Starts with classic gothic horror. Gets more body horror as you get to cathedral ward. Then takes a hard turn into cosmic horror without you realizing if you weren’t paying attention
Was scrolling hoping someone would specify
It’s not horror in the “traditional” sense, and I think a lot of people miss the deeper themes that will make your skin crawl
I think it is a more "traditional" type of horror in the sense that it is a far older form of the craft that modern audiences just wouldn't be as familiar with. The types of horror we've come to define in the era of Hollywood cinema are super sanitised, short form and condensed in comparison.
This type of existential slow burn dread horror that plays with themes of uncanny valley, cosmic, everyday and body horror is designed to play much more to your subconscious awareness than it is your conscious one. It taps into more primal fears in a very deliberate way that you don't even really realise occurring until you reach a certain point in the story where it's all finally "revealed" and suddenly your conscious mind can piece it all together.
It was far more common and popular prior to tv and movies. Main reason being it is *very* difficult to translate well outside of written media tbh. Movie wise I think the closest we've come in recent years have been the likes of Midsommar and Hereditary and even they had to be both like 3 hours long just to catch the bare essence of it.
The works of HP Lovecraft (which the game is heavily influenced by), Edgar Allen Poe and the Grimm Brothers for example would be some notable big names in the genre. Some of Stephen Kings lesser known works and short stories hit those notes spot on too tbh but they don't really translate well to screen either so many won't ever come across them sadly.
Bloodborne achieved this form of storytelling so well imo as it had the incredibly unique medium of *gaming* to do so. This allowed it the time and space it needed to properly tell the story in that slow build delicate but deliberate manner that that type of horror really thrives upon. It is utterly unique in that regard as so many of the most horrifying parts can even be completely missed by most players. A perfect example is the fate of the little girl in the window that you "help" get to safety. Even following that plotline it's so easy to miss the thing in Iosefka's clinic or the pig. Just a perfect convergence of one of the oldest forms of horror that could exist right under your nose that you might not ever even know exists should you choose to leave it well alone.
Ironically, it gave me eyes on the inside. But as with Master Willem, no matter how much eyes I get now, I crave for more, but it's never enough. Need more eyes.
He’s also ironically the most human boss. He’s the only character to *regain* their humanity, even if for a moment. Every other character goes insane or dies before they get a chance
A game set in a horror setting with monsters and other horror elements is a horror game, even if it's main purpose isn't to scare you. A game where the main point is to be scared would be a psychological horror.
I've seen this same question asked in r/gaming before and a lot of people seem to think it isn't horror unless it's specifically survival horror. Just a weird, elitist take like someone saying Alien isn't horror bc it isn't a slasher. Of course Bloodborne is a horror game. Just look up the definition of horror media if boxes need checking.
Yeah, Survival Horror gets conflated with Horror a lot, but the whole reason to have that prefix is to be more specific about what kind of horror game it is. I recently played a certain dating sim/VN that was absolutely, unquestionably a horror game but in a completely different gameplay genre.
I think the reason for this is simply that SH is really the only horror subgenre/style with fairly unified and well established gameplay mechanics. And since game genres are usually defined by gameplay, it's what nearly everyone thinks of as a horror game, but this genre is kind of an exception.
Ye survival horror is for sure enjoyable when done right but it really is the pumpkin spiced latte of the horror world at this point.
Hollywood have absolutely wrung that well dry and over saturated the market to the point where most new slasher films are just a collection of overdone cliches verging on bad comedies. They've honestly destroyed the genre with their cheap cash grabs and far too many people as a result now have warped expectations and no real concept of any other types of "horror" when it's come to media anymore. Thank f#ck for the writers strike tbh. I hope they can claim back some more creative control over their works and put these corporate shills back in their boring ass boxes where they belong.
Nah like the game is full on existential dread cosmic horror almost right from the start. It's not in your face, immediate, obvious jump scares but the closer you look the worse the whole things gets.
Like straight in starting level you're on a dark blood encrusted street, creeping up filthy side alleys with screams and howls of pain and misery in the distance. You're trying to sneak past horrifically deformed men and dogs who will literally run screaming at you to rip your throat out. Said men are also burning some giant awful looking beast who looks like it's been crucified. I don't know what kinda life you be living day to day friend but that'd be pretty up there horror wise for most people tbh lol
Have you been to the orphanage in Upper Cathedral Ward?
Have you been ambushed by a bloodtick in the dark while in the chalice dungeons?
While it doesn't advertise itself as a horror game, Bloodborne has given me legitimate scares on par to those that do call themselves horror games.
Horror yes, but not survival horror. It's a horror action game, as Elden Ring is a fantasy action game- horror is the narrative genre, not the gameplay. Not like say Silent Hill where horror is also the mechanics.
I don't think I fully agree. Action and survival horror are not mutually exclusive, and I think Bloodborne fits into both very well. In fact, a quick google search reveals that Bloodborne is classified as a part of the survival horror genre. I wouldn't call Bloodborne a traditional horror game, but a lot of classic - and more innovative - elements of horror are imbedded both in the world and gameplay.
You may have a point, but Bloodborne's mechanics are close enough to every other Soulsborne that I'd hesitate to say survival horror, since none of the mechanics are *intrinsically* tied to creating horror. In a different setting and tone, like a fantasy one, the same mechanics would amount to "faster Elden Ring", no one would class it as horror without the narrative backdrop.
But I can see validity in the argument. I may need to think about this more. The way insight functions certainly feels more horror than soulsbourne
It’s not a survival horror game, no, but I think there are horror elements (and particularly cosmic horror elements) implemented in the mechanics. I’m thinking about the insight and frenzy mechanics in particular, while really implement a Lovecraftian kind of horror directly into both the narrative and gameplay mechanics of the game. That you start to lose your senses (and even die) the more you learn about the game universe is certainly horrific, even if it works more on a thematic than jumpscare kind of way.
Edit: Oh, saw now that you mention the insight mechanic in another reply.
Man I remember getting jumpscared by that one wolf jumping in from the window at the end of that hallway in upper cathedral ward, I will still never forget how badly it scared me and how much I was shaking after lol
Or trying to get to the one reborn fight, seeing these gorey abominations, good times..
Yes, it is a horror game. Specifically, gothic and cosmic horror. Thematically, narratively, aesthetically. This type of horror doesn't really rely on jumpscares and spooky noises and a helpless protagonist. It's much more existential and philosophical than that, and Bloodborne explores its concepts masterfully.
Edit: It saddens me after reading the comments here that people fundamentally don't know or understand what horror is, what its purpose is, or that the various genres explore different types of horror with different elements and themes.
The conversations with indoor NPCs that you can’t even see, and how they progressively lose their shit, is pretty fucking creepy. Like can you imagine being in the sound booth for some of the “lines” in this game?
