Dark Souls III or Bloodborne? Which wins out for you. Explain why?

[Deleted member 41931]

DS3. While I enjoyed BB more, DS3 is a better game overall, more so compared to launch BB when the loading times were horrendous. Runs better, Estus>Blood Vials, doesn't force you to travel to the hub every time you want to go somewhere, better online, build and equipment variety, etc.

 

[Bhonar]

I was a little disappointed with Dark Souls 3 when I played it at launch. I only got about half way, but I remember it still not reaching the heights that the original Dark Souls was able to do with its world design and maps. My biggest problem with it though was mainly just due to Souls fatiuge. There had been jsut too many too soon and DS3 didnt do enough to make it feel like a new experience. I might have to go back and play it on PC now though with the Steam Sale.

Bloodbourne takes the win between these 2 imo. It was such an original experience after 3 Souls games and loved the atmosphere. That being said, I still had problems with it.

How was the DLC for Dark Souls 3?

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Ariandel was solid, with a super cool final boss (aesthetics-wise)

Ringed City was awesome, with maybe one slight annoyance of the angels

 

[SmittyWerbenManJensen]

Dark Souls 3

Better weapon variety, better PVP, more diverse world, better bosses, its DLC > BB's DLC, no stupid blood vials, etc.

Both are 10/10 masterpieces though, but DS3 is easily better

 

[impact]

Both amazing games with top tier level and boss design. But

I can play DS3 at 4K/60fps
Bloodborne runs at 1080p/shit

DS3 takes this one for me.

 

[GonzoCR]

I think DS3 is a better made game, but Bloodborne is really special and one of my favorite games of all time. It felt like a breath of fresh air the first time I played it. Also helps that it was my first Souls game.

 

[Armite]

I love Bloodborne more in just about every way, except for the fact that it's not 60fps. The lore, world design, faster pace, transforming weapons, dodge mechanic and boss design are just waaaaay more up my street, among other things. Dark Souls feels sluggish and clunky (but still good) by comparison. DS3 also had a few of the most dragged out, bullshit second/third phase bosses that I didn't feel all that accomplished for beating.

 

[catashtrophe]

Dark Souls 3 is a great game

Bloodborne is a masterpiece and one of my fav games of all time.

Game is damn near perfect

 

[Deleted member 22750]

DS3 is a great game.

Bloodborne is a masterpiece.



edit...look at the post above me. I summarized his post and it wasnt on purpose. lol

 

[Gestahl]

Bloodborne after Amelia falls off super hard until you get to the optional bosses and the end level. If it wasn't for Old Hunters it wouldn't even be a contest. Nevermind the atrocious blood gem system, the amount of the game that's wasted on chalice dungeons, the lack of pvp and covenants, and the dearth of meaningful builds

 

[Fahzzy]

Felt like BB was fresh and exciting with better boss fights (which is the focus of the series).

Dark Souls 3 was just a really solid Dark Souls game, with a lot of the same gimmicks of the previous entries and an over reliance on lore tie ins. Not necessarily a bad thing, but just didn't grab me like BB.

 

[devSin]

Dark Souls 3, for the sheer variety of play styles it accommodates. Also, though both are dark, its world isn't completely devoid of beauty or hope. And it doesn't have chalice dungeons.

They're both fantastic games, however.

 

[roflwaffles]

Bloodborne but both are great.

Things that DS3 has over BB are multiplayer mechanics and build variety. The build variety thing doesn't bug me because no build in DS3 is as fun as a standard physical build in BB.

 

[Jombie]

Never thought I'd say this but DS3. For some reason I have a hard time not getting tired of Bloodborne early on. It's also the bosses that do it for me -- Nameless King, Twin Princes, Midir and Gael -- some of my favorite bosses in the series.

 

[Red Liquorice]

Glad we got both to play. :)


By which I mean,...Bloodborne.

 

[Xiaomi]

Didn't we have a similar thread yesterday? They're both great, but it's DS3 for me. I feel like if you play the games for their systems and the challenge and enjoy multiple playthroughs, you'll probably prefer DS3. If you play just for atmosphere and like a streamlined experience, probably Bloodborne.

- Bloodborne's healing system is a step back. It sucks that you need to find or buy blood vials if you die to a boss.

- The trick weapons are cool, but there aren't enough of them, especially in the vanilla game. Off-hand weapons could use more variety, too. Weapon movesets feel simplified overall.

- It's not really faster than DS3. It is if you play Dark Souls games turtling behind a shield, but DS3 shieldless is about the same speed as Bloodborne.

- Bloodborne's levels are pretty samey until you reach the last third of the game, and most of them are pretty short. The game is overall much shorter as well.

