As far as PlayStation 4 exclusives go, every gamer has a personal favorite, but one that ranks fairly high on a lot of lists is Bloodborne. Despite being spun off from a series that is known for a high difficulty curve, Bloodborne found an audience on the PS4, and once they were done fans were clamoring for more.
Although developer From Software has yet to announce when (or if) Bloodborne 2 will release, the assumption is that it will be available on the PS5. And with the power of Sony’s next-gen console, From Software can ensure that Bloodborne 2 doesn’t repeat one of the critical mistakes of its predecessor.
From world building to diverse combat, Bloodborne had a lot to offer players beyond the basic challenge of beating a From Software game. But if there is one area that the game fell short it is the load times.
At launch, Bloodborne had extremely long load times, oftentimes taking a few minutes to put players in the action. When jumping from a lamp to the Hunter’s Dream, players needed to make a list of everything they wanted to do in order to ensure they didn’t forget anything. Traveling back and forth to the Hunter’s Dream was a time-consuming event and eventually it became a chore.
But where Bloodborne’s poor loading times really hurt the experience is after a death. Because From Software games are difficult by design, players were bound to die at least a few times, and those that had never played a From game before likely ended up dying a lot more. Even From Software veterans probably had to attempt some of the game’s harder bosses, like Blood-Starved Beast, a couple of times.
Long loading times in Bloodborne were a huge momentum killer and they hurt an otherwise enjoyable (if punishing) experience. Being able to jump right back into the action and give Father Gascoigne another try is what helps new players understand what they are doing wrong and learn the necessary patterns to succeed. Having to wait only makes the experience more frustrating.
For Bloodborne 2, however, the PS5 shouldn’t have any trouble putting players right back into the action thanks to its SSD. Sony has been touting its proprietary hard drive as a game changer capable of rendering open worlds without any noticeable lag and getting a game going almost instantaneously. If a player dies in Bloodborne 2 they should respawn immediately at the closest lamp and be able to try to reclaim their lost Blood Echoes.
Obviously the PS5 SSD is going to have a major impact on a lot of games, but for Bloodborne 2 it can correct one of the biggest flaws in a beloved PlayStation exclusive. No question the gothic world will look even better, the combat should be smoother thanks to a higher frame rate, and the DualSense controller could even offer some fun sensory experiences, but the SSD is not to be overlooked.