Made it to Father. That's it for today.
Changing it so that sometimes your blood/souls aren't a stain to pick up but contained within a monster you have to beat is...genius. Like, damn. So if you lose your souls you might have to fight the very monster that killed you which makes you play even better because there's so much more at risk if you die. Wow.
The level design is nothing short of superb. It feels like it's more open than Dark Souls. In Dark Souls you had shortcuts but they often had specific requirements like needing specific keys. The level design here is more like Demon's. Often in Dark Souls the world can feel very linear because it's a straight trek and you've got bonfires. Here, there's only one bonfire in this area, the lamp, and you need to unlock shortcuts within the area to progress. For instance, in Undead Burg in DkS1 you need to get a key so you can go down that staircase and down into the village where you fight the assassins on the way to Capra. Or that locked sewer on the way to Undead Burg. In BB, you have one massive area with lots of shortcuts to unlock. It feels more massive and open than Dark Souls to me. I don't know if it's artificial or what.
The encounter design is classic From Soft.
Somehow I feel more powerful than in Sekiro despite less options. I feel so COOL doing stuff like this.
Speaking of which, BB is a very unique and fantastic parry system. Tying it to a resource (bullets)? Even better. Interrupting a attack you read with your gun, and then parrying is so, fucking satisfying.
The combat might be more satisfying than Sekiro.
The world building is incredible. After Sekiro having a talking protagonist and the world/story fed to you I now find that to be a mistake despite how much I enjoy it. It's so refreshing putting the puzzle pieces together individually with this game. "Where am I?" "What the fuck am I?" "What's a hunter and what do they hunt?" "Why are people locked in houses treating me like this?" "What is that doll?" I love how each individual question gets incrementally answered. I love that minimalist story telling and From Soft surprises me in how good they are in still telling stories in that manner.
The atmosphere is
I think I might end up liking this more than Sekiro which shocks me. This entire time I avoided BB thinking it wouldn't be something for me and I'm kicking myself for doing so.
I've my blood into HP so far to give me some extra leeway. Maybe concentrate on strength next. Not sure what the point of Skill is.
I love this game.