• Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.

What is the best Sony game this generation?

  • Bloodborne

    Votes: 685 43.4%
  • Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

    Votes: 87 5.5%
  • Horizon: Zero Dawn

    Votes: 210 13.3%
  • God of War

    Votes: 509 32.2%
  • Other (Please Specify)

    Votes: 88 5.6%

  • Total voters
    1,579
Feb 10, 2018
17,534
Im a little sad UC4 has so lil love.
Surprised about horizon I keep meaning to play it, are the quests fun and have good variety? Or is just killing robo dinos again again?
 

ffvorax

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,855
My personal chart:

1- Uncharted 4 (I love the series and 4 is my favourite on all sides, story, gameplay.... masterpiece)
2- Bloodborne (they reinvented their own genre)
3- TRICO (emotions everywhere... <3)
4- God of War (expected something different, I really liked it in the end, but not what I expected first)

....
?- Horizon (didn't enjoyed my time with it... not a bad game, but didn'f found it fun personally)
 

Much

The Gif That Keeps on Giffing
Member
Feb 24, 2018
6,067
Im a little sad UC4 has so lil love.
Surprised about horizon I keep meaning to play it, are the quests fun and have good variety? Or is just killing robo dinos again again?

Go play it dude! The side quests are decent in the base game (leagues better in The Frozen Wilds). They do have a good variety, but they're not the best in the business. Then again, it's Guerrilla's first open-world game. The side quests are still really fun, and the main story, characters, world-building and soundtrack are some of the best in the business imo. Give it a shot. :)
 

Blade Wolf

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
9,512
Taiwan
Bloodborne, it's the only game on the list where gameplay is actually a prioritize, it's also the only game on the list where the story is 99.9% told trough the gameplay and player interaction instead of just cutscene movies or setpieces.

Bloodborne is great but not even top 5 for me. Crazy voting here.

If BB had a competent story and better voice acting it might be up there. I can only take so much ps2 quality storytelling. It's all in the items! Just read items! So much depth and characterization.

Yeah because video game is about the story, not the gameplay.

It's funny that you think depth and characterization only comes with spoon fed cutscene and in-your-face explanations.
Woah! This fucking character talked about the state of Midgard and Yggdrasil for 10 minutes straight and wouldn't shut up! There's so much depth and characterization here! Incredible!

Seriously, go watch a movie.
 
Last edited:

LuckyLinus

Member
Jun 1, 2018
1,935
Gotta say GoW, there is nothing else like it out there. Although Soulsborne is my favorite game ''series'' in general, if DS 1-3 didnt exist I would without a doubt say BB.
 

Jssom

Avenger
Oct 26, 2017
470
I think the top two are obvious choices as the results of the poll shows and I'm slightly leaning towards BB as the DLC added to an already superb experience. My top 5 list would look like:

1-Bloodbore.
2-God of War.
3-The Last Guardian.
4-Uncharted 4.
5-Horizon: Zero Dawn.

Honorable mention: Resogun

Note: Almost all the other 1st party games I haven't played.
 

BlacJack

Banned
Nov 6, 2017
1,021
Looks like the Bloodborne love never dies. Still my favorite even after all the other great games that came after.
 

Arklite

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,639
With flaws and all, Gran Turismo Sport.

I've spent the most time with it and it's great what they've managed to do with structured online play. Smart concessions make it fair and keep the action going without ruining the intensity. The growing pains of it being so small for a GT game are apparent but it's actively building up.
 

Deleted member 10726

user requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,674
ResetERA
Bloodborne was beautiful, fun to master and the world felt fascinating. I feel like if there's any game I'll think of when looking back at the PS4's exclusive catalogue in the future, it's definitely gonna be Bloodborne.
 

Hellshy

Member
Nov 5, 2017
1,171
Bloodborne, it's the only game on the list where gameplay is actually a prioritize, it's also the only game on the list where the story is 99.9% told trough the gameplay and player interaction instead of just cutscene movies or setpieces.



Yeah because video game is about the story, not the gameplay.

It's funny that you think depth and characterization only comes with spoon fed cutscene and in-your-face explanations.
Woah! This fucking character talked about the state of Midgard and Yggdrasil for 10 minutes straight and wouldn't shut up! There's so much depth and characterization here! Incredible!

Seriously, go watch a movie.

