Chapter 489: The Difference Between Seller Show and Buyer Show (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

Soon, interviews from GameSpot and GameCenT were released.

There was no exaggeration; they were basically direct transcripts of the original interviews, with only some verbal embellishments. The footage released also consisted mainly of the content Chen Xu demonstrated at the time.

These interviews, it could be said, resonated greatly among the player community. Previously, everything had been mere speculation, but now, this was an official announcement!

Players eagerly expressed their opinions.

The first point of discussion was Chen Xu's mention of removing armor. "Damn cool," they scoffed. "Is coolness what they want in a Souls-like game? What they want is a sense of security!"

Yet, many players were also a little surprised, because in Bloodborne, there were actually 20 blood vials. Did this mean Chen Xu was lowering the difficulty to make it easier for new players to get started? After all, according to Chen Xu, while armor was gone, shields were still present. If there were shields, wouldn't playing defensively be easy?

Combined with 20 blood vials, didn't that mean any BOSS could be slowly chipped away at by constantly consuming blood vials? This left many veteran Dark Souls players with mixed emotions—both worry and anticipation. The anticipation came from the fact that after so many years, they could finally play a Souls game again. The worry, however, was that the game might, as they feared, lower its difficulty.

After all, while everyone might say things like 'This fire can't be linked,' their bodies were still very honest and wouldn't lie. Moreover, the core of Souls-like games wasn't just about players overcoming seemingly insurmountable enemies through their own efforts, gaining a strong sense of achievement, and exploring an unknown world after defeating powerful foes? These were the sources of joy in Souls games.

If this flavor of suffering was lost, even if the inherent quality remained excellent, many veteran players felt they might still be disappointed. Although suffering wasn't everything in Souls games, wouldn't it lose a bit of its flavor without it?

Amidst the players' heated discussions, Chen Xu's official Weibo account soon updated with a new gameplay demo for Bloodborne.

The video's setting was a large, empty room. The wooden floorboards were badly damaged, and rows of burning candles lined both sides of the room. Directly opposite stood a massive, gear-like clock that was still running. In front of the clock, a chair held a woman with her legs crossed, but a pool of scarlet blood stained the floor, hinting that the woman had seemingly been dead for a long time.

The hunter, controlled by the player, slowly pushed open the large door and entered the room. After pausing for a moment on the spot, the hunter slowly approached the woman's corpse, then extended their right hand, seemingly wanting to examine its condition.

But just as the hunter's hand was about to touch the corpse, the female corpse suddenly sprang to life. She grabbed the hunter's hand, then pressed her body close to the hunter's face. Simultaneously, a line of subtitles appeared on the screen: Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower.

"You should let the dead rest in peace."

"Oh... I know well, those secrets are indeed irresistible."

"It seems I must put you to a final rest to truly cure you!"

As Lady Maria's words fell, the game's UI appeared. Maria's weapon suddenly split into two sharp blades. With two consecutive slashes, the hunter's health bar instantly evaporated.

'YOU DIED!'

The three familiar words for countless Souls-like players appeared in the center of the screen. The video continued for another minute and a half, but it was nothing more than a montage of the hunter being brutally slaughtered by Lady Maria. Of course, it also interspersed Visceral Attacks and Gun Parries, showcasing some of the game's basic mechanics.

Previously, the media interviews included a short demo clip, but it didn't reveal much, only offering a rough overview. This new video, however, effectively demonstrated the content through a BOSS battle, and it was incredibly evocative, instantly giving players a familiar feeling just by watching.

After watching the entire video, all the players wore expressions of satisfaction and joy. While other games usually depicted players dominating BOSSes, Bloodborne directly showed players being brutally dominated by a BOSS, especially the final 'YOU DIED!'. It was absolutely spot-on, immediately stirring up those 'beautiful' memories of the past.

This particular BOSS battle featured Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower, a BOSS from The Old Hunters DLC. The reason, naturally, was Lady Maria's striking beauty. Compared to the appearance of Great Ones, or the mutated Ludwig, Laurence, and Orphan of Kos, Maria was truly an anomaly. For promotional purposes, the stylish hunter attire had already been showcased. As for the BOSS, Chen Xu felt it was better for Lady Maria to take on this important role, rather than a horde of Great Ones with countless eyeballs and tentacles.

With the release of this genuine gameplay promotional video, players once again plunged into heated discussions.

"Holy cow, are the BOSSes in the game that beautiful?"

"Leaving everything else aside, I feel that in terms of aesthetic, it has already surpassed Dark Souls by a lot! The hunter is so cool, and the BOSS is so beautiful! I have a new wife!"

"To the commenter upstairs, let me say in advance: your wife is great!"

"Bad review! How can such a beautiful BOSS make me strike her? Strongly suggest making the BOSS uglier! (Laughs)"

"Holy cow, so cool! The execution effect of the Visceral Attack is much cooler than in previous Dark Souls games!"

"Constantly attacking to regain blood, this setting is absolutely explosive and cool!"

"Heh heh, it will definitely be 'cool' when you die from getting greedy."

"I think this game should have expert playstyles for experts and noob playstyles for noobs, just like Dark Souls. Experts can parry and execute, while noobs can slowly chip away."

"Exactly, Bloodborne should be the same. Gun Parries and continuous rally attacks by experts will lead to an extremely fast combat rhythm, while noobs can slowly wear down the BOSS with blood vials and shields."

"Yeah, thinking this way, it actually sounds pretty good."

"Now that you mention it, I actually don't think 20 blood vials are excessive. After all, this is a Souls-like game, and there's no high-defense armor. Maybe we'll be instantly killed before we can even drink a potion? Since Mr. Chen designed it this way, he must have his reasons."

The players discussed earnestly, eventually reaching a conclusion.

That is, in Bloodborne, players might face such a situation:

Experts, axe in one hand, shotgun in the other, dominating all sides.

Noobs, hunkering down behind a shield with 20 blood vials to clear the game.

It seemed Mr. Chen had still shown some appropriate mercy to new players.

'Shield of the Weaklings.' Although the game hadn't been released yet, many veteran Dark Souls players were already teasing. They all declared that in Yharnam, only the weaklings wield shields; true masters never use them!

Inside Nebula Games, Ruan Ningxue, Yang Xin, and other members of the development team, who were following the online player comments, all showed speechless expressions. The idea itself wasn't wrong, but the crucial thing was, dear players, do you know the difference between the 'Seller Show' and 'Buyer Show'? Ideas and reality always have a slight difference.

(End of Chapter) <>