Sony

The Old Hunters DLC can be broken down into this quote by H.P. Lovecraft, “All life is only a set of pictures in the brain, among which there is no difference between those born of real things and those born of inward dreamings.”

The setting of this takes place during the heyday of the hunt, when the dream was merely at the sunset of the world. The reason for this is due to wanting knowledge, the basis of the church and the longing for an impetus-filled life.  Whereas the main game handles the consequential creations of both parties, the DLC focuses on the causation and causality of their actions throughout the game. But does FromSoft truly deliver upon the emergence of this narrative and thematics? Spoiler: Of course it does, but I have a quota, so just hear me out and listen to me yap for the next 3 paragraphs.

The combat remains the same with a few tweaks to your arsenal and bosses. The weapons feel more granular and flex the creative muscles of Miyazaki and Co. Some of my favorite weapons come from the DLC, feeling more like the Final Fantasy series. I think the Victorian aesthetic props up their designs of them as well. The other part of the latter is its bosses. Even though they aren’t as numerous, their quality and difficulty transcend the first two Souls games. Between Maria, Ludwig, and even the Orphan of Kos are some of the best fights within all of gaming; they also serve as great revelations to the lore (if you care about it) and philosophies that FromSoftware approaches with the next games. Former writer for the Nerdist, Samantha Sofka, believes it is worth every penny.

“The mechanics and style of gameplay remain unrivaled, while the variety of new weapons, gear, and new bosses, and gear shakes things up. It makes the game well worth coming back to,” Sofka said.

Unfortunately, the graphics did remain the same, but the art style of the game added to the allure of Bloodborne. Between the set pieces delving even deeper into the Lovecraftian mythology. Between the clocktower of Lady Maria and the Fishing Village, they experiment with colour palettes and architectural designs, they just transcend what was established in the main game. The asset work is so good with each area, character, and weapon feeling so smooth, even with the not as good FPS. Stylistically they do reuse a lot of the areas, but I think they do a good enough job of enemy placement and the placement and usage of those assets to make them feel fresh.

Overall, I enjoyed this DLC.. I think the implicative storytelling and the prequel of Bloodborne give a great basis and feel for this part of the game. The bosses are truly breathtaking, and rival some of the rest of the series to this day. The end of the DLC serves as a connection to the main endings of the game, acceptance. 

Hopefully, this quote by the man himself, H.P. Lovecraft, captures the meaning of this game, and the moral of your own: “It is easy to remove the mind from harping on the lost illusion of immortality. The disciplined intellect fears nothing and craves no sugar-plum at the day’s end, but is content to accept life and serve society as best it may.”