I finished this this week, and really can't believe I've gotten to this point. So much so that my desperation to talk about it broke me free of lurking here.
I never got along with Dark Souls, as much as I tried and wanted to love it. The more aggressive Bloodborne appealed to me, but hearing it was a more horror based game with jump scares equally turned me off. The PS Plus release was ideal for me, and apart from a God of War shaped hole, I've basically been obsessed with this since March. I read this thread, absorbed advice, and didn't worry about glancing at guides when the horror became too much. I didn't want it to be another Dark Souls for me.
I probably spent way more time in Central Yarnham than the game wanted, but I really enjoyed the gradual back and forth while I leveled up and figured out the shortcuts. I found the Cleric Beast long before I realized Gascoigne existed. (Those sewers were SO off putting, and I guess some of the 'go up, not down' thinking carried over from early Dark Souls.) The Cleric Beast seemed like a very tough wall to hit, and I was determined not to let it be off putting. Mostly by luck, and this thread, I found out about Gascoigne, and thanks to my endless training in Yarnham, I was able to kill him with an abundance of visceral attacks. I had heard legends of him breaking players, yet I slaughtered him on my third attempt. This game wasn't so brutal now. I was hooked.
As the game played out, I realized the bigger the boss, the more I struggled, and parry/visceral would not carry me through. (Amygdala killed me when she had a sliver of health left. I didn't even rage.) The Blood Stained Beast was a huge sticking point, and I cheered when I killed it after what could have been fifty attempts. It was a nauseating, anxious battle every single time, and I'll never forget confronting and crushing it. I then revisited the Cleric Beast and killed him in one try. I felt unstoppable. I moved on to Amelia, but things were even worse than BSB, though I knew that if the BSB didn't stop me, she wouldn't. (It was here that I also fell in love with the monster design, as much as the Cathedral Ward had upped itself in creeping me the fuck out).
From here, things were a lot smoother. Almost every time I struggled with a boss it was because I had to learn a new way to tackle things. Patience versus incredible aggression. Lock on versus trying to dodge and maneuver the camera with one hand. I'd swapped to the Hunter Axe sometime before Hemwick. Reach and raw power seemed to suit me.
The game got more and more horrifying. I've never played something with such a range of disturbing variety in its enemies. Werewolves and snatchers (the absolutely what-the-fuckery of getting brought to the Gaol) don't even come close anymore to snakes, fly people, what lies at Cainhurst, and the goddamn should-be-cute-but-SO-creepy aliens. I'm arachnophobic and I'd rather fight the spiders. I persevered. I swore a lot.
Ebrietas almost broke me. It was the one boss that felt unfair. It was the first boss that I summoned AI to help me with, the first that made me break out beast pellets and bolt paper. I'm very minimal, item and assistant-phobic in this game and this is where I cracked. I'd left her until the very end due to how frustrating she was, and defeating her before venturing back to the final stretch, post-Micolash, was such a relief. Touching distance.
The final two battles were both almost perfect in summing up the game. The hunter battle looked impossible from the first attempt, but learning the attack distance, the milliseconds of where I could strike, and learning to parry was exhilarating. The beastly boss was another vicious prick. Screw patience; I never gave it a second. Axe, meet face.
Working through it, this felt like the best game that I'd never play again. I love it. I don't want that experience again, and yet... two days later I'm already tempted to start all over again. The DLC awaits in my near future.