Courtesy PC Magazine
Revitalizing Bloodborne has been one of gaming’s white whales for over a decade. From Software released their greatest masterpiece on PlayStation 4 in 2015, only to let it languish. They never created a sequel, ported it to PC, made it run at more than 30 frames per second, upscaled the textures or anything besides one excellent expansion. Even the ex-chief of PlayStation is baffled.
But AI changed things. Fans have used coding agents to make so many “PC ports” of Bloodborne, fans can barely keep track of them all. These ports, which stand on the hard work of the shadPS4 emulator developers, have made the game easier to play than ever.
I spent a couple hours this week getting my own copy up and running on PC. It was difficult. But reader, when you see Yharnam in 4K and 60 FPS, it is worth it.
Bloodborne is my favorite game. I’ve played it to completion six times. I’ve beaten every boss and seen every ending. It’s a great game with amazing combat and an incredible setting. FromSoft’s haunted version of London is up there with Rapture and the best worlds ever put in games.
And yet, I haven’t played it for a few years. As perfect as Bloodborne is, it can be inflexible and frustrating.
One, the health vials don’t refill. Dark Souls had the right idea - every time you die, your health items refill to max. Health flasks in Bloodborne, however, are a limited resource. Use too many, and you simply run out. Die too many times trying to learn a new boss? You have to stop fighting and go farm vials.
Two, there’s no pause button. Bloodborne can turn into a multiplayer game at any moment, so it makes sense. Still makes me annoyed.
Three, the game runs at 30 frames per second. This is fine and totally playable, but 60 is better.
Four, one of the weapons is unusable. The Beast Claw emits a horrible high-pitched whine when a buff is active. You can hear it in the background of this guy’s video.
Five, you can’t respec your character. You can complete the story, launch into new game plus, and be stuck using the exact same weapons and playstyle as before. It’s frustrating to find a cool late-game weapon like the Rakuyo and be unable to use it on your second playthrough because you can’t change to a Skill build.
From Software must know these flaws are silly and unnecessary. All were fixed in Elden Ring, save the pause button.
But the reason I am playing Bloodborne for the first time in 3 years is because on PC, we have mods. I don’t have to deal with a single one of these problems.
- Fixed by Bloodborne Enhanced
- You can pause emulation in shadPS4
- Fixed by BB Launcher patch
- Fixed by a mod
- Fixed by Bloodborne Enhanced
I am a couple hours into an all-Beast Claw run. The game looks phenomenal in 1440p and 60 FPS. And the claws haven’t tried to give me tinnitus once. :)
If you are interested in having the same experience, this writeup in PC Gamer is a good place to get started.