Despite their common lineage and the tendency by fans and video game media to compare the two games, Elden Ring and Bloodborne are in many ways very different games. One was made over 10 years ago for a last-generation console, and the other is a relatively recent release that is still getting additional content. They are not the same game, nor should they be. And it is not a matter of which is better, but rather which does certain things better.
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Let me start by saying I adore Elden Ring. I'm an absolute sucker for modular narratives and environmental storytelling, which Elden Ring has in spades. The combat has a wonderful learning curve, and most of the bosses are excellent. That being said, Bloodborne still outshines it in many ways. Without wishing to disparage Elden Ring or its die-hard fans, Bloodborne excels in many ways in which Elden Ring falters. They are, in essence, different games suited to different playstyles. But there is a reason that it has become a cliché to compare every Soulsborne game to Bloodborne, as it is a brilliant, if flawed, example of compelling storytelling and intricate game design.
Managing Insight
Hello, Good Hunter
Insight is a resource that the player acquires from specific areas of Bloodborne, as well as when the player first encounters a boss. It is key to talking to the Doll in the Hunter’s Dream, but it can also make the game much more difficult. Without Insight, the player doesn’t have to deal with the minions of the Witches of Hemwick, and it becomes a walk in the park. It becomes a balancing act between perceiving the otherworldly elements of the world, purchasing unique items through Insight, and reducing your difficulty level.
The layer of additional revelation and recontextualization of the space that the Insight mechanic affords is something that Elden Ring does not attempt. That is because this is a different game, and it would be an unnatural incorporation into such a vast, open world. However, it is one of those mechanics that makes Bloodborne special. However, Demon Souls’ world tendency system does come close.
Completionist Perspective
Box Ticking, Trophy-Gaining Goodness
I will never feel like I have truly completed Elden Ring, and that bothers me greatly. The seemingly endless Lands Between hold hundreds of hours of exploring, questing, and achievement hunting. However, it doesn’t have the same feeling of finite accomplishment that Bloodborne does. This is, of course, symptomatic of the very different approaches to narrative design. Bloodborne is quite a linear, story-driven experience. By contrast, Elden Ring is a vast open world that still boasts significant narrative complexity, albeit from a more modular perspective.
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While Bloodborne doesn't exactly facilitate completionism, it also doesn’t outstay its welcome. Elden Ring has a lot of open-world bloat, but Bloodborne leaves you wanting more. It feels like less of a chore to progress through the mid-stages of Bloodborne, which is when Elden Ring arguably flagged a little narratively. Going into New Game+ in Bloodborne is incredibly achievable and rewarding; it marks the start of the same journey with the benefit of experience and hindsight.
Atmosphere Unlike Any Other FromSoftware Game
Exchanging Medieval High Fantasy For Eldritch Abominations
FromSoftware inc. Is exceptionally good at creating detailed and emotionally charged fantasy worlds. Medieval Gothic architecture, ancient ruins, forsaken knights, and terrible mythical foes. But in Bloodborne, they did something different, dabbling in a distinctly 19th-century myth-making and the cosmic horror of the eldritch and uncanny. It is a world steeped in blood and viscera in a way that few games are able to evoke without straightforward graphic and gratuitous gore.
Not only is the violence and brutality of the game signposted through its visual style, but it also demonstrates a shift into the Gothic weird, which would become increasingly popular in video games. The Gothic steampunk aesthetic of Bloodborne is a capsule of the mid-2010s. It inspired many games after it, including the stunning Lies of P. The people of Yharnam shambled and stumbled so that the puppets of Krat could run.
Enemies Absorb What You Drop
Tethering Lost Blood Echoes To Enemies
This mechanic is the bane of many new Bloodborne players, especially those coming from other Soulsborne games. When you die in Dark Souls and Elden Ring, runes or souls drop where players die and stay there until they are picked up, or the player dies before reaching them. But Bloodborne offers no such kindness. Blood echoes are absorbed by enemies, usually the ones that killed the player, meaning that those characters become an insurmountable roadblock to player progress if the hunter is not ready to take them on.
Find all 10 pairs
Find all 10 pairs
So if this is such a nightmare for new players, then why is it on this list? Video game enemies, in part, exist to teach players the rules and mechanics of the game space. And what better way to learn than to beat your head against the same werewolf over and over again? You learn, or you die. That is one of the key ways Bloodborne sets itself apart, the way it teaches players the skills they need to survive. Elden Ring is brilliant at teaching the player in many ways that Bloodborne just isn't, but in this extension of the classic Soulsbourne 'learn by failing' process, the player is forced to confront that which killed them.
Immediacy And Myth-Making
In Media Res
As beautiful and breathtaking as Elden Ring is, there is something to be said for exploring a world that is in the process of succumbing to chaos and catastrophe. By the time the player gets to The Lands Between in Elden Ring, it is already forsaken and ruined. It is still in the process of decay, but it is an ancient decay that is steeped in mythology, suffering, and intergenerational violence. The carnage that Marika left in her wake is evident, but her story is gradually falling into the realm of folklore.
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In Bloodborne, the player is a part of the process of the myth-making of Yharnam and its surroundings, part of the cycle of trying to prevent something imminent, ongoing, and seemingly preventable. While the great ones themselves are ancient, they are part of a 19th and 20th century weird and Lovecraftian narrative tradition as opposed to Elden Ring's modern fantasy conceptualization of the medieval era. By virtue of the cyclical nature of the hunt and the descent of the Blood Moon, we are in the territory of the cautionary tale and urban legend rather than folklore.
Simplified Upgrades and Leveling
Streamlined Inventory And Weapons System
The inventory, weaponry, and armory of Elden Ring are definitely suited to the min-maxxers. But for everyone else, it can be quite overwhelming. By contrast, Bloodborne presents far fewer combinations of items and enhancements. However, this still leaves considerable room for customization. Using bloodstone shards, etc., to enhance weapons is linear, and buffs such as bolt and fire paper can be applied while outside the Hunter’s Dream.
There is a little more to it than that once you start getting into blood gems and runes. But generally speaking, it is easy to tell what each item is useful for and why, and far less easy to accidentally make errors in your loadout that will cancel out other positive effects. Players who delight in experimenting with different builds will probably find more to love in Elden Ring. But for a less purist RPG player, the pared-down duo of the iconic saw-blade (or other chosen weapon) and sidearm can be liberating.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 91 /100 Critics Rec: 98%
- Released
- March 24, 2015
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Violence
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Publisher(s)
- Sony
