Bloodborne is frequently hailed as a Lovecraftian masterpiece for the PlayStation 4. Although it receives seemingly endless praise, just as many other FromSoftware titles do, one recurring critique is the locked frame rate of 30 frames per second. Coming out almost a year and half into the PS4's long life cycle, Bloodborne is very clearly a product of its time. Although the phenomenal art style keeps it aesthetically pleasing, the frame rate, long loading times, and six year old visuals are starting to make Bloodborne feel especially dated.
Rumors from retailer leaks of a remastered Bloodborne have been circulating for a while now, but FromSoftware's Victorian-esque horror RPG deserves a complete remake. Bloodborne is included in the PS5's PlayStation Plus collection, but the poor frame rate is noticeable, since the new hardware can't boost it past the developer-set limit. It was long-thought that it was impossible to get the game running at a higher frame rate, but modder Lance McDonald has proved that theory wrong with an unofficial 60fps patch for Bloodborne.
The gameplay of Bloodborne itself is perfectly fine, but the incredible beauty of the Demon's Souls remake gives one hope for Bloodborne receiving the same treatment. Bloodborne is enormously atmospheric in all of its levels, and a complete overhaul would ensure the game remains sterling for posterity's sake.
Bloodborne is Just Old Enough to Deserve a Remake
Bloodborne's capped frame rate was frustrating at the time, but not unordinary. 30 frames per second was exceptionally common for the PS4 generation, but with the new generation's hardware, consoles are starting to catch up with PC in terms of delivering consistent 60fps experiences. Even an upscaled Breath of the Wild trailer has Nintendo fans wanting a Switch Pro for 4K 60fps gameplay.
Currently, Bloodborne is the only last-gen FromSoftware Soulslike game that doesn't run in 60fps on the PS5 through backwards compatibility. Dark Souls Remastered, Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin, Dark Souls III, and Sekiro all run very smooth because they don't have a capped frame rate. Playing Sekiro on the PS5 is a noticeable improvement over the PS4 because of its fast-paced combat. For the same reason, Bloodborne's quick movement and timing-dependent combat would flourish with a frame rate boost.
Aside from the frame rate, Bloodborne's visuals are starting to look dated and would benefit from some work. Being more modern than Demon's Souls, upgrading the textures wouldn't require as much work as Bluepoint put into that remake, but where Bloodborne could really be improved is its lighting. Bloodborne's Night of the Hunt setting has three phases with unique color palettes throughout the game. The game begins at sunset with a bright orange sky before nightfall brings an eerie darkness over Yharnam. Finally, when the nightmare is fully realized, a massive blood moon appears in the sky. Lighting of 2020 Demon's Souls' quality would go a long way in reinforcing the ambiance of Bloodborne's already potent atmosphere.
Bloodborne's loading times are not nearly as bad as they were when the game first released, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. Much like Demon's Souls, playing through Bloodborne requires loading into different areas in quick succession, namely the Hunter's Dream. If a player wants to level up, they have to load into the Hunter's Dream, spend Blood Echoes at the Doll, and then load out of the Hunter's Dream. It's a frustrating experience (especially if the wrong Lamp is accidentally chosen), even though there's a good reason Bloodborne won't let players fast travel directly between Lamps. Demon's Souls suffered the same problem with its frequent load screens between the Archstones and the Nexus. However, the SSD in the PS5 completely negated this issue in the remake. The loading is extremely fast, and cleverly masked behind a mist effect that envelopes the screen.
Other PS5 hardware, specifically the DualSense controller, could benefit Bloodborne as well. The combat is visceral; even parrying an enemy is called a Visceral Attack. The adaptive triggers could bring more feedback to firing a Hunter's firearm, and each of the unique transforming weapons could have specialized haptic feedback. The myriad of haptic effects shown to PS5 players through Astro's Playroom stimulate the imagination on what kinds of feedback might come through the DualSense while descending deeper into Bloodborne's nightmare.
Bloodborne is a truly novel PS4 exclusive, and although it's playable on the PS5, it deserves so much more. It's locked frame rate and aging visuals clearly denote it as an early PS4 title, and if the rumors of a simple remaster are true, it will surely be disappointing compared to what Bloodborne could become on new hardware.