Since its release, Elden Ring has been a huge success. Many players have been traversing the landscapes of The Lands Between, fighting monsters, completing side-quests, and uncovering powerful weapons, spells, and secrets. Still, with many players coming to the end of their first, second, or third playthroughs, many new fans of the FromSoftware franchise will be looking outward toward new adventures and experiences. One such game stands above the rest of FromSoftware's expansive catalog as a must-play. That game is Bloodborne.
Bloodborne is another action-RPG in a similar vein to Elden Ring, but it replaces that gritty dark fantasy setting with a gothic Victorian setting where the player takes on the role of a Hunter, slayer of beasts, and navigates the claustrophobic and cramped city streets of Yharnam to put an end to a blood-borne disease. Through the course of their journey, the player will fight monsters and cosmic beings and uncover the dark secrets lying beneath the surface of the city. Here are the differences and similarities between Bloodborne and Elden Ring, and why Bloodborne is the next must-play game after becoming Elden Lord.
Bloodborne's Similarities To Elden Ring
Bloodborne shares many similarities with its fantasy counterpart. These include challenging encounters, interlocking level designs and unique weapons, secrets, and armor pieces. The world is just as dark, with a similarly rich depth of lore and a simple, yet clearly defined goal -- bring an end to this night of horrors.
Hunters and Tarnished fill the same relative space in the game's story, both of which are professions assigned as the player character during the course of the game. The game shares a similar format as well, with tough main bosses the player must overcome in order to complete the game, and a host of additional optional bosses that offer unique rewards and content.
Leveling up works in the same way, with a set of attributes that increase key aspects of a character, allowing the player to make their own unique hunter with their own skill set. This is unlike the slightly more restrictive character progression system of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, another Soulsborne title. Spells aside, that progression system is much like Elden Ring, lending players the ability to create ranged builds, from heavy-hitting to fast stamina.
Bloodborne's Differences From Elden Ring
There are a number of differences that change the way in which a player experiences Bloodborne. Firstly, the player doesn't have access to a Flask of Crimson Tears. Instead, they have to rely on two main methods to gain health. The first is Expendable Blood Vials which increase a player's health and can be farmed from enemies.
The second method is attacking an enemy during a short window after they'd dealt damage. The player regains a portion of their health based on how many times they land an attack during this window. This access to a finite resource and reliance on healing by attacking encourages an aggressive style of gameplay, rewarding a player for thinking on their feet rather than utilizing a slow, methodical approach.
Another factor affecting playstyle is the use of firearms as defensive weapons. Instead of hiding behind a shield, Bloodborne encourages parrying enemies with a firearm to open them up for a visceral attack. Because of this, players are encouraged to become well-learned in parrying. This also feeds into a system that is much like Ashes of War, with a few differences. That system is the Trick Weapon system. The amount of weapons available to the player in Bloodborne is much smaller, but each of those weapons switches between their original form and their "trick" form, allowing a player to switch up and diversify their attacks based on the situation and encounter.
Why Bloodborne Is The Best Choice After Elden Ring
While being both similar to Elden Ring in some ways and different in others, Bloodborne is the clear choice for the next game into which fans of Elden Ring should dive. It changes up encounter priorities, setting and story while keeping its core FromSoftware style the same. This provides the player with a challenging, dark and oftentimes perilous experience with deep, varied gameplay and exploration that'll keep players coming back for repeat playthroughs.