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Y O U D I E D
Welcome to the long awaited FromSoftware General. In case you haven't played a FromSoft title, keep reading.
Who are FromSoftware?:
FromSoftware is a video game developer currently owned by Kadokawa. They created the King's Field, Tenchu, and Armored Core series. However, they are recognized today for their creation of Demon's Souls, Dark Souls (series), and upcoming successor, Bloodborne.
Innovation, why are these games loved and why?:
Demon's Souls (DeS), Dark Souls series (DaS+DaSII), and Bloodborne (BlB) are well known and enjoyed by many due to the challenging gameplay, well thought out puzzles + traps, world geography, game design, and lore.
Demon's Souls, which was already incredibly well received (especially for being the first in the series) had players jaws drop and wanting more. It was the first game to create such a fleshed out world atmosphere and design. Every moment was eerie and lonesome. Not to mention, combat was not just normal A/RPG mechanics. Everything had weight to it, and the enemies were actually to be feared. The same caries over to Dark Souls, but that took all of the world geography and made everything interconnected, allowing secrets and shortcuts to be found. Every location had been thought out.
Bloodborne (upcoming) takes a few of these mechanics and spices them up, follow that games section for more details.
Cool! How do I play these games?:
Demon's Souls is owned by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), and releases for PS3. This title is exclusive to the PS3 and is not on PSNow, nor remastered. The only method to play to play this game is through the PS3.
Dark Souls released for the PS3, 360, and PC. It is not on PSNow, nor remastered for current gen consoles.
Dark Souls II released for the PS3, 360, and PC. However, it is receiving a current gen remaster for the PS4, Xbone, and PC (DirectX 11).
The latest game, Bloodborne, is exclusively being released on the PS4. The same exact formula follows ala Demon's Souls. Sony owns 100% rights.
The Games, from newest to oldest:
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What is Bloodborne?:
Set in a Victorian-gothic setting, Bloodborne takes players through the quest in search for answers in an ancient city of Yharnam, which has recently been cursed with an atypical plague.
Bloodborne takes the world structure of Demon's Souls Nexus and Dark Souls interconnected world geography and combines the two. Every bit of world design is detailed and vast like Dark Souls, but their is a Nexus hub similar to the Firelink Shrine, which is seperated from that vast world the players embark on.
The game is also the first "souls-esque" game that changes the core combat mechanics of the previous games. The core combat mechanics that have been changed are not for the easier casual player in mind, as things have become much more challenging. In Bloodborne, the player is faced with no Shield, a limited default health potion, and strafes, dashes and side-dodges have been replaced where a shield would be used. The combat is also faster, and weapons have more than the standard x,y,z combo. Weapons may now transform! Instead of an x,y,z combo, you may transfer the weapon mid combo and perform x,y,trigger,a,b,c. Although, since weapons do transform this time around, there will be less tools to the players disposal.
Strafes, dodges, and rolls and dashes? No shield? Why?:
The game was designed to be more offensive than defensive in regards to combat. The feeling of success and reward is highly present whenever you defeat a hard enemy or challenge. The sense of reward is designed to feel the highest in the series. This means, enemies are faster, hit harder, and can track you down. Enemies won't even be static this time around! They may wonder around, sense you, and locate you. There is a sense of "being hunted" or "terminated" implemented as well. However, since the player and enemies can move faster, hit harder, and change mid-combo, this also means a feature was implemented in order to not be so brutal.
The regain feature.
The regain feature? How does it work? Why?:
The regain feature depends on how fast you hit, if you decide to hit, and the amount of time you hit. You cannot hit ground, it must be an enemy. If you do that successfully in a period of time (less than a second), the player will regain some health from the hit you took. it will not be the full amount of health the player lost, unless you successfully hit a chain combo. Now, don't assume this is cheap or a way to please the casual crowd. Enemies and bosses can use the regain technique as well! And since enemies are generally faster than the player...beware. It's a real nightmare.
Is there a soul mechanic in Bloodborne?:
Presumably, yes? Not much has been shown. Most people are assuming it has to relate with the blood your character becomes drenched with. FromSoftware likes to show as little as possible.
Did I see guns? How do they work?:
Yes, there are guns this time around. However, they do little to minimal damage and can only reach a certain distance. Think of the guns as a tool to defend yourself. There is a limited ammo counter of 20.
Guns work as your tool to parry. Instead of an easy shield block+riposte, you must pull the trigger and use one of your ammo pieces as soon as the enemy is going to strike you. Then, you must walk/run over and attack. This was designed to limit the use of parrying, and make it a little harder for players.
If Parrying has been designed to be less cheap, what about back stabs?:
Back stabs now require to be charged up behind the enemy and released to function.
If parrying and backstabbing are in and designed to be harder for the player...does that mean PvP is still around?:
Yes, PvP is still a feature. Not much details have been said, other than connection between players and friends may be separated. The player may leave special notes for friends to discover so they may join in their duel, or co-operative play.
Co-operative play is back too?:
Yes, although not much has been said regarding that. It's probably the same as it was in the past three titles.
Okay, what about armor?:
Yes, armor is still in the game, sort of. No tanks or heavy armor was designed for the game based on the setting. Gotta love those trench coats. In addition to this, you still create a character with a pre-set class. Very little has been shown regarding that, but it is a confirmed feature.
Why is the setting no longer medieval-fantasy?:
The game takes place in a Victorian setting, possibly around the 1800's. However, tiny forms of magic are still around, such as weapon enchants (limited), and arcane power. Unfortunately, there is no more reason as to why the setting is different rather than Sony and Hidetaka Miyazaki wanting to seperate from the Souls games and create a first party Souls-esque title, aka Demon's Souls, Sony's property that started the series.
Why isn't this called Demon's Souls 2?:
No reason has been given, but everybody assumes that Sony would receive copyright similarity strikes from Namco-Bandai, the developers of Dark Souls (came after Demon's). However, this game is very much a spiritual successor to Demon's Souls.