How is god of earw gameplay not a priority? I have close to 400hrs in bloodborne and love thr combat but GoW combat is amazing. I dought anynone who claims they have played GoW and says the cutscenes are the priotity and not the combot. Bloodbotne also has great lore(possibly my favorite of all time) but GoW has both great lore and very interesting character progression and interactions that bloodborne lacks imho.
 

Kinoli

Member
Nov 27, 2017
141
Even though God of War is an amazing game (and even though I was sceptical at first, I loved it at the end), I think Uncharted 4 or Horizon: Zero Dawn are my main contenders for just one word: polishness.

These are, without doubt, the most polished AAA games PS4 has to offer.

I personally liked more Uncharted 4 than Horizon because I loved every part of U4's game, but they're undoubtedly two of the most polished video games I've ever seen.
 

snausages

Member
Feb 12, 2018
10,338
I am glad to see best game top this poll.

Even within its own subseries it's got such a strong throughline from start to finish, no major dips into mediocrity like with Demon Ruins in Dark Souls. Superb visual storytelling and a lore which you can parse the main parts out yourself.

It also has really creepy situations from the part in Upper Cathedral Ward where you creep around trying to avoid aggroing enemies and some werewolves just crash through a chandelier and mob you. Or snooping around the Hypogaleon Gaol and hearing the Mensis ritual happening in real time, coming back to Unseen Village hours later and seeing the aftermath with all the calcified corpses of people trying to escape (?).

The way that fragments of the game's storytelling finds itself in the design of a location, the location of an item or equipment. The appearance of an enemy types mutation and how it relates to the presence of a great one in the area. The way game mechanics feed into a greater understanding of the lore, (for instance how sacrificing insight causes a spike in your beasthood, suggesting a dichotomy between people who sought insight and people who were not careful with the old blood and became horrible beasts). Or how insight allows you to see things that you didn't see before, things that were hidden from view cause you haven't discovered the full eldritch truths.

The boss designs, especially in the DLC. How Ludwig's story is conveyed through him starting off the fight fully beastified then becoming fully lucid for the second phase when he finds the moonlight greatsword. The themes of blindness and insight, eyes on the inside and trying to anchor one's sanity while steeped in blood and beasts.

Also the trick weapons. Fewer weapons than DS but with a greater variety in their animations, animation timings and different forms that makes it so building an entire build just around one weapon can be really satisfying.

Just such a good game and maybe one of my favourite ever. Just done with a skill/arc build and contemplating bloodtinge to try out some of the more niche weapons.

It's like a 9.9/10 game for me only let down by the dumb blood vials and not really enjoying the Chalice Dungeon grind (tho that's optional at least)
 

snausages

Member
Feb 12, 2018
10,338
How is god of earw gameplay not a priority? I have close to 400hrs in bloodborne and love thr combat but GoW combat is amazing. I dought anynone who claims they have played GoW and says the cutscenes are the priotity and not the combot. Bloodbotne also has great lore(possibly my favorite of all time) but GoW has both great lore and very interesting character progression and interactions that bloodborne lacks imho.
I had such a good time with GoW's combat, definitely the best 'brutal' take on character action out there.

I think a lot of people went into GoW thinking it was like Dark Souls combat and played a bit too risk averse, or stuck to the boy arrow powers. Which you can do but the joy of those games is diving in and figuring out where each attack fits and what situations best suit it.
 

snausages

Member
Feb 12, 2018
10,338
I've seen complaints about "frame pacing" but I literally can't tell what that means in the context of a game. I'm always too immersed to notice the bad stuff. I'm not saying it's not there, just that I can't tell because this specific game captures me. I think every gamer has a game that means something like that to them. I wouldn't dare try to look for things that bug me about it, I'm not a critic, I'm not trying to sell the game, I have nothing to gain by looking for "objective" flaws in Bloodborne. It stands as, in my opinion, not only the best Sony First Party game ever made, but also the best game of all time. I don't know what else you could possibly want out of a game.
I think it's the way the intervals for rendering a frame are not consistent in Bloodborne, so you get a slightly jerky feeling playing through certain sections.

Old Yarham come to mind as well as Yhargul in the chapel with the three hunters. Makes my stomach churn tbh.

That is one of its major flaws imo, as well as the healing system. But other than these it gets very little wrong
 

Vinc

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,387
This is hard.

