By I wake into an even more terrible dream. Scattered medical tools instruments now serve some butcher’s purpose. The victims of dark experiments litter the clinic. It’s as silent as a grave. This nightmare couldn’t get worse. But then I spot 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. This nightmare began when the zealous discovered the Old Blood inside the tombs beneath the city. Notes and flashbacks reveal an unsatisfied hunger for knowledge and a mistaken desire to evolve into…into something else. Now, corrupted citizens prowl the streets 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 a little tacked on, but they are fun. Would I recommend this game? Absolutely. And with time permitting, I’ll be alone once again in an NG+, only slightly less confused but even more threatened than before in Yharnam’s dark streets.
