I know, I know. That headline is a bit confusing—how can you have aBloodbornegame that… isn’t Bloodborne? Hear me out.
For whatever reason, Sony has leftYharnambehind. There’s no sign ofa PS5 remasteror even a 60fps update, let alone a sequel. Given that co-developer Japan Studio practically shut down in 2021, I’m not surprised. FromSoftware has been busy with new projects likeElden RingandArmored Core 6, and the studio Sony usually hands remakes to (Bluepoint Games) istrying something completely original for a change. Nobody is around to deal with the Bloodborne-shaped elephant in the room.
Even FromSoftware wants a Bloodborne PC port, but I get the feeling there’s more going on behind the scenes.
When FromSoft last ran into a wall withDemon’s Soulsand a lack of support from Sony, it made a new game in the same vein under Bandai Namco—Dark Souls.
It plays very similarly, albeit with jumping and replenishing health flasks. It swaps the Maiden in Black for Firekeepers, recycles boss patterns and enemy types, and even shares characters likethe Crestfallen Warrior(others are practically the same under a new name, like Ostrava to Oscar and Yurt to Lautrec). The setting is also a medieval dark fantasy society in ruins, with a false god who has lost their way waiting for us at the very end of our blood-soaked quest.
The similarities are unending, so I won’t list them all here. The point is that FromSoftware went from Demon’s Souls to a spiritual successor under a new publisher that took the series even further. We don’t call them soulslikes because of Demon’s Souls, we call them that because of Dark Souls. Unlike its predecessor, it was a cross-platform release, so it had a much wider reach. With extra polish, and even more iconic characters like Solaire and Siegmeyer, FromSoftware put itself on the map like never before and carved out a brand-new action RPG genre.
Of course, Bloodborne isn’t an underdog in the same way Demon’s Souls was. It was a huge success and is often regarded as FromSoftware’s magnum opus. But a spiritual successor could push the envelope even further much as Dark Souls did for Demon’s Souls.
I doubt we’ll see Bloodborne 2 at this point. FromSoftware has been thriving beyond PlayStation withSekiro: Shadows Die Twiceand Elden Ring both winning Game of the Year. Going back to exclusives seems unlikely, especially if it’s a sequel. But the dreary Victorian streets that bleed into crimson red nightmares, complimented by unfathomable Lovecraftian monsters with eyes festering from their skulls, is one of the most exciting settings not just among FromSoftware games, but the medium as a whole.
To see that backdrop abandoned completely just because of complications around the IP would be an enormous disappointment. Instead, FromSoftware could simply do what it has done several times already—go back under a new moniker. Dark Souls had a very similar setting to Demon’s Souls, sharing many of its signature themes, and Elden Ring—while co-penned by George R. R. Martin—was much the same.
FromSoftware isn’t above revisiting its favourite backdrops to take them even further. Bloodborne could itself be reborn with a spiritual successor that opens the door for more people than ever to experience what a Hidetaka Miyazaki Lovecraftian London looks and feels like. Trust me, it’s every bit as good as they say.
Bloodborne
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Bloodborne is a PlayStation 4-exclusive title developed by Dark Souls and Elden Ring creator FromSoftware, and launched in 2015. A critically acclaimed action role-playing game, you must traverse the city of Yharnam seeking a cure for a mysterious illness.