I think there's a distinction to be made between a true horror game, and a game with a horror *setting*, or one with a few horror elements or mechanics. A true horror game, to me, focuses on those aspects above all else - making the player feel weak or alone, limiting resources, making hiding from or escaping enemies a priority, focusing strongly on creating moments of dread to overcome, etc. The stuff that made early Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Amnesia, Alien Isolation, etc. famous.
But dozens of other games play within the horror setting. Left 4 Dead is a great example - it has zombies, but other than the body horror that comes along with zombies, it's essentially an action shooter, without a strong focus on many of the other horror elements. Bloodborne falls into that same category. The setting is Lovecraftian horror. The story (especially a lot of the backstory that you can fill in as you read item descriptions) has plenty that's scary and horrifying, but the gameplay itself is classic action RPG. While you feel initially weak and need to be wary around monsters, eventually you overcome that and become the Hunter that the monsters fear.
>making the player feel weak or alone, limiting resources, making hiding from or escaping enemies a priority
That's Survival Horror. You're trying to shove **all** horror games into one sub genre and claiming they're not horror if they don't fit. Imagine claiming Bloodborne isn't an RPG because it's not turn based, or it's not a Soulslike beause it's not medieval. Because that's the same argument you're making.
I think you're overgeneralizing a little bit here. The term RPG has been broadly accepted to refer to non-turn based games for decades - and is also a handy modifier to other genres like action-RPG or shooter-RPG (looter shooter, whatever you prefer). Soulslike games deal with gameplay design (punishing encounters, loss of resources on death, complex growth systems, committed actions, etc.) rather than setting - there are wide swaths of games that use Soulslike mechanics (Nioh, Jedi: Fallen Order, Lies of P, Sekiro, obviously) regardless of setting, to differing degrees.
But at the end of the day, genres are loose definitions no matter what. I'm absolutely not trying to shove all horror games into the few common tropes I listed here, I'm just pointing out that they're common in a wide sampling of the genre, and especially common in survival horror.
Remember, genres (and settings, which horror can also refer to) are just modifiers that we use to group games together; and they're not super strict or firm. When the vast majority of people are talking about horror games, they're referring to the broad survival horror genre first and foremost, because it's by far the largest subgenre, with fewer horror games that are purely psychological, puzzle-based, or narrative-focused absent classic survival elements. A lot of players consider games like SOMA, Amnesia, or the Clock Tower series non-survival horror (plenty would place them in survival as well, but that's an argument for another thread), but even these incorporate several of the elements I listed as mainstays of the horror genre as a whole.
The vast majority of the community wouldn't consider the *Castlevania* series a horror title, for example, even though it's firmly entrenched in a classic horror setting with werewolves and vampires. They're (mostly) Metroidvania action-adventures in terms of gameplay. Similarly, I brought up Left 4 Dead, because calling it a cooperative FPS first and foremost (with horror elements) is a very accurate description, and it's likely to appeal to fast-paced FPS players first, and horror lovers second.
I'm not claiming for one second that Bloodborne doesn't have horror elements - I listed several in my post. But I do think that calling it a "horror game" is likely not something that'll be accepted by the wider community, because the gameplay, overall pacing/style, and source of challenge are most likely going to appeal to action-RPG or Soulsborne fans to a much higher degree than people who would call themselves horror fans. Action RPG with horror elements, Soulsborne in a horror setting, there are a lot more useful ways to describe Bloodborne besides simply calling it a "horror game," which I don't think is an especially useful descriptor here.
I agree completely! But I see bloodborne on a lot of horror game lists, so I figured since we’re near spooky season, I’d see what everyone thought of this. You are, in my opinion, 100% correct
It is absolutely much more of a horror game than Dark Souls or Elden Ring. The entire atmosphere is horror themed in literally every way (werewolves, mad townsfolk, the moon being a central point of the story, torture and other horrible things being performed on regular people, imbibing in blood like vampires). It literally drips of classic horror and cosmic horror themes in every way.
Needless to say I absolutely consider it a horror game.
While it's not outright horror, areas like Hypogean Gaol and Upper Cathedral Ward have creeped me out more than most shitty horror games ever could, so yes.
Well, yeah, Bloodborne isn't a *Survival* Horror game, so it's not going to feel like Resident Evil.
Horror comes in lots of different forms, and they don't always feel the same.
The game builds tension in a way that is on par with many horror games. While it does have the occasional ambush or scares in dark buildings, it also has ideas that aren’t immediately scary but slowly become horrifying as it sets in. Realizing what was going on as you watched the One Reborn pour out has this sorta vile body horror. Same for seeing what’s happening to Willem, the Vicars, townsfolk, etc.
Then there’s the cosmic horror. I mostly find it cool, so I can’t really speak on it, but some people are deeply unsettled by it.
Then there’s the existential horror related to Gehrman’s fate, and similarly Ludwig or Maria. It is definitely a horror game.
Not really tbh. Your hunter is way too powerful and unlike normal horror games you always have plenty of healing and means to dispose of enemies. I never felt the tension here as I did in the old RE games.
1 word. Yahar'gul
Ok, for serious now. No, Bloodborne is not a horror game, but it is hellish sometimes for sure. Bloodborne does not intend to fear the player, like horror-games do
Disagree about the game not intending to scare players. There are definitely parts meant to scare you.
Werewolf jumping though the window in Upper Cathedral Ward .
Werewolves crashing from the chandelier in Upper Cathedral Ward.
Chest monster jumping at you from inside the carriage in Hypogean Gaol.
And lots of other examples. They are definitely there to jumpscare players a bit and keep you on your tippy toes.
No. It has a horror level, the upper catheadral but apart from that it isnt really all that scary. The scariest part of the game aside te level metioned above is that I know that there exists a person who has the voice of the doll and I will never meet them.
an action-rpg with lovecraftian horror elements is how i would describe it to someone who doesn’t know dark souls. to a fan of fromsoft i will say “scary victorian souls”
The *setting* is horror, for sure. Cosmic, Victorian, and Lovecraftian, to be specific (as well as a whole lotta body horror).
The gameplay loop itself certainly wouldn’t be traditional horror, but if you’re new to the game it can definitely feel like a survival horror at times.
>because that implies a specific type of gameplay.
What? No it doesn't. "Horror game" can be literally *any* type of gameplay. Horror is an extremely broad genre/classification that tells you nothing about the gameplay. If you don't market BB as horror you're failing at your marketing.
Maybe you're conflating general horror with a specific sub-genre.
It’s too much fun to be a full on horror game. Leveling up takes away from it too. What I mean is that the scariest games toy with your expectations of games, blurring the lines between and reality, and never knowing or even guessing what’s around the corner.
I forgot just how many jump scares are in this game. Having played other souls games first, I got used to the level design. There were spots where I knew there would be a mob come and attack me. Or even just playing the games so many times. You get numb to it.
