As some FromSoftware fans hungrily await new information about Elden Ring, others are haunted by a different question: will Bloodborne ever see a sequel? Bloodborne was a console-defining title for the PlayStation 4, and while some players may argue that it it is best to let the property end with a single high note, there is a good case to be made for returning to Yharnam after FromSoftware finishes with Elden Ring.
FromSoftware does not like to repeat itself, and the inclination to resist churning out profitable but shallow sequels is commendable. This is most evident in last year’s Sekiro, a wildly acclaimed and successful game that is beautiful and punishing with no sequel in sight, even though it would doubtlessly sell well. Even though the Game of the Year Edition recently received fresh DLC, the game does not demand a follow-up in the same way that Bloodborne does.
Sekiro is something of an anomaly among FromSoftware titles, in that its narrative is far more straightforward and self-contained than either the Souls-series, or Bloodborne. A few mysteries still linger, but Sekiro’s story revolves around Wolf and his relationship to Kuro, and the game sees their story through to a satisfying conclusion. Bloodborne’s anonymous, player-created hunter isn’t the central focus of the game, however—the world is.
Influences and Imitators
Even more than the medieval nightmares of Dark Souls or the grimly mythical quality of Sekiro’s feudal Japan, the brooding, blood-soaked Victorian and Gothic features of Yharnam, Bloodborne’s setting, are distinctly new. Both the game’s setting and its mix of firearms and transforming melee weapons were shaped by the mechanical sensibilities of the early industrial revolution and feel unlike anything else in games at present. In a way, the gaming industry is still digesting Bloodborne’s example, whose influence is just now starting to emerge in other titles. The early imagery of the forthcoming Dragon Age 4, has a distinct Bloodborne vibes, for example.
If FromSoftware abandons this world after a single outing, somebody else will return to it and run with it, in spirit if nothing else. It would hardly be surprising to see a rival developer jump on that aesthetic and produce a game that is to Bloodborne as Back 4 Blood is to Left 4 Dead: not just a spiritual successor, but a sequel in everything but name (though, it should be mentioned that Back 4 Blood is a unique situation). At the same time, there is no question that FromSoftware is the best developer to do the job. And that alone is sufficient justification for it to revisit the franchise.
Hanging Threads
The other reason to revisit Bloodborne is that its story arguably isn’t finished. The tenuous details teasing connections to the Souls-verse, the hazy connections between the Hunter’s Dream, the true nature of the Great Ones, and the founding of the Byrgenwerth Scholars are pocked with question marks. While FromSoftware fans have proven themselves extremely adept at chronicling all of the games’ subtle details, and using deft speculation to fill in the blank spaces—or, in Elden Ring’s case, completely fabricating lore where there is none—more information and clarity would scratch an itch that has been growing for half a decade.
We’ll Always Have Yharnam
Regrettably, given the lack of information about Elden Ring, it seems unlikely that FromSoftware has another project in simultaneous development or even a follow-up planned afterwards—assuming Elden Ring itself has not been cancelled.
There are silver linings to be had, however, even if FromSoftware never revisits Bloodborne. Companies inevitably shift, and some of the game’s core creative members have moved on to other ventures, like Bloodborne’s producer, Teruyuki Toriyama, who is due to depart at the end of December. While it would be best for FromSoftware to realize more of Bloodborne’s potential, no follow-up at all is better than a bad sequel.
Bloodborne is available now for PlayStation 4. Elden Ring is currently in-development.
