Bloodborne – First Impressions
Bloodborne is a really tough PlayStation 4 exclusive video game developed by FromSoftware and modeled after the near-masochistic combat series Dark Souls. It’s one of my absolute favorite experiences from the last console generation and it paved the way for the “play it on hard” mentality that I have for many games in general.
It’s also got a card game adaptation into the tabletop world, which I own and enjoy, but that’s a rather light mechanical experience and doesn’t really capture the scope of what it’s like to be a Hunter in Yharnam.
Naturally, then I was really excited when Bloodborne: The Board Game was announced, with designers Michael Shinall and Eric Lang translating the grim reality of monster-hunting and iterative death into a tile-laying, deck-building narrative-based campaign game. Like many games on Kickstarter, I missed out on the crowdfunding campaign with all of the goodies, but I’ve got the base retail game now and I’ve started a solo journey through the shadows and blood (echoes).
Let’s see if the Hunter Axe and Ludwig’s Holy Blade are enough to cleanse Yharnam of evil!
What It Does
The base game has four campaign adventures ready to devour players. If you’re familiar with the video game at all, then the descent into the cursed city of Yharnam will be familiar as you encounter enemies and bosses pulled straight from that twisted realm. If you’re arriving into the Hunter’s Dream for the first time, though, you may experience some vertigo as these strange monsters and unforgiving world rush in on you.
Each story arc is broken into chapters and players will have to complete objectives while exploring in order to progress the narrative and complete the adventure. It’s going to be brutal, though. The board game, like its source material, does not coddle the player. It does not pander to your mistakes. It is cruel and it’s punishing. Once you learn the rules of engagement, however, it’s fair. Your experience will depend on your willingness to take risks but also to navigate the pitfalls of Yharnam with care.
You are a Hunter, after all, tasked with the violent burden of cleansing the city of beasts and evil. It will be difficult, but it can be done. Especially as you grow in strength and in skill.
If you manage to acquire content beyond the base game, then you’ll have numerous other adventures to explore, as well as the Chalice Dungeon, which enables players to embark on a standalone hunt rather than a narrative campaign.
How It Does It
It starts with the Hunters. These are fighters who are cursed with an undying mission to cleanse Yharnam. Each one is unique in the weapons that they use and the skills that they learn. As you delve into the story, your Hunter will improve.
Utilize weapons with bloody features—each one can transform between two variants that are suited for different combat scenarios. And upgrade a base deck of Stat cards as you collect Blood Echoes in order to create a stronger hand to rely on in and out of combat.
Bloodborne: The Board Game is a tile-laying adventure. Hunters will move onto new locations, discovering missions, consumables, and enemies along the way. Missions will direct you to achieve certain objectives and players must determine the best course of action to make that happen before time runs out. Which it will…
The turn track has reset points that mimic the inevitable return of enemies and the corrupted state of Yharnam. You may kill many enemies, but they will return. And you’ll have to deal with them again. These reset points act as motivators to move efficiently in Bloodborne while always pursuing the end of the chapter. Take too long and you’ll reach the end of the turn track… and lose the game.
Hunters all start with basic cards and items. But getting Consumables, Caryll Runes, permanent items, and better Stat cards is vital if you want to survive in the night. Enemies will become stronger. And the Boss will not take it easy on you. The right combination of items and cards could save your life (at least long enough to kill the enemy in front of you).
Hunters’ Trick Weapons are already unique, but the way a player builds their Stat deck and collects items can make for a truly asymmetric experience. That’s when you’ll be able to discover the best ways to play. And when Bloodborne will become a special game for the players involved. I personally can’t wait until my Hunter Axe and Holy Ludwig’s Blade characters diverge in interesting ways.
Why You Might Like It
If you’re a fan of Bloodborne, then this game is a no brainer to me. There is a sizeable amount of content in the main box that can carry you (and your group) through multiple adventures before rehashing any of the same content. Also, there are missions and choices that you won’t make when going through the story that you could explore further in other playthroughs.
For those who enjoy miniature-laden narrative-based campaigns, this offering from CMON seems to be one of their best (though I’m sadly uninformed about a lot of their games). The Trick Weapon system and Stat deck upgrades create incentive to experiment with Hunters and see how they can tackle the obstacles (and enemies) in front of them.
Why You Might Not
It’s a difficult game. There isn’t an easy variant in the box unless you home-brew some stuff. If you’re unaccustomed to punishing experiences in gaming, then Bloodborne may surprise you and ultimately scare you away. While it’s never unfair, it does relentlessly push the players to maximize their choices and actions. If you fail, you have to start over.
While the insert does an admirable job of keeping progress saved, this is something that will require some setup time as you figure out which tiles go with which chapter, what enemies to bring out, and how to lay out the Hunters, especially if you’re in the middle of a story’s chapters.
Final Thoughts
I’m excited to keep going with the game. I do wonder about its longevity if you don’t have at least some of or all of the Chalice Dungeon content. That helps to create an experience beyond the dungeon-crawling campaign. If you just have the base box like me, it might not survive in a more curated collection after being played all the way through once. Granted, that entails numerous hours of content, but if you churn through that and don’t have any other expansion content to enjoy, then it may sit on the shelf after that. I’m unsure about what it will feel like when I’m done. That will be a judgment call for another day.
For now, though, I’m pumped. This game makes me want to turn on my PS4 and jump back into the grind of the video game. And I can’t wait to unlock more goodies for each Hunter as Yharnam looms over me like a bleak portent of the games ahead.
The miniatures are fantastic. They really really make me wish I had all of the content. Ultimately, it’s probably saving me some money, but the completionist in me wants to stay in the world beyond what I’ve got in the base game.
I like the Trick Weapon system and how it makes the player think about when to transform the weapon. And Hunter’s Dream is a two-edged sword because it grants players the ability to buy upgrades for the Stat deck but it also progresses the turn tracker, which brings the end of the game closer. All of these decisions are meaty and they have dire consequences if you choose the wrong one.
The artwork and everything else about it ooze the DNA of FromSoftware and Bloodborne, so I’m impressed by what Michael Shinall and Eric Lang were able to create. It’s the first time I’ve gone solo in a big game like this and I’m looking forward to continuing. We’ll see if Oathsworn dethrones it when that pledge arrives, though…
While it’s not for the faint of heart, if you have the opportunity to try out the game, I recommend it!
If you want to check out Bloodborne, you can visit CMON or read what the community thinks on BoardGameGeek.
Have you played Bloodborne? What about other narrative campaign games?
Let us know in the comments and give a recommendation for other games of which to share our first impressions.