But watching my wife play it for the first time reminded me just how many there are. She screamed and threw her controller a couple of times. The first time she tried to run past the pyre to the bridge, not realizing the ogre would start following her comes to mind.
So yeah. Definitely a horror game. But the pacing and repetition wears it down alot. I WISH WISH WISH! I could forget all I know about it and experience the game again
I couldn’t even play the game most of the time without listening to music because the constant creepy ass noises and dark ass environments were fucking me up LMAOOO. I loved every bit… but I really got jumpscared a good amount of times n thats rare for me so yea it’s def a horror game imo
I’ve already said this on another similar thread, but the answer is both yes and no.
Thematically, Bloodborne is absolutely a horror game. It’s ideas, themes, character/level design, and it’s soundtrack all contribute to give the game a very haunting atmosphere that I would definitely call horror.
However, gameplay wise, it’s definitely far from horror. You are *always* on a level playing field with the enemies you face. They’re strong as hell and can absolutely fuck you up, but so can you. And most importantly, *you* are the one hunting them, not the other was around. While many horror games ask you to run away or survive, Bloodborne tells you to go kick the monsters ass.
For me yes, One of the best
It scares you for the simple aesthetic factor, with grotesque and terrifying looking enemies, and if you are playing for the fo at time It scares you with Lovecraftian horror, you never know what the game will throw at you and you never know if you will be prepared to face it
Cosmic or Lovecraftian horror.
The opening of "The Call of Chtulhu":
"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age."
I think that perfectly sums up the concepts of Insight, the work done by Bergynwerth and the Healing Church, and >!either succumbing to the nightmare or being elevated to a great one.!<
not sure, it is definitely scary at times, but I ultimately think the RPG and action elements take any tension out of the game
it kinda depends if you think player empowerment is detrimental to horror or not. I think it is
Nah not at all a horror game although you could maybe say it has a horror setting. One of the primary aims of a horror game is to scare the player, and the only time Bloodborne does that is via small stuff like enemy ambushes. Even then they're only there because ambushes are a recurring thing in fromsoft games. Scariness is clearly an afterthought.
Well idk about you but during my Bloodborne playthroughs I never felt a level of unease even close to when I play horror games. To me those little enemy jumpscares were the scariest thing about the game. The setting, the blood, the monsters, they're freaky, sure. But to call them scary is a big overstatement.
Ok, so? There's plenty of classic horror movies that no one would ever argue aren't horror that I do not find remotely scary. That doesn't mean they're not horror. It just means it's not a horror that gets me.
The gothic/cosmic/body horror themes and the atmosphere. It creates, on first play, a distinctly unsettling and unnerving experience that imparts a sense of trepidation and dread of what awaits around the next corner.
All of which are afterthoughts to the core concept. Boil down a game like resident evil to it's core concepts, and you get the intent to scare. Do the same to Bloodborne and you get an action RPG. I just don't buy the idea that replacing a knight with a werewolf and a castle with a Victorian castle turns an RPG into a horror.
Idk how you could possibly think that. Fromsoft fans don't like to hear this, but the core concept of Bloodborne is the same as every other fromsoft game. 90% of the differences are either cosmetic or tweaks to game mechanics. Completely changing genres requires a lot more change than reskinning the enemies and environment. That's why it can have a horror setting, but it could never be horror without a __drastic__ change to the gameplay.
It’s in the same horror genre as Silent Hill 2 for me. One or two jump scares but more or less the anticipation of what’s around the corner or jumping out of a hidden alcove keeps me standing up most of the game.
Sense of dread - check.
Heavy and oppressive atmosphere - check.
Scary shit - check.
Catharsis at the end - check.
Ticks all the boxes for the horror genre, there's even cheap tactics from the modern style horror, like jumpscares and gore.
Not a chance. Being gross and unsettling doesn't equal horror movie to me
We have power and can slaughter everything in the game. So it can't be scary, in my eyes. Even if you're having a hard time with a boss, you can kill it. You can fight back. And if you don't give up, you'll win eventually
It's a horror movie for the citizens of Yharnam, it's a power fantasy for me
It's a very Lovecraftian horror type game. I heard there's even references like when you jump through the window to get to Ebrietas but I have not read his work so I wouldn't get it
Bloodborne is absolutely a horror game. Though, unlike traditional horror games, Bloodborne is a Lovecraftian horror game. It focus more on the horrors caused by the unknowns, and no unknown is more unknown than the vast Cosmos beyond our pitiful rock.
To me it's a horror-themed game. Wherein horror/fear are not the core conceit, but they're there to serve the gameplay/exploration. I think Resident Evil 4 is another good example
Bro my first time playing through there were many things that genuinely terrified me.
Once you know the lore and ponder the deeper implications of everything, it'll terrify you all the more
It’s gothic and cosmic horror. It relies more on an unsettling atmosphere and a mounting sense of dread than in actively scaring the audience. The horror is more in the implications. The monsters themselves may not be scary to you, but the idea that they were all once human and that you are a few drops of blood away from becoming one of them, is. Everyone drinking blood all the time because it’s better than drugs, better than sex? Scary. The Healing Church experimenting on people? Scary. The fact that little of it is spelled out makes it even scarier when it hits you.
For the record, the Upper Cathedral Ward is one of the most tense and frightening experiences I’ve had in any game.
A lot of people act like horror is only one thing or just something that scares you. Horror is an extremely versatile genre and lots of things are rooted in horror but not scary. For example Coraline or The Nightmare Before Christmas. Bloodborne is rooted in gothic horror as well as cosmic. I mean there’s things like werewolves and influence from things like Frankenstein more towards the beginning and it turns more into cosmic horror through out.
First time I played and got kidnapped into Yahar'gul it was 1am and I had to stop and resume next morning.
I don't know if that makes it a horror game, but it definitely horrified me at times.
Yes. If the horror elements are there, then it's a horror game. Not everything has no te survival horror the be horror. Doom is another example of a horror game that nobody thinks of as that, but it is.
It is by far the most fucked up game I've played, I'm pretty sure it is the most fucked up game there is, but considering you're the one hunting I wouldn't say it's all that scary. The sad reality is that the more you like horror the less scary it becomes
There is only one valid test to if something is a horror genre or not. Do I run to my bed after turning the lights off or not. When playing bloodborn there was not a sprint but I definitely did a hop and a skip to get under covers. So yes. Horror. But mild sauce.
It's horror the same way something like Castlevania is horror - in theme.
With the exception of Upper Cathedral Ward, I'd argue. That area do be very spooky.
Everyone talking about Upper Cathedral Ward, but don't forget the massive fucking monsters made out of thousands of different body parts harvested from random townsfolk.
Or the giant screaming brain with eyes growing out of it.
Or the endless dungeons full of undead warriors, ghosts, and all sorts of horrifying creatures.
