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(Bloodborne) What are the biggest mysteries in Yharnam?

The best part about Bloodborne (which I got the platinum for and soloed almost every bossl was not just about the fast addictive gameplay, grinding, and boss mechanics, it has also got to be its lore, which is some of the best I've ever seen in gaming but that's just me personally.

That begs the question to fans who know the lore, what are the biggest mysteries in Yharnam that left you the most baffled? Was it whether the whole game was a dream? Rom in the Altar of Despair? Iosefka's Blood Vial in the Nightmare of Mensis? The Mensis Ritual itself? The Chalice Dungeons? Byrgenwerth?
 
The best part about Bloodborne (which I got the platinum for and soloed almost every bossl was not just about the fast addictive gameplay, grinding, and boss mechanics, it has also got to be its lore, which is some of the best I've ever seen in gaming but that's just me personally.

That begs the question to fans who know the lore, what are the biggest mysteries in Yharnam that left you the most baffled? Was it whether the whole game was a dream? Rom in the Altar of Despair? Iosefka's Blood Vial in the Nightmare of Mensis? The Mensis Ritual itself? The Chalice Dungeons? Byrgenwerth?
The biggest mystery in Yharnam is how the fuck and why Sony is still ignoring anything related to a Bloodborne PS5 patch or Bloodborne 2.
 
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Elog

Member
For me it was the whole link to Lovecraft's Old Ones. Took me some time to puzzle that together.

BB is one of my most loved games of all time and I both see it as complete as well as hoping there will be a follow-up - which is contradictory. If I allow myself to dream I wish that From continued on the old blood, blood sacrifice and the Old Ones, and put a potential sequel in an Aztec setting. Lovecraft created a lot of links between his crazed mythology and Aztec/Inka/Mayan culture. I know it would be a major deviation in graphical form for From but I think it would be so suitable for a BB follow-up without being a straight up sequal.

Edit: Sequal auto-corrected to sexual...
 
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DeepEnigma

Gold Member
The best part about Bloodborne (which I got the platinum for and soloed almost every bossl was not just about the fast addictive gameplay, grinding, and boss mechanics, it has also got to be its lore, which is some of the best I've ever seen in gaming but that's just me personally.

That begs the question to fans who know the lore, what are the biggest mysteries in Yharnam that left you the most baffled? Was it whether the whole game was a dream? Rom in the Altar of Despair? Iosefka's Blood Vial in the Nightmare of Mensis? The Mensis Ritual itself? The Chalice Dungeons? Byrgenwerth?
The whole dream or not a dream, you being a reborn or not, etc..

The lore and mystery of it all are insanely deep.

This write up is fantastic, best viewed on desktop or desktop browser mode.

 
Good luck, OP, trying to get people to discuss actual Bloodborne lore rather than bitching about the game, remasters or port begging.
Bloodborne 2 is not a remaster or a port.

Asking for an improved version is simply an update to the current game if done by a patch. Game is only 6 years.

And I am just making fun of Sony and their retarded decisions by Jim Ryan.
 

Con-Z-epT

Live from NeoGAF, it's Friday Night!
Really hard to pic one in specific.

I go for the whole lore about Loran and the Pthumerians.
Just to think they where superhuman beings and carved the labyrinths as given by some item describtions is really cool and adds a lot to the chalice dungeons and the overarking lore of Bloodborne itself.

For me it also implies that everything the player is about to experience has already happened in the past to some extent.

It was special to me because i finished the game twice before i dug deeper into the dungeons and the fact i could still find out more about the overall lore was really satisfying to me.
 
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Trogdor1123

Member
For me, if want to know if all the souls games are actually in the same timeline. There are hints of it but I would want to know that first and then start with the other questions.
 

T8SC

Member
Why there was no easy mode included.








tenor.gif
 

dcmk7

Banned
The best part about Bloodborne (which I got the platinum for and soloed almost every bossl was not just about the fast addictive gameplay, grinding, and boss mechanics, it has also got to be its lore, which is some of the best I've ever seen in gaming but that's just me personally.

