dread EVERY SINGLE TIME I replay this game. None of the bosses come close to this guy in difficulty and it makes Gherman look like a joke.

[@JosephAndersonChannel]

You're probably right about that. I think Djura is a bigger new player trap though, even to series veterans who are only new to Bloodborne. I think a lot of people claim they killed him easily when in reality he rolled himself off the building.

[@seancanttalk]

Yeah ive never actually killed Djura, hes always fallen off the building. Which makes me think that perhaps that was the point? Im not entirely sure

[@lollipophugo]

For sure - my order of events was different to yours and I actually came across Hemwick Charnel Lane before taking on Djura's gun, and when I did reach him he still destroyed my ass. The first time. The second time, shortly into the fight, I shot him off the tower by accident (and subsequently this is how I deal with him) although on my 2nd playthrough I tried to kill him legitimately and after a couple of attempts he still managed to suicide. I wonder if this is how the developers tried to make him "fair" considering how challenging he is with the gear you're likely to have at this point in the game, since the fall is an inherent part of the fight - I recall some of the deaths I had trying to actually beat him resulted in me dodging off the tower myself. I always had more trouble with the hunter on the ground level near this area which makes me think you're probably right - Djura would be a fucking nightmare if he was on ground level.

[@polux5136]

Sean Cahill Bethesdas bug

[@Agenta-df3gb]

The Bloody Crow of Cainhurst, that hunter fight in Amelia's boss room at the end of one character quest, is widely regarded to be, barring none, the hardest one-on-one boss fight in the entire Souslborne series, with the possible exception of Midir. He's also MEANT to be absolutely brutal. This is a hunter that has butchered Eileen so many times. Eileen is a literal hunter of hunters. Someone that can best her is so far above your character it's insane. I personally think he's intended to be a literal end-game challenge. One of the last enemies you kill before you end the game. A literal proving your mastery over parrying and fighting hunters.

[@dude86]

I think enemies have those low damage jab type moves (IE the executioners headbutt) so you don’t just sit in front of the enemies face doing nothing, as well as it’s a “hey hit him back, you can rally that health” reminder.

[@meathir4921]

I mean; then the game has counter damage and suddenly that low damage jab chunks you for 40%; factoring in NG+ scaling and that jab can be one of the most dangerous attacks in the game. I can see the logic here, but this seems like weak justification.

[@husseinalaa4992]

Don't you think that the hunter at the top of the Clock Tower was made purposefully difficult so players would leave him and come back later maybe after they killed the blood-starving Beast and discover that they can talk to him and befriend him?

[@jaredarmstrong385]

Yes, that’s almost definitely why they did it

[@ronthorn3]

My rules for first play of a souls game: 1. Play using only my pp 2. Constantly die 3. Clean controller

[@WritingOnGames]

I haven't even been able to play Bloodborne (lack of a PS4) but I am SO into this.

[@synapse6140]

+Writing on Games the lore is quite fascinating too, one of my favorite interpretation/adaptation of Lovecraftian themes and also connecting it to the mechanics

[@pyametra]

Best game on PS4. I have well over 1000 hours.

[@dekarmeryalmar8774]

@@pyametra doubt

[@Alex-bw6yd]

I hope you got a PS4 and we’re able to play it. It’s my favorite game of all time, period. The lore is rich, the Lovecraftian theme is executed better than Lovecraft ever could have imagined, the combat and trick weapons are *chef’s kiss*; I could go on forever.

[@TheSLATEcleaner]

Interesting note, the werewolf which bursts through the door in Old Yharnam actually opens a shortcut from the lamp before to the werewolves before Bloodstarved Beast, so they technically did something you wanted them to.

[@clivenazareth7069]

There are two shortcuts that I would call genius in bloodborne, the tomb falling in the first nightmare realm is incredible. The shortcut right before Micholas is a real good suprise too.

[@jakereich2080]

I never found the tomb shortcut this is kinda sad. I was surprised while watching his video. Ig next playthrough I need to look out for it.

[@thirdwordbird3011]

Only thing I don't see down here in the comments- the "weak point" system mentioned in the amygdala fight are actually implemented in the rest of the game. If you attack certain limbs on the larger bosses enough times, it "breaks" the limb and enables a 20% damage buff.

[@bragsaint7824]

"The one reborn is so esay it might rival the witches of hemwick" Oh oki I am shit then

[@kyro8559]

nah, one reborn is way tougher than the witches, the witches are a huge fucking joke, you can kill her second phase in one hit if you’re quick enough

[@OneEyedCloud01]

One reborn took me forever before I finally got used to it's stupid instant blood splatter shot and sudden explody body part bs. I now HAVE to use the beast blood pellet and bolt paper combo lest I become too annoyed to finish the playthrough.

[@CirnoTheStrongest999]

I beat the one reborn maybe third try, however he also killed me at the same time so it didn't exactly feel like a win to me more like a lucky circumstance that the game flagged him as dead before it counted my death so he didn't respawn

[@darrenfleming7901]

one reborn is exactly like curse rotted greatwood in ds3, except a little harder. On paper theyre easy as fuck to kill, but theres always that one moment in the fight were their attacks line up in the most bullshit way and can fuck you up.

[@Mick-hp4yg]

Gotta pause right away. If you're a souls fan but don't have a PS4, it's completely worth buying one for this game. I bought one specifically for Bloodborne and was not disappointed (and you can of course buy more games later).

[@ZSnoozeZ]

I'm pretty late to the party but I loved the video! Great commentary and insights