I’m finally challenging myself to beat 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Bloodborne this year, and I’ve spent a good portion of the early months of 2024 roaming the streets of Yharnam. In that same period, Pocket Pair, Inc. released Palworld in early access, and along with millions of other millennials desperate to recapture the thrill that Ash Ketchum's adventures once gave me, I’ve also spent some time building bases, brandishing billy clubs, and barbecuing birds. And, though I've spent time in both worlds, it wasn't until recently that I realized the connection between Souls-likes and survival games.

A few weekends ago, my wife and I had friends over and, when I was talking about what I had been playing, I mentioned Bloodborne. I started explaining the mechanics that make Souls games unique and I alluded to the corpse run — the frantic dash you need to do to retrieve the experience points lingering on your dead body, during which, if you die again, you lose them forever. My friend said, "Like in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Minecraft." And, then I thought, "Huh, I guess your stuff does tend to be with your dead body when you respawn in survival games." That simple realization was a lightbulb moment that caused me to see how much the two genres have in common. Now, after some thought, I'm here to argue that 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dark Souls and Bloodborne are, in fact, survival games.

When I think about what defines a survival game the first thing that comes to mind is, well, surviving. In a game like Palworld, you have a meter monitoring how hungry your character is that you need to top up at regular intervals to keep them strong. The more meters there are, the more hardcore the game is. In DayZ, you might get cholera, which you would then need to treat with medicine you scavenge. Plenty of post-apocalyptic games have radiation, which you need to treat with medicine when exposed. These items typically aren't reusable, so each time you get hurt, you'll need to track down the specific item that heals that condition.

Souls games often handle status effects the same way. You can become afflicted with a condition that will negatively impact your playthrough until you hunt down an item to heal it. If you get hit with the Cursed status in Dark Souls, for example, you will die, then respawn with half of your health bar. Until you find and use a Purging Stone or speak to Ingward, the NPC who can heal you in exchange for humanity, you'll continue to operate at 50 percent health. Bloodborne diverges from other Souls games in that your Hunter doesn't have an Estus Flask — the reusable potion jug you haul around in Dark Souls. Instead, you heal with Blood Vials, which are consumed with each use. If you try a tough boss fight a few times, you may need to go back out and scavenge for Blood Vials. It's not unlike having to hunt for food in Palworld.

Another commonality is that both Bloodborne and Palworld have weapons that degrade over time. In Palworld, this happens quickly, especially with early game tools. If you need to get some heavy duty wood chopping done, your ax isn't going to last longer than ten minutes. In Bloodborne, your weapon breaks down slowly until it's just a blunt instrument that isn't any better than using your fists. When that happens, you need to hunt down Bloodstone Shards, which can be paired with Blood Echoes to fix your blade. You can also get ahead of the curve by continually upgrading your weapon as you get Shards. That's how I've been approaching this playthrough. In the words of the Boy Scouts of America, in survival games and Souls you need to be prepared.

But, the most important aspect that both games nail is the feeling of danger when you venture out from your base. In survival games, the base is literal. It's the shelter you build so that you have a safe place to sleep, protected from enemies and the elements. Bloodborne doesn't have an actual base, but the Hunter's Dream serves the same function. When you're there, you're safe. You can level up, repair and upgrade your weapons, and buy or sell new items. Similarly, when you venture out into the world, it isn't with the plan that you will complete missions or move onto a new level. You are, instead, making brief sojourns out into a dangerous place that wants to kill you. It's an environment where staying out for even a minute longer than you should can mean death. It's that feeling that Souls and survival games are trying to capture.

Survival Week at TheGamer is brought to you by Nightingale - .

168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Survival Week

Genre

Survival, Survival Horror

Sponsored by

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Nightingale

Dates

February 12꧃-18, 2024

Franchise

Minecraft

Games

🐻 Nightingale, Enshrouded, Palworld, DayZ, Valheim, ARK: Survival Evolved, Frostpunk, Pacific Drive, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, Project Zomboid

Welcome to the home of TheGamer's Survival Week, a celebration of all things, well, survival. Here you'll find features, interviews, and more dedicated to this popular genre, brought to you by Inflexion Games' upcoming open-world survival crafter, Nightingale.

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