That begs the question to fans who know the lore, what are the biggest mysteries in Yharnam that left you the most baffled? Was it whether the whole game was a dream? Rom in the Altar of Despair? Iosefka's Blood Vial in the Nightmare of Mensis? The Mensis Ritual itself? The Chalice Dungeons? Byrgenwerth?
Had me looking for ages for the missing bracket :messenger_grinning_smiling:
 

8bitpill

Gold Member
What peaked my interest was the story that came before. I would love a prequel, or a sequel that dives in to moments that brought us to the story we play out in Bloodborne.
 

Perrott

Gold Member
The door that you can try to open where the giants are but doesn't open.

(I know what it is but don't ruin it.)
I think I know what door are you talking about but I'm not 100% sure.

In any case, can you tell me what the "secret" is using the spoiler tool?
 

Renozokii

Member
Not a random dude been here for over 10 years random newbie
Why the hell would i care? You think think tenure on neogaf is something noteworthy? It’s a post about some bloodborne lore and you made a pointless post about a pc port we don’t even have a reason to believe exists or will exist. I’m not going to reply anymore as I love bloodborne lore and don’t want to derail the thread. Have a good day 10 year veteran destroya.
 

DESTROYA

Member
Why the hell would i care? You think think tenure on neogaf is something noteworthy? It’s a post about some bloodborne lore and you made a pointless post about a pc port we don’t even have a reason to believe exists or will exist. I’m not going to reply anymore as I love bloodborne lore and don’t want to derail the thread. Have a good day 10 year veteran destroya.
Seems like you do, go cry somewhere else .

Would love to hear more about the lore but I haven’t finished it yet because of the point I made.
 

DESTROYA

Member
Your post has the same value as one of those Amazon user reviews

"Does this device have HDMI?"

"I don't know, I don't own the device"
Oh I own the game I just haven’t finished it yet for the reason I first stated but the little of the lore I saw was interesting but I know I barely scratched the surface.
Not really a good analogy bro.
 

darkangel-212559

Dreamcast Love
The ghostly appration of The Queen of Yharnam. Her throat being slit and looking up and crying at the moon is such haunting and effective imagery.

I love the whole story surrounding Cainhurst Castle. My favourite area in the whole game.
 
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Aesius

Member
The ghostly appration of The Queen of Yharnam. Her throat being slit and looking up and crying at the moon is such haunting and effective imagery.

I love the whole story surrounding Cainhurst Castle. My favourite area in the whole game.
Cainhurst Castle makes me think that a Bloodborne sequel/prequel (whether true or just carrying on the name) could work really well in an Elizabethan setting. Particularly with an emphasis on vampires/vampiric creatures.
 

Aesius

Member
The best part about Bloodborne (which I got the platinum for and soloed almost every bossl was not just about the fast addictive gameplay, grinding, and boss mechanics, it has also got to be its lore, which is some of the best I've ever seen in gaming but that's just me personally.

That begs the question to fans who know the lore, what are the biggest mysteries in Yharnam that left you the most baffled? Was it whether the whole game was a dream? Rom in the Altar of Despair? Iosefka's Blood Vial in the Nightmare of Mensis? The Mensis Ritual itself? The Chalice Dungeons? Byrgenwerth?
It's never actually clarified WHO the player character is and where they came from, right?
 

Kokoloko85

Member
Is it connected to Demon Souls world? It was mentioned somewhere what Yharnam was like before. Plus the Demons Soul character like Armor in the Chalice dungeon. Sitting in the same pose as the Demons Soul PS3 cover...

Who’s the formless Oedon?

So many questions :)

You should check out:

The little things in Yharnam series



And his ebook/also on youtube called: Paleblood hunt, also done by Redgrave




The lore and the Victorian/Gothic Atmosphere added with the lovecraftian mystery is the only reason I give it a small mark above Dark Souls. Both top 10 favourite games of mine
 
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Renozokii

Member
Cainhurst Castle makes me think that a Bloodborne sequel/prequel (whether true or just carrying on the name) could work really well in an Elizabethan setting. Particularly with an emphasis on vampires/vampiric creatures.
Anyone that says a bloodborne sequel wouldn’t work kind of confuses me. They could explore literally any dark gloomy time period as a setting with the core combat and story themes remaining similar.
 

Aesius

Member
Anyone that says a bloodborne sequel wouldn’t work kind of confuses me. They could explore literally any dark gloomy time period as a setting with the core combat and story themes remaining similar.
Agreed. I think 4 settings would really work:

Elizabethan with an emphasis on vampires

Early 1800s New Orleans-esque city with an African voodoo/witch aesthetic

Colonial America type town that actually did become overrun with witches (Salem witch trials)

Dark Ages in the British Isles fighting against people/creatures affected by ancient black magic
 

Renozokii

Member
Agreed. I think 4 settings would really work:

Elizabethan with an emphasis on vampires

Early 1800s New Orleans-esque city with an African voodoo/witch aesthetic

Colonial America type town that actually did become overrun with witches (Salem witch trials)

Dark Ages in the British Isles fighting against people/creatures affected by ancient black magic
Early 1800s New Orleans exploring some of the creepy ass African voodoo themes isn’t one I’ve heard before but damn that would be insane.

Enemies dressed up like this and shit, man.
 

Vae_Victis

Banned
It's never actually clarified WHO the player character is and where they came from, right?
Your backstory is determined by the starting class you pick, including your place of origin I think. Still, it is never clarified why you are in Yharnam, other than the vague fact that you are looking for "paleblood" (however you got hold of that name, since not even 99% of the people in Yharnam seem to know what it is).
 
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kingpotato

Ask me about my Stream Deck
I love the whole story surrounding Cainhurst Castle. My favourite area in the whole game.
I never quite understood the full implication of Castle Cainhurst and the queen of the vilebloods. A scholar of Byrgenwreth brought something that WASN'T blood of a great one and this ??? created queen Annalise ??? And then everyone from Cainhurst just kept drinking her blood? Honestly the are plenty of other areas with mysteries such as these, but this area was the one that left me with the most questions. Also it's not in Yarhnam, but I assume you just meant "in Bloodborne".
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Is it connected to Demon Souls world? It was mentioned somewhere what Yharnam was like before. Plus the Demons Soul character like Armor in the Chalice dungeon. Sitting in the same pose as the Demons Soul PS3 cover...

Who’s the formless Oedon?

So many questions :)

You should check out:

The little things in Yharnam series



And his ebook/also on youtube called: Paleblood hunt, also done by Redgrave




The lore and the Victorian/Gothic Atmosphere is the only reason I give it a small mark above Dark Souls. Both top 10 favourite games of mine

Oh snap, that’s a audiobook version do the The Paleblood Hunt write up?
 

jeffyjaixx

Member
Is Bloodborne 60fps on the PS5 yet? I still haven't played it through really. Only played about 10 mins way back when and didn't go back.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Your backstory is determined by the starting class you pick, including your place of origin I think. Still, it is never clarified why you are in Yharnam, other than the vague fact that you are looking for "paleblood" (however you got hold of that name, since not even 99% of the people in Yharnam seem to know what it is).
I always thought paleblood was the semen of the great ones. Even the the paleblood item icon looks like there are spermatozoa in it.
 
For me it was the whole link to Lovecraft's Old Ones. Took me some time to puzzle that together.

BB is one of my most loved games of all time and I both see it as complete as well as hoping there will be a follow-up - which is contradictory. If I allow myself to dream I wish that From continued on the old blood, blood sacrifice and the Old Ones, and put a potential sequel in an Aztec setting. Lovecraft created a lot of links between his crazed mythology and Aztec/Inka/Mayan culture. I know it would be a major deviation in graphical form for From but I think it would be so suitable for a BB follow-up without being a straight up sequal.

Edit: Sequal auto-corrected to sexual...
Chalice Dungeons looked a lot like Aztec architecture IMO.

The whole dream or not a dream, you being a reborn or not, etc..

The lore and mystery of it all are insanely deep.

This write up is fantastic, best viewed on desktop or desktop browser mode.

I already know a lot about Redgrave, that's the best Bloodborne lore document in the entire Soulsborne fandom.

I always thought paleblood was the semen of the great ones. Even the the paleblood item icon looks like there are spermatozoa in it.
Miyazaki explained what it was in the official guide, there are actually two different kinds of paleblood: the paleblood sky as a result of killing Rom, and it describes the Moon Presence, who is the paleblood we've been looking for the entire game.

