I'm someone who bought Demon's Souls way back when it was an obscure PS3 title. Since that time I have bought Dark Souls on multiple platforms and Dark Souls 2 along with all the DLC on PC.
For me, Bloodborne seemed to be a no-brainer. I specifically purchased the PS4 for this title. It would not disappoint in this regard. The production quality is always very high with FROM. Bloodborne is not a bad looking game. Nor is it ever without excitement. What you'll see in this game is the usual sense of dread from a boss encounter but also a new sense of dread that arises from fighting minions who scream from the shadows, hiss and reveal red and yellow eyes canvassing the darkness. That unmistakable hiss a wolf makes as it reveals its teeth right before it lunges at you will always link to Bloodborne for me. It is all very well done here.
The weapons layout is smaller than other titles in this series but also more intricate. Weapons are like transformers where they can be extended or changed almost entirely to suit a new goal.
I wish I could say the same for armor but unfortunately this time around armor feels very lacking. Ditto for shields. There will be no fashion souls this time!
With shields gone comes another change which struck me as unnecessary. That being the combat roll. No longer can you lock onto a target and then roll under its swing. Now, you will quick step in the direction your stick is pointing. So quick stepping backwards will most likely get you dead fast. You can generally beat the big guys by quick stepping to them and then behind them as they swing wildly in huge arcs. Still, there will be those WTF moments where you poly crash with the boss and end up against a wall unable to move because you can't roll away.
To replace shields ( and incidentally parry ) we get a gun that allows for us to interrupt an enemy swing. Done right it can produce a devastating hit. Though I find for the most part this is an unreliable mechanic that gets you dead fast when trying it against a boss. Other options in this slot are an uninspired flamethrower which seems suitable for people who like big slow weapons that need a fast area spray for small fast hitting enemies.
I was left a bit disappointed in this direction. Combat doesn't feel as varied now. Without having turtles with giant shields, parry bots with no shields all we have left are the R1 spammers and the R2 leap spammers. May the best spammer win!
Story wise Bloodborne is a great game. I like the way FROM tells story through subtle imagery and flare. I wish more developers would tell stories this way. It makes for better immersion. That said, Bloodborne is a little less obscure than Dark Souls. It is not significant though.
All in all this one is worth the PvE romp but the PvP will not be as interesting nor as everlasting as the Dark Souls series. If PvE is all that matters to you this is one title you don't want to miss.