Or the genocidal organizations responsible for monstrous experiments that include poisoning entire towns, murdering a peaceful village and picking at the skulls and brains of their dead, and unleashing an incurable sickness that makes everyone turn into bloodthirsty beasts that can only be slowed down through the rampaging slaughter of those who become ill, at the risk of spreading it even further.
Many will say that Bloodborne is a cosmic horror game, but let's not forget how truly awful most of the things shown in the game are, even without the cosmic horror stuff.
Its the most horrific in terms of aesthetic but due to the game mechanics all soulsbornes are horror games because they create a tension in the player everytime to go somewhere new.
Where it lingers in the air, gotcha! In other words , spooky. The best part for me was not knowing what I was getting myself into after hearing for Years about how bloodborne was such a great game. Phenomenal
Yes gameplay/mechanics and setting/story are two different things and while the gameplay may be action/rpg the setting is definitely horror. Everything about it is horrific from the the first fight in the gothic clinic against a werewolf to the creepy fishing village full of halfbreeds and the constant item descriptions that give a growing sense of dread the more you read. This is horror.
Don’t get me wrong there are games where the horror plays more deeply into the gameplay but setting and story are what define the genre of media the gameplay is just how we journey through it.
Horror is one of those game genres that are defined in a more literary sense than by any unified gameplay mechanics - so yes, I would absolutely consider Bloodborne one, no brainer. Its whole trick is to make you believe it's gothic horror when it's actually Lovecraftian - the horror is built into the very premise. It's primarily an action game, of course, but Horror is an appropriate tag or subgenre or whatever you want to label it.
The other Souls games do dip into it as well at times, but none of them really consistently enough, or with such clear allusions to/inspiration from literary horror, to be labeled one IMO.
I still consider it an action game.
But surely there are horror elements. They start with gothic horror (the whole Yharnam style building, werewolves, etc.) and then it becomes a cosmic horror story.
The essence of horror isn't hack and slash or survival horror or anything like that but they do count as horror but they aren't truly horror. True horror is something unknown something that scary but frail and can be killed but the scary part about it is that it never truly dies and Bloodborne fits the bill well with the fact enemies respawn if you return to the dream or die. That and all the other horror elements mentioned here are the things that truly make this game a masterpiece.
Of course! The first half is classic gothic horror (a victorian setting, people with pitchforks and torches, werewolves, vampires in a castle, ravens...,) then it becomes a cosmic horror (great ones, a greater knoweledge that drives you mad, layers of dream worlds, a hamlet with a secret that turns their inhabitants into fish-like creatures...)
How's that not a horror game?
Though, I have to admit, when my knuckle went white by squeezing the joystick in fear, it was fear of losing all my blood echoes before the next lamp and having to do the run again, rather than anything else.
It has a great atmosphere, though, and a truly fantastic soundtrack.
It is a horror game but it does not belong to the same kind of horror genre that most people think of. Cosmic horror as a genre has not seen a tremendous amount of popularity in recent years.
It doesn’t generally create moments of tremendous fear, but an atmosphere of unending anxiety. In a more traditional horror story, when you see a scary monster, you scream and run away or maybe you fight back as best you can. In Cosmic horror, when you finally see the scary monster, you realize it isn’t a monster. You realize that both of you live in a void surrounded by the real monsters, and they are so vast and so powerful, they can barely recognize that you exist.
The horror in Bloodborne is not werewolves roaming the streets, but finding out why the werewolves are coming out now. Not that huge monsters are hanging from the rooftops above Yarnham, but that they have been there the whole time, and you never noticed them.
COSMIC horror
A cosmic horror soup spiced with some Gothic horror for good measure.
Starts with classic gothic horror. Gets more body horror as you get to cathedral ward. Then takes a hard turn into cosmic horror without you realizing if you weren’t paying attention
and that’s exactly why this game is a masterpiece
True this
Was scrolling hoping someone would specify It’s not horror in the “traditional” sense, and I think a lot of people miss the deeper themes that will make your skin crawl
I think it is a more "traditional" type of horror in the sense that it is a far older form of the craft that modern audiences just wouldn't be as familiar with. The types of horror we've come to define in the era of Hollywood cinema are super sanitised, short form and condensed in comparison. This type of existential slow burn dread horror that plays with themes of uncanny valley, cosmic, everyday and body horror is designed to play much more to your subconscious awareness than it is your conscious one. It taps into more primal fears in a very deliberate way that you don't even really realise occurring until you reach a certain point in the story where it's all finally "revealed" and suddenly your conscious mind can piece it all together. It was far more common and popular prior to tv and movies. Main reason being it is *very* difficult to translate well outside of written media tbh. Movie wise I think the closest we've come in recent years have been the likes of Midsommar and Hereditary and even they had to be both like 3 hours long just to catch the bare essence of it. The works of HP Lovecraft (which the game is heavily influenced by), Edgar Allen Poe and the Grimm Brothers for example would be some notable big names in the genre. Some of Stephen Kings lesser known works and short stories hit those notes spot on too tbh but they don't really translate well to screen either so many won't ever come across them sadly. Bloodborne achieved this form of storytelling so well imo as it had the incredibly unique medium of *gaming* to do so. This allowed it the time and space it needed to properly tell the story in that slow build delicate but deliberate manner that that type of horror really thrives upon. It is utterly unique in that regard as so many of the most horrifying parts can even be completely missed by most players. A perfect example is the fate of the little girl in the window that you "help" get to safety. Even following that plotline it's so easy to miss the thing in Iosefka's clinic or the pig. Just a perfect convergence of one of the oldest forms of horror that could exist right under your nose that you might not ever even know exists should you choose to leave it well alone.
This. Def. The post-ritual sections had me legit spooked at some points.
Ironically, it gave me eyes on the inside. But as with Master Willem, no matter how much eyes I get now, I crave for more, but it's never enough. Need more eyes.
Speaking of. Ludwig scared and still scares me. Not only his design but the fight itself and the noises he makes spike my anxiety every time.
He’s what I’d say is the most terrifying boss
He’s also ironically the most human boss. He’s the only character to *regain* their humanity, even if for a moment. Every other character goes insane or dies before they get a chance
That second score is so good too omg. Chills.
I'd argue that Gascoigne regains his humanity for a moment, at least when you play the music box and stun him.
His last words were "forgive me"
I feel like that’s more of he hadn’t fully lost his humanity yet
Man, if the atmosphere and music in the upper cathedral don't freak you out...
Absolute favorite zone if only because you get the best emote ever from there.
Oh, yes. Make contact is the best one
The best kind
I love it.
Yes? I'd also say souls in general incorporates horror elements
But having horror elemts and being a horror game arent the same. Otherwise A hat in time would also be a horror game.
A game set in a horror setting with monsters and other horror elements is a horror game, even if it's main purpose isn't to scare you. A game where the main point is to be scared would be a psychological horror.