 

[CthulhuSars]

Bloodbourne the setting and environment is everything I ever wanted in a game. I like Dark Souls 3 but Bloodbourne just takes everything I grew up loving and put it in a video game.

 

[Pascal]

I like Bloodborne more. But, I will say that Dark Souls III has some beautiful and atmospheric locations, and some fantastic enemy designs. Those two things are very important to me as I go through these games.

 

[Zelda]

I prefer DS3 because it's less of an eye sore and has a greater environmental variety as well as combat. If I could play Bloodborne at 60 fps without chromatic aberration, with some decent anti aliasing then I'd call it a close tie.

 

[silva1991]

Bloodborne

It was fresh for thee formula with it's awesome new setting and the speed of the combat felt right. And trick weapons are the best and coolest designed weapons in video games.

DS3 is just another Souls game and the creative bankruptcy shows.

Nice to see BB winning. People know what's up :)

 

[antitrop]

Bloodborne for setting and atmosphere, Dark Souls III for gameplay. DSIII overall.

Bloodborne was great, one of my favorite games of its year, but I thought the health regeneration mechanic was just way, way too forgiving compared to Estus. I almost never ran out of Blood Vials and the game was just much easier than I prefer out of my Souls games. DSIII returned the challenge, so I enjoyed it more.

 

[Deleted member 37928]

Dark Souls 3. I don't like the armor and class system for Bloodborne and I'm also not a fan of the boss design. They all go into a constant "batshit crazy mode" and you mash the evade button to the point where it's almost breaking. I got tired of it after three bosses.

Great visual design though and the weapons were also fun to experiment with.

 

[99humanity]

I'm playing DS3 again after playing the remaster and it's just fantastic. Pleasantly surprised at how active multiplayer still is on PC too. I love Bloodborne but I can always come back to DS3 and be sucked in for hundreds more hours. After NG++ or so in Bloodborne and all of the Chalice dungeons and DLC, I never found a compelling reason to make another character there

 

[Deleted member 4262]

Bloodborne felt like a more unique experience to me, even though it follows the same formula. It's my favourite Souls game in terms of gameplay, setting and aestethic. DS3 felt like more Dark Souls, which is not a bad thing but it isn't a stand-out title in my book.

 

[Ænima]

Bloodborne. DS3 felt like a remix of the previous Souls games with alot of reused weapons and armors is not even my vaforite Dark Souls game. I did enjoyed it but not as much as Bloodborne. Bloodborne felt fresh with a much more fun combat system few but awesome weapons and a artstyle i like even more than the one from the DS series.

 

[diablogg]

I'm playing DS3 again after playing the remaster and it's just fantastic. Pleasantly surprised at how active multiplayer still is on PC too. I love Bloodborne but I can always come back to DS3 and be sucked in for hundreds more hours. After NG++ or so in Bloodborne and all of the Chalice dungeons and DLC, I never found a compelling reason to make another character there

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I'm kind of the opposite. Even though Dark Souls 3 has more active pvp and build variety, this will be my third time playing through the game (with a friend this time) we just got past the Crystal Sage and I'm feeling some major drag. Build variety and active PvP doesn't really help me when the world isn't pulling me in. I loaded up Bloodborne just to show a friend and got sucked into a 40 hour playthrough, even though there's not as much build variety, man that world just beckons to be explored (gone through it 6 times now.)

 

[Zyrox]

While Bloodborne has my favorite aesthetic of the Souls games overall I much prefer DS3. Comes down to the mechanics and certain features. DS3 has:
- better healing system
- better fast travel system
- way more weapon/build variety (this is a big one for me)
- better multiplayer mechanics (also a big one as I love Souls MP)
- ability to respec (also a big advantage, kinda ties in with the weapon/build variety)
- I also prefer the weapon arts overall to the trick weapons


As mentioned, I love Souls MP. Makes the difference between a 50h and a 500h game for me. And DS3 is much better in that regard.

 

[Sid]

Never thought I'd say this but DS3. For some reason I have a hard time not getting tired of Bloodborne early on. It's also the bosses that do it for me -- Nameless King, Twin Princes, Midir and Gael -- some of my favorite bosses in the series.

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Nameless King, Midir and Soul of Cinder are fucking amazing. Dark Souls 3's boss battles are by far the best in the series IMO.

 

[Pascal]

Nameless King, Midir and Soul of Cinder are fucking amazing. The game's boss battles are by far the best in the series IMO.

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It's hard to disagree with this statement.

 

[Deleted member 11370]

Dark Souls 2: Schol... Nah, I'm kidding. I can't even finish that sentence.

Bloodborne is good, but I enjoyed Dark Souls 3 much more.

