There’s no denying that Bloodborne is one of FromSoftware’s best games, with a haunting gothic atmosphere, dynamic combat, and fascinating lore far different from the fantasy of Dark Souls. The Lovecraftian inspirations from this game make it an easy fan-favorite, causing high demand for some type of remaster or PC port in the future. However, this push for more Bloodborne content is also driven by one of the game’s rare failings, which haunts it to this day.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Unlike Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice or Elden Ring that came after, Bloodborne was released as a PlayStation exclusive, locking the game onto Sony consoles. PC players are still unable to access Bloodborne through official sources, causing it to become perhaps the most elusive title in FromSoftware’s library to actually play. This is a shame due to Bloodborne‘s unique setting and overall quality, but its restrictions through its exclusivity cause other problems you may not recognize.
Bloodborne Had Problems With Its Visual Quality At Launch That Still Persist Today
The biggest issue with Bloodborne is how it handles its visual fidelity, which is packed with far more details than you might expect. The land of Yharnam is full of distinct images, textures, and moving parts that help craft its world into something far different than any other FromSoftware title. Unfortunately, this attention to smaller aspects never truly realizes its potential, a fact that becomes more apparent the more you look under the hood.
Bloodborne is locked to a frame rate cap of 30 FPS, something fairly standard for PlayStation 4 games at the time. If this was always the case, there wouldn’t be too many problems as players adjust to, what was, the “normal” visual presentation of most games for Bloodborne‘s exclusive system. That being said, the compiling of Bloodborne‘s visuals causes consistent frame drops, sometimes lowering the quality to 20 or even 15 FPS in the worst cases.
Thankfully, these issues somewhat stabilized when Blooborne was brought over to PlayStation 5 after a console generation, but by then, technology had progressed far beyond its 30 FPS cap. The fact that this game still remains locked on PS5 has left fans frustrated, despite the ability to overcome the brutal stuttering that existed when the game first launched. Performance still isn’t perfect, though, as some complex sections of Bloodborne struggle even on a device as strong as the PS5.
PS4 Exclusivity Led To Many Issues Regarding Bloodborne’s Overall Quality
Even on PS5, you have to play the PS4 version of Bloodborne, as no “upgraded” version of the game was ever made for the modern console. In contrast of other exclusives like 2018’s God of War, Final Fantasy 7: Remake, or The Last of Us, Bloodborne never made its way to PC either, keeping all of its visual issues present without any fixes. Going back to play Bloodborne on a PS4 can be brutal, especially if you’ve tried the game on PS5 where at least the FPS issue is stabilized somewhat.
The PS4 version’s performance issues happen at the worst moments, often during areas where sluggish gameplay can lead to cheap deaths. Boss fights feel like a battle against the game’s mechanics and ability to run on PS4 at the same time, adding to an already difficult experience. Longer loading times and failure to display certain textures are also common problems players sometimes had while trying to play FromSoftware’s innovative masterpiece.
These hiccups were even worse in Bloodborne‘s multiplayer, which was already a far cry from a more refined online experience fans would later see in games like Elden Ring. Connection issues combined with performance issues made online co-op practically impossible, taking out a feature that had worked better on past FromSoft games. The number of obstacles that stacked onto PS4 didn’t all carry over, but they only added fuel to the fire for fans later on as desire for a remaster continued to grow.
Fan Fever For More Bloodborne Content Stems From FromSoftware’s Earlier Mistakes
Any desire for a potential remaster of Bloodborne comes with the expectation that the visual setbacks from its early days are fixed in the process. PC fans have already tried to port the game and mod it to remove the 30 FPS cap, allowing the game to reach gorgeous levels of performance. While not perfect at 60 FPS, it gives players a more refined look at a beloved setting, in all its horror and beauty.
FromSoftware have shut down mods of this nature multiple times, alongside different console patches that try to uncap frames on PlayStation as well. Given how well games like Elden Ring perform across all systems, it’s strange why no remaster, remake, or simple port of Bloodborne addresses perhaps the most talked about flaw of an otherwise stellar action RPG.
As fans want to go back to Yharnam with any kind of Bloodborne content, regardless of whether it is a sequel or reboot, it’s worth remembering the bottom line that should be put in the spotlight when talking about the game’s past pros and cons. Removing the most dated quality of Bloodborne will almost make it feel like a brand-new game, recapturing the magic of eldritch horror that stands out from every other FromSoftware release.
What parts of Bloodborne do you think should be changed if it ever gets a PC port or remaster? Leave a comment below or join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image Courtesy of Prime Video -
Image Courtesy of Netflix
