Official PlayStation Magazine - 04.2020

027

Jess Kinghorn Rebecca Stow

O

kay,I knowwhat

you’rethinking:‘Cor,

sheplaysonegame

modeinFIFAand

suddenlythinksheropinion

aboutthefutureofthegenre

isworthsharing.’Well,my

responsetothatis,uh,

you’regoddamnright.Alex

Hunter’sstoryisa bitofa

lighttouchintermsof

narrativedesignbutit leaves

somethingofanopengoal

initswake.

If youwanttositandplay

a matchinyourfavourite

yearlysportstitle,I’mnot

arguingthatshouldbetaken

awayfromyou,evenif I do

enjoythatpartofthegamea

lotlessmyself.Butyouknow

whatI’mwellinto?Sports

animeandmanga.I justwant

allthegoodboysandgirlsto

achievetheirdreams,andat

itsbest,that’sthepartofmy

brainAlexHunter’sjourney

managedtolightlytickle.

LONGROADAHEAD

TheJourney’sopeningatthe

exittrialsdoesanexcellent

jobofbalancingtutorialswith

storystakesyoucareabout

andevenjusta smidgeof

challenge.Unfortunately,once

you’vegotthecontract,the

storymoreorlessvacatesthe

stadiumforminutesata time

duringyourpromatches.

Whata missedopportunity!

Thebeautifulgameshouldn’t

becomea QTE-laden

nightmare,butthere’splenty

ofuntappedpotentialfor

storytellingina match–just

lookatlong-runningseries

CaptainTsubasa.

CouldTsubasa’slatesttitle,

subtitledRiseOfNew

Champions,strikethat

sports-anime-but-in-

videogame-formsweetspot?

Possiblynot,butthesquad’s

powered-upmovessureare

flashy.Noneofthatis tosay

thatFIFAshouldgofull-on

animeeither;keepthevery

Britishdrama,justgiveus

moreofit andpepperthe

matcheswithit.FIFA’s

in-gamecommentatorsdoan

admirablejoboftellinga

storyandprovidingcontext,

butwhatis admittedly

excellentsounddesignshould

supplementstorytellingand

notattempttoreplaceit (I’m

lookingatyou,FinalFantasy

XV).Whileserieslike

Maddentendtopivottowards

player-createdprotagonists

fortheirstorymodes,The

Journeyfeelsstrongerthanks

toAlex’spre-defined

relationshipsandbackground.

I justwishgreaterusehad

beenmadeofthem.

B

loodborneisfarand

awaymyfavourite

videogameofalltime.

Withdeeplore,

challengingcombat,anda

deliciouslytwistedaesthetic,

thestreetsofYharnamhave

alwaysbeenmygo-to

destinationwheneverI have

somesparetime.Butfive

yearsandtwoFromSoftware

gamesonfromBloodborne’s

release,whereisthesequel?

Likeallsoulsbornes,

Bloodborneis knownfor

beingextremelydifficult.Even

fora competentplayer,a full

playthroughcantakea few

months.It tookmetwoyears

marredbymanydeathsbefore

I finallygrabbedthePlatinum

trophy.Andmyfirstthought

uponobtainingit?Whenis

thesequelcomingout?

ForthreeyearsI waited,

eagerlystreamingevery

PlayStationeventinhopeofa

Bloodborne2 announcement.

Buttimeandtimeagainit

didn’thappen,andtoventmy

frustrationI hadtoloadup

Bloodbornejusttorage-slay

somebossesorrage-raid

someChaliceDungeons.

’BORNEAGAIN

ButrecentlyI hada revelation.

I dideverythingthereis

todoinBloodbornethree

yearsago,andyetI stillplay

it allthetime.I havethis

oneperfectgamethatis so

comprehensiveintermsof

loreI nevertireofit.I don’t

actuallyneedBloodborne 2

becauseI canalwaysplay

moreBloodborne!

Don’tgetmewrong,should

FromSoftwareannouncea

sequel,I willbedelighted.But

thestudioneedstobefreeto

makewhatit wants,notwhat

I andotherfansdemandit

make.SinceBloodborne,

FromSoftwarehasreleased

twomoregruellingaction

adventuregamesintheform

ofDarkSoulsIIIandSekiro.

Afterplayingthem(and

gettingovermyinitial

resentmentofthemnot

beingBloodborne2)I realised

theyarebothexhilarating

experiences;morethan

enoughtoscratchmy

soulsbornecravings.

Ontopofthat,

FromSoftwareis currently

workingonEldenRingin

collaborationwithGeorgeRR

Martin.I’mexcitedatthe

thoughtofthesetwogiantsof

fantasystorytellingcreating

somethingtogether,andI

can’twaittoplaytheend

resultwhenit releases.In

betweenlengthyboutsof

Bloodborne,ofcourse.

WE’REALREADY

HAVINGA BALL–

WHYNOT MAKE

STORYTHEGOAL?

I WAITED THREEYEARS

FORA BLOODBORNE 2

ANNOUNCEMENT. BUTINTHE

ENDI DIDN’T NEEDTO.

WRITER BIO

Jess Kinghorn found herself instantly invested in Alex Hunter’s dream of

turning pro. Sadly, experiencing Germany’s 2014 World Cup win up way too

close and personal means she’s unlikely to ever care for a kickabout in real life.

WRITER BIO

Bloodborne was Rebecca Stow’s gaming Everest, but she did eventually

conquer it and obtain the Platinum trophy. Since then she’s spent a lot of

time daydreaming about a sequel, mostly when she’s meant to be working.

Sports games shouldn’t shy away from story.

There’s untapped potential in every match

Thanks to FromSoftware’s other games, I’ve

finally realised I don’t need a Bloodborne sequel

OPINION