 

[Batatina]

By far Bloodborne. The lore is more engrossing, the setting fully explored and unlike anything else in videogames, the gameplay is fine-tuned to speed and aggression. Dark Souls 3 felt like it robbed elements from the Bloodborne engine, but the gameplay didn't match that speed, so it was frustrating, the world felt less connected and the extreme darkness didn't suit the fantasy side of the game.

 

[jviggy43]

This isn't even fair tbh. Both are good games but BB is the game of the generation. More original setting and story, better gameplay mechanics, better weapons, better bosses, better locations, better replay ability given chalice dungeons and the fact people are still finding areas that had previously not been found yet. The only thing DS3 has over it is PvP just due to build variety and the number of different covenants.

 

[Deleted member 18347]

Sure, DSIII has 100s of different build possibilities to experiment with, but Bloodborne ditched all that fluff for a few completely unique ones.

To me, the latter results in a more fun and focused game.

Speaking of combat. Ditching shields for parry-focused firearms, fast side step dodges as well as rolling, trick weapons, health regain system that promotes getting back into action as soon as possible... all just cement it as the best Soulsborne game in terms of gameplay.

Now speaking of the story, world and lore within it... DSIII is interesting, but Bloodborne is just beautiful lovecraftian insanity. There's much more to it than the entire Dark Souls trilogy combined... just check the books written about the intrecacies of its lore. From did an excellent job adding their own twist to cosmic horror.

Music...



Dark Souls III has a few memorable tracks but is mostly Sakuraba-style stuff. Bloodborne has one of the best, high quality/production OSTs of this gen.

Then comes monster/boss design. Little details like when you find eyes in pots/jars in Byrgenwerth, how the Shadows of Yharnam fade in from the shadows which is perfrctly fitting of their name, how in the nightmare of mensis stuff gets really weird like dogs with crow heads and vice versa, how the more insight you collect the more you literally hear and see of the world... and that's just a very small sample of all the attention to detail and atmosphere building in the game.

All in all, Dark Souls 3 is a great game that I enjoyed immensely, but it relied a bit on Dark Souls 1 nostalgia and didn't feel like a truly fresh new experience. Its combat was faster, but coming after Bloodborne that speed increase couldn't be fully appreciated. In the end, it is a great game but Bloodborne is an all time masterpiece.

 

[Laughing Banana]

Bloodborne. That's quite nothing like it, in the end the setting for DS3 kinda bores me, unlike Bloodborne.

I also consider Bloodborne's combat as far superior than DS3, especially in the 'feel' of it.

 

[Wagram]

Dark Souls 3 for me. Both are great games, but Bloodborne's base campaign being unbalanceded as it is ruins it for me. If TOH was the entirety of Bloodborne it would be perfection.

 

[Azzanadra]

I'm kind of the opposite. Even though Dark Souls 3 has more active pvp and build variety, this will be my third time playing through the game (with a friend this time) we just got past the Crystal Sage and I'm feeling some major drag. Build variety and active PvP doesn't really help me when the world isn't pulling me in. I loaded up Bloodborne just to show a friend and got sucked into a 40 hour playthrough, even though there's not as much build variety, man that world just beckons to be explored (gone through it 6 times now.)

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This so much.

Of all the Souls games, I have played Dark Souls 6 times, Bloodborne 5 times, Dark Souls 3 and Demon's Souls two times each, and Dark Souls 2 once.

Everyone loves to harp about how Bloodborne has no build variety and Dark Souls 2 has the best build variety, but while I have played Bloodborrne five times, I have played Dark Souls 2 only once. Why? Well not because of build variety certainly, its because Bloodborne is just a fucking masterpiece of a game and I want to play the game again and again to fight the same bosses and run through the same expertly designed levels.

Yet Dark Souls 2, despite having the coveted build variety is a thoroughly mediocre game in every respect. Point is, the ultimate deciding factor of longevity is the quality of the game, I play amazing games many times, mediocre or even just "good" games I don't touch more than once.

Dark Souls 3 is a lot better than Dark Souls 2 granted, but even that 2nd play through I forced myself through because I wanted to play the DLC and I had already gotten to NG+.

 

[impact]

The build variety thing is a myth. There's no point to having 100 weapons when there's only like 4-5 different movesets. It's just one of those fanboy bullet points.

 

[Deleted member 18347]

The build variety thing is a myth. There's no point to having 100 weapons when there's only like 4-5 different movesets. It's just one of those fanboy bullet points.

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Different strokes for different folks.

Some love all the loot and having immense variety even if most of it is an illusion. Quantity over quality. Others love an experience that gets rid of all that unnecessary padding and focuses on a few quality features.

