Summary
FromSoftware has maintained its reputation as one of the most groundbreaking developers in the action RPG genre, something in which the lasting success ofBloodbornefor almost an entire decade has played a key role. A defining release of the PS4 era that is still analyzed by keen FromSoft fans to this day,Bloodborneis a title with no shortage of players who desire a follow-up. If a sequel to the adventure in Yharnam ever materializes, there’s one way it could connect to the original game’s true ending and delve even deeper into its cosmic horror.
Fans have theorized about connections to theSoulsseries that could be officially canonized, or even amodern setting for aBloodbornesequel, but it seems most likely that FromSoft will continue to be unpredictable and explore new ideas instead for the foreseeable future. The concept of the first game has already been thoroughly explored, but picking up at the cliffhanger where it left off next might be a way towards a setting beyond the original’s scope.
The Moon is One of Bloodborne’s Biggest Unsolved Mysteries
The Moon Presence’s Shadow Over Yharnam
The narrative ofBloodborneis presented in a subtle manner that can easily be missed without investigation, but “solving” it ultimately reveals the story of the Great One known as the Moon Presence who has created the Hunter’s Dream and trapped the player in its cycle. This eldritch entity, like its peers inBloodborne, pursues the seemingly fruitless effort to have a child that does not die like all of its others. This being is the game’s secret final boss that is only encounteredafter Gehrman with three Thirds of Umbilical Cord, and defeating it unlocks an ending that leaves the game off on an ambiguous note by seeing the player reborn as an infant Great One.
The ‘True Ending’ of Bloodborne Lacks Closure
It might seem appropriate for the obscure lore and dark world of a Soulslike game, but the“Childhood’s Beginning” ending ofBloodborneis a strange one even for the likes of FromSoft. It could be seen as a triumphant success of the goal that many of the characters found throughout the game failed at, as the player seems to have ascended into a Great One. Some players have theorized it is a being known as Flora and the origin of beasthood in Yharnam through literally acting as the moon, but its role is still limited to a singular boss fight. If the next Bloodborne ever gets to follow this ending, seeing the home of the Moon Presence could bring more of some of the original game’s most impressive sections.
One of a Bloodborne Sequel’s Best Potential Settings Has Been Around All Along
The Moon Could Bring the Next Bloodborne Full Circle
The moon is key toBloodborne’s story, as it comes into play when fighting Rom, the Vacuous Spider, and the Moon Presence appears to descend from it at the end. In the same way that the worlds like the Nightmare Frontier and Fishing Hamlet seem to be dream worlds separate from reality that house Great Ones, there’s potentially a Lovecraftian place within Yharnam’s moon. If the protagonist of Bloodborne became another sort of Moon Presence, then heading into this dimension could bring a sense of closure akin toDark Souls 3’s Soul of Cinderencounter.
Bringing Bloodborne’s H.P. Lovecraft Inspiration to the Forefront
While the gothic horror ofBloodborne’s earlier segments characterize it for a while before cosmic horror later makes it one of the bestH.P. Lovecraft-inspired video games, a follow-up could begin from a more eldritch place from the start. If a land in a dream reality like the potential home of the Moon Presence ends up as the main setting, there is likely to be no shortage of twisted creatures and new environmental storytelling that goes beyond even the somewhat predictable FromSoft format. It’s hard to imagineBloodborne’s interpretation of the moon being the barren place it is in real life, and seeing it in a sequel one day could bring a resolution to the first game while bringing an entirely new world to life.
