Whilst patience, careful use of items and learning patterns are some of the more important skills to learn in Bloodborne, what is actually the most vital thing to keep a look out for is short cuts. Learning your environment is good for battle, but it's also good to orient yourself and realise that Yharnam is full of secrets. And most of those can be found by smashing sh*t up. Which you should do at any opportunity, because who knows what you might find? Besides occasional items, including the Blood Stone Shards needed to upgrade your weapons, attacking the destructible barrels, stacks of luggage and boxes that litter the frankly messy city of Yharnam and beyond will often uncover short cuts. If you've been playing the game for a few hours and frustrated at your lack of progress? Yeah, that's cos you haven't found the short cuts. The reason you keep having to repeat entire sections is because you haven't found how to jump to other parts of the environment with ease try and open every gate, every door, and smash everything in the hope of a hidden passageway. A lot involve sheer drops, so make sure you watch where you're stepping. Else all you'll be leaping to is that infernal YOU DIED game over screen.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
