Those that have been playing From Software's Bloodborne on PS4 know that it is not an easy game. It follows in the tradition of the Souls franchise by not holding players' hands, assaulting them with relentless difficulty and daunting boss battles. Not only does it borrow its penchant for difficulty from its sister series, but the game also takes another cue from the Souls games by creating a mysterious world full of hidden secrets.

Not all of these secrets are necessarily benevolent for players, however. As it turns out, an item that can be purchased very early on in the game, the Hand Lantern, reduces stamina regeneration. Those that play Bloodborne can attest to the importance of stamina regeneration, as stamina governs the player's ability to attack as well as evade incoming enemy attacks.

A lot of players have been carrying around the Hand Lantern since purchasing it near the beginning of the game without realizing this potential downside. The item is otherwise extremely helpful as it lights up dark areas in the game, with the other method of lighting dark areas being the use of a torch. Unfortunately, carrying around a torch restricts the player character's ability to use two-handed and ranged weapons, so the Hand Lantern seemed to be the best alternative, until now. The video below showcases exactly how the Hand Lantern influences stamina regeneration.

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That being said, the Hand Lantern isn't the only item weighing players down. As it turns out, anything the player has equipped adds weight, which has an adverse effect on stamina regeneration. Sometimes the difference is so miniscule that it's hard to tell with the naked eye, but stamina regeneration is still being impacted regardless. What this means is that some players have been unknowingly making the already difficult Bloodborne that much harder for themselves.

One would assume that this high level of difficulty would alienate most gamers, especially at a time when games seem to be easier than ever, but that's not the case. Bloodborne has been a tremendous success for both From Software and the PlayStation 4, having sold over 1 million units since its launch just last month. The large player base has equated to constant support for the game, with patches on the way to fix issues such as long load times and a player progression bug that was negatively impacting a sizable amount of the community.

Speaking of bugs, those having difficulty with Bloodborne may want to take advantage of one that actually makes the game easier. Of course, especially skilled players shouldn't have to use such exploits, as one player showcased when he completed the Chalice Dungeons using the lowest level character possible.

Overall, it's interesting that secrets are still being uncovered in Bloodborne a month after its release. Most games have all their secrets leaked before they even hit store shelves, so it's impressive that players are still discovering new info about Bloodborne. There may even be more to secrets to unearth, if rumors about characters potentially becoming werewolves are to be believed.

Bloodborne is currently available to purchase exclusively on the PlayStation 4.

Source: GameSpot