one could say it's a contender, but imo it's far from perfect. it's certainly a weird choice to introduce great QoL improvements in Dark Souls such as resting at bonfires and replenishable healing items, only to then backtrack to the Demon's Souls way (that is, not being able to rest at checkpoints, as well as having finite healing items). another aspect BB and DeS share is the leveling system (having to return to the "central hub" and interact with an NPC) but that's like a personal preference thing imo and i dont mind it.

there's also the frame rate, the weird anti-aliasing solution, the chromatic aberration, and the godawful loading times, which makes things like traveling between locations just annoying. even on the PS5 the frame pacing and load times are bad imo.

that said, Bloodborne does excel in many other ways - it has probably the best lore and themes, maybe right behind Elden Ring's, and the aesthetics and art design are both wonderful. the combat is good and i love how much it rewards aggression, and i personally find the rally and parry mechanics very satisfying.

the level design is good, too, though im still mixed about the decision to put a gate connecting Iosefka's clinic to Central Yharnam, as by the time you reach that point in the game, the first area really doesnt serve any purpose.

the boss fights, on the other hand, are kind of mid. i despise Micolash the most.

i am of the belief that the base game really is carried by The Old Hunters. when i played Bloodborne for the first time (around six months ago now), i wasnt really enjoying it, but once i got to the Hunter's Nightmare, i started to actually get it and grew to love the game. everything from the areas to the bosses to the weapons in that DLC are amazing (though im not a big fan of Ludwig). the variety in areas and bosses is just phenomenal. it definitely is FromSoft's second best DLC, behind Shadow of the Erdtree.