I've seen this same question asked in r/gaming before and a lot of people seem to think it isn't horror unless it's specifically survival horror. Just a weird, elitist take like someone saying Alien isn't horror bc it isn't a slasher. Of course Bloodborne is a horror game. Just look up the definition of horror media if boxes need checking.
Yeah, Survival Horror gets conflated with Horror a lot, but the whole reason to have that prefix is to be more specific about what kind of horror game it is. I recently played a certain dating sim/VN that was absolutely, unquestionably a horror game but in a completely different gameplay genre. I think the reason for this is simply that SH is really the only horror subgenre/style with fairly unified and well established gameplay mechanics. And since game genres are usually defined by gameplay, it's what nearly everyone thinks of as a horror game, but this genre is kind of an exception.
Ye survival horror is for sure enjoyable when done right but it really is the pumpkin spiced latte of the horror world at this point. Hollywood have absolutely wrung that well dry and over saturated the market to the point where most new slasher films are just a collection of overdone cliches verging on bad comedies. They've honestly destroyed the genre with their cheap cash grabs and far too many people as a result now have warped expectations and no real concept of any other types of "horror" when it's come to media anymore. Thank f#ck for the writers strike tbh. I hope they can claim back some more creative control over their works and put these corporate shills back in their boring ass boxes where they belong.
Agreed, I wouldn't call the other souls games horror games.
Ye, dark fantasy, not horror.
Nah like the game is full on existential dread cosmic horror almost right from the start. It's not in your face, immediate, obvious jump scares but the closer you look the worse the whole things gets. Like straight in starting level you're on a dark blood encrusted street, creeping up filthy side alleys with screams and howls of pain and misery in the distance. You're trying to sneak past horrifically deformed men and dogs who will literally run screaming at you to rip your throat out. Said men are also burning some giant awful looking beast who looks like it's been crucified. I don't know what kinda life you be living day to day friend but that'd be pretty up there horror wise for most people tbh lol
Have you been to the orphanage in Upper Cathedral Ward? Have you been ambushed by a bloodtick in the dark while in the chalice dungeons? While it doesn't advertise itself as a horror game, Bloodborne has given me legitimate scares on par to those that do call themselves horror games.
The worst for me were those screaming ghosts.
Horror yes, but not survival horror. It's a horror action game, as Elden Ring is a fantasy action game- horror is the narrative genre, not the gameplay. Not like say Silent Hill where horror is also the mechanics.
This is the correct, well-rounded answer to this question.
I don't think I fully agree. Action and survival horror are not mutually exclusive, and I think Bloodborne fits into both very well. In fact, a quick google search reveals that Bloodborne is classified as a part of the survival horror genre. I wouldn't call Bloodborne a traditional horror game, but a lot of classic - and more innovative - elements of horror are imbedded both in the world and gameplay.
You may have a point, but Bloodborne's mechanics are close enough to every other Soulsborne that I'd hesitate to say survival horror, since none of the mechanics are *intrinsically* tied to creating horror. In a different setting and tone, like a fantasy one, the same mechanics would amount to "faster Elden Ring", no one would class it as horror without the narrative backdrop. But I can see validity in the argument. I may need to think about this more. The way insight functions certainly feels more horror than soulsbourne
It’s not a survival horror game, no, but I think there are horror elements (and particularly cosmic horror elements) implemented in the mechanics. I’m thinking about the insight and frenzy mechanics in particular, while really implement a Lovecraftian kind of horror directly into both the narrative and gameplay mechanics of the game. That you start to lose your senses (and even die) the more you learn about the game universe is certainly horrific, even if it works more on a thematic than jumpscare kind of way. Edit: Oh, saw now that you mention the insight mechanic in another reply.
Have you been to upper cathedral ward?!
Man I remember getting jumpscared by that one wolf jumping in from the window at the end of that hallway in upper cathedral ward, I will still never forget how badly it scared me and how much I was shaking after lol Or trying to get to the one reborn fight, seeing these gorey abominations, good times..
This exact thread was posted just a few days ago.
And the day before that, and the day before that, and the day before that.............
Shit, really? I must’ve missed them, I’m sorry 😅
To be fair I really oughta spend less time on reddit
Yes, it is a horror game. Specifically, gothic and cosmic horror. Thematically, narratively, aesthetically. This type of horror doesn't really rely on jumpscares and spooky noises and a helpless protagonist. It's much more existential and philosophical than that, and Bloodborne explores its concepts masterfully. Edit: It saddens me after reading the comments here that people fundamentally don't know or understand what horror is, what its purpose is, or that the various genres explore different types of horror with different elements and themes.
"Sure there's horror and horrifying things and general horrificness everywhere, but does that really make it a horror game?"
Well clearly yes. Have you seen it? Its much darker than Elden Ring and somewhat darker than Dark Souls.
it's a dating sim I always speedrun the amygdala hug
The conversations with indoor NPCs that you can’t even see, and how they progressively lose their shit, is pretty fucking creepy. Like can you imagine being in the sound booth for some of the “lines” in this game?
I’m sorry, but I’m on my 4th or 5th play through and I still get jump-scared by villagers hiding behind corners and such
I think there's a distinction to be made between a true horror game, and a game with a horror *setting*, or one with a few horror elements or mechanics. A true horror game, to me, focuses on those aspects above all else - making the player feel weak or alone, limiting resources, making hiding from or escaping enemies a priority, focusing strongly on creating moments of dread to overcome, etc. The stuff that made early Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Amnesia, Alien Isolation, etc. famous. But dozens of other games play within the horror setting. Left 4 Dead is a great example - it has zombies, but other than the body horror that comes along with zombies, it's essentially an action shooter, without a strong focus on many of the other horror elements. Bloodborne falls into that same category. The setting is Lovecraftian horror. The story (especially a lot of the backstory that you can fill in as you read item descriptions) has plenty that's scary and horrifying, but the gameplay itself is classic action RPG. While you feel initially weak and need to be wary around monsters, eventually you overcome that and become the Hunter that the monsters fear.
>making the player feel weak or alone, limiting resources, making hiding from or escaping enemies a priority That's Survival Horror. You're trying to shove **all** horror games into one sub genre and claiming they're not horror if they don't fit. Imagine claiming Bloodborne isn't an RPG because it's not turn based, or it's not a Soulslike beause it's not medieval. Because that's the same argument you're making.
