The Soulsborne games have had an incredible uptake in popularity recently, with Bloodborne being one of FromSoftware’s highly challenging masterpieces. All the way back in 2009, FromSoftware and Hidetaka Miyazaki presented Demon’s Souls to the world, which, although unconventional, was still incredibly well-received by critics and fans alike.
As time has passed, we’ve got a bunch of new experiences from the studio, such as Elden Ring, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and, of course, the Dark Souls trilogy.
But it turns out that Bloodborne may have had a bigger impact on the trilogy’s third outing than many usually perceive.
Bloodborne Was More than Just a Breath of Fresh Air for the Soulsborne Games and FromSoftware
With how different the game was compared to previous titles in FromSoftware’s very own genre, it’s no surprise that it left a massive impact on the future of the upcoming games as well. In 2015, FromSoftware released Bloodborne. In 2016, it released Dark Souls 3, and the effects of the former can clearly be seen.
In an interview with Polygon a few months prior to the release of DS3, Miyazaki, the director of nearly all Soulsborne games, commented on how BB‘s influenced him to try out new things going forward.
Since it was a completely new IP, it would serve as a testing ground for DS3 and would shape some of the new battle mechanics presented in that game.
While working on Bloodborne, I started to realize what new things I should bring to Dark Souls 3, which has different characteristics, to allow players to have a viable range of tactical options and character build options
Given how BB nearly perfectly handled its gameplay elements, it’s no surprise that it was such a huge influence on both Miyazaki and DS3.
Battle Arts, Spells, Game Pace, and Much More Can be Seen as Similar Between the Two Titles
One of the biggest differences between BB and DS has been the gameplay pace. The former is fast and favors aggressive play, while the latter is slower and requires a much more methodical approach. But DS3 significantly bumped up the speed of both your character’s movements as well as that of the bosses, similar to BB.
Not only that, but Miyazaki also pointed out how unique Battle Arts had been given to each weapon, which is quite similar to BB‘s trick weapon system, essentially letting you wield two weapons at once.
Compared to previous entries, Spells and Magic are also more similar between both titles than ever before.
Ultimately, as Miyazaki points out in the same interview, all this was done to polish the DS franchise, and it’s clear from fan reception that his mission succeeded. We may never get a proper sequel to Bloodborne, but at least we can still see its effects rumble all across FromSoftware’s future releases.
Have you played both games? What similarities between the two games’ systems did you find? Let us know in the comments.
