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

[entremet]

In the past few months I've been on a Souls frenzy. I finally beat Bloodborne, being very late to the party. I then tackled Dark Souls: Remastered for some nostalgia. And recently beat Dark Souls III. I still need to play the divisive DSII, but I've been saving that one for last.

I played a lot of Bloodborne before playing DSIII, so it took time getting used the systems. I missed regain mechanic. However, DSIII is speedier than the original. Fighting my first Lothric Knight was awesome. I continued throughout the game and it felt very familiar, not in a bad way. The fan service was rather cool. And I loved the variety of play styles, something I missed from Bloodborne. There are Bloodtinge and Arcane builds for more variety, but the build variety still pales in comparison to DSIII.

DSIII's level design is also top notch. BB is no slouch here either, but I found more of the DSIII environments more interesting to explore.

DSIII has better bosses overall, but BB has some of my favorite Soul boss encounters.

DSIII is slightly harder overall, while BB is top heavy. Outside of the DLC bosses and some annoying bosses like ROM, I was not having too much trouble with the bosses in BB. Playing BB made me a better Souls player in general since it rewards a more aggressive play style. I was a turtling type in Demon's and DS. BB helped me break bad habits.

Both are beautiful games. And Dark Souls III offers 60FPS for PC gamers. But I think BB has the edge here, but mostly due to the beautiful art direction. Places like the Upper Cathedral Ward are just sublime. DSIII is no slouch either, but the thematic consistency of BB really shines.

Maybe it's recency bias, but I give the slight edge to DSIII. The bigger environments, the variety of play, the PvP, more consistent boss encounters. We were blessed to two very high quality Miyazaki Souls games this generation.

Although not a traditional Souls game, I am intrigued at Miyazaki's take on action adventure with Sekiro. The man has given us 2 masterpieces this generation already. I trust his direction with Sekiro.

 

[BWoog]

Bloodborne. The environments and gameplay blow DS3 out of the water for me.

 

[Vela]

I personally loved Dark Souls 3 more due to the amazing environmental aesthetics. But I also feel biased towards the apocalyptic dark fantasy than the Lovecraftian Victorian aesthetic.

 

[Spinky]

I'm currently playing through DS3 and am pretty close to finishing. Great game, possibly my favourite DS, but it doesn't touch Bloodborne in most areas. Partly because BB does a lot of what DS3 tries to do but better, and it felt a bit more "fresh" even though it still has the DNA of DS/Demon's. I'm biased towards BB because the setting/aesthetic is more my thing, though.

I don't think there's a massive difference in quality between either.

 

[xenocide]

I like DS3 better. Bloodborne has the potential to be the greatest Souls-like game, but as seems to be the case with most From games, they just didn't have enough time to fully develop them.

 

[R.T Straker]

It really deppends what you're looking for or enjoy more.

They may share similarities but they're both quite diffrent in many ways.

 

[Deleted member 2834]

Bloodborne, but honestly, Dark Souls 3 is insanely good and probably the second best game in the series. Its somewhat uneuphoric reception 2016 was 100% down to Souls fatigue and nothing else.

 

[RockmanBN]

I just prefer DS3 for the setting. I don't care the Victorian era look of Bloodborne.

 

[joylevel11]

both are great but i'd go with bloodborne. i just enjoy the combat way more and love the whole cosmic horror/lovecraft thing it has going on.

 

[Blade Wolf]

Bloodborne overall has a more unique and inspired setting, the atmosphere and art direction is also quite a bit better. Dark Souls III on the other hand is a lot more fun to play and offers way more variety and depth than Bloodborne. In the end I would say that Bloodborne is a better art work while Dark Souls III is a better game.

This is Bloodborne

This is Dark Souls III

 

[Horp]

Bloodborne.
The setting and faster paces combat wins over the greater build variety and more varied environments/encounters of Dark souls 3.

 

[Deleted member 12833]

Bloodborne. Better combat, better world, better art direction, better level design, better bossses, better dlc. Chalice dungeons were awesome too

DS3 got better online though

 

[Truant]

Cosmic horror wins by default.

 

[signal]

Bloodborne in general but it could use less flailing screaming monster bosses.

Also the larger weapons need more hyper armor.

 

[kennyamr]

Bloodborne because of the setting.
The art design, character design, the mystery surrounding the world, the lore itself, in my opinion, is what makes Bloodborne so great.
Of course, gameplay reigns supreme, but what separates BB from the rest is how beautiful and terrifying it is.

