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| Peter Triezenberg |
One shouldn't explore Yharnam by their lonesome. Who knows what could happen?
03.07.15 - 9:18 PM
Following in the footsteps of both Demon's Souls and Dark Souls, the online features in Bloodborne have been shrouded in mystery, until now. Sony Computer Entertainment Japan recently updated the game's official website with details on the game's robust online features, which I will elucidate for you now!
Co-op in Bloodborne will enable up to three Hunters to team up in order to defeat the boss of a given area. This is initiated when a player uses an item called "Hunter Calling Bell" to summon other players and, likewise, an item called the "Resonant Bell" will enable guest players to join others' games. Once together, the host game's instance will serve as the playing field. If either the hosts or the guests die, or a "Separating Shot" item is used to retreat back to one's own game, the session ends. Passwords can be set for co-op play to ensure that the right players join a game.
There's also player-versus player in Bloodborne. PVP matches occur in pre-determined areas, with the aggressor serving as the guest, and the invaded player as the host. The invader uses an item called the "Ominous Resonant Bell" to enter another player's game, while the host has either started a co-op session or used his own Bell to summon a Bell Chiming Woman. Host players can be invaded whenever they're in an area where the Bell Chiming Woman is present, which occurs either in co-op play or when the Ominous Resonant Bell is used. The session ends when the invader kills the host and claims a reward, the host enters a boss room, or a Separating Shot is used. Sony clarified that in order to utilize co-op and PVP features, PlayStation Plus is required, although this is not the case for the other online features.
The asynchronous multiplayer options of Demon's and Dark Souls make a return in Bloodborne as well. Hints and messages can be left for other players to find, and when a player dies, a Grave is erected which allows other players to witness the moment of their death, akin to the Bloodstains in the Souls games. There's also the Chalice Dungeons, which can be played both offline and online. Chalice Dungeons can either be normal or randomly generated, but the randomly generated ones require an internet connection to download data. Sony has said that there will be an update upon launch which optimizes Bloodborne's online performance, among other things.
The blood-soaked streets of Yharnam await hunters everywhere, when Bloodborne launches exclusively for PlayStation 4 on March 24th in North America and March 27th in Europe.
