Watch six gory minutes of Bloodborne in action

By Will Fulton August 21, 2014

watch six gory minutes bloodborne action crow — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Sony has shared the Gamescom demo of Bloodborne, the PlayStation 4-exclusive action RPG from Dark Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki.

Check out six and half minutes of monster-hacking action as the game’s unnamed protagonist, looking for all the world like Vampire Hunter D, eviscerates monsters of increasing size throughout a drab, Victorian city.

Unlike the measured, defensive combat of Dark Souls, Bloodborne‘s action is a little faster and more aggressive, but no less visceral. The video shows off various weapons as it progresses, including the previously-revealed switchblade “saw cleaver”, dual wielded with a pistol, and a much larger poleaxe. As a nice touch of realism, the protagonist’s coat appears to be increasingly soaked with blood as the fighting goes on.

Related: Bloodborne dips deep in the well of Dark Souls (preview)

While From Software has not yet revealed the particulars, the studio has hinted at some form of multiplayer feature, which appears to come in at the end of the video when another character, similarly armed and dressed to the protagonist, steps in to help defeat the lumbering Cleric Beast.

Bloodborne will make its way exclusively to PS4 on March 31, 2015.

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Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…

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A boss fight in Armored Core 6.

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Best Armored Core 6 weapons

Vvvc-774LS Laser Slicer
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VP-60LCS Laser Cannon
If you need an early shoulder-mounted laser weapon, the VP-60LCS is a great one you can pick up in Chapter 1. They do decent damage, but the real usefulness comes in their staggering ability. Their rate of fire is essentially as fast as you can pull the trigger, and without a need to reload, you can rely on them whenever you need to so long as you don't overheat.
DF-GA-08-HU-BEN Gatling Gun
Sometimes we just want to hold down the trigger and make our problems go away. That's what Gatling guns are for, and this one ranks among the best. Each round will obviously do little damage, but with 1,300 rounds to chew through, not much can hold out against its sustained fire. Having one or two of these in your hands to follow up after stunning enemies with a laser weapon results in the perfect combo.
Songbirds Grenade Cannon
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BML-G1/P07VTC-12 Vertical Missile Launcher
We couldn't close out a list of best weapons without a missile launcher, could we? For your money, this model is king. This shoulder-mounted weapon of mass destruction houses 12 missiles in its case that are ready to track your targets down, even behind cover and around obstacles. Just lock on to up to a dozen targets and let the missiles do the work from there.

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A dragon in Elden Ring.

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Granted, as the grandfather of Soulslikes, FromSoftware simply knows its way around the genre like no other. And by maintaining extremely similar gameplay mechanics, controls, and UI elements across each game, the studio ensures that its games, though not directly connected, remain familiar to fans who have played previous entries in the series. The most consistent thing of all, though, is the consistently challenging combat and exploration, which has defined the series since the beginning and is often the most-cited reason players flock to the games.