 

[Carlius]

Bloodborne is by far the better game in all aspects, including difficulty. DS3 was not good honestly.

 

[Jawbreaker]

Bloodborne because I like the art direction/enemy design, music, trick weapons, and atmosphere more. I'm also a sucker for cosmic horror.

I still love Dark Souls III, though.

 

[Minilla]

Both great games but BB is just on another level . It's that simple. Cos of the combat

Bosses better in BB too.

 

[Kolx]

BB and it's not even close. The best DS game is 1 easily and BB is better than even that one (both are GOAT material).

 

[Ceadeus]

Bloodborne does every thing right for my taste, it's pretty much superb.

But I always prefered the more classic knight style approach of dark souls. With Steel armor, sword and shield.

 

[Bartend3r]

My heart is torned by this question. I love both but Bloodborne is a small step ahead. The art direction is unbeatable and I'm more fond of the battle system.

Juggernaut games though. Love em.

 

[SK4TE]

More options in Dark Souls in terms of loadout and build but Bloodborne had the better environment and bosses.

 

[Couscous]

Bloodborne is GOAT tier while Dark Souls 3 is "just" great. The combat in Bloodborne is better because of the unique trick weapons and guns instead of generic swords and shields. Yarnham and its surroundings feel like one place and have the same cool atmosphere throughout the game with the exception of Cainhurst Castle, but that area isn't in Yarnham itself. Dark Souls 3 and the other souls game don't feel as cohesive imo. Both game have a lot of great bosses and a few meh bosses.

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

Bloodbrone wins for me, the atmosphere, story, and gameplay are just out of this world.

The only reason Souls 3 might be better for me is that I can play it on PC so 60fps becomes a reality.

 

[Courage]

Bloodborne felt more inspired from its Lovecraftian aesthetic and gothic horror influences to the fundamental changes in combat, favoring a more aggressive play style.

It's also my first Souls game so of course it's more memorable to me. Dark Souls III might honestly be the weakest Souls game I've played.

 

[TheInfinityGauntlet]

Bloodborne

Better combat, more interesting bosses and locations, much better music

 

[Apenheul]

For me it's Bloodborne, but I can see how it's Dark Souls 3 for others. I think it depends on the type of gamer you are and what you look for in games. I play almost 40 games per year across a variety of genres so I don't really replay games that often. I think to fully appreciate Dark Souls 3 and all its complexity you need to go through the game multiple times with multiple builds, try different strategies and approaches, while Bloodborne is a much less complex and generally easier (if you don't try to 100% game) and I can appreciate the gameplay and the lore without committing myself to really dive deep into the game.

 

[Deleted member 2145]

this is a toss up tbh

 

[Matsukaze]

I love both games, but Bloodborne's setting and aesthetics were more captivating. I also found the boss fights in Bloodborne to be, on average, more memorable and exciting than DSIII.

 

[Artdayne]

Dark Souls 3 probably. I think the difficulty curve is better, more build variety, with the DLC the bosses match up just as well to Bloodborne. I dislike blood vials, chalice dungeons, and 30 FPS.

 

[Elandyll]

The setting of DS doesn't interest me one bit, specially in contrast of BB, so right from the start, for me, BB wins.

 

[Snormy]

Bloodborne

I feel it has stronger style and the cosmic horror is more to my liking. While I agree on the lack of build diversity and weapon distribution balance is questionable at best, Chalice Dungeons and blood gems are a bit of a chore I still love the designs of the trick weapons. The complete almost complete disregard for guarding and the limited parry is also something I like a lot. On the PvP front while I somewhat do miss covenants for variety I do not miss how easy DS backstabs were nor do I like having weapons or spells locked behind covenant ranks.

Transforming weapons is like a fetish I never knew I had until Bloodborne came along and gave me so many of them. Now its hard to go back.

 

[XL Hoodie]

Any Dark Souls. More variety in playstyles. I played through Bloodborne twice with 2 different builds and they both felt the same. Farming blood vials isn't fun. Neither is watching the exact same backstab animation with every weapon.

 

[BlakeofT]

Dark souls 3 for me and it's not even close. It has way more variety in the gameplay and I like the locations more as well.

 

[entremet]

Dark Souls 3 probably. I think the difficulty curve is better, more build variety, with the DLC the bosses match up just as well to Bloodborne. I dislike blood vials, chalice dungeons, and 30 FPS.

