Bloodborne: The Old Hunters (2015)

This is a very solid expansion to Bloodborne's amazing foundation.

I think the levels in this could be a bit better. The opening area had a couple awesome visual moments, but I don't know... felt a bit uninteresting, had some recycling of ideas from the main game, and an un-fun long-ish run back to its tough optional boss. The second major area was cooler, but full of annoying enemies and didn't really utilize its shifting layout to the full potential. The final area though is kinda short but really awesome-looking, the freshest thing in the DLC and very memorable.

Boss-wise, I can draw a pretty clear line. I think the two standard humanoid bosses have such awesome movesets. Their design fits so brilliantly into Bloodborne's combat, demanding mastery of at least a couple of its key mechanics. The two giant beast bosses were not my favorite, though. The first one I can at least say was exciting and well-presented. The optional later one I really do not like. The camera in this fight is a mess, his damage output is the most obscene in the whole game, and his moveset and AOE damage is so aggravating. The best thing I can say is that he forces you to play differently, but I struggled with him the most by far and did not have an amazing time.

I'll use my favorite boss, the penultimate one against fellow hunter Lady Maria to demonstrate how I think the balance can be improved. A large amount of her difficulty comes from an ability to instantly kill you with just one or two moves. The result is that for most players I'd guess, her fight hinges on whether you have enough health to tank those hits. I think instead to provide a more consistent and less frustrating experience across the whole playerbase, they should tone down that kind of damage, but up her evasiveness and resistance to stagger. Then she is arguably more interesting and challenging to fight, especially for high HP characters, and less punishing for low HP ones.

Accessing the DLC is a bit cryptic and fits awkwardly into the main game. In my opinion, this kind of content would benefit from being more clearly accessible at pretty much any time, with some way for you to get an appropriately-upgraded character for it, at least if you've already cleared the main game.

With that being said, I do recommend including this DLC in your first or second playthrough of the game. It does add some pretty fun and memorable moments, and if you like, you can tackle it with an upgraded weapon and high stats right before the base game ends to smooth out some of its more punishing edges.

Bloodborne is good. This is more of that, but even more difficult (in a good way!), even more bonkers (also in a good way), and with some of the best set pieces and equipment in the game.

If you're a lore hound there's a ton to like as well, and the DLC boss is something else

It's a no-brainer purchase if you liked the base game, though if you were lukewarm on it then the DLC won't change your mind

I was a bit reluctant about spending $30 on a DLC, which is more than what I paid for the base game. Of course Sony's PSN store has a monopoly on this item and they can charge whatever they want; and of course Australians have to pay $10 more than the rest of the world (as per usual).

But despite Sony's nonsense I have not been let down. I loved Bloodborne itself, and this expansion is marvellous. Firstly, it's huge. Secondly, it's a lot more challenging than the base game, which is a great improvement on the base game. It has new areas, weapons, armour, story, new everything. The most attractive feature though is the art. This DLC is absolutely gorgeous and disgusting. Bloodborne had a little bit of a Lovecraft feeling, but this DLC is really wearing its influences on its sleeve. There's cosmic alien beings and all sorts of slimy sea creatures. The final area is actually pretty similar to the set for the movie Dagon (2001). Barnacles on everything and the great old ones rising from the unknown depths. Seriously the game is so gorgeous I feel like I could hang a screenshot on my wall.

The highlight for me was the boss called "Living Failures". This encounter is so completely surreal and creepy, it was also reminiscent of Demon's Souls. You're attacked by these deformed alien things but then you kind of go into outer space, very strange. I've spent countless hours in this just exploring and observing these eerie places with jaw-dropping awe. I've definitely got my money's worth; this DLC has hit Bloodborne out of the ballpark. Definitely one of the most beautiful and satisfying experiences I've had in any game, it really pressed all my buttons, it's like the developers peeped inside my subconscious and crafted the game accordingly. Lovecraft is one of my favourite writers, and James Gleeson is my favourite artist, and this DLC seems like a combination of the two. The environment and enemy design is on point, absolutely unbelievable and gorgeous. If you liked Bloodborne then you definitely need to pick this up. Let's hope that Dark Souls III will have a similar level of quality.

Note: I haven't yet completed this expansion, but from what I've seen I offer my full recommendation.