Bloodborne
is a 2015 action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. The game follows a Hunter through the decrepit Gothic, Victorian-era inspired city of Yharnam, whose inhabitants are afflicted with a blood-borne disease which transforms the residents into horrific beasts. Attempting to find the source of the plague, the player's character unravels the city's mysteries while fighting beasts and cosmic beings.
Bloodborne is played from a third-person perspective. Players control a customizable protagonist, and the gameplay is focused on strategic weapons-based combat and exploration. Players battle varied enemies while using items such as trick weapons and firearms, exploring different locations, interacting with non-player characters, and unraveling the city's mysteries. Bloodborne began development in 2012 under the working title of Project Beast. Bearing many similarities to FromSoftware's Dark Souls series, Bloodborne was inspired by the literary works of authors H. P. Lovecraft and Bram Stoker, as well as the architectural design of real-world locations in countries such as Romania and the Czech Republic.
Bloodborne has been cited as one of the greatest video games ever made, with praise directed at its gameplay, atmosphere, sound design, Lovecraftian themes and interconnected world design. Some criticism was directed at its technical performance at launch, which was improved with post-release updates. The downloadable content The Old Hunters was released in November 2015. The game had sold 7.46 million copies by February 2022. Some related media and adaptations have also been released, including a card game, board game and comic book series.
Gameplay
Bloodborne is an action role-playing game played from a third-person perspective and features elements similar to those found in the Dark Souls series, also made by FromSoftware. The player makes their way through different locations within the decrepit Gothic city of Yharnam while battling varied enemies, including bosses, collecting different types of items that have many uses, interacting with non-player characters, opening up shortcuts, and continuing through the main story.At the beginning of the game, the player creates their character, the Hunter. The player determines the basic details of the Hunter; gender, hairstyle, name, skin color, body shape, voice, and eye color are some of the options the player can customize. The player also chooses a starting class, known as an "Origin", which provides a basic backstory for the Hunter and sets the player's starting attributes. The origins, while describing the player character's past, do not have any effect on gameplay beyond altering starting stats. Another way the player defines their Hunter is by choosing what brotherhood they are a member of. These religious societies, known as "Covenants", each have their views on Yharnam and the world beyond.
The player can return to the hub world, known as the "Hunter's Dream", by interacting with lanterns spread throughout the world of Yharnam. Doing so replenishes health, but respawns all enemies in the game world, with the exception of bosses and mini-bosses. Lanterns also serve as the game's checkpoints; the player will return to the last activated lantern when they die. Positioned separately from Yharnam, the Hunter's Dream delivers some of the game's basic features to the player. Players may purchase helpful items, such as weapons, clothing and consumables, from the Messengers using Blood Echoes or Insight, level up their character by talking to the Doll, or upgrade their weapons in the workshop, among other things. Unlike Yharnam and all other locations in the game, the Hunter's Dream is considered completely safe as it is the only location in the game not to feature enemies. However, the last two boss battles of the game are optional and take place in the Hunter's Dream.
Bloodborne world of Yharnam is an extensive map full of interconnected areas. Some areas of Yharnam are not connected to the main locations and require the player to teleport there via the gravestones in the Hunter's Dream. The player may be presented with multiple options when progressing through locations, but usually, there is the main path that the player uses to progress through the story. When traversing the main path, the player will encounter diverging paths that lead to entirely different locations that are optional. Each path eventually leads back to the central area the player started in; this provides the player with shortcuts, useful for when they die or need to backtrack.
Combat
Combat is fast-paced and requires an offensive approach in order for the player to combat dense hordes of enemies. The player character is agile and can dodge attacks by strafing around enemies while locked on. The new risk-and-reward style of gameplay is emphasized through Bloodborne Rally system, which allows the player to recover portions of lost health by striking an enemy within a small window of time after taking damage. Director Hidetaka Miyazaki explained that this represents the player's increased will to continue after successfully striking an enemy. A New Game Plus mode is also present; after the player has finished the game, a new game will immediately be started. New Game Plus is optional. The player retains all their equipment and the game is more challenging than the previous playthrough.Weapons and combat style
The player may only wield one of two melee weapons equipped to the right hand and one of two secondary weapons equipped to the left hand at any one time. It is easy however to switch between the two weapons equipped to each hand, such that this can be done during combat.Most melee weapons, called Trick Weapons, can transform into an alternate state; each state encourages a different approach to combat. With most Trick Weapons, one state is usually a slower, larger weapon that deals heavier damage per hit, while the other state is smaller, faster, and deals its damage in hit streaks. Certain weapons are wielded in both hands after transforming, meaning the left hand secondary weapon cannot be used. For example, the Hunter Axe in its initial state is wielded with one hand and can be used to dispatch enemies in cramped areas quickly; when transformed into its secondary state, it becomes an extended two-handed weapon more suited for crowd control.
The player's main secondary weapon is a firearm; the firearm, usually a pistol, can be used in a traditional sense, as well as a way to stun enemies. When an enemy is stunned, the player can perform a Visceral attack; Visceral attacks cause a large amount of damage in one hit and can also be performed after the player strikes an enemy from behind with a charged attack.
Other secondary weapons include torches, cannons, and shields, while other main melee weapons include: hammers; swords; two-handed gun-spears or swords, which serve as melee and ranged weapons; whips; a scythe, and a wheel.
Weapons may be altered or upgraded with Blood Gems.
The player can carry other offensive support weapons, such as Molotov cocktails, throwing knives, and pebbles.
Experience and currency
Similarly to the Dark Souls games, slaying enemies grants the player "Blood Echoes," which double as the player's experience points and currency. Should the player die, their Blood Echoes will be dropped at the location of their death. If they can reach that point again, they can regain them. However, should the player die before retrieving their dropped Blood Echoes, they will be lost forever. Sometimes, the player's Blood Echoes may be captured by an enemy, typically identified by glowing blue eyes; defeating this enemy will return the lost Blood Echoes.Insight is a secondary form of currency; it can be spent to purchase items, or to summon help for bosses. Depending on the player's Insight level, the world will change in many different ways: when the player reaches a specific Insight level, some NPCs or enemies might no longer be present, the sky and moon will change colour, the player may start hearing different sounds, or enemies' attack patterns may change. The world also changes as the player progresses through the main story. Insight can be gained by finding and defeating bosses, using items that grant Insight, helping another player via co-op defeat a boss, and successfully defeating another player in competitive multiplayer.
Items dropped and found
When enemies are defeated, they sometimes drop useful items for the player, such as Blood Vials, which heal the player, or Quicksilver Bullets, the main ammunition for ranged weaponry. The player can also sacrifice health to create Blood Bullets. These have no functional difference from the consumable Quicksilver Bullets, but are a source of extra ammo, and the Rally system still applies to the lost health.Useful items can also be found hidden in the environment, usually requiring the player to go on a different path than they were initially travelling. Items include various forms of Coldblood, which grant the player Blood Echoes when consumed, Antidotes, used for curing poisoning, and Hunter Badges, used for purchasing items in the Hunter's Dream.
Blood Gems, which are mostly dropped but sometimes found, can be used to upgrade or modify the player's weapons.