Inevitably, the experiences of game developers influence their work. Many locations in video games, for instance, are inspired by real places. Zelda was inspired by the woods and caves explored by Shigeru Miyamoto in Kyoto, Vice City is a direct parallel to Miami in the 80's, and Final Fantasy XV's Altissia is pretty much Venice. It's always interesting to compare these fictional locations with their real world counterparts, but seeing the places that inspired the world of Bloodborne makes Yharnam all the more spectacular. With rumors of a an updated Bloodborne on the horizon, there's no better time to revisit and appreciate the world of hunters.
Whereas other developers might craft their game's world using reference images from Google, Hidetaka Miyazaki's team actually travelled to see these locations in person. Following the release of the first Dark Souls, the team at FromSoftware travelled to both Romania and the Czech Republic before development on Bloodborne began. The result is horrific, Lovecraftian gameplay being set against a backdrop of gorgeous, Gothic architecture from the late 1800's.
Drawing Inspiration from Childhood Books
Long before he and a team of employees travelled to Europe, Miyazaki was reading books from his local library. While he's admitted in previous interviews that he was not the best reader, Miyazaki has also stated that a selection of Western classics had a significant influence on his interests. His inability to comprehend the content of what he was reading only lent itself to his creativity; his imagination filled in the blanks of what he couldn't understand in those books. This love of the fantastical ignited by authors like Bram Stoker and H. P. Lovecraft even informed his decision to join the FromSoftware team, developing Demon's Souls and create the highly anticipated Elden Ring.
Fast forward to 2012, and development on Bloodborne was in its preliminary stages. The team knew they wanted to create a world rife with complex detail to showcase the new processing power of the PlayStation 4. Opting to create a console exclusive game, Miyazaki drew inspiration from the novel Dracula and transposed its bleak, Transylvanian scenery into the game. Of course, there are other parallels to Gothic fiction in Bloodborne, too, like the game's focus on mysterious storytelling as opposed to lore-centric world building.
Romanian Inspirations
Many of the locations in Bloodborne take inspiration from Romanian landmarks. This is no surprise given Miyazaki's fondness for Dracula. Cainhurst Castle, for example, bears a striking resemblance to Bran Castle in Romania. Bran Castle is a popular tourist destination and is thought to be the inspiration for Dracula's Castle, which is in turn the inspiration for a collection of vampire video games. Moreover, the player actually approaches Cainhurst in a manner almost identical to Jonathan Harker (Dracula's protagonist), as both are transported by a rickety horse-drawn carriage.
The Grand Cathedral within the Cathedral Ward is another area that might have taken cues from real world Romania. This area in the game, patrolled by Vicar Amelia, bears many similarities to the Banat region's Timisoara Orthodox Cathedral. While the scale of the two may be disproportionate, the Grand Cathedral's open interior and marble floors match those of Tisoara's. Alternatively, the pillars that line the border of the Grand Cathedral resemble those found within Catedrala Sfantul Gheorghe (St. George's Cathedral, also located in Timisoara, Romania).
Real World Parallels to the Czech Republic
Arguably closer to the world of Bloodborne is the Czech Republic. While some Romanian landmarks look like they influenced particular Bloodborne landmarks, the world of Yharnam as a whole resembles that of historic Prague. This resemblance becomes obvious when comparing the intricate, interconnected streets of Prague to those in Bloodborne. To give an example, the Nightmare of Mensis looks like it was based off of St. Vitus Cathedral; the concept art of the former shares the prominent, circular windows with the latter.
Players may have been preoccupied fighting the Cleric Beast, but the stone statues that line the Great Bridge mirror those found along the Charles Bridge in Prague. Prague's Lesser Town is comprised of various winding roads and subtle alleyways which, if filled with abandoned carriages and dense fog, look a lot like Central Yharnam. Then, of course, there's the Astral Clocktower and Prague's real life Astronomical Clock, which may just be the most compelling argument for the Czech city's influence in Bloodborne.
Other Possible Nods
Thus far, these comparisons have focused on the places the FromSoftware team confirmed they visited. Throughout Bloodborne, however, even more real world influences are noticeable. In Central Yharnham, there's a certain water pump that looks like the one at the epicenter of London's Cholera outbreak in 1854. Players have pointed out the parallels between Yahar'gul Chapel and Notre Dame, too, particularly its exterior. In Old Yharnham, the ruined church where players encounter the Blood-Starved Beast looks like the Abbey of San Galgano in Italy. Even smaller details in the game have real world counterparts: the suspended bridge to the right of the Upper Ward's main building bears an uncanny resemblance to the Rialto Bridge in Venice, for example.
Of course, none of these comparisons are an exact one-to-one with Bloodborne. Certain in-game details could be used to argue against any comparison made by players. It speaks to the merit of the game's designers that so much real world architecture was incorporated into the game without compromising its creative vision. FromSoftware probably won't confirm any of this influence beyond what the studio has already said about their trip to Europe. Still, visiting Prague or Transylvania is probably the closest players can get to traveling to the world of Bloodborne (without Father Gascoigne and other blood-hungry locale, of course).
Bloodborne is available now on PS4 and is rumored to be releasing for PC/PS5.