DLC

3 Things I want from the Bloodborne DLC

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Bloodborne is the best ps4 exclusive released since the ps4’s arrival.  It’s arguably the best game of 2015.  If you have not played it, I fully recommend it.  You may want to bash your head against a wall or throw your controller into your television, but don’t worry that’s normal.  But even fantastic games have small things that can be tweaked to improve the overall experience, and Bloodborne is no exception.  The new DLC comes out November 24 and here are three things that I hope are added.

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  1. More weapons

Part of what made Dark Souls I and II great was the different ways you could replay the game.  If you finished the game as an armored tank with a massive greatsword and shield, you could go back and play it as a stealthy ninja or an all powerful magician if you wished.  This replayability comes from the variety of weapons available to you.  There are dozens of different swords, spears, axes, clubs, daggers, rapiers, shields, and others in the Dark Souls games.  The great variety of weapons encourage you to go back and play through the game in different ways.

Bloodborne has less than 20 weapons.  Yes, they can transform into different weapons with new movesets, but the transformations aren’t enough.  The axe just transforms into a larger axe.  The saw transforms into a larger saw.  The swords transform either into a large hammer or a large sword.  The transformations add some variety, but not enough.  I was far less motivated to play through the game again because I felt like I was just doing the same thing all over again, rather than anything new or exciting.

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2. Expand on the Beasthood concept

The struggle between a hunter and his inner beast was an integral part of the story in Bloodborne.  Yet it did not transition into gameplay.  Beasthood is an ability you can upgrade, and you can find items that temporarily enhance your beasthood; but all beasthood seemed to do was increase your damage and lower your defense.  It didn’t coalesce much with the story.  I didn’t feel like my character was struggling with anything.  Hopefully the DLC will make the expand the beasthood concept.  Maybe your character could give in to his inner monster, like Father Gascoigne, and temporarily transform.  You could gain an attack bonus and lose insight.

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3. Expand on the plot of Bloodborne

The first half of Bloodborne was pretty straightfoward.  You’re a hunter, Yharnmam’s full of monsters, it’s your job to kill monsters.  Here’s a big axe.  But it was in the second half that Bloodborne went off the rails.  It became a Lovecraftian nightmare filled with horrible (but sometimes comical like when a crow has a dog’s head) creatures with an unhealthy amount of lives.  It was hard to follow since there was no one you could talk to who really knew why the world was like this.  You’re forced to rely on item descriptions and one sentence notes.  All the NPCs who started this mess are either dead or in a comatose state.

Hopefully the DLC will shed some light on how demons entered the picture.  Maybe it could flash back to Ludwig, Willem, and the founding of the healing church.  It’d be interesting to be there when Yharnam starts going downhill and the Church goes from being good to evil.  I’d especially like the mystery of Old Yharnam explained.  What is the ashen plague?

Fortunately, it looks like the DLC will do a few of these things.  There were several new weapons in the trailer for the DLC.  The standout for me was what looked like a medieval buzz saw.  Also, there was a bow and arrow which could add a nice ranged aspect to the game.  At one point it looked like a wolfman was attacking, so hopefully that can be something you can do.

Check out the trailer here.