Past Moon-scented Hunters must have either simply thought that paleblood was referring to the sky and only got to German to choose the Yharnam Sunrise, but our player character is definitely special as we wrote the handwritten scrawl in Iosefka's Clinic.

Yes, I'm obsessed with this game and I'm glad.

There is that locked door little off from cathedral.
Through some digging, that was actually cut from the game, although that door doesn't actually lead to where it's supposed to be, AKA when you first arrive in Cathedral Ward past the first Church Giant and down the stairs from the Giant with the ball and chain. That was supposed to be the shortcut, but I guess From didn't want us to get to the Healing Church so close in the game.

K kokoloko It's not connected to Demon's Souls, the only thing that was was Gascoigne saying "Umbasa" in the alpha but it was cut.

Formless Oedon may have been the dad of Mergo, since he's formless which is strange because the Wet Nurse is formless with the head of a snake. And before anyone says anything, we don't actually kill Mergo IMO.
 
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Neil Young

Member
I have no idea what the fuck is going on in any of these games.....but it works for me somehow. I just love how miserable and bleak everyone is. Bloodborne? I guess I'm a Van Helsing type guy in a dream world? Talking doll? Biggest mystery to me is what the he'll is a giant pig doing in the sewer?
 
I have no idea what the fuck is going on in any of these games.....but it works for me somehow. I just love how miserable and bleak everyone is. Bloodborne? I guess I'm a Van Helsing type guy in a dream world? Talking doll? Biggest mystery to me is what the he'll is a giant pig doing in the sewer?
They're called Maneater Boars, and they've been busy.

We're a mix between Van Helsing and a vampire.

I never quite understood the full implication of Castle Cainhurst and the queen of the vilebloods. A scholar of Byrgenwreth brought something that WASN'T blood of a great one and this ??? created queen Annalise ??? And then everyone from Cainhurst just kept drinking her blood? Honestly the are plenty of other areas with mysteries such as these, but this area was the one that left me with the most questions. Also it's not in Yarhnam, but I assume you just meant "in Bloodborne".
Byrgenwerth scholars brought something from the labyrinths beneath Yharnam, I believe it was Ebrietas. Queen Annalise is just an ancient immortal vampire who's trying to achieve kinship through blood, which is impossible as far as I know.
 
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Kamina

Golden Boy
The whole game is a mystery.
> What is part of the dream and what isnt, or is it all?
> Who is the dreamer (was it really the moon presence?)
> How can Micolash be alive in a dream if he is dead in reality, or was it a dream in a dream?
> Is Kos really dead?
...
 

Vae_Victis

Banned
I never quite understood the full implication of Castle Cainhurst and the queen of the vilebloods. A scholar of Byrgenwreth brought something that WASN'T blood of a great one and this ??? created queen Annalise ??? And then everyone from Cainhurst just kept drinking her blood? Honestly the are plenty of other areas with mysteries such as these, but this area was the one that left me with the most questions. Also it's not in Yarhnam, but I assume you just meant "in Bloodborne".

Byrgenwerth scholars brought something from the labyrinths beneath Yharnam, I believe it was Ebrietas. Queen Annalise is just an ancient immortal vampire who's trying to achieve kinship through blood, which is impossible as far as I know.
What the scholar brought to Cainhurst WAS the old blood found in the Chalices. In other words, Laurence attempted with Cainhurst the same exact thing he did with Yharnam, use the Old Blood to take a foothold in the local power structure and establish himself as an authority. This time though for whatever reason things didn't go as planned, and in the end the Church and Cainhurst entered a conflict until the Executioners were sent to destroy the castle.

Annalise is not "a vampire", as in a creature of a different species entirely, she and the people of Cainhurst are just a different offshoot of Pthumerian descendants, like the people of Yharnam. Their bloodline however has remained closer/purer, hence why she could, in theory, bear the child of a Great One, just like Arianna (also implied to be from Cainhurst) does.

Why she also needs blood dregs to do so is never explained, but I guess it could be because her blood has become too pure as a consequence of consuming the Old Blood (hence the immortality as an additional side effect), to the point that she is closer to being an Old One herself than to being a Pthumerian.

Ebrietas was discovered by the Choir (not Byrgenwerth) in Isz at a much later point in time.
 
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