From Software
BloodBorne

How far can a video game push its limits? Can a video game transcend the very concept of "Video Game," transforming into something much broader and more interesting even to those who don't live gaming with the same zeal as others? The team at From Software, especially Hidetaka Miyazaki, is well aware of this, having brought one of the most important and influential sagas in video game history to life, resulting in this immense work (exclusive to PlayStation 4).

The term "Work" is not used by chance because Bloodborne, despite beginning with an apparently simple Incipit, evolves into such a complicated and layered narrative that it almost seems surreal, yet guided by a thread that makes everything logical and understandable after various playthroughs. Fully inspired by Lovecraft's works, Bloodborne catapults the player into a dark, mad world with a horror-gothic style, populated by insane people, beasts of all kinds, and the specter of these Great Beings from space who will play an increasingly larger role as the adventure progresses. Our protagonist awakens in a clinic after a blood transfusion that seemingly has miraculous powers capable of curing any disease. Just before waking up, he experiences a sort of nightmare where he is called a Hunter and, as such, must fight the Beast plague that has infested the city of Yharnham. As previously mentioned, the Incipit is particularly simple, but as the hours of gameplay pass, it evolves into a sick and totally surreal narrative, yet incredibly fascinating and poetic at the same time. The themes of madness, ambition, the desire for knowledge, and the complete lack of scruples in achieving it are thoroughly explored by Miyazaki's pen, which delights in offering the player hours of speculation through WANTONLY cryptic and unclear item descriptions at first, encouraging exploration and especially observation of the various (and incredibly BEAUTIFUL) settings... A statue, an emblem, a particular room can provide many more hints and insights than an item description ever could.

Bloodborne is the quintessence of Miyazaki's philosophy... a philosophy that, just like in Dark Souls, sees a world on the brink of End. A world where violence and especially Madness have taken over and offer no glimmer of hope. The end of the night of the hunt seems only a faint illusion in the player's eyes, who will always have the constant sensation of walking in a world that doesn't need to be saved, as it has already fallen into a vortex of total self-destruction that can never be brought back.

"We are born of the blood, made men by the blood, undone by the blood."