-smaller, it feels like probably around 70% as big as other Souls games
Than DS2 definitely. The others, I don't know the specifics but it feels about the same. Close at least.
-less stuff; with no shields, only one magic type (which still probably has less options than any single magic type from the other games), and a lot less weapons and armor, the game doesn't have much to reward you with so exploration is less exciting than it should be and most of the items you find end up being the same boring consumables
What it lacks in breadth it more than makes up with depth. Weapons having multiple modes and uses was awesome, and its a souls game where I actually regularly have two swappable weapons in both my right and left hand. I also just plain liked playing with more weapons, which incentive me to replay the game more. Nothing is really bad or uncool. Souls was all about finding the
right weapon. Once I found something I wanted for one playthrough, I never gave a second thought to shit like the mail breaker.
Items were always "the same boring consumables", but the fact there are less frivolous ones clogging up my inventory is a boon to me. How much did the text on divine blessing REALLY add to the lore of the game? Most items had some sort of use, and the added button for quick items really expanded the kind of items I'd actually use (such as pebbles). Even the lantern mechanics work very well, with multiple options that each have specific niches.
-since most of the lore in Souls games is delivered passively through item descriptions, the world and areas ended up feeling poorly fleshed out as a result.
I, I think like a lot of people, was primarily filled in on the stories after the fact by watching stuff like VaatiVidya. BB is a little harder to follow than DS1, but I think it's also a lot more fascinating in how the various characters impacted the world, and I think your ultimate goal is very neat. Nothing has yet had the gravity of killing Maiden Astraea and realizing that you are a greedy soul hording bastard, but I still liked this story a lot more than DS1.
-mechanically it's a step backwards in several ways; Blood Vials are dumb after Estus, inability to teleport between Lanterns is just a waste of time (as is forcing you to return to the hub area to level up, though Dark 2 did the same thing), and just makes the load times more painful, no ability to respec
None of this is terribly untrue. The fact that you can store blood vials makes them fine, and in combat they feel better than Estus. I still might say it wasn't a needed change, but it's likely just a different mechanic for a different kind of game. BB is faster and characterized by beastly vigor. Consuming a lot of blood plays into this better than the slow and limited (but reliable) Estus, and mechanically it's backed up by the rally mechanic.
But that's a pretty nitpicky way to justify it being mechanically a step backward (and I've heard you say two steps in the past). Mechanically it's ambitious and successful in ways I never would have expected from Miyazaki. There are no trap stats, bad weapon specs, or even really bad weapons. But the gameplay - the gameplay, man. It's so much more fluid. Rolling might forever feel clunky now. The sidestep just works perfectly, and the general statistic tweaking of getting more out of your stamina but needing to hit an enemy more feels like Souls was always made to be like this. And it works whether you're fighting one or multiple enemies, something the souls games were always weak with. You may not have as many or as flashy moves as other character action games, but the fundamentals are stronger and that goes a long way. And for a series often overrated for its difficulty, I felt that the difference between me as a new player (even as souls veteran) and me having practiced way huge. Even boss fights are more than just learning tells and not losing stamina. With so many moves, learning when to sidestep is far more intuition than repetition. BB isn't just what I want future Souls games to be like, it's what I want future Platinum games to be like. And that's saying a LOT for a series that started with World Tendency as an actual mechanic.
-it's locked to a console that requires you to pay extra for online
Fun fact, I used BB and MGS5's online without paying for it. Still, that's a knock against the console itself, isn't it? (and the XBONE) I'm surprised you'd mention that and not the game's actual weaknesses as far as multiplayer goes. Me, I never cared that much about souls multiplayer. I got invaded a few times and got to read signs, so I'm happy. Judging this as a single player game, it's one of the best of all time imo.
-more subjectively, I preferred the weightier, shielded combat of the previous games and I don't like victorian gothic horror as much as european medieval fantasy, though the latter is admittedly getting a bit tired after 3 games. It'd be nice to see them go for something more Eastern or Arabic or whatever. Also, really minor but there were a whole lot of areas that were completely disconnected from the main world, leading to it feeling a bit less cohesive as a whole.
I don't really have a setting preference, but I thought this was wonderfully realized. I never would have guessed that werewolves and elder gods would be so natural together. But aside from oozing with style, the world actually feels lived in. Souls games were always disconcerting continuity-wise, with every plot hole explained away with "time is vague" like the universe equivalent of "a wizard did it". But in Bloodborne the apocalypse only just started; people are actually still behind their doors. You see shit going from bad to worse. And I assume the disconnected areas are the nightmare worlds, but as part of the story they make perfect sense and are awesome.
I admit that sword and board doesn't have a lot of representation in video games, and that Souls held a unique side of a coin with only Legend of Zelda really on the other side. And I liked holding up my shield when going around corners. But I want a compromise now, and it looks like we're getting that. Weapons arts are clearly meant to emulate weapon transformation. At the very least, while I look forward to Dark Souls 3, I also very much look forward to Bloodborne 2. Until we get either, I'm actually very confident in calling Bloodborne the best game ever made.
Or I was.
