Bloodborne: Blood Moon Rising

You awaken in an afflicted city overrun by beasts and frenzied denizens. Shortly after your arrival, you are prompted to create a protagonist using a robust customization tool, and begin “The Hunt.” Blissfully unaware of the fury of the Blood Moon's minions, lurking around every dark corner.

Inspired by Lovecraft and Bram Stalker lore, Bloodborne takes place in a fictional Gothic city of Yharnam: A sprawling metropolis filled with murderous beast and the occult; a perfect backdrop for a third-person hack-and-slash game.

Hope you got your monster slayer garb ready, because this game will bust you up.

The nature of the affliction slowly reveals itself as you progress deeper into the mystery that is Yharnam and The Hunt. Bloodborne is one of those games that encourages exploration and trial from the get go: not much is given in the form of a tutorial, with numerous tricks of the trade remaining out of sight. This may be frustrating to some players, yet gels seemingly within the massive world that invites exploration.

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Visually, Bloodborne is stunning. All its Gothic structures are greatly detailed, spooky, and quickly capture the eye with brooding, massive vistas. Spacious courtyards, spiraling staircases, church steeples, gargoyle-adorned rooftops, unsettling statues/coffins, creepy basements, a dusty creaky library, and a spooky castle – all the horror backdrops are present and accounted for, draped with a layer of creepiness unseen since the first Silent Hill game.

Naturally, certain areas need longer loading times, thus adding, much despised hangups between revival times and monster slaying – meaning you'll have a bit longer to reconsider your failing approach. To ease progress, every main area is interconnected by elevators, gates, or portals. Which is great, because in a hardcore game such as this one, skipping tricky parts after completing them is a blessing, and saves much hustle when backtracking or grinding in specific areas.

Some of the levels do fall into repetitive patterns from time to time, blending many of the richly detailed backgrounds into scrolling panoramas of dark perversion. This limited colour palette creates a very foreboding atmosphere fitting a game such as this one, and the sheer variety of locations trumps any noticeable repetitive visual nuances  encountered in some of the levels. The random generated side-quest dungeons provide an additional challenge to glory seekers, and a spiffy online mode allows other players to join and hinder, or help, in your adventure. Mint. 

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I hear you whisper, "What are grandiose vistas without crawling critters of the night?" Well, you're in muck, if there was such a thing as a mad-house filled with numerically marked cells housing all manner of horrific beast, Bloodborne's designers have the key. And they forgot to lock the gate! Anyone who had the [dis]pleasure of playing the excellent board game Arkham Horror, will find Blodborne's brood familiar (if not similar). You want details? Not gonna happen, my frenzy buildup is at its maximum from overexposure to creepy things from beyond...

Many weapons can be utilized and equipped in either hand. Not only is this dual-wielding feature wicked, it has purpose, as most enemies can be countered mid-move with a well-placed bullet, leaving a opening to a gruesome finisher, or a flurry of attacks. Luck favours the prepared, therefore sticking with a fave weapon is recommended. And sensible, since weapons, just like the protagonist him/herself, require the use of specific gathered skillpoints/items to level up. The drawback being, you need to main only a couple of weapons, at about the halfway point of the game.

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The game's developers have a bit of a twisted humour too, allowing you only one save slot and setting the game to auto save at all times (no redoes here). And – my fave – no pause! (Really amusing when my four-month-old decides to wake up for a late night feeding.) The game is no mere walk in the moonlight. Studying and memorising attack patters needs to become second nature, as every piece of ground gained tests nerves and patience. Luckily, the control is responsive and never cumbersome. If you die (and you will), it's because your reflexes failed you. Or you may need to pick a better slaying tool for the task ahead.

Barbaric instinct? Grab an axe/flack-cannon.
Speed's the game? Equip a sword/rapier.
Is trickery and deception your way? How about a whip-cane!

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Bloodborne absorbs many tired-and-true tropes from numerous titles of yore and blends 'em all seamlessly:sprawling levels, monstrous enemies, inventive bosses, mysterious trinkets, and strategic approach to combat. The game's atmosphere pulls you into a rich tapestry of Lovecraftian universe infused with a unique Gothic spell. And embraces you with a symphonic soundtrack adding another layer of magic, absorbing you farther into an already captivating work of memorable gamecraft.

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Unrelenting in its onslaught and wickedness; hardcore players rejoice, this title will engulf you. Be on guard, the gaping maw of the abyss is always greedy for new flesh. I wish you many quick revives.

Bloodborne gets five blood vials out of ... ! ... YEARGHHHHHHHHH! Hhh ... ... ...

“We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far.” -- The Horror in Clay, H. P. Lovecraft. 

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Frankenstein: Delightful Vortex of Ire

A poet by the name of Lord Byron was curious about who out of his friends could write a better horror story, to everyone's surprise the winner turned out to be 18-year-old Mary Shelley.

It's been almost two centuries since Mary Shelley first anonymously published Frankenstein; and a good thing she did, because without the blazing trail of this Modern Prometheus, latter sci-fi offerings would suffer monstrously--pun intended.

Much to the likeness of Dracula by Bram Stoker, the story of Victor Frankenstein is written in a series of letters by explorer Captain Robert Walton, to his sister, Margaret Walton. The book is split into three parts. The beginning of the book introduces Captain Walton's narrative: a man who comes across the stranded and near dead, Victor Frankenstein in the North Pole region.

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After the rescue, Victor begins to recover from his wounds and gradually narrates to Captain Walton about his accursed creation, and why he has pursued it to the desolate lands of North Pole.

'You seek knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you.'

Written with imaginative and affluent flair, the story of Frankenstein and his monster, is as much about the folly of unchecked passion, as it is about the very nature of what it is to be human. To become much more than his predecessors, the studious Victor dedicates himself to the exuberant task of exploring the mysteries of creation through the use of Chemistry. The triumph of his labours: animated by the lightning, an eight feet tall deformity the (nameless) monster.

The exact steps of the monster's creation are left ambiguous, leaving the reader to come to his/her own conclusion. It is what happens after the lifeless matter gets activated that matters. Repulsed by the toils of his labour, Victor condemns the demon he has created, leaving the monster to wonder the lands confused and alone.

'It is with considerable difficulty that I remember the original era of my being: all the events of that period appear confused and indistinct. A strange multiplicity of sensations seized me; and it was a long time before I learned how to distinguish between operation of my various senses.'

With this statement the monster begins to recall his origins and gradual ascension to awareness. This part of the book is unique because it gives the reader a fresh perspective on perceptions of becoming mature through understanding. But unlike a loved human child, the monster's efforts to join the human race are spurned by hateful spite and violence. And this in turn poisons the well that is the beast's yearning for friendship.

What comes after is not too surprising; in his sad exile, the monster concocts and idea: he demands of his creator a concubine in the likes of his original creation. Despite promising the monster a companion, Victor does not create another being. This action enrages the monster prompting him to extract great vengeance onto Victor, tearing away from him all he holds dear and sacred.

Mary Shelly had a keen eye for detail, reverence of nature, and great interest in supernatural forces. With these three characteristics she has crafted an enduring tale of scientific passion, wondrous natural wonders flooded with panoramic Gothic imagery, and a touch of occult art. Frankenstein has inspired a whole genre of horror and sci-fi fiction writers and artists. Like a being born from a passionate mind, this novel is one of a kind.

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One of my favourite artistic visions of the famed monster--Darkstalkers rule!