The game Bloodborne, is an epic game and its opening and overall feel would lead you to believe that the game is more classical horror than Lovecraftian in nature, but as you progress, you realize that there are some pretty heavy undertones of Lovecraft’s work in the game. From the start, I felt as if I were playing in a classic Victorian horror setting, with crude guns and weapons replacing shields and swords. However, the deeper you go, the more tentacles appear to emerge from the game.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD 

One of the first clues appears near the beginning of the game, with the discovery of a Madman’s knowledge – a cracked skull with something coming out of it. It appears to be a cosmos – the flavor text says, “The skull of a madman touched by the wisdom of the Great Ones.” “Contact with Eldritch Wisdom is a blessing, because even if it drives one insane, it allows one to serve a greater purpose, for posterity.”

Only after we get a little bit further into the game do we realize that the game has a bit more eldritch enemy than just werewolves and other beasts. Only after we are kidnapped and taken to Hypogean Gaol do we realize that the game contains some more Eldritch abominations that would be at home in a Lovecraft story. A statue of some creature and a note nearby shed some lore into the world of the madmen near the lamp where you can teleport.

Another hint that the game has a larger Lovecraftian scope is that when we get to the Grand Cathedral, just before the Vicar Amelia fight, there are statues at the entrance of the Cathedral of two beings that look almost identical to the statue in Hypogean Gaol, except these have tentacles and have a Cthulhu’esque appearance to them. As we enter the Cathedral, we notice the same statues lining the sides of the building, with these spear-like weapons held above the players’ heads as they enter.

Although the game is far from over, I am confident that more Eldritch Lovecraftian monsters and information will emerge, and we here at Nerdipop will be happy to report on them.