I'm liking the game a bit more, but..

So I finally managed to get past the area I was stuck on, which is allegedly a "optional" boss, and I actually think you fight him in the wrong order -- I think he's supposed to be on the higher end of the food chain, considering the cost of the item he gives you, and the comparative costs of gear other bosses hand you.

After I beat that boss, I actually triggered a optional area that turned out to be GREAT for grinding (according to some very kind users on GameFAQs) and I just started grinding away, because I was apparently hilariously under-leveled for the area I was in. I know levels aren't important in souls games, they just make it easier, but some of us need that optional padding, we need to be able to take that extra hit in order to survive. I can dodge a lot of attacks, but sometimes I'm unlucky (and my hand-eye coordination isn't what it used to be) and I'll take damage that someone younger and more agile could've easily have escaped.

Having said all that, the game is more fun once you manage to unlock more areas to travel to and see, as well as having a place to grind (again, some of us need it) and that made it more enjoyable, but I'm still not really head over heels for this game like I was the previous souls games.

I know people love interconnected worlds, but the entirety of Bloodborne is mostly just one theme, and while I was one of the few screaming with joy for the victorian, gothic style of the new game, I was hoping to see a bit more variety than one city and a forest. Admittedly, I'm still early in the game, (I've only cleared 3 story bosses, and 3 "optional" bosses. I consider a story boss a boss that has a cutscene and is required to progress the game.) but from what I've heard, there's the forest, the city, and a whole lotta nothing. They can't take it too extreme like Demons Souls, or the Souls games, with fantastic areas, like the inside of a volcano, a beautiful mountainside, dragon aeries, deep, beautiful caverns filled with mystery and adventure. Instead, we have a city, and a forest.

The overall gameplay has become the typical role I'd play in these games -- I have a Greatsword, I'm holding it with two hands (look ma, no shield!) and it absolutely crushes everything. The dodge still isn't to my liking (the roll would travel farther, and allow you to escape from enemies attacks post i-frame..sigh..) and there are other little nitbits I still don't like (stats are incredibly limited, very little variety in equipment, etc.) but I no longer want to smash my "digital disc", so to speak, so that's a plus.