Bloodborne, for those who aren’t aware, is an upcoming game from the Dark Souls developer (with a confusing name to say) From Software set for release in 2015. In comparison Dark Souls and Dark Souls II, however, Bloodborne, according to Producer Masaaki Yamagiwa, will have much less of a punishing and brutal difficulty in order to appeal to a wider audience than the hardcore masochist fans of its previous titles.
Straight from the horse’s mouth…
“In terms of who the game is aimed at, and who we want to capture in terms of the audience, obviously we can’t betray or disappoint the fans out there… They’re very, very important. They’ll be the main ambassadors of the game… we do want more people to share in this experience… will capture a wider audience.”
While he couldn’t give too many specific details today, Yamagiwa does elaborate a bit on how he intends to “capture a wider audience” with Bloodborne:
“You died a lot in the previous games, and you had to persevere, but one of our main goals with this game is that we don’t want to focus on punishing the player… We want to deliver a game that gamers love. If the gamer likes the game they’ll definitely like it enough to have that bit of perseverance, but the way in which we’re making the game? The sense of punishment is much less.”
As if to dispel any worries among the fans expecting a brutal experience, Yamagiwa warns the players testing Bloodborne that they should not feel disappointed if the game feels to easy, seeing as the public demo they brought was heavily toned down in difficulty from the actual retail version.
As someone who’s relatively new to Dark Souls and Dark Souls II, and also as one who recognizes the value a wider audience can bring to a developer on the rise, I’m all for a slightly easier Bloodborne, especially if it brings more people onto From Software’s side. What do you guys think? Should Bloodborne have been made with the hardcore fan in mind, or is Yamagiwa making a good decision here?
