Today, Sony released the trailer for the very much anticipatedBloodborneexpansion, titledThe Old Hunters, offering a date of November 24th for download in Europe and the US and December 3rd for Japan. The trailer, despite only being 2 minutes in length provides a wealth of information about what we can expect in the new expansion and we’re happy to report, it all looks to be brilliant.
Be aware that a lot of what will be written here is speculation based on the existing knowledge we have of Bloodborne’s lore and what little the trailer gives us to work from. Some speculation may be wrong, some may be right.
Before we start with the trailer though, the Video description on YouTube features a lot of interesting information:
Experience the nightmare of the hunters who once guarded Byrgenwerth’s deepest, darkest secrets and uncover the mystery behind Yharnam’s sinister past and in The Old Hunters expansion DLC for Bloodborne™. Journey to a world where hunters from the past are trapped forever, find multiple new outfits and weapons to add to your hunter arsenal, and explore brand new stages full of dangers, rewards, and deadly beasts to hunt.
“Journey to a world where hunters from the past are trapped forever”. From Software’s DLC has always dealt with the past in some way shape or form.Artorias Of The Abysstook you back in time to the land of Oolacile andThe Lost Crowns trilogyfor DkS2 tasked you with heading to long forgotten parts of Drangleic to uncover what happened to the three kings of the land. From the description alone we can assume either that there is an element of time travel to the DLC, or you will be retracing a path that the Byrgenwerth hunters once took.
In terms ofByrgenwerth’sdeepest, darkest secrets, this could clarify some long held lore suspicions. Could we learn of Rom’s experiments that lead her to become theVacuous Spider? Could we learn of the fate of Laurence when he split from Master Willem’s teachings? Could we actually face Ludwig in a fight?
Finally, learning Yharnam’s deepest darkest secrets implies that we will find out more concrete evidence about the Old Blood, it’s source and potentially the full facts around the start of the Scourge which ravaged Yharnam so. We may even find out more about Gerhman’s early days within theHealing Church Workshop. There are so many possibilities and questions posed by a simple video description. Now, onto the video itself.
The trailer opens with a shot of a river, in a dilapidated rural area. A rowing boat with a candle at the bow drifts past, containing a robed skeleton, laid out in a fashion akin to a Scandinavian funeral ritual. A female voice, potentially an existing character in the game (I want to say it’sAdella, but I’m not sure) says:
Curse the fiends, their children too, and their children, forever true
Despite the second word of the dialogue being hard to pick out (and the YouTube video does not have closed captioning available), the dialogue would imply that a people are being cursed and the curse passing down through countless generations. The video’s description makes reference to the hunters of Byrgenwerth so potentially the narration could be referring to the scholars and the hunters of the college. As everything seems to be fairly focused around Byrgenwerth we may actually find out what that trapdoor in the college building is for.
The video moves on to a six fingered hand being flexed, which looks to be one of the Amygdalas, or potentiallytheAmygdala. Either way, it certainly has a look of an Old One about it. The shot then moves to the shrine in Yahar’gul’s chapel. Looking back to the main game, this shrine held theHypogean Gaollamp but also the lore note “Nightmarish rituals crave a newborn. Find one, and silence its harrowing cry”. At this point, the narrator continues:
I call to the Bloodless wherever they be
The Bloodless aren’t referenced in the main game, so this looks to be a new facet of lore for the expansion. On first thought, this could reference the Old Ones or at least a certain kind of Old One. The closest thing in the main game to a so-called Bloodless would be Formless Oedon, owing to the fact that it has no form, therefore no blood.
After the titles show, we are given shots of existing scenery, including Yharnam at sunset andMoonside Lakewhen the Blood Moon is triggered after defeating Rom.
Another voice then comes in saying:
The night brings the defiled scum and it’s burned [unintelligible] stench. Just think, now you’re sent to hunt; kill ‘till your heart’s content
This sounds like the dialogue of an old hunter, someone who has succumbed to the Scourge, or someone likeDjura, who has an affinity for the afflicted and is trying to protect them from you. The tone of the vocal performance indicates that whoever is saying this to you is an adversary and could potentially be a hunter battle.
This is as much as the trailer gives us for story or lore points as after the dialogue finishes, we go straight into combat sequences which show off a lot of new things for Bloodborne.
The trailer shows off several brand new trickweaponsin a variety of situations:
Not many new enemies are shown in the trailer, it would seem that From are keeping a lot close to their chest for the DLC, however a couple of variants, both of which seem to be bosses and one new creature are shown.
New locations are shown, however extrapolating from such short glimpses of the new areas is quite difficult without knowing the context of the Expansion proper. The meaning of areas can change depending on the lore context so I’m not going to speculate on them, however the new areas do look gorgeous and look to add greater variety to the already diverse locations found in the main game.
Bloodborne: The Old Hunters looks to be a fantastic addition to an already spectacular game. From this short trailer, From Software seem to be addressing the handful of shortcomings the fans identified with Bloodborne as well as adding new content in with their own particular intentions and style. November cannot come soon enough.
