It’s been 10 years since Bloodborne launched. The FromSoftware classic fans yearn for a remaster of has no new news, but that shouldn’t be a reason to mourn a publisher’s negligence towards fan demand.
Rather, let’s take time to remember, celebrate, and revisit gaming’s beloved one-shot game.
Evolving The Formula
After hitting it big with Dark Souls following the cult-following Demon’s Souls garnered, FromSoftware’s reputation went from being regarded as some B-tier jack-of-all-trades developer with their best efforts being a game series about giant mechas, into a top-tier geniuses that pioneered what we still call “soulslikes”. The Souls’ style action-RPG with controls that require restraint for fear of being severely punished by either enemies or the level design has become distinct enough to be its own genre, and inspired many to walk the same path, from Team Ninja to Deck13.
But it was presumptuous of me to consider the slow and deliberate combat being a core tenet to this subgenre. And this is mechanically Bloodborne’s claim to fame. It’s a faster, leaner soulslike. You’re not meant to be turtling, there’s barely any shields in the game. Instead, your off-hand armament is now a gun, which when fired at the right moment can incite a parry which gives you an opening for attack.
Bloodborne also wants you to go ham, ever moreso. With the lack of defence options, the game introduces “rally” where you can regain back a portion of the health you lost if you hit an enemy within a short window. If Dark Souls demands you to count your hits and don’t overextend yourself, Bloodborne laughs at you for being a coward and locking yourself out of the many advantages it gives you for going aggressive. You’re the Hunter here, you’re out to hunt, and the mechanics reinforces that theme.
Another change of pace with Bloodborne is how lean its gear system is. A lot of the options for weapons and gear are mostly side-grades, Armored Core-style. I’ve made it almost through the end of the game by just upgrading the starter Saw Cleaver. They may be less quantity of weapons to find in Bloodborne, but these weapons have a trick, in that they are all 2-in-1 morphing weapons. If you think Monster Hunter’s Switch Axe and Charge Blade are cool, Bloodborne’s arsenal are made under the same rule of cool. A cane that can be unsheathe to reveal a whip. A sword that is sheathed is a giant stone hammer. A spear with a gun. A pilebunker. Or folding saw that swings fast when folded but hits long when fully extended. All iconic. No fluff.
Streamlining can have undesired connotations in video games. It can usually mean the game has been made simple and therefore easier. Bloodborne didn’t streamline the Souls formula to make it easier. It’s done so to reveal and provide a different Souls experience. One that is leaner, faster, and demands player to be more bold and brave than what the original formula had conditioned them to be.
Bloodborne’s influence to the Souls formula is so strong that some circles don’t call them soulslikes, but Soulsborne.
The Gothic Horror World And Its Reverence For The Blood And Moon
But Bloodborne is not remembered for its sheer mechanical brilliance. What really struck a chord on gamers is the world. This harrowing, dark gothic world isn’t outright horrific. But it’s a terrifying world to be stuck in. The city of Yharnam could be a charming little Victorian town you would see before the start of the Industrial Revolution. But it’s haunted with odd creatures, and even odder people.
The long, dark night was a sight to behold on the PS4 10 years ago, and as the game progresses the world gets slightly more unhinged and creepy as the eldritch horror that lurks in this world slowly unveils itself. Or rather, it you who pierce the veil from gaining Insight, a game mechanic where the more you gain it, more of the things previously unseen are revealed. It isn’t creepy because the night gets darker. But because the night glows blood red.
On that note, Bloodborne, true to its name, is obsessed with blood. The people of Yharnam has been researching blood and fusing blood, which may or may not have damn them to the horrors we see unfold. You heal with blood vials. Bloods can give buffs, as you can receive them from various women you encounter. The moon and its phases also plays a large part as well, and would it surprise you that the blood moon makes an apperance?
And between the blood and the moon themes, Bloodborne also dabbles with “visceral feminism”. You see various women going through pains that we consider natural, from birth to menstruation. And Bloodborne confronts them in a way that will make you uncomfortable. Yeah, what if world itself has a pink calendar and we all suffer when the blood moon emerges?
We’ve just come to terms with the everyday horrors women go through daily, don’t we?
I highly recommend this video essay on Honey Bat on the subject matter:
The subject and theme of Bloodborne has this tangible eerines to it. Not abstract concepts. It hits close to home. It’s… visceral. And that what makes the world lingers in many minds all these years.
While the cosmic horror stuff can be brushed aside, put them back behind the veil as you forget about it, like how in the game you can lose Insight and as a result stop seeing those entities again. But you cannot not see blood. And for many, it’s something they see on a monthly basis.
Back To A Simpler Time
And if you are playing Bloodborne this week, like many in the community as part of a yearly tradition, you’ll discover how straightforward the game is, compared to modern soulslikes. Remember the time when you don’t roam in the open world? When all the levels are interconnected? Where the levels can feel so dense despite it all having a small footprint?
I gave Bloodborne a go years ago, before soulslike click with me, and felt the world to be really huge and confusing to navigate. Top that off with knowing that every wrong step can mean death a loss of progress if not careful and that meant I struggled to get to grips with the game.
I’ve since revisited the game with better understanding of soulslikes, and now I see how smartly designed these small levels are. It branches out just enough to make you feel like you’re in a labyrinth, but there’s always a clear linear progression path.
Whether that be the opening streets of Yharnam, the long trek across the Forbidden Woods, or the chilly ascent up to Cainhurst Castle, the level design is tight and concise with just the appropriate level of evilness. There are always a cheeky enemy jumpscare hiding in a blind spot. Or a trap. The game will troll you and set you up for failure quite often. Sometimes it’s the messages from fellow Hunters that may be trolling.
But that is part of the charm of these early soulslikes. You just don’t know what to expect.
Though getting around not having a dedicated jump button will take some time to get used to, if you’re not familiar with classic soulslikes like I was. Thankfully, the game is build around the moveset available.
Bloodborne’s Legacy
10 years since the release, and you can still hear people rave about Bloodborne and lament on how the series never saw another entry. No sequel, no remaster, not even a simple port to run natively on PS5 or on PC.
But the community of Hunter remain strong and fervent. The yearly Return To Yharnam encourages players to replay Bloodborne again.
One developer even made a PS1 demake of the game (which is now gone due to a copyright claim). Said developer went on to make Bloodborne Kart, which later evolved into Nightmare Kart, a kart racing game set in a legally-distinct gothic horror setting featuring legally-distinct gothic horror characters.
And there’s even an emulation of the PS4 Bloodborne build on PC that runs on 60FPS.
From a game design perspective, the soulslike formula has since evolved to incorporate faster and more aggressive playstyles post-Bloodborne. Whether that be FromSoft’s own Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice or the current crop of faster, looser soulslikes and “soulslites”, the subgenre has more room for interpretation other than just copy what Demon’s Souls or Darks Souls did.
Bloodborne is published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, predating the PlayStation Studios banner. It’s sort of a mea culpa for FromSoft as SIE dropped Demon’s Souls for a release in the West, only for it to find a cult following and its follow-up, Dark Souls, becoming a big hit.
Other than an appearance on Astro Bot, PlayStation has essentially done nothing with Bloodborne all these years.
There were wishful thinking that with its 10th anniversary this year, we might hear something from this series.
But alas, Bloodborne remains a one-shot game. And if the IP is to never become a series, to the dismay of its fans, the same fans will only just galvanise and ensure generations to come remember of Bloodborne. Just as a Hunter must hunt, a fervent fan of Bloodborne must, and for sure will, continue to speak highly of FromSoftware’s 2015 masterpiece, forevermore.
Go play Bloodborne.