I think my favorite one has been Horizon, due to how satisfying the combat is. Tying robot dinos to the ground, tipping them over, and shooting hardpoint arrows at their core is one of the most satisfying combat loops I've ever experienced. Looting those same parts afterwards is also super awesome.

The Last Guardian also has a special place in my heart. I was waiting for it since I played SOTC, and it delievered exactly what I wanted.

Bloodborne is also freakin' awesome, and the best From Software game. It may be my actual favorite. I don't know!

Uncharted 4 was also a supremely satisfying and spectacular conclusion to the series... and Ratchet & Clank was so good. Until Dawn was amazingly unique too, and a game I desperately want a sequel to.

And God of War is an all-time masterpiece.

Ugh. I guess I'll go with Horizon as my #1. Not sure though.
 

Brix

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,680
For me Bloodborne is #1. Best boss battles ever. Period. Amazing story for those who don't have problems with reading. Fun trick weapons, awesome combat/gameplay loop. Amazing art design + Godly Soundtrack.

#2. God of War
#3. Horizon zero dawn
#4. Uncharted 4/Lost Legacy
#5. Until Dawn

I still need to play The Last Guardian & Detroit.
 

Aters

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
7,948
The fact that Bloodborne got most votes while Uncharted 4 got least pleases me immensely. Good job fellows.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 249

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
28,828
Lol at Bloodborne, the jerk here for that game here is unprecedented. It really is Era's DAE Witcher 3. God of War is a more polished, more visually impressive, and less niche than Bloodborne. In my opinion gameplay is the only way they can even be compared and I like God of War more. But whatever it's Era so logic does not always apply.
Mate, God of War doesn't even begin to compare in terms of level design to Bloodborne- and I'm not even touching combat, boss battles, and the like yet.
 

Deleted member 26837

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 30, 2017
431
Bloodborne has been the only game for me this generation that re-lit the flame I had when I was a younger gamer. I felt like playing immediately when I got home, and was anxious when I couldn't.

I also felt the work days were longer when I couldn't play it.

It had some weird grip on me that felt magical. I am not an expert player of the genre and I didn't platinum the game, but I was excited to explore and improve in combat until I would get to the end. I fought through and had that feeling of achievment when fealing with the enemies after countless defeats.

I've played Demon's Souls, which was great, but Bloodborne had something a bit more that resonated with me. I wish everyone could play it on any platform because it is the crown jewel from From software and Sony, or at least borrow a PS4 from a friend to do that. You owe yourself the pleasure.

I usually don't write this long on any games but this game deserved it. Trust my judgment on this one.

Edit: Did not read the thread before posting, so it's funny to see the earlier replies. :) Keep on keeping on. This isn't really a contest. People have personal preferences so just chill. Play that game You personally like again.
 

Wamb0wneD

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
18,735
Lol at Bloodborne, the jerk here for that game here is unprecedented. It really is Era's DAE Witcher 3. God of War is a more polished, more visually impressive, and less niche than Bloodborne. In my opinion gameplay is the only way they can even be compared and I like God of War more. But whatever it's Era so logic does not always apply.
Bloodborne has better leveldesign, enemy variety and bossbattles by far. That's not Era logic that's general logic.
 

nib95

Contains No Misinformation on Philly Cheesesteaks
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
18,498
Bloodborne, it's the only game on the list where gameplay is actually a prioritize, it's also the only game on the list where the story is 99.9% told trough the gameplay and player interaction instead of just cutscene movies or setpieces.



Yeah because video game is about the story, not the gameplay.

It's funny that you think depth and characterization only comes with spoon fed cutscene and in-your-face explanations.
Woah! This fucking character talked about the state of Midgard and Yggdrasil for 10 minutes straight and wouldn't shut up! There's so much depth and characterization here! Incredible!

Seriously, go watch a movie.

Games shouldn't or don't have to ignore story or cutscenes to be considered good, nor should a game have to include lots of cutscenes or a competent story to be good either. Diversity is the spice of life, and it's good we have a mix of both types of games.

It is wrong for you to suggest that any gamer that desires competent characters and narratives in their games should instead go see a movie. That is a very narrow minded way of looking at things. Ultimately games should have the ability to do both gameplay and story, not just one or the other.

Personally I didn't really like or gel with the story in Bloodborne, there really wasn't much of it. And the characters, writing, nor hidden lore in items etc for me carried near the type of emotional weight or resonance of more story driven games. It was like some weird art house narrative where you don't quite know what is going on, and it's all so vague, quirky and diminished that it's completely open to interpretation either way.