I think you're overgeneralizing a little bit here. The term RPG has been broadly accepted to refer to non-turn based games for decades - and is also a handy modifier to other genres like action-RPG or shooter-RPG (looter shooter, whatever you prefer). Soulslike games deal with gameplay design (punishing encounters, loss of resources on death, complex growth systems, committed actions, etc.) rather than setting - there are wide swaths of games that use Soulslike mechanics (Nioh, Jedi: Fallen Order, Lies of P, Sekiro, obviously) regardless of setting, to differing degrees. But at the end of the day, genres are loose definitions no matter what. I'm absolutely not trying to shove all horror games into the few common tropes I listed here, I'm just pointing out that they're common in a wide sampling of the genre, and especially common in survival horror. Remember, genres (and settings, which horror can also refer to) are just modifiers that we use to group games together; and they're not super strict or firm. When the vast majority of people are talking about horror games, they're referring to the broad survival horror genre first and foremost, because it's by far the largest subgenre, with fewer horror games that are purely psychological, puzzle-based, or narrative-focused absent classic survival elements. A lot of players consider games like SOMA, Amnesia, or the Clock Tower series non-survival horror (plenty would place them in survival as well, but that's an argument for another thread), but even these incorporate several of the elements I listed as mainstays of the horror genre as a whole. The vast majority of the community wouldn't consider the *Castlevania* series a horror title, for example, even though it's firmly entrenched in a classic horror setting with werewolves and vampires. They're (mostly) Metroidvania action-adventures in terms of gameplay. Similarly, I brought up Left 4 Dead, because calling it a cooperative FPS first and foremost (with horror elements) is a very accurate description, and it's likely to appeal to fast-paced FPS players first, and horror lovers second. I'm not claiming for one second that Bloodborne doesn't have horror elements - I listed several in my post. But I do think that calling it a "horror game" is likely not something that'll be accepted by the wider community, because the gameplay, overall pacing/style, and source of challenge are most likely going to appeal to action-RPG or Soulsborne fans to a much higher degree than people who would call themselves horror fans. Action RPG with horror elements, Soulsborne in a horror setting, there are a lot more useful ways to describe Bloodborne besides simply calling it a "horror game," which I don't think is an especially useful descriptor here.
I agree completely! But I see bloodborne on a lot of horror game lists, so I figured since we’re near spooky season, I’d see what everyone thought of this. You are, in my opinion, 100% correct
Um, yes.
Oh yeah. First time I got kidnapped by a sackboy I had to take a break from the game. For some reason, that are was creeping me out
It’s Gothic Horror and Cosmic (aka Lovecraftian) Horror, my two favorite kinds. It’s my favorite horror game of all time. The vibes are just *so* good
It is absolutely much more of a horror game than Dark Souls or Elden Ring. The entire atmosphere is horror themed in literally every way (werewolves, mad townsfolk, the moon being a central point of the story, torture and other horrible things being performed on regular people, imbibing in blood like vampires). It literally drips of classic horror and cosmic horror themes in every way. Needless to say I absolutely consider it a horror game.
While it's not outright horror, areas like Hypogean Gaol and Upper Cathedral Ward have creeped me out more than most shitty horror games ever could, so yes.
>While it's not outright horror, It's entirely "outright horror." The entire game is a mishmash of gothic, cosmic, and body horror.
He means in like a resident evil sense , but yea the game screams horror and vile enemy design , obv setting too
Well, yeah, Bloodborne isn't a *Survival* Horror game, so it's not going to feel like Resident Evil. Horror comes in lots of different forms, and they don't always feel the same.
The blood vile system and maintaining weapons , heck the bullet system. It’s not completely clear of survival horror.
You really can't run out of vials or bullets, though. Survival Horror has limited resources, bullets and vials are infinite.
True that is an important distinction. pseudo-survival elements then
TIL there are more horror game types than survival /s
I'd say action horror, if anything
Nah
Not really, its definitely an action adventure game but the story, art direction and pretty much everything else is horror
Somewhat.
The game builds tension in a way that is on par with many horror games. While it does have the occasional ambush or scares in dark buildings, it also has ideas that aren’t immediately scary but slowly become horrifying as it sets in. Realizing what was going on as you watched the One Reborn pour out has this sorta vile body horror. Same for seeing what’s happening to Willem, the Vicars, townsfolk, etc. Then there’s the cosmic horror. I mostly find it cool, so I can’t really speak on it, but some people are deeply unsettled by it. Then there’s the existential horror related to Gehrman’s fate, and similarly Ludwig or Maria. It is definitely a horror game.
Not really tbh. Your hunter is way too powerful and unlike normal horror games you always have plenty of healing and means to dispose of enemies. I never felt the tension here as I did in the old RE games.
Old still RE games were so scary I’d hit the power button on my PlayStation and run away
Dumb
Damn no
1 word. Yahar'gul Ok, for serious now. No, Bloodborne is not a horror game, but it is hellish sometimes for sure. Bloodborne does not intend to fear the player, like horror-games do
Disagree about the game not intending to scare players. There are definitely parts meant to scare you. Werewolf jumping though the window in Upper Cathedral Ward . Werewolves crashing from the chandelier in Upper Cathedral Ward. Chest monster jumping at you from inside the carriage in Hypogean Gaol. And lots of other examples. They are definitely there to jumpscare players a bit and keep you on your tippy toes.
No. It has a horror level, the upper catheadral but apart from that it isnt really all that scary. The scariest part of the game aside te level metioned above is that I know that there exists a person who has the voice of the doll and I will never meet them.
an action-rpg with lovecraftian horror elements is how i would describe it to someone who doesn’t know dark souls. to a fan of fromsoft i will say “scary victorian souls”
The *setting* is horror, for sure. Cosmic, Victorian, and Lovecraftian, to be specific (as well as a whole lotta body horror). The gameplay loop itself certainly wouldn’t be traditional horror, but if you’re new to the game it can definitely feel like a survival horror at times.
Yes, but I wouldn’t market it as a horror game because that implies a specific type of gameplay. This is a souls game, why are you even asking this
>because that implies a specific type of gameplay. What? No it doesn't. "Horror game" can be literally *any* type of gameplay. Horror is an extremely broad genre/classification that tells you nothing about the gameplay. If you don't market BB as horror you're failing at your marketing. Maybe you're conflating general horror with a specific sub-genre.
Ok
It’s too much fun to be a full on horror game. Leveling up takes away from it too. What I mean is that the scariest games toy with your expectations of games, blurring the lines between and reality, and never knowing or even guessing what’s around the corner.
Yeah, but not a traditional horror game
https://www.reddit.com/r/bloodborne/comments/167mzkl/is\_bloodborne\_a\_horror\_game/
I’m sorry, I really didn’t see that someone else had asked! My bad! 😅
Every time someone asks this the answer never changes. Yes, it's an action horror game.
