Is bloodbourne one of, if not, the greatest game of all time?

Yeah it’s up there with too tier DLCs. Players who didn’t have good parry skills had a come to Jesus moment swiftly rofl. I also really dig the dual trick weapons although some are more useless than others but you can tailor them through gems to how you build. My favorite character I rolled was max bloodtinge with Chikagi and Evelyn and just burning through shite. Then and arcane built around blades of mercy is another one I enjoy. There’s no OP way that dominates over all.

They’re essentially random generated rogue likes but each certain chalice has certain structures to it. You can find some amazing loot down there, very very complex and challenging levels, boss fights seen no where else or repurposed for instance instead of fighting Rom in an endless arena of space it’s in a room the size of a middle class living room obviously changing how you fight it.

I understand your argument about what it does to move the industry forward like say BoTW which will be shamelessly stolen from for decades, I still think the game objectively in itself doesn’t have to that to be the greatest or the greatest of its generation. I actually ranked it 2nd in my top 6 ps4 generation games behind only p5R which is quite possibly an artistic masterpiece that just goes way above and beyond what bloodbourne does, but it tried to do that, and that’s important to remember. I also do think BB had some serious wider impact on the industry. The fast pace rally system was so much better and so much more wanted that dark Souls 1 sit behind shield pole shield poke. Sure you could play DS1 like BB but there’s no incentive and you’d likely get smoked. After BB DS 3 was so far and away the best Darin souls and it borrowed heavily. Seikero obviously did too it’s fast pace there’s a lot going on. I imagine elden ring will do something similar. Hell I see shades of elements of the type of combat philosophy bloodbourne introduced a bunch of outside of FromSoft games. Ghost of Tsushima (another of my top 6 of the generation) take plenty from it

Another important thing to remember is this was a launch title for Sony. It’s not a game with some quaint fandom as it feels you might kinda suggesting. To this day you can go post on the reddit forum for what kinda help or team up you’re looking for it’ll take 5 minutes

Nope. Not even the best Souls game.

I played Demon Souls in 09 when it came out. It was revolutionary. Dark Souls 1 had great level design. DS2 gets crap but I may have put the most hours into it for PvP. DS3 took the best of 1 and 2.

BB’s removal of a shield is nothing new for people who 2h, dual wield, or riposte. Going from medieval to lovecraftian is cool. It’s life regen rage mechanic is a good idea for keeping button mashers interested. A different world and different mechanics make it a good entry. The limited weapons ultimately limited the experience. The biggest knock on DS vs BB is that with 4 entries the DS world tends to blur over time while BB stands unique.

1. Tie Demon Souls / DS3
3. BB
4. DS1
5. DS2

There’s a reason Elden Ring looks very DS-like instead of being BB2.

I didn’t say DS1 players didn’t use shields. I even ranked DS1 below BB. After two previous games, DS2 weapon and move set diversity allowed experienced players more options with no shield builds.

BB forced zero shield use. It was a good decision because it was a change for players after 3 similar games. It also forced players to learn dodging and riposting prior to boss fights.

I think DmS and DS3 are further from BB than BB is from DS1/2.