I didn't mind that as it's not the kind of game Bloodborne is, and like you said, the focus is more on the gameplay. But that doesn't mean games that are narrative heavy don't or can't do fantastic gameplay, it just means they also put emphasis on story. In other words, for those games, it's not one or the other, but both that are important. God of War is really a perfect example of this.

Instead of putting strict guidelines as to what a game should or shouldn't be, we should be mature enough to allow the medium to be broader and experiment with whatever developers want to explore or pursue, especially if what they're creating appeals to and is loved by countless gamers. You might not like story driven games, others do. Others might not like story limited games, you do. Ultimately there's a place for both, in video games.
 
Oct 31, 2017
12,071
Lol at Bloodborne, the jerk here for that game here is unprecedented. It really is Era's DAE Witcher 3. God of War is a more polished, more visually impressive, and less niche than Bloodborne. In my opinion gameplay is the only way they can even be compared and I like God of War more. But whatever it's Era so logic does not always apply.

I'm so with you on God of War being terrific, but there are a few things that still put Bloodborne on top for me:

1) I think the side things are more involving overall even though God of War did a really good job with side content. Putting aside Old Hunters since that's DLC (though the full GOTY edition with Old Hunters is just a terrific experience), Cainhurst Castle, the Upper Cathedral Ward, the witches' abode, Old Yharnam, the old abandoned workshop area, Ioesefka's clinic, Nightmare Frontier and the Chalice Dungeons I thought added a lot to the game. I think all nailed the atmosphere really well (the upper cathedral ward felt really great to find and also felt like a really cool "hidden" area that masked some of the stuff going on in the church), and one of the coolest things was finding the ladder getting me back to the beginning of the game and into the entrance to the clinic. Or heck, sending people to a safe place and then seeing how you can screw it up (the beggar). Some of my favorite memories involve coop in the Chalice Dungeons and the bosses waiting for me there. Which leads me into:

2) I loved the amount of bosses since so many of them were really, really well-done. I wish God of War had more bosses in general, though I get that sometimes it just can't work out (similar to the cut Pandora's Box boss in the first God of War), but the games are what they are, and I felt like a million bucks defeating Bloodborne's bosses.

3) Level design in Bloodborne is really freaking good. The way the world connects and the feeling you get from exploration is ace. This is something I think God of War also does very well in a different way; it's not so much an inter-connected world as it is a world with no markings on it, so you have to use the map to find, say, treasures for treasure maps or areas that look like you can visit. Then boom, you stumble on a "hidden area" because you saw what looked like a beach and figured, "Why not see what's there?" It's just really cool, with the lack of markers as to where to go, to get yourself lost in Bloodborne. Since there is a map for God of War, it's probably for the best to have a marker telling you where the main goal is, and I do think the game did a very good job giving you a billion side paths to explore with mini-puzzles in almost all of them.

Can't fault someone for liking God of War more because I already know many of the reasons why someone would put it over. God of War is a triumph in many ways.
 

nib95

Contains No Misinformation on Philly Cheesesteaks
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
18,498
Bloodborne has better leveldesign, enemy variety and bossbattles by far. That's not Era logic that's general logic.

Enemy variety and bosses I can agree with, but not level design. For me God of War is equal to Bloodborne on level design. I prefer the scope and structure of Midgard to a lot of the areas in Bloodborne, and love the way they used the different lake water levels to add a level of verticality, surprise, growth and progress to the levels that constantly made them feel fresh and exciting. There's really nothing like that in Bloodborne. I also find Midgard as a hub world and the use of the Bifrost, orders of magnitude more interesting than Hunters Dream or using lamps. There's also the fact that God of War has cool or interesting puzzles interwoven in to the environments, including in terms of layered verticality etc, that gives the level design a different type of quality that Bloodborne doesn't necessarily process. Ultimately, they both trade blows in that regard.

Also, and perhaps more importantly, I actually preferred the combat in God of War to Bloodborne. To me it seemed like there was more diversity in approach and mechanics, and I loved the way the Runes, Enhancements etc to both Kratos and Atreus added a whole other slice of creative combat opportunity and fantastical drama, whilst still on the whole remaining grounded, powerful and weighty. Bloodborne's combat seemed more limited and samey to me, outside of high level unique or unorthodox plays, though it is of course super polished, precise and refined, which is ultimately what sells it and partly what makes the combat so great.

