Gemopedia
Video Games🇯🇵Japan21st century

Bloodborne

GOTHIC HORROR ACTION-RPG (FROMSOFTWARE, published SONY 2015 for PS4 exclusive) — directed by HIDETAKA MIYAZAKI. Set in nightmarish Victorian gothic city YHARNAM, players are HUNTERS fighting COSMIC-HORROR ELDRITCH BEASTS + BLOOD-DRUNK CITIZENS. Faster + more aggressive combat than DARK SOULS series (its predecessor) — RALLY MECHANIC recovers health by attacking after damage. Widely considered ONE OF GREATEST GAMES EVER MADE (95 METACRITIC score); DLC 'THE OLD HUNTERS' 2015. Cult status + huge modding + speedrunning community; unreleased on PC (Sony exclusive still 2026).

⏱~2400 min🌤indoor

Quick facts

Category

Video Games

Type

Individual

Players

1–4

Duration

~2400 min

Where played

indoor

Country of origin

🇯🇵 Japan

Estimated origin

Released March 2015 by FROMSOFTWARE (Japan) + SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT (worldwide publisher), PS4 exclusive; directed by HIDETAKA MIYAZAKI (same director as DEMON'S SOULS, DARK SOULS I-III, ELDEN RING); THE OLD HUNTERS DLC released November 2015; cult status growing since release; competitive speedrun community + LEAGUE OF LEGENDS-caliber build-crafting analysis + FanFiction community; PC port long-rumored but unreleased.

Olympic

No

Popularity

regional

How it works

Objective

PROGRESS through Yharnam nightmare, defeat 22+ bosses, uncover cosmic-horror LORE, achieve 1 of 3 ENDINGS.

Rules

Basic rules

  • SOULSLIKE CORE: high-difficulty action combat with STAMINA management, TIMED DODGES, TIGHT LOCK-ON, DEATH LOSES BLOOD ECHOES (retrievable if you die again at same spot — else lost)

    Signature Soulslike difficulty + resource-loss.

  • RALLY MECHANIC: after taking damage, you have ~5 sec to ATTACK ENEMY + RECOVER SOME HEALTH — encourages aggressive play (unique to Bloodborne vs. Dark Souls)

    Signature rally-recovery mechanic.

  • TRICK WEAPONS: signature 2-form weapons that TRANSFORM mid-combo (SAW CLEAVER, HUNTER AXE, LUDWIG'S HOLY BLADE, THREADED CANE, KIRKHAMMER, etc.)

    Signature transforming trick weapons.

  • FIREARM PARRY: shoot enemy at right moment during attack = STAGGER + VISCERAL ATTACK (massive damage)

    Signature firearm-parry-to-visceral.

  • BLOOD VIALS: healing consumable — carry up to 20 max; NO REST-RECHARGE (must FARM more from enemies)

    Signature blood vial healing (no auto-recharge).

  • INSIGHT: cosmic-horror knowledge stat — HIGHER INSIGHT reveals more of world (bosses look different, hallucinations appear); TRADE for special items

    Signature insight stat + trade currency.

  • CHALICE DUNGEONS: procedurally-linked descending dungeons with HORDES + special bosses (Pthumeru, Loran, Isz)

    Signature Chalice Dungeon endgame content.

  • 3 ENDINGS: YHARNAM (SUBMIT to Gehrman), CHILDHOOD'S BEGINNING (become Great One), HONORING WISHES (kill Gehrman)

    Signature 3-ending decision.

Scoring

Progression-based; no formal score; character stats level via BLOOD ECHOES currency.

Win condition · Complete story + achieve chosen ending; Platinum Trophy for 100%.

Equipment

  • PLAYSTATION 4 or PLAYSTATION 5 (via backward compatibility)

    Signature PS4/PS5 exclusive.

  • PHYSICAL DISC or PSN DIGITAL DOWNLOAD (~40 GB)

    Standard digital or physical purchase.

  • DUALSHOCK 4 CONTROLLER

    Standard PS4 controller.

  • PS PLUS SUBSCRIPTION (for online co-op + PvP)

    Standard PS+ subscription for multiplayer.

  • STRATEGY GUIDE (optional; official Prima guide by David S. J. Hodgson)

    Optional official strategy guide.

Terminology

Blood echoes
Bloodborne's currency + XP; lost on death (retrievable once).
Trick weapon
2-form transforming weapon signature.
Rally
Post-damage aggressive-heal window mechanic.
Insight
Cosmic-horror knowledge stat.
Great One
The elder gods/cosmic horrors — endgame enemies.
Yharnam
The setting city.
Hunter's Dream
The hub area between missions.
SL
Soul level — character stat total.

Where it is played

Governing bodies

  • FromSoftware (developer)

    Founded 1986 · Tokyo, Japan

  • Sony Interactive Entertainment (publisher)

    Founded 1993 · Tokyo, Japan

Famous names & records

Famous athletes

  • Distortion2 (US, Bloodborne speedrun world record holder repeatedly)
  • LilAggy (Bloodborne speedrun legend)
  • Jazzhands55 (Bloodborne LORE YouTube analyst)
  • Vaatividya (LORE YouTuber, ~4M subscribers Soulsborne content)

Sources & provenance

Last verified 2026-08-28.verified