For soulsborne fans, it’s been a good generation of games. Even thoughDarkSouls 3finished up the main trilogy, there’s been several spinoff games that have seen similar success to the core franchise. Whether it wasSekiro: Shadows Die TwiceorBloodborne, soulsborne games are seeing great success even outside of the main franchise that started it all. Now with aDemon’s Soulsremake on the way for the next generation, soulsborne games' popularity has never been higher.
Bloodbornein particular was special because it transcended the nicheDark Soulshad created for itself to the mainstream PlayStation audience. While being a PlayStation exclusive was a big part of this, it was also completely separate from theDark Soulslore (for the most part) as a standalone experience. Even thoughElden Ringis the next project for FromSoftware for now, bringing a sequel toBloodbornewould be the perfect addition to the PS5’s early years.
RELATED:Bloodborne PC Rumor Claims Upgraded PS5 Version Also in the Works
An Immersive World
For one thing,the PS5’s high speed SSDwould be a great boon for a potentialBloodborne 2. AsSoulsfans know, one of the most impressive aspects of games likeDark SoulsandBloodborneis the interweaving nature of the in-game world. Reminiscent of the classicMetroidgames,Dark Soulsand soulsborne games all feature an inter-connected world that loops and redirects within itself like a giant maze. It’s hard for players not to have a labyrinthine feeling exploring aSoulsgame, following a non-linear path that can potentially loop around in a big obscure circle and also lead to something completely new.
This particular design benefits greatly from SSD storage technology for a few reasons. For one thing, improving read/write speeds in a storage drive means textures can be streamed/loaded in much faster, meaning less load times. For fans ofSoulsgames who may have played the similarStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, which hadDark SoulsandMetroidinspired worlds, utilized a lot of crawl spaces and elevators to divide regions. This was largely due to hiding loading screens, something games of a particular size have been doing quite a bit this generation.
Optimizing aBloodbornesequel for SSDs would mean less going back to the Hunter’s Dream or opening large doors very slowly (or not, assuming that’s part of the atmosphere) to hide any loading the game’s doing in the background. Which is perfect for such a multi-faceted world that weaves in and out of itself in various ways.
Refining the Bloodborne Experience
Gameplay improvements have also come a long way sinceBloodborneandDark Souls 2, and there are several aspects the nextBloodbornecould certainly borrow inspiration from.Sekiroin particular had a fantastic combat systemthat was far from traditionalSoulsgameplay, and fit extremely well with the narrative and theme of the game.Bloodborne, despite being a spinoff game with its own unique mechanics and Hunter abilities, still played very similarly to aDark Soulsgame.Sekiro’s combat was very movement-based, focused on an aggressive combat stance that emphasized parrying attacks and pressure rather than playing defensively and using calculated attacks.
WhileBloodborne’s sequel doesn’t need to train its Hunters in shinobi, it would make sense to make borrow some movement attributes fromSekiro.Dark Soulsbeing a bit more defensive and calculating makes sensefor the tone and classes in the game. Knights or magic users typically would use blocking and dodging as defensive tactics, managing their stamina to optimize damage-per-second.Bloodborneon the other hand has a diverse selection of weapons with stance switches, which does fundamentally change how that particular weapon is used, but the characteristics of the player stays static. It’d be interesting to see stance switches directly influence how players move or dodge inBloodborne, making the difference in stances feel purposeful and unique.
A Long Wait Ahead
Among other changes, taking the inspiration of similarSoulsgames and using the power of PS5 to deliver a refined gameplay experience would be perfect.Bloodbornewas a great success, and even thoughdirector Hidetaka Miyazaki may not have the final say in aBloodbornesequel, both Miyazaki and all of the fans want to see another game in the series. Pair that with the capabilities of aSoulsworld not restrained by slow texture streaming or loading, and the many soulsborne games that have come out since to draw inspiration from, andBloodborne 2on PS5 would seem like a shoe-in.
Of course, there’s a lot of factors barring a sequel from coming anytime soon. For one thing, FromSoftware already has a high profile project in development calledElden Ring, the result of a collaboration between Miyazaki and George R. R. Martin.Elden Ringstill has a lot of development time ahead of itself, and considering fans haven’t heard much news about the game since its teaser reveal, it likely won’t be out any time soon. As forBloodborne’s sequel, Miyazaki has repeatedly stated that Sony is a huge obstacle in that regard. Since Sony published the game, it has the final say in greenlighting aBloodborne 2.
That’s not to say aBloodbornesequel won’t happen, especially considering the critical and commercial success of the first game. But it does hint that it may be awhile before FromSoftware is able to develop a true sequel to the lovecraftian nightmare.
MORE:Dark Souls' Legacy: Sekiro, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring
