Bloodborne – The Game That Changed Me

Hello, Good Hunter

It was March 24th, 2015, and Bloodborne just released. I was up late watching Twitch streams of the game because I was on vacation from work that week and very interested in playing it myself. I clearly remember being in Professor Broman’s chat talking with others about it. At the time, the only experience I had with “Souls” games was a very short period of playing the original Dark Souls back in 2011. I was actually put off due to the game being vague with no clear direction of where to go or what to do. Looking back, I believe I was too young to understand how the game was attempting to communicate with me. I was apprehensive about purchasing Bloodborne because I did not want that to happen again. After some thinking, I decided to take a leap of faith. I will forever be grateful for making that decision.

Read more: Bloodborne – The Game That Changed Me

Bloodborne – The Blood Makes Us Human

During this time, I was in my mid-twenties, and like everyone at that age, I was going through all sorts of different issues and emotions. I was working a dead-end job that I couldn’t stand. Also, I was dealing with relationship problems in my personal life. Since I’ve been playing video games since I was five years old, many have been an inspiration such as Halo 3. After booting up Bloodborne for the first time, I quickly realized that it was going to be the experience I so desperately needed.

The moment you awaken in the game, the atmosphere speaks for itself with its gothic yet beautiful design. Right away, the game teaches you that it’s ok and necessary to die. You actually have to die to enter the Hunter’s Dream. Which is needed to pick your starting weapon and progress the game so you can level up etc… Technically, you can survive the first room but it’s very much by design that you aren’t supposed to. After making your weapon selection in the Hunter Dream, the player is back facing the wolf that took you down. Now, the player will be able to take it down much easier. Within the opening moments, the game teaches the player that it’s ok to fail and that preparation is key.

Somebody Help Me…Unshackle Me Please

Bloodborne, just like most games made by FromSoftware is difficult. You will die repeatedly and often get lost unless you use a guide. The vague gameplay design requires the player to apply critical thinking and be comfortable with making mistakes. For example, Not using all the in-game items that you come across. There is an early game boss named Father Gascoigne who can be stunned a few times by an item called Tiny Music Box. This can grant the player a few easy hits in on the boss which greatly increases the player’s chance of success.

All these elements really spoke to me during this era of my life. It was teaching me to explore to find unique solutions to problems and that failure is a normal process. I died and failed repeatedly during my initial playthrough. But I was learning to enjoy the journey and to bask in the light of success during a victory. As in taking down a difficult boss such as Ludwig, The Holy Blade. This boss is actually in the DLC expansion called The Old Hunters. I referenced this expansion as being very difficult in a recent write-up I did concerning Elden Ring’s DLC difficulty. I fell in love with Bloodborne so much that I played through New Game + 5.

May You Find Your Worth in the Waking World

When it was all said and done, Bloodborne was more than just another video game to me. It was a reminder that challenges, failures, and mistakes are all part of life. Without experiencing struggles, how can a victory really be appreciated? After completing the game, I would end up clearing the rest of the “Souls” catalog and FromSoftware would become one of my most beloved developers. If you ever wanted to play Bloodborne, I highly encourage you to leap with both feet first.

Author Credit: Alex Patsy