Bloodborne has finally made its way over to PC, but not in the way that you might’ve expected. A ‘demake’ of FromSoftware’s gothic horror title released at the start of the week. It’s available for free now at the game’s itch.io page, after taking around 13 months of hard work from its developer Lilith Walther (@b0tster on Twitter). The demake is an impressive feat in itself, and is a testament to the dedication of FromSoftware’s fan base.
As of now, BloodbornePSX only features Yharnam, the first zone in the original game. Not to say that it isn’t an impressive accomplishment, because there’s still quite a bit of content here to delve into. Players can experience the start of the game and play through to the Father Gascoigne encounter. The fight against the Cleric Beast is also present, so there’s plenty to do. There are also a few changes to the level based on the purposefully designed limitations of the PSX aesthetic. This means that even Bloodborne fanatics may find a few surprises here and there.
Take a trip back in time to Yharnam
The Bloodborne PSX demake is crammed full of little details and nods to the fifth gaming generation. Upon booting up the game you even get the classic PSX splash screen that’s sure to send some people hurtling through some heavy nostalgia. You can even mess around with graphical options, like the choice of having a CRT filter, dithering, as well as tons of smaller settings that let you tweak the quality of the image. Even though it is a demake, you don’t have to play the game in retro mode if that’s not what you want.
Most of the original gameplay mechanics are here like parrying, dodging, alongside a healthy dose of exploration. The controls have been radically altered to suit its older design as well. The d-pad controls the movement of your character, while the triggers handle the X-axis of the camera. It takes some time to adjust, especially if you’re used to navigating these environments with modern controls.
Funnily enough though, once you do get used to them, it feels quite natural. Perhaps that’s a testament to the timelessness of FromSoftware’s original design. Much of the credit has to go to Walther though, as she’s managed to readapt Bloodborne in a very creative way.
The Bloodborne PSX demake is available to download right now. It’s an unmissable experience for fans of the original game and should hopefully satiate some desires for a PC port.
