No company has managed to combine the facets of old-school difficulty and modern gaming practices as seamlessly as FromSoftware did, with their games being proof enough of why Dark Souls was one of the greatest and most influential games of all time. The core tenets of this series were adapted to a new IP in the form of Bloodborne, which is easily one of the greatest games ever made that only furthered FromSoftware’s legacy. Bloodborne retained the tough-yet-fair mentality from Dark Souls, with most of the game expertly designed around this idea of difficulty that turns the game into an experience that is equal parts nerve-wracking and adrenaline-inducing.
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That being said, there are some encounters the player has to clear in Bloodborne that can be downright unforgiving. It’s in the following ten encounters in the game that the game’s difficulty seems fabricated to just frustrate the player, instead of adding to the overall atmosphere and feel of the game.
10 Fighting A Werewolf With Your Bare Fists
The first few moments of Bloodborne show what the game is all about. With horrible armor and no weapons at all, the player is pretty much instantly thrust into an encounter with a werewolf… albeit a wounded one.
While one might argue that the game expects you to die here, it’s still worth taking on the challenge of fighting this beast with only your fists… although it can be quite an immense task indeed.
9 The Winter Lantern Present In A Secret Nook Of The Nightmare Frontier
The Nightmare Frontier is one of the most annoying areas in the game, featuring the classic FromSoftware poison swamp that they just love to stick players in. However, what makes this area worse is a particular moment when the player is roaming around this poisonous area, trying their hardest to maintain their health and uncovering secrets… only to encounter a Winter Lantern for what is probably the very first time.
These enemies are the bane of most Bloodborne players’ existence, and it’s almost impossible to get past this annoying enemy the first time around… and way more tries after that.
8 Traversing The Nightmare Areas
In general, it must be addressed that traversing any of the Nightmare areas can be an absolute pain. The poison swamp of the Nightmare Frontier has already been discussed, but there’s still more to be talked about regardless.
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The Nightmare Of Mensis is especially a pain because of the Brain Of Mensis that constantly causes the player to build up Frenzy while also hitting for minor damage. However, the frenzy build-up along with this minor damage can instantly kill the player, which is what makes this area such a pain to get through.
7 Encountering A Snatcher For The First Time
The Snatcher is easily one of the most memorable enemies in Bloodborne, even though encountering one will never be a pleasant experience.
The fact that this enemy hits for a ton of damage and can take players all the way to a completely different area that they had no clue about easily makes them one of the most daunting encounters in Bloodborne.
6 The Two Werewolves On The Bridge Towards The Cleric Beast Fight
The starting area of Bloodborne is easily one of the best tutorial areas in all of gaming…until you reach the bridge towards the Cleric Beast boss fight. That’s when the game just chooses to feed you to the wolves…quite literally.
Trying to get past the two wolves patrolling the area without cheesing the encounter is easily one of the most frustrating moments a new player can face.
5 Getting Ambushed By Three Hunters In Yahar’gul
As an area, Yahar’gul is quite frustrating as is. However, it’s when you reach the Hypogean Gaol — the place where the Snatchers take you — that the game truly throws you in for a loop.
A player who doesn’t observe his surroundings will be ambushed by three powerful hunters — an encounter that can prove to be quite a pain if the player is caught off-guard.
4 The Slew Of Winter Lanterns That Need To Be Crossed To Reach The Brain Of Mensis
This encounter would easily be one of the hardest ones in the base game, were it not for one other fight that will be discussed later. One Winter Lantern is enough of a pain as is…but Bloodborne has the audacity to make the player pass a bridge with three Winter Lanterns in order to get a Blood Rock!
It’s easily one of the most frustrating moments in the entire game and goes to show that too many cooks can spoil the broth indeed… especially if the cooks in question are horrible Lovecraftian monstrosities.
3 Getting The Choir Bell
But of course, three Winter Lanterns wouldn’t be enough to satiate From Software’s sadism. Right after escaping these enemies, the player is thrust into a room where a Winter Lantern is patrolling the other side of a platform that holds a chest.
Trying to reach this chest is a pain because of the two Nightmare Apostles that can ambush the player as well. Along with this, the only way to reach the platform is by crossing a narrow plank, which is all the more nerve-wracking because of the looming presence of the Winter Lantern. At this point, one might argue that the Choir Bell simply isn’t worth it.
2 Defeating The Bloody Crow Of Cainhurst
Eileen the Crow might have an awesome NPC questline… but there’s no denying that the final step to completing her quest is easily the most frustrating encounter in the base game. Trying to fight the Bloody Crow of Cainhurst is an absolute pain, mainly due to the fact that both his ranged and melee attacks hit for a ton of damage and can potentially one-shot an underleveled player.
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Fighting him can prove to be a massive test of patience since even a single instance of the player getting greedy will certainly lead to their demise.
1 Fighting The Two Giant Fishmen To Get The Rakuyo
While there’s only one encounter from the DLC that’s made it on this list — surprisingly enough — it’s an encounter that’s so frustrating that no one can argue the legitimacy of this encounter taking the number one spot. Lady Maria’s weapon is a really cool combat asset that players would want… but the sheer brutality of the fight that the player has to endure to get this weapon is truly insane.
To get the Rakuyo, player’s need to climb down the well in the Fishing Hamlet and fight two Giant Fishmen, which are easily the most powerful enemies in the game. They hit like a truck and have tons of HP. The worst part is that one of these Giant Fishmen has a weapon, which makes him nigh impossible to take down without a few exploits.