In the end they're both two of only 3 games this gen I've given a 10/10 to, but there's no point listing stuff Bloodborne does better or really well, and omitting stuff God of War does better, because they excel in different areas. The puzzles, story, characters, upgrades, personalisation etc definitely added a certain fun and exciting element to God of War that I felt was missing in Bloodborne, and vice versa with respect to bosses etc.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 249

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
28,828
Enemy variety and bosses I can agree with, but not level design. For me God of War is equal to Bloodborne on level design. I prefer the scope and structure of Midgard to a lot of the areas in Bloodborne, and love the way they used the different lake water levels to add a level of verticality, surprise growth and progress to the levels that constantly made them feel fresh and exciting. There's really nothing like that in Bloodborne. I also find Midgard as a hub world and the use of the Bifrost, orders of magnitude more interesting than Hunters Dream or using lamps. There's also the fact that God of War has cool or interesting puzzles interwoven in to the environments, including in terms of verticality etc, that gives the level design a different type of quality that Bloodborne doesn't necessarily process. Ultimately, they both trade blows in that regard.

Also, and perhaps more importantly, I actually preferred the combat in God of War to Bloodborne. To me it seemed like there was more diversity in approach and mechanics, and I loved the way the Runes, Enhancements etc to both Kratos and Atreus added a whole other slice of creative combat opportunity and drama. Bloodborne's combat seemed more limited and samey to me, outside of high level unique or unorthodox plays, though it is of course super polished, precise and refined.

In the end they're both two of only 3 games this gen I've given a 10/10 to, but there's no point listing stuff Bloodborne does and omitting stuff God of War does better, because they excel in different areas. The puzzles, story, characters, upgrades, personalisation etc definitely added a certain fun and exciting element to God of War that I felt was missing in Bloodborne, and vice versa with respect to bosses etc.
Personally, I'm going to have to disagree, but let me explain why.
God of War's vertical progression which you have highlighted is a "scripted" progression, in that it happens as you progress through the story, without player involvement causing it. Were the progression in God of War's hub something that was caused directly by player action influencing it, I would have agreed with you on this- but as it stands right now, the progression is something that simply happens. As long as you are playing through the story, it will happen.
The actual design of God of War's levels, in my view, does not match Bloodborne's fine and immaculate sculpting. In a lot of ways, God of War seems like Metroidvania-lite-lite, where there's simple looped shortcuts, overt signposting for inaccessible areas (usually leading to high end, but optional and inessential, loot), and with only one area of progression available to the player at a time. This is immensely different from how Bloodborne handles its levels, which are linear, but are sculpted to simultaneously encourage exploration, experimentation, include dense loops, and extremely useful shortcuts and rewards.
In the absence of true Metroidvania design and player affected progression, plus the presence of relatively simple and linear progression paths combined with constant repeated revisits to the same areas, God of War's hub doesn't strike me as a particularly great instance of level design. It's fine, it's not bad at all, in fact it's near the top of its class, right up there with OoT etc. But I don't think it even comes close to the immaculate perfection that is the level design in Bloodborne.
 

Thrill_house

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,611
Horizon for me. I didn't finish it, got the complete edition and damn...it is so beautiful. Hunting big robotic dinos makes me feel like im playing a shadow of the colossus sequel. GoW is a close 2nd. Have a strange feeling spiderman will overtake them though. I just couldn't get into bloodborne. I'm so damn sick of souls like games though.
 
Oct 31, 2017
12,071
Enemy variety and bosses I can agree with, but not level design. For me God of War is equal to Bloodborne on level design. I prefer the scope and structure of Midgard to a lot of the areas in Bloodborne, and love the way they used the different lake water levels to add a level of verticality, surprise, growth and progress to the levels that constantly made them feel fresh and exciting. There's really nothing like that in Bloodborne. I also find Midgard as a hub world and the use of the Bifrost, orders of magnitude more interesting than Hunters Dream or using lamps. There's also the fact that God of War has cool or interesting puzzles interwoven in to the environments, including in terms of layered verticality etc, that gives the level design a different type of quality that Bloodborne doesn't necessarily process. Ultimately, they both trade blows in that regard.