Click to shrink...

Chalice Dungeons were so lame. That was biggest letdown of BB.

 

[Bjones]

Have to say DS3 but BB is a very close second. BB is like a ds3 light. Equipment and stats don't matter nearly as much as it does in DS. Coop summons was a pain. Also in BB is a lot easier just to run past all the enemies. It's over all a much easier game except for the DLC which is what brought it up to second place for me.

 

[diablogg]

For me Bloodborne wins out in some of my favorite areas. Vibes for one. Bloodborne's vibes are unsettling, my goodness seeing that world after Rom the Vacuous Spider was truly mind blowing. The OST in the game is easily the greatest of any of the souls games, Hunter's Dream, many epic boss themes (Ludwig, Gehrman, Lady Maria, Laurence, the First Vicar, so many...), Upper Cathedral Ward. Lastly the story and lore, I was actually able to follow most of it in this game and it is a haunting tale. It seems like the most direct story From has ever told, unlike Dark Souls 1/3 where I've played a few times and I honestly still don't get 1/20th of what's going on in that story. (Also trick weapons are way more to my liking and the rally mechanic makes combat better to me.)

 

[BossAttack]

Dark Souls 3. And, it isn't even a competition

+ Better build variety.
+ Better armors.
+ Better difficulty curve/bosses. BB is much too easy.
+ Actually unique boss weapons that doesn't require grinding Blood Echoes.
+ Estus is greater than grinding blood vials.
+ Rolling is better than dodging.
+ More diverse locations.
+ MAGIC!
+ More diverse boss fights.
+ 1080p @ 60 FPS. No Chromatic Aberration.
+ Abyss Watchers.

 

[Deleted member 41933]

It goes like this:
Bloodborne = Demon's Souls > Dark Souls 3 > Dark Souls > Dark Souls 2

 

[ClarkusDarkus]

Bloodborne is the better first playthrough, Dark Souls 3 has the better replay value.

Also Bloodborne has Ludwig...

 

[MrConbon210]

I never played Dark Souls 1 or 2 so Bloodborne wins because I could understand the lore.

I have no fucking idea what happend in Dark Souls 3. Something about a flame or something. Places like Anor Lando (spelling?) were lost on me because I didn't have that connection.

 

[Spinky]

Tbh, at the end of the day the game with Ludwig and Lady Maria wins.

 

[Blade Wolf]

Nah fam

Dark Souls > Demon's Souls = Bloodborne > Dark Souls 3 > Dark Souls 2

 

[Sapo84]

If we only consider the single player experience BB and it's not even close.
If we also factor the online DS III gets closer, but I still think BB is the better game.

Main reasons are that BB high are much higher than DS III, Gherman, Lady Maria, Orphan of Kos, Ludwig, there are no bosses in DSIII that are at that level (Gael is fantastic though, it's a shame that you can turtle behind a shield and make it a cakewalk).
Same is also true for level design, Yharnam is by far the best level in all soulsborne games, I feel that there are no area in DSIII that come close to that.

Another reason is that BB feels unique, you don't have the same old weapons with the same old moveset with some minor addition and a (mostly useless) weapon art attached.
Art direction is also new and fresh.

Also, subjectively, I vastly prefer BB combat system.

 

[Deleted member 4976]

Bloodborne quite easily for me.

World, atmosphere, combat, bosses, lore. Those are some of the areas I put a large importance on in Souls games and BB excels in them.

 

[Fisty]

BB. Way better atmosphere, more focused progression, better maps, sense of discovery, better OST, better bosses, amazing lore, combat is better...

Dark Souls 3 is great. BB is GOTG-level though

 

[RPGam3r]

DSIII has better build variety, which is why I pick all Souls games over Bloodborne. That cake picture someone posted is very accurate.

 

[Calibro]

DSIII > Bloodborne solely because playing a souls game in unstable 30 fps is painful to me. If Bloodborne was stable 60 it would win.

 

[Neo0mj]

The one that runs at 4K, 60+ FPS, no frame stuttering, and no chromatic aberration.

 

[entremet]

One thing that BB struggles with. At least for me, is the replay value due to the limited build options. I tried replaying twice, but it was feeling too similar. That said that first play though was a revelation. BB definitely had higher highs.I can see myself replaying DSIII for a while due to the build variety and approaches.