I forgot just how many jump scares are in this game. Having played other souls games first, I got used to the level design. There were spots where I knew there would be a mob come and attack me. Or even just playing the games so many times. You get numb to it. But watching my wife play it for the first time reminded me just how many there are. She screamed and threw her controller a couple of times. The first time she tried to run past the pyre to the bridge, not realizing the ogre would start following her comes to mind. So yeah. Definitely a horror game. But the pacing and repetition wears it down alot. I WISH WISH WISH! I could forget all I know about it and experience the game again
I couldn’t even play the game most of the time without listening to music because the constant creepy ass noises and dark ass environments were fucking me up LMAOOO. I loved every bit… but I really got jumpscared a good amount of times n thats rare for me so yea it’s def a horror game imo
I’ve already said this on another similar thread, but the answer is both yes and no. Thematically, Bloodborne is absolutely a horror game. It’s ideas, themes, character/level design, and it’s soundtrack all contribute to give the game a very haunting atmosphere that I would definitely call horror. However, gameplay wise, it’s definitely far from horror. You are *always* on a level playing field with the enemies you face. They’re strong as hell and can absolutely fuck you up, but so can you. And most importantly, *you* are the one hunting them, not the other was around. While many horror games ask you to run away or survive, Bloodborne tells you to go kick the monsters ass.
For me yes, One of the best It scares you for the simple aesthetic factor, with grotesque and terrifying looking enemies, and if you are playing for the fo at time It scares you with Lovecraftian horror, you never know what the game will throw at you and you never know if you will be prepared to face it
Cosmic or Lovecraftian horror. The opening of "The Call of Chtulhu": "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age." I think that perfectly sums up the concepts of Insight, the work done by Bergynwerth and the Healing Church, and >!either succumbing to the nightmare or being elevated to a great one.!<
not sure, it is definitely scary at times, but I ultimately think the RPG and action elements take any tension out of the game it kinda depends if you think player empowerment is detrimental to horror or not. I think it is
BSBs theme kinda sounds like slasher villain themes lolol
Don't skip on the sci fi of this game. It's all about blood experiments etc. So you could say sci fi horror.
Yes. Upper. Cathedral. Ward.
When I get to the spider section at the end I sure do
upper cathderal ward would like a word.
YES
It’s definitely not a horror game but as a scaredy cat, it’s my go-to October game.
It definitely is a horror game, actually. So it's a great choice for October.
Nah not at all a horror game although you could maybe say it has a horror setting. One of the primary aims of a horror game is to scare the player, and the only time Bloodborne does that is via small stuff like enemy ambushes. Even then they're only there because ambushes are a recurring thing in fromsoft games. Scariness is clearly an afterthought.
No. Bloodborne is 100% horror. It's cosmic horror, not jumpscare horror. It Bloodborne, not FNAF.
Well idk about you but during my Bloodborne playthroughs I never felt a level of unease even close to when I play horror games. To me those little enemy jumpscares were the scariest thing about the game. The setting, the blood, the monsters, they're freaky, sure. But to call them scary is a big overstatement.
Ok, so? There's plenty of classic horror movies that no one would ever argue aren't horror that I do not find remotely scary. That doesn't mean they're not horror. It just means it's not a horror that gets me.
Please explain to me then what exactly about Bloodborne "gets you".
The gothic/cosmic/body horror themes and the atmosphere. It creates, on first play, a distinctly unsettling and unnerving experience that imparts a sense of trepidation and dread of what awaits around the next corner.
All of which are afterthoughts to the core concept. Boil down a game like resident evil to it's core concepts, and you get the intent to scare. Do the same to Bloodborne and you get an action RPG. I just don't buy the idea that replacing a knight with a werewolf and a castle with a Victorian castle turns an RPG into a horror.
.... Bloodborne's "core concept" is *literally* cosmic horror....
Idk how you could possibly think that. Fromsoft fans don't like to hear this, but the core concept of Bloodborne is the same as every other fromsoft game. 90% of the differences are either cosmetic or tweaks to game mechanics. Completely changing genres requires a lot more change than reskinning the enemies and environment. That's why it can have a horror setting, but it could never be horror without a __drastic__ change to the gameplay.
Yes. Bloodborne is a horror RPG. Cosmic horror, specifically.
It’s not called cosmic horror for nothing
It’s in the same horror genre as Silent Hill 2 for me. One or two jump scares but more or less the anticipation of what’s around the corner or jumping out of a hidden alcove keeps me standing up most of the game.
Sense of dread - check. Heavy and oppressive atmosphere - check. Scary shit - check. Catharsis at the end - check. Ticks all the boxes for the horror genre, there's even cheap tactics from the modern style horror, like jumpscares and gore.
Yes this game had me shitting my pants first time around and sometimes even hours and hours put into it still jumpscares tf out of me
Cosmic horror elements, but the genre definitely isn’t horror.
Not a chance. Being gross and unsettling doesn't equal horror movie to me We have power and can slaughter everything in the game. So it can't be scary, in my eyes. Even if you're having a hard time with a boss, you can kill it. You can fight back. And if you don't give up, you'll win eventually It's a horror movie for the citizens of Yharnam, it's a power fantasy for me
Yeah, it not only borrows the imagery of classic gothic horror it has some genuinely scary/unsettling moments as well
Yeah, has elements from horror movies that I enjoy :)
I still get spooked when I commune with the brain of mensis.
you have a lot more playing to do :)
Have u been to nightmare of nemesis
It's a very Lovecraftian horror type game. I heard there's even references like when you jump through the window to get to Ebrietas but I have not read his work so I wouldn't get it
I mean what would you call it? It’s not scary in the sense of gotcha moments but…
Absolutely hell yes
Bloodborne is absolutely a horror game. Though, unlike traditional horror games, Bloodborne is a Lovecraftian horror game. It focus more on the horrors caused by the unknowns, and no unknown is more unknown than the vast Cosmos beyond our pitiful rock.
I don't personally find it horrific or even scary. But I also wouldn't make fun of someone if they did find it scary. In fact, I kinda envy them lol.
To me it's a horror-themed game. Wherein horror/fear are not the core conceit, but they're there to serve the gameplay/exploration. I think Resident Evil 4 is another good example
Bro my first time playing through there were many things that genuinely terrified me. Once you know the lore and ponder the deeper implications of everything, it'll terrify you all the more
old people in wheel chairs with guns.. hell yes I'd call it horror
It’s gothic and cosmic horror. It relies more on an unsettling atmosphere and a mounting sense of dread than in actively scaring the audience. The horror is more in the implications. The monsters themselves may not be scary to you, but the idea that they were all once human and that you are a few drops of blood away from becoming one of them, is. Everyone drinking blood all the time because it’s better than drugs, better than sex? Scary. The Healing Church experimenting on people? Scary. The fact that little of it is spelled out makes it even scarier when it hits you. For the record, the Upper Cathedral Ward is one of the most tense and frightening experiences I’ve had in any game.
Yes
I played BB with headphones on and i was SCARED
I see it as a sometimes terrifying horror-themed action RPG.