Also, and perhaps more importantly, I actually preferred the combat in God of War to Bloodborne. To me it seemed like there was more diversity in approach and mechanics, and I loved the way the Runes, Enhancements etc to both Kratos and Atreus added a whole other slice of creative combat opportunity and fantastical drama, whilst still on the whole remaining grounded, powerful and weighty. Bloodborne's combat seemed more limited and samey to me, outside of high level unique or unorthodox plays, though it is of course super polished, precise and refined, which is ultimately what sells it and partly what makes the combat so great.

In the end they're both two of only 3 games this gen I've given a 10/10 to, but there's no point listing stuff Bloodborne does better or really well, and omitting stuff God of War does better, because they excel in different areas. The puzzles, story, characters, upgrades, personalisation etc definitely added a certain fun and exciting element to God of War that I felt was missing in Bloodborne, and vice versa with respect to bosses etc.

Personally, I'm going to have to disagree, but let me explain why.
God of War's vertical progression which you have highlighted is a "scripted" progression, in that it happens as you progress through the story, without player involvement causing it. Were the progression in God of War's hub something that was caused directly by player action influencing it, I would have agreed with you on this- but as it stands right now, the progression is something that simply happens. As long as you are playing through the story, it will happen.
The actual design of God of War's levels, in my view, does not match Bloodborne's fine and immaculate sculpting. In a lot of ways, God of War seems like Metroidvania-lite-lite, where there's simple looped shortcuts, overt signposting for inaccessible areas (usually leading to high end, but optional and inessential, loot), and with only one area of progression available to the player at a time. This is immensely different from how Bloodborne handles its levels, which are linear, but are sculpted to simultaneously encourage exploration, experimentation, include dense loops, and extremely useful shortcuts and rewards.
In the absence of true Metroidvania design and player affected progression, plus the presence of relatively simple and linear progression paths combined with constant repeated revisits to the same areas, God of War's hub doesn't strike me as a particularly great instance of level design. It's fine, it's not bad at all, in fact it's near the top of its class, right up there with OoT etc. But I don't think it even comes close to the immaculate perfection that is the level design in Bloodborne.

Personally, even though I agree with Phantom Thief, I love that this is a debate. Bloodborne was top of the line for me and the highest high of Sony's first party easily once it released (before that, it was Resogun). Now people are talking about what they preferred about Horizon, why they loved Uncharted 4, why they like combat in God of War more than Bloodborne.

It's great that there's competition for the top slot, and I think (and this isn't directed at you two), nobody should be peeved that God of War isn't number one or Bloodborne isn't dominating more. It's a testament to the quality of games we've seen the previous few years from Sony that we're getting these kind of in-depth debates dissecting the games, which is great.
 

Deleted member 37739

User requested account closure
Banned
Jan 8, 2018
908
Eh, I doubt my choice would come as any surprise... though I did love DRIVECLUB, GOW and HZD, as well. BB just edges the others out, though. On the other hand, from a purely technical perspective, it's probably the most underwhelming first-party Sony have published this generation - always room for improvement I guess.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 249

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
28,828
Personally, even though I agree with Phantom Thief, I love that this is a debate. Bloodborne was top of the line for me and the highest high of Sony's first party easily once it released (before that, it was Resogun). Now people are talking about what they preferred about Horizon, why they loved Uncharted 4, why they like combat in God of War more than Bloodborne.

It's great that there's competition for the top slot, and I think (and this isn't directed at you two), nobody should be peeved that God of War isn't number one or Bloodborne isn't dominating more. It's a testament to the quality of games we've seen the previous few years from Sony that we're getting these kind of in-depth debates dissecting the games, which is great.
Absolutely! Ultimately the fact that Sony has been able to get out so many vastly different games that manage to appeal to millions of people for so many different reasons is, more than any critical rating or GotY award or sales or whatever, the ultimate vindication of just how varied and diverse and high quality their games lineup has been, that stupid meme image be damned lol.
 
Oct 27, 2017
5,247
I voted Bloodborne, it's just an amazing game, the whole ascetic of the game is so good. I loved every second and every location, even if the story wasn't there the lore was always hinted at, and I think that made the game better for me.
 

