We’ve all played them. Games that live long in the memory; games that dominate your every waking moment for weeks at a time and games that you’d replay over and over again if you had the time…
But what I want to know is this…Have you ever played a game that you loved, but had to work around the fact that one of the games core mechanics was just… kinda trash?
For context, I’m currently working through the excellent Bloodborne. I can see why it’s largely considered the best one of those games, and potentially one of the best games released in the last decade…at the same time I cannot abide the way the game handles healing and health vials.
What about you.
At first, I agreed with you about the blood vials in Bloodborne, but it’s actually a genius mechanic. Here’s why you should probably love the design of blood vials:
From a story perspective, it’s amazing. You’re running around killing all these horrific creatures, healing yourself with blood vials… Made from the same blood that turned all these people into monsters. It adds another level of cosmic/body horror when you realize the only thing saving you is also slowly killing you.
From a balance perspective, it’s amazing at slowing you down when you’re not good enough to continue just yet. Running out of blood vials and being forced to farm them actually forces you to learn the mechanics of the game. For example, you figure out a pretty good farming route where you get 6 vials before heading back to the bonfire, but you used 5 of the 6 you got. Next time you only use 4 so you can preserve those precious vials, next time 3, etc. You get better at not getting hit and using the mechanics to your advantage. It stalls your progression in the game until you take the time to learn. It’s actually game design GENIUS!
Once you get good enough at the game, blood vials start stacking up in your storage and you’ll quickly reach the maximum capacity, and the feeling you get seeing the number going up and up when at the start of the game you were struggling to keep the 20 vial max in your inventory is amazing! Some games show you that you’re getting better by increasing a number in your character sheet, Bloodborne shows you that you’re getting better by rewarding you with the security of knowing you’re never going to run out vials again because of your own hard work.
It’s also immensely rewarding to see how it wasn’t just the levels and stats that made you better, it was your learning. Get good at Bloodborne and then try starting a brand new game, and you’ll be amazed at how it’s actually quite easy now.