Bloodborne is the cosmic horror title FromSoftware gave fans that they didn’t know they wanted but ultimately loved. These days the internet is filled with millions of fans yearning for a sequel to the 2015 title, but would simply settle for a 60 frames-per-second update for the PS5.
Though Dark Souls is considered FromSoftware’s magnum opus, Bloodborne might be its most beloved release. The game is full of sickening and interesting lore all centered on blood, the cosmos, and the yearning to be something greater. There’s plenty of lore that first-time players likely missed during their time in Yharnam.
10 Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos
The Healing Church will be a subject in many of the lore facts that will be discussed throughout this article. It played a pivotal role in the narrative of Bloodborne and had a hand in almost everything.
Every church worships something or someone and for the Healing Church, that person was Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos. She is a Great One that communes with the highest-ranking members of the church and happens to be the only Great One that wouldn’t mind existing alongside humans in some capacity.
9 Micolash, Host of the Nightmare
Byrgenwerth is an area where players in Bloodborne start to see the world for what it truly is. Micolash who is now known as the Host of the Nightmare was once a student at Byrgenwerth College but sadly lost his mind in pursuit of knowledge surrounding the Great Ones.
The Mensis Cage on his head is believed to trap the wearer’s thoughts and upon death, they enter their dreams. This is the Nightmare of Mensis and seems to be a place in which the trapped yearn to be freed from their pervasive thoughts and dreams.
8 Rom, the Vacuous Spider
Humans have a natural fear of spiders despite how important they are for controlling pest and insect populations in the environment. Just like how real spiders aid a home in terms of removing unwanted bugs, Rom the Vacuous Spider is more helpful to humans than it may initially appear.
Ignorance is bliss and Rom prevents humans from being able to see the awful and horrific entities existing in the world around them. It may be tough to look at or even kill, but it was doing humans a favor at the end of the day.
7 Vicar Amelia
The Healing Church plays a large role in almost every part of Bloodborne’s story and Vicar Amelia happens to fall right in line with that notion. She was a high-ranking member of the church, but that didn’t prevent her from suddenly mutating into a hideous beast.
She was the successor to Vicar Laurence, the First Vicar, and because of this received his Gold Pendant. The pendant is a consumable item that can be dropped by Vicar Amelia if the player-controlled hunter manages to take down this off-putting manifestation of cosmic horror.
6 Blood-starved Beast
For something to be considered “blood-starved,” it would insinuate that it thrives or persists on blood. This is why the prevailing theory regarding what the Blood-starved beast used to be, centers on the Healing Church.
It was likely a person receiving care via blood-healing. Sadly it’s just another failed experiment that was an attempt at humans coming closer to and understanding the Great Ones. Depending on whether the person was a prisoner of the church or a volunteer makes no change in how tragic this beast’s existence is.
5 Father Gascoigne
Players may wonder how a large and maddened werewolf man goes by the name Father Gascoigne if he was a hunter. Well, before his days as a hunter Gascoigne was a priest in a foreign land, which makes it clear how and why he earned the title of father.
That title also nods at his family which he abandoned and the revelation that he killed his wife despite her best efforts to save him. Father Gascoigne is the tragic tale of a man being consumed by his work and as a result losing everything he cared about.
4 The One Reborn
A common theme in FromSoftware games centers on the idea of humans never being satisfied and their greed and need for knowledge leading them to misery. The One Reborn is a living example of this as a living failure of an experiment.
It was human’s attempt at trying to ascend humankind and make them on par with the Great Ones. It is the final result of what were likely ongoing experiments and shows the extent to which humans will go to obtain power and feel as if they have any sort of importance or effect on the universe around them.
3 Lady Maria
Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower has quickly become a fan favorite in part due to her difficulty and fighting style, but also because her design is extremely appealing. Those wondering how she became so skilled and proficient in her craft have an answer to why that is.
In addition to being one of the first hunters, she happened to study under the tutelage of Gehrman. If that name sounds familiar he happens to be the First Hunter and the final boss of the game that players must overcome with every bit of skill they’ve accumulated.
2 Orphan of Kos
Considered to be one of the harder bosses in Bloodborne, the Orphan of Kos was the child of Kos. Since it was an infant Great One when it died it ended up in a limbo state. Once killed the orphan’s spirit will permeate near the corpse of its mother until the spirit is slain.
The player-controlled hunter killing the orphan releases it, but it’s unclear if the cursed infant was returned to life or if it simply was able to exit from the limbo state it was trapped in and was now free to traverse the cosmos on its own.
1 Ludwig
In a game full of deformed and disgusting beasts, Ludwig ranks towards the top. He’s a mix between a horse, a wolf, and a human and is rather hard to look at. He lived an interesting life as he discovered and wielded a mystical greatsword, in turn, he was able to connect with the abyssal cosmos.
Ludwig also formed the river in the Nightmare after going mad with rage and killing any beast or hunter he encountered. A sad demise for a member of the Healing Church.
NEXT: Bloodborne: 10 Tips For Making a Beginner’s Guide