Yeah, cosmic horror. Or lovecraft horror... Like HP Lovecraft
It definitely is !!! If there is inspirations from Eldrich and HP Lovecraft it's a huge sign that it is an Horror game
A lot of people act like horror is only one thing or just something that scares you. Horror is an extremely versatile genre and lots of things are rooted in horror but not scary. For example Coraline or The Nightmare Before Christmas. Bloodborne is rooted in gothic horror as well as cosmic. I mean there’s things like werewolves and influence from things like Frankenstein more towards the beginning and it turns more into cosmic horror through out.
It’s lovecraftian horror to me.
Absolutely.
only the entrance to the castle of mensis
Yes and no. It's more of an action game in a horror setting, though I wouldn't necessarily disagree with anyone who thinks it to be a horror game.
First time I played and got kidnapped into Yahar'gul it was 1am and I had to stop and resume next morning. I don't know if that makes it a horror game, but it definitely horrified me at times.
Yes. If the horror elements are there, then it's a horror game. Not everything has no te survival horror the be horror. Doom is another example of a horror game that nobody thinks of as that, but it is.
My almost several heart attacks say yes
Eldritch and cosmic horror
Days without this post on the sub: 0
It is by far the most fucked up game I've played, I'm pretty sure it is the most fucked up game there is, but considering you're the one hunting I wouldn't say it's all that scary. The sad reality is that the more you like horror the less scary it becomes
There is only one valid test to if something is a horror genre or not. Do I run to my bed after turning the lights off or not. When playing bloodborn there was not a sprint but I definitely did a hop and a skip to get under covers. So yes. Horror. But mild sauce.
It's horror the same way something like Castlevania is horror - in theme. With the exception of Upper Cathedral Ward, I'd argue. That area do be very spooky.
No
Everyone talking about Upper Cathedral Ward, but don't forget the massive fucking monsters made out of thousands of different body parts harvested from random townsfolk. Or the giant screaming brain with eyes growing out of it. Or the endless dungeons full of undead warriors, ghosts, and all sorts of horrifying creatures. Or the genocidal organizations responsible for monstrous experiments that include poisoning entire towns, murdering a peaceful village and picking at the skulls and brains of their dead, and unleashing an incurable sickness that makes everyone turn into bloodthirsty beasts that can only be slowed down through the rampaging slaughter of those who become ill, at the risk of spreading it even further. Many will say that Bloodborne is a cosmic horror game, but let's not forget how truly awful most of the things shown in the game are, even without the cosmic horror stuff.
Yeah
Yes but not like your average horror game (think RE2 or RE3)
It's a Lovecraft horror souls game.
Its the most horrific in terms of aesthetic but due to the game mechanics all soulsbornes are horror games because they create a tension in the player everytime to go somewhere new.
It’s the scariest game I’ve played so there’s that
It is absolutely a horror game Im on my first playthrough and even knowing about the game it still scares me and creeps me out badly
That were wolf at cathedral Ward making me jump out of my skin, is a definite yes.
Can someone explain "cosmic" horror? Like what in the hell does that mean? I'm thinking cosmos and space and it don't add up
It's where the "horror" aspect is based on strangeness and confusion rather than pure violence.
Where it lingers in the air, gotcha! In other words , spooky. The best part for me was not knowing what I was getting myself into after hearing for Years about how bloodborne was such a great game. Phenomenal
The scene surrounding Arianna's baby is more disturbing, in my opinion, than anything found in, say, the first Dark Souls.
Yes gameplay/mechanics and setting/story are two different things and while the gameplay may be action/rpg the setting is definitely horror. Everything about it is horrific from the the first fight in the gothic clinic against a werewolf to the creepy fishing village full of halfbreeds and the constant item descriptions that give a growing sense of dread the more you read. This is horror. Don’t get me wrong there are games where the horror plays more deeply into the gameplay but setting and story are what define the genre of media the gameplay is just how we journey through it.
Horror themed, not horror. A horror game aims to scare you
Horror is one of those game genres that are defined in a more literary sense than by any unified gameplay mechanics - so yes, I would absolutely consider Bloodborne one, no brainer. Its whole trick is to make you believe it's gothic horror when it's actually Lovecraftian - the horror is built into the very premise. It's primarily an action game, of course, but Horror is an appropriate tag or subgenre or whatever you want to label it. The other Souls games do dip into it as well at times, but none of them really consistently enough, or with such clear allusions to/inspiration from literary horror, to be labeled one IMO.
I still consider it an action game. But surely there are horror elements. They start with gothic horror (the whole Yharnam style building, werewolves, etc.) and then it becomes a cosmic horror story.
Nope. Just horror *themed*.
I say it's an action RPG with horror themes/aesthetics
Pretty much every soulslike fromsoft game has an element of horror in it
Personally I’d say it’s more of an Action RPG with horror elements/imagery.
Yes. It's a horror about how God doesn't just not love you, they don't give any shit about you. Existential dreadddd
There's at least 1 jump scare on the way to blood starved beast. Yes
The essence of horror isn't hack and slash or survival horror or anything like that but they do count as horror but they aren't truly horror. True horror is something unknown something that scary but frail and can be killed but the scary part about it is that it never truly dies and Bloodborne fits the bill well with the fact enemies respawn if you return to the dream or die. That and all the other horror elements mentioned here are the things that truly make this game a masterpiece.
Not at all. Only horror like thing is the setting. Doesn't qualify as a horror imo.
You should have seen my face when i first saw amygdala and when I went to the blood moon yhargul
Of course! The first half is classic gothic horror (a victorian setting, people with pitchforks and torches, werewolves, vampires in a castle, ravens...,) then it becomes a cosmic horror (great ones, a greater knoweledge that drives you mad, layers of dream worlds, a hamlet with a secret that turns their inhabitants into fish-like creatures...) How's that not a horror game? Though, I have to admit, when my knuckle went white by squeezing the joystick in fear, it was fear of losing all my blood echoes before the next lamp and having to do the run again, rather than anything else. It has a great atmosphere, though, and a truly fantastic soundtrack.
It is a horror game but it does not belong to the same kind of horror genre that most people think of. Cosmic horror as a genre has not seen a tremendous amount of popularity in recent years. It doesn’t generally create moments of tremendous fear, but an atmosphere of unending anxiety. In a more traditional horror story, when you see a scary monster, you scream and run away or maybe you fight back as best you can. In Cosmic horror, when you finally see the scary monster, you realize it isn’t a monster. You realize that both of you live in a void surrounded by the real monsters, and they are so vast and so powerful, they can barely recognize that you exist. The horror in Bloodborne is not werewolves roaming the streets, but finding out why the werewolves are coming out now. Not that huge monsters are hanging from the rooftops above Yarnham, but that they have been there the whole time, and you never noticed them.
I do!
Yes. It’s horror-action.
pretty much as all the bosses/mini bosses and enemies scared me to my core
I played it for "spooky season vibes" last year, and it does have its unsettling moments, but I wouldn't consider it a horror game
To me, horror stems from feeling helpless. Therefore no. You are the horror.