Miyazaki and co know whats up and so apparently Sekiro is even much more focused than Bloodborne, completey ditching any pretense of being an Action RPG and going for straight Action instead.

 

[1er tigre]

Both are amazing games. I'll give the edge to bloodborne but I think dark souls 3 is vastly underrated. Why didn't it get more goty in 2016 is a mistery.

 

[99humanity]

The build variety thing is a myth. There's no point to having 100 weapons when there's only like 4-5 different movesets. It's just one of those fanboy bullet points.

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There's way more than 4-5 different move sets, that is an insane downward exaggeration. Ton of the boss weapons alone have unique move sets

 

[Rat King]

Dark Souls III felt like a greatest hits of the Souls games, with recycled areas, enemies and themes. Bloodborne is so unique in its setting and lore that makes it, in my opinion, one of the greatest games ever made.

 

[Neo0mj]

The build variety thing is a myth. There's no point to having 100 weapons when there's only like 4-5 different movesets. It's just one of those fanboy bullet points.

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While weapons within the same group do have the same moveset, there's more than just 5 kinds of weapons and many of them have unique attacks and abilities, as well as a one handed and two handed moveset. Spells, miracles, and hexes add another layer to build variety as well.

If you want to dock points from a game for flaws make sure to research them first before opening your mouth and making yourself look ignorant.

 

[~Fake]

BB. Bloodborne was my first soul game, and I can't forget how good the game was. What I feel in that game is unbelievable. The soundtrack, the gloomy stages, I swear I never wanted the game to end. For that reason he stand in my 1rd GOAT.
EDIT: Its impossible to forget the final boss stage + soundtrack. Man... how they made this game?

 

[dlauv]

Dark Souls III. Far more depth to the gameplay. Multiple weapon types, shields, ranged weapons, magic, weapon arts.

The gun sucks ass in Bloodborne. And you have to farm bullets and blood vials, and it sucks.

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Yeah, this basically. Chalice Dungeons being the worst shit ever and Online in DS3 being great are good to add to this list too.

 

[Deimo5]

DS3 may have better build variety but I only felt like playing through it once.
I dug the changes in BB, especially the quickstep so I didn't have to roll around everywhere like a weirdo. Mage characters were never particularly fun to me in these games so didn't mind that limitation. Also it has the whirligig saw.

 

[Gestahl]

recycled areas

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In Bloodborne this is literally a bulletpoint feature

 

[TransEuropaExpress]

Bloodborne

I actually didn't even finish Dark Souls III and the first one is quite possibly my favorite game of all time. If I hadn't spent such an enormous amount of time with Demon's, Dark 1 and Bloodborne prior, I would've loved it, but I had been playing these games nonstop for years at that point and I simply think DSIII took the recycling a step too far. It's objectively a beautiful and well done game that plays great but I just could never shake that Dark Souls: Greatest Hits feeling of having done it all before several times.

I get that it's partially just series fatigue and not the game's fault and that the series kind of recycle itself in each iteration but man, DSIII definitely took it too far for me. I dropped it about 70% in or so because I want to eventually go back to it in a few years in hopes of enjoying it for what it is.

Bloodborne on the other hand felt really fresh and extremely exciting to me. It also happens to be basically all the shit I've ever wanted in one game combined.

My order would be (all top 3 are masterpieces as far as I'm concerned):

1. Dark Souls
2. Bloodborne
3. Demon's Souls
4. Dark Souls III
.
.
.
.
.
100. Dark Souls II

 

[Master Alucard]

if i have to pick one for pvp i'll pick dark souls 3, for solo/coop absolutely bloodborne
so i guess bloodborne

 

[Deleted member 18347]

BB. Bloodborne was my first soul game, and I can't forget how good the game was. What I feel in that game is unbelievable. The soundtrack, the gloomy stages, I swear I never wanted the game to end. For that reason he stand in my 1rd GOAT.
EDIT: Its impossible to forget the final boss stage + soundtrack. Man... how they made this game?

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When Gehrman stands up for the first time, as the first hunter who created the hunter's guild, introducing and sporting the very first trick weapon which resembles a death scythe.

"Tonight... Gehrman joins the hunt"

The fight starts and Gehrman is this limping old man who's clearly way beyond his prime. Yet when you get close enough you can see how quick he is with his weapon, an indication of how fearsome he must've been in his youth.

Along with the soundtrack, and the boss stage design. Is one of the best final boss settings I've ever experienced.

Without a doubt Bloodborne had much more thought put into every aspect of it than DSIII.

 

[Deleted member 3897]

Bloodborne.

Such an easy question.

 

[CloudWolf]

Since I have no PS4, I guess Dark Souls 3 wins by default. I would really love to play BB one day, though.