Hidetaka Miyazaki may not be a name every gamer knows, but it’s hard to not know his games. The creator behind Demon Souls, Dark Souls 1 and 2, and now Bloodborne, Miyazaki-san sits among the top tier of game developers. In the run up to Bloodborne’s launch, in an interview posted via the PlayStation Blog, he spoke candidly about how he personally sees some of the biggest aspects of his games.
In regards to the horror leanings of Bloodborne, when compared to the dark fantasy of the Souls games, he explained, “It’s not like horror is something we specifically go for, but it’s important to have that sense of fear and terror because it directly ties into the player overcoming that and enhancing their sense of achievement.” At the same time however, he admitted he honestly does see the real world as somewhere that can be “often a harsh and unkind environment- so that translates into my games.”
Turning to the design of Bloodborne specifically, when asked about the open world, Miyazaki-san clarified that, “every area is linked in one way or another much like the first Dark Souls, but you also have a hub system like Demon’s Souls… Essentially each area is still seamlessly connected. At the same time, to access each point, there are central hubs that act as warp points, and to reach new points, you still have the hub which also acts as a refuge as well.”
Then, as far as new game +, “you’ll see that the feel is a bit different to Souls.” Citing the fact there is no defensive play style in Bloodborne, he promised it is a factor “that starts to be more apparent the more New Game + playthroughs you go through,” giving a very different experience, as the difficulty ramps up, than what players of the Souls games are used to.
And finally, responding to concerns that there are less weapons in Bloodborne than the Souls games, Miyazaki-san confirmed it, but countered by adding, “The weapons transform – so one weapon will have various uses and strategies that you can implement. You can also customize your weapon with Blood Gems… You can have many different combinations.” The variety, he reassured players, comes from that customization, instead of just raw quantity of weapons.
To see some of those weapons in action be sure to check out Bloodborne’s most recent trailer.
Bloodborne is shaping up to be a big exclusive for the PS4. Just the other day, limited edition Bloodborne faceplates were released for the console. So, in the lead up to the game’s launch next week, plus all the post-launch coverage after that, make sure to keep checking back here on Gamespresso for all your Bloodborne updates. Until then, what did you think about what Hidetaka Miyazaki had to say? Let us know in the comments.