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Nightmare Frontier — BLOODBORNE

♡ BLOODBORNE 10TH ANNIVERSARY