LogFAQs > #938246673

3H is a good GOTY contender (if not my personal pick), Nier Automata is a legit Game of the Decade contender but has been covered by others so I'll go with...

Bloodborne.

In my opinion it is another legitimate contender for Game of the Decade, enough so that it made my nomination list. It's generally lumped in with Demon/Dark Souls as "Soulsborne" and for good reason but it was actually my entry point to the series and remains my favorite of them so far (it inspired me to play Dark Souls I and II which were both excellent games and III which I'm actually currently playing.)

It's an Action RPG with a heavy emphasis on the action. The setting is basically a kind of Victorian London-ish area that is under assault by various supernatural creatures like werewolves, cultists, ogres, etc. and you fight your way through it while trying to determine what the hell is happening.

The atmosphere is absolutely top-notch and the combat is incredible once you get a hang of it. The choice in weapons is incredibly expansive and they all have a "trick" form which is usually a crazy awesome version of the base weapon with a different moveset. For example you have a starter weapon in the Threaded Cane which in its base form is well... pretty much a cane that you wield somewhat like a sword but in trick form it becomes a whipsword. Transition to and from these forms is a simple button press and can be seamlessly integrated in combat (in fact switching between them in combat comes with a special attack move so you can work it into combos.) You have the Sword of Mercy which is wielded as a single sword in base but can be split into two smaller swords in trick form for lightning fast dual-wielding strikes. And these are more normal-ish weapons! You've got some truly creative ones in there as well. You also wield a gun which while you can spec for damage dealing is usually used for interrupting and parrying enemy attacks by shooting them while they're in their attack animation which can render them vulnerable to critical attacks. Evading damage is generally dodging or just staying out of range as you wait for an opening to punish the opponent. It can be a bit of a steep learning curve if it's your first foray into this type of game but it's very rewarding to learn and is almost always fair even when it seems impossible at first. Learning enemy attack patterns and movesets and how to handle/capitalize on them is incredibly rewarding and often more effective than actual levelling!

The story/lore isn't really told to you directly. It's something you have to delve into on your own by piecing together item descriptions, dialogue, and some notes you find scattered throughout the world. If you're here just for the combat then you don't have to worry about it taking up your time but if you want to explore that side of things it's actually very fascinating and well done IMO.

Legitimate 10/10 game in my mind and giving it a try was one of the best gaming decisions I made this gen.

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