Theme
We’ve seen medieval settings frequently over the years, but Gothic has never been done all that well. So, while Dark Souls wasn’t necessarily a huge change of pace, Bloodborne is.
Yharnam and its surrounding areas are an amazing place to spend time. Its enemies are haunting, equipped with eerie audio and creepy move sets. As if that weren’t enough, the ambiance in Bloodborne brings it all together.
There’s nothing quite like Bloodborne.
Winner: Bloodborne
Level Design
Bloodborne deviates from the level design of Dark Souls in several ways. For one, its levels are more linear in nature. Though there are some exceptions, the ride from beginning to end is paved with straightforward corridors with the occasional fork in the road. It also has a lot of shortcuts to help shorten the trip to boss encounters.
Dark Souls has some of the best action RPG levels in history.
Within that space there are fewer clever design elements than in Dark Souls. You don’t encounter dangerous traps that urge you to tread with caution. The world feels like it exists specifically for enemy encounters. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it isn’t as memorable as Dark Souls.
Winner: Dark Souls
Builds
From Software’s games are RPGs, so leveling and building characters along the journey is an important element.
Bloodborne‘s firearm is underwhelming. Arcane doesn’t become viable until more than halfway through the journey. This, in tandem with a small list of weaponry, makes Bloodborne a game less prone to theory-crafting and varied build structure.
Related: Everything You Need to Know About Bloodborne
In contrast, Dark Souls has a ton of options that result in great diversity among players. This has ramifications both in terms of the personal journey and PvP environment.
Winner: Dark Souls
Multiplayer
Multiplayer was a bit convoluted in Dark Souls with its Humanity mechanic. In Bloodborne it’s more straight forward. If you have Insight, you can use it to summon help at a moment’s notice. Or, as long as you have a Small Beckoning Bell, you can jump into a stranger’s game to help them.
Bloodborne’s multiplayer is well-executed.
But it gets better. Bloodborne has a private lobby system that allows you to play with a specific friend. It’s a huge feature for Souls fans who have had to think of bizarre ways to play with their friends in the past.
Where the careful design of From Software really shows is in how co-operative lobbies leave players susceptible to invasions. It’s a scary thought for many, making co-op as much a chance for opportunity as risk.
Winner: Bloodborne
Equipment
The Weight system has been done away with in Bloodborne. With that change comes a shorter list of armor sets, many of which don’t provide any significant upgrade. It’s a game more about letting you equip armor that you like to see on your character than one about making equipment a part of the RPG experience.
Dark Souls‘ equipment looked just as good, and there was more of it.
Winner: Dark Souls
Conclusion: Dark Souls Wins
Bloodborne and Dark Souls trade punches in a lot of ways. Bloodborne has directly addressed several shortcomings of From Software’s last games, and it’s better for it. But it stumbles in a few major ways, making it what I think to be the less spectacular of the two.
Related: Bloodborne Review – Bloodbath & Beyond
You can’t go wrong with either game, but if you can only choose one, then Dark Souls is your answer.
