You know that song by Three Days Grace? The one that goes, "I hate everything about you. Why do I still love you?" I hate that song... but yeah, that's Bloodborne. It's frustratingly hard, yet I can't stop playing. It's visuals are grotesque, but I find them hauntingly beautiful. I want to throw my controller through a screen, set my PS4 on fire, and punch the developers in the face... but I can't stop playing.
And nothing epitomizes this more than Bloodborne's newest DLC, The Old Hunters. This is by far the hardest Bloodborne has ever been. This nightmarish landscape takes the areas you once knew and flips them on their head. Instead of the beasts that once roamed the land, you are now faced with taking down evil Hunters, all equipped with weapons that will demolish your health from both near and afar. But that's not to say there aren't any monsters. In fact, they're more disgusting than ever. LIke the giant spider ticks that spit blood. Yeah, you read that right. You'll even find yourself facing down the much hated fan favorite, the Blood Starved Beast, again. Except this time he ISN'T a boss. He's just a regular monster. Just sitting there... Mocking you.
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While normally I find DLC small and utterly lacking in content, The Old Hunters is pretty darn impressive. The expansion brings in 10 new weapons and four new bosses. And what really lengthens the experience is the ego crippling difficulty. To be honest, I never found Bloodborne SUPER difficult. Yes, it was hard, but it wasn't the hardest of the Souls series of games. The Old Hunters fixes this. Now this might be because I jumped into the new DLC immediately after starting up in New Game +, but after trying SEVERAL dozens of times, I STILL haven't taken down the first boss of the DLC. I've had to watch other people play through the game to continue forming my impressions, and it appears that after the first boss, the game only gets HARDER. I’m so looking forward to that.
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After my utter defeat, I decided to work my way through the original content again in an effort to strengthen my character before taking on The Old Hunters again. I found myself breezing through that old content like it was nothing. Several bosses in and several levels later, I threw myself at the first boss of the DLC again. And again. And again. It didn't help. But I don't care. In fact, I love Bloodborne for this very reason. It is unforgiving. It is painful. But when I FINALLY take down that boss (and I WILL take down that boss), it will be one of the most rewarding experiences I've had in video gaming.
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And that's why people play Bloodborne. The feeling of satisfaction you get by winning. That's why this DLC is easily worth the price. If you enjoyed Bloodborne and haven't picked this up yet, do so now. It's everything you love and then some.
