FromSoftware has become one of the most sought-after video game developers of modern times. They have single-handedly given the world a new genre of games. Besides that, every time they launch a new game, it’s something mind-blowing. From Demon’s Souls to Bloodborne to Elden Ring, none of these games have been a failure.
They have created a bunch of different games over the years, but they have also kept a few common things that tell gamers that they are playing a FromSoftware title. They like keeping themes common amongst games. They also like to bring a weapon back again and again in every game they play. But the standout amongst them all is this one character that is never absent from a FromSoftware Soulslike game.
Hidetaka Miyazaki opens up about the existence of Patches in Bloodborne and other games
Imagine going your jolly way, trying to find new treasures, killing monsters, and leveling up. Then, at some point, you meet a bald man with a literal, menacing smile. He suggests that he knows the location of a treasure that’s just ahead in a pit.
Just as players reach that location and try to take a look in that dark hole, this guy kicks them in, hoping that some monster inside will devour the players. But players are the protagonists, and protagonists don’t die so easily.
When players find their way back to this wicked guy, he just smiles and apologizes. It is up to the players to either forgive him or just attack him; killing him does not affect the game. But forgiving him gives players a new vendor. In every game, this is the case.
He is in most of the Soulslike games that FromSoftware has made. In games like Dark Souls 2, his alternate self, called Pate, takes his place. But his most unique avatar can be seen in Bloodborne. He is a literal spider in that game, and he is called Patches the Spider.
And it looks like game director Hidetaka Miyazaki is very proud of him. He speaks pretty highly of patches, and then he suggests that his iteration in Bloodborne is pretty unique. And no, he is not talking about him being a spider, but something else.
“There are a lot of other spider men in the game apart from Patches, but all the others have long since gone insane. Patches, despite being exposed to enough of the world’s mysteries to be transformed into a monster, has still retained his sanity and is still continuing with his research, Thinking about it that way, he’s a pretty rare existence in this world. As his creator, I can’t help but feel a sense of pride that he’s made it this far.”
It makes sense too; Patches has always presented himself as a highly intelligent person. He understands things, and he acts accordingly. Fans would remember how he shows a lot of compassion for the rat thief in Dark Souls 3.
Some might also remember that he has a deep hatred of clerics. In Dark Souls, if players go in front of him wearing a cleric outfit, he will just attack—no conversation, only attack. The developers never gave a clear reason for his hatred; he just hates.
A sword had a similar journey in FromSoftware’s games
Yes, indeed, Patches is indeed an interesting character; he goes around cheating people and then begging for mercy, but there’s a weapon too that has spanned numerous games over the years. It was called the Moonlight Great Sword.
This weapon has appeared in pretty much every FromSoftware game, from Demon’s Souls to Elden Ring. It is even in Sekiro, but in the hands of a boss, it is as if this sword is a lucky charm for FromSoftware.