Tali'Zorah

Member
Oct 27, 2017
636
Norfolk, UK
Of what I've played that has been published by Sony this generation:

1. Horizon Zero Dawn
2. God of War
3. Resogun
4. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
5. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
6. Until Dawn
7. Ratchet and Clank
8. Everybody's Gone to the Rapture

I've not played Bloodborne yet but will get around to it soon (I own it because of PS+). Horizon just takes the number one spot ahead of God of War for me. Both were phenomenal games but I loved Ashly Burch's performance as Aloy and found myself having a preference for Horizon Zero Dawn's world and setting compared to God of War's (GOW's was still amazing though, of course)
 

Sabercrusader

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,189
Without having played God of War yet, it's Bloodborne for me. It's just so good, and it has my favorite piece of Souls DLC.

I also need to finish Horizon as well. From what I played it was good, but not above Bloodborne.
 

nib95

Contains No Misinformation on Philly Cheesesteaks
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
18,498
Personally, I'm going to have to disagree, but let me explain why.
God of War's vertical progression which you have highlighted is a "scripted" progression, in that it happens as you progress through the story, without player involvement causing it. Were the progression in God of War's hub something that was caused directly by player action influencing it, I would have agreed with you on this- but as it stands right now, the progression is something that simply happens. As long as you are playing through the story, it will happen.
The actual design of God of War's levels, in my view, does not match Bloodborne's fine and immaculate sculpting. In a lot of ways, God of War seems like Metroidvania-lite-lite, where there's simple looped shortcuts, overt signposting for inaccessible areas (usually leading to high end, but optional and inessential, loot), and with only one area of progression available to the player at a time. This is immensely different from how Bloodborne handles its levels, which are linear, but are sculpted to simultaneously encourage exploration, experimentation, include dense loops, and extremely useful shortcuts and rewards.
In the absence of true Metroidvania design and player affected progression, plus the presence of relatively simple and linear progression paths combined with constant repeated revisits to the same areas, God of War's hub doesn't strike me as a particularly great instance of level design. It's fine, it's not bad at all, in fact it's near the top of its class, right up there with OoT etc. But I don't think it even comes close to the immaculate perfection that is the level design in Bloodborne.

I actually felt just as if not more compelled to explore God of War's levels than I did Bloodborne's. Not just because I felt the loot, unlocks, runes, armour etc were more valuable and rewarding than that stuff was in Bloodborne, but because the puzzles added some intriguing gameplay diversity, and also because the random side quests etc you came across were some of the best in gaming (stuff like the Dragons, the mines, pirate hideout etc).

Whilst the lake level rising is indeed scripted, the actual exploration afforded isn't. In other words, the game throws you into a semi open world sandbox hub and says, here you go, if you want to you can go and explore. And you're limited in where you can go and what you can access based on the water level, but then in later parts of the game the lowered water level adds new exploration opportunities and options, and you can essentially continue to explore with added freedom than you had prior. I personally enjoyed that. It made going back to the hub world that much more exciting and interesting each time, whereas going back to Hunters Dream was mostly out of necessity, not for fun or for more gameplay or exploration opportunity.

That said, I do agree that Bloodborne is a masterclass in level design, I just don't think it's necessarily better than God of Wars, just different. Bloodborne has incredibly detailed, rich and interconnected environments that reward exploration, and God of War has something similar, only with more emphasis on puzzles, more loot and item rewards, side quests and evolving levels due to the difference in water levels. Slightly different focus and incentives, both being extremely competent.
 

HellofaMouse

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,160
some honorable mentions:

until dawn
the last guardian
the lost legacy
the order 1886 (was short but sweet imo)
infamous second son
shadow of the colossus remake

but still, cant tell if its been a good gen or not on the AAA front. we are 5 years into the gen, and only got 4 (3 even, if you exclude horizon, which id be willing to do) real contenders for the best playstation exclusive.
 

BDubsLegend

Banned
Jan 24, 2018
1,027
I'm so with you on God of War being terrific, but there are a few things that still put Bloodborne on top for me:

1) I think the side things are more involving overall even though God of War did a really good job with side content. Putting aside Old Hunters since that's DLC (though the full GOTY edition with Old Hunters is just a terrific experience), Cainhurst Castle, the Upper Cathedral Ward, the witches' abode, Old Yharnam, the old abandoned workshop area, Ioesefka's clinic, Nightmare Frontier and the Chalice Dungeons I thought added a lot to the game. I think all nailed the atmosphere really well (the upper cathedral ward felt really great to find and also felt like a really cool "hidden" area that masked some of the stuff going on in the church), and one of the coolest things was finding the ladder getting me back to the beginning of the game and into the entrance to the clinic. Or heck, sending people to a safe place and then seeing how you can screw it up (the beggar). Some of my favorite memories involve coop in the Chalice Dungeons and the bosses waiting for me there. Which leads me into:

2) I loved the amount of bosses since so many of them were really, really well-done. I wish God of War had more bosses in general, though I get that sometimes it just can't work out (similar to the cut Pandora's Box boss in the first God of War), but the games are what they are, and I felt like a million bucks defeating Bloodborne's bosses.

