By From a dark reality, I wake into an even more terrible dream. Scattered instruments meant to heal, they now serve some butcher’s purpose. Dark blood and useless victims litter the clinic. Silent as a grave. This nightmare couldn’t get worse. But then I see the Scourge Beast’s glowing eyes.
And that’s how I entered Yharnam: alone, confused, and threatened. My plight rarely improved unless I beckoned another hunter. Unless that hunter turned out to be a Vileblood adversary. Or a sinister infiltrator. Bastards. But in time, I did manage to uncover some of this city’s dark past, while always hoping to escape it, to transcend it.
The game’s lore is layered–a game story within larger events. An enigma with back-story questions left unanswered at the game’s finish. This nightmare begins when the Old Blood was discovered in the tombs beneath the city. Notes and flashbacks reveal that a hunger for knowledge and a desire to evolve into another type of being leads to horrible results. Now, corrupted citizens prowl the streets and buildings as bloodthirsty and tormented creatures. And somewhere–in another plane of existence?–the Great Ones lurk.
Did I enjoy my NG (New Game) play through? Yes. The chalice dungeons felt tacked on, but they were fun to experience. Didn’t much care for arcane attacks (I typically play a magic user), but they weren’t terrible. A couple of game-ending crashes. But would I recommend this game? Absolutely. And with time permitting and one NG+ later, I’ll be alone, only slightly less confused, and even more threatened than before in Yharnam’s dark streets.
