As some FromSoftware fans hungrily await new information aboutElden Ring, others are haunted by a different question: willBloodborneever see a sequel?Bloodbornewas 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 withElden 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’sSekiro,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 thatBloodbornedoes.
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Sekirois something of an anomaly among FromSoftware titles, in that its narrative is far more straightforward and self-contained than either theSouls-series, orBloodborne. A few mysteries still linger, butSekiro’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 ofDark Soulsor the grimly mythical quality ofSekiro’s feudal Japan,the brooding, blood-soaked Victorian and Gothic features of Yharnam,Bloodborne’ssetting, 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 digestingBloodborne’s example, whose influence is just now starting to emerge in other titles. The early imagery of the forthcomingDragon 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 toBloodborneasBack 4 Bloodis toLeft 4 Dead: not just a spiritual successor, but a sequel in everything but name (though, it should be mentioned thatBack 4 Bloodis 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 revisitBloodborneis that its story arguably isn’t finished. The tenuous details teasing connections to theSouls-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,inElden 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.
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We’ll Always Have Yharnam
Regrettably, given the lack of information aboutElden Ring, it seems unlikely that FromSoftware has another project in simultaneous development or even a follow-up planned afterwards—assumingElden Ringitself has not been cancelled.
There are silver linings to be had, however, even if FromSoftware never revisitsBloodborne.Companies inevitably shift, and some of the game’s core creative members have moved on to other ventures, likeBloodborne’s producer, Teruyuki Toriyama, who is due to departat the end of December. While it would be best for FromSoftware to realize more ofBloodborne’s potential, no follow-up at all is better than a bad sequel.
Bloodborneis available now for PlayStation 4.Elden Ringis currently in-development.
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