3) Level design in Bloodborne is really freaking good. The way the world connects and the feeling you get from exploration is ace. This is something I think God of War also does very well in a different way; it's not so much an inter-connected world as it is a world with no markings on it, so you have to use the map to find, say, treasures for treasure maps or areas that look like you can visit. Then boom, you stumble on a "hidden area" because you saw what looked like a beach and figured, "Why not see what's there?" It's just really cool, with the lack of markers as to where to go, to get yourself lost in Bloodborne. Since there is a map for God of War, it's probably for the best to have a marker telling you where the main goal is, and I do think the game did a very good job giving you a billion side paths to explore with mini-puzzles in almost all of them.

Can't fault someone for liking God of War more because I already know many of the reasons why someone would put it over. God of War is a triumph in many ways.
I wanna commend you sir for explaining why you disagree instead of just yelling no Bloodborne is better. I was even a little snarky. Excellent I see there is more to learn about Bloodborne then. I didn't expect this level of discourse on this type of thread.
 

Barrel Cannon

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
9,293
LOL at 90% of thread not reading the OP. Reading comprehension is hard for gamers.

For me it's Bloodbourne so far from what I've played. I enjoyed the artstyle and combat quite a bit. Still haven't beat it but everything feels so fully fleshed out in terms of detail.

Runner up for me is lost legacy. It's my fav Uncharted game right after 2 and the intro and hindu inspired artstyle was awesome for me. I loved that it cut out a lot of the fat and focused on just getting the story moving along as quick as possible. It didn't feel like it overstayed its welcome in the name of getting to a checklist of locations like UC3 did.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 249

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
28,828
I actually felt just as if not more compelled to explore God of War's levels than I did Bloodborne's. Not just because I felt the loot, unlocks, runes, armour etc were more valuable and rewarding than that stuff was in Bloodborne, but because the puzzles added some intriguing gameplay diversity, and also because the random side quests etc you came across were some of the best in gaming (stuff like the Dragons, the mines, pirate hideout etc).

Whilst the lake level rising is indeed scripted, the actual exploration afforded isn't. In other words, the game throws you into a semi open world sandbox hub and says, here you go, if you want to you can go and explore. And you're limited in where you can go and what you can access based on the water level, but then in later parts of the game the lowered water level adds new exploration opportunities and options, and you can essentially continue to explore with added freedom than you had prior. I personally enjoyed that. It made going back to the hub world that much more exciting and interesting each time, whereas going back to Hunters Dream was mostly out of necessity, not for fun or for more gameplay or exploration opportunity.

That said, I do agree that Bloodborne is a masterclass in level design, I just don't think it's necessarily better than God of Wars, just different. Bloodborne has incredibly detailed, rich and interconnected environments that reward exploration, and God of War has something similar, only with more emphasis on puzzles, more loot and item rewards, side quests and evolving levels due to the difference in water levels. Slightly different focus and incentives, both being extremely competent.
For what it's worth, I do think that God of War has a better hub world than Bloodborne, Bloodborne's hub is just there. It's just that, even as the kind of Metroidvania style level design that God of War was trying to emulate, I personally didn't find it to be quite as full featured as it could have been.
That said, I totally understand where you are coming from, too. If nothing else, the existence of a well designed hub like Lake of the Nine gave players the option to pace their own adventure, get some down time, get some variety in the gameplay, and access some of the best content in the game. Definitely no denying that.
 

Viceratops

Banned
Jun 29, 2018
2,570
I think it's the way the intervals for rendering a frame are not consistent in Bloodborne, so you get a slightly jerky feeling playing through certain sections.

Old Yarham come to mind as well as Yhargul in the chapel with the three hunters. Makes my stomach churn tbh.

That is one of its major flaws imo, as well as the healing system. But other than these it gets very little wrong
I can't notice that at all. Maybe it's a thing for people who get sick during video games easily? I swear I never heard or thought of "frame pacing issues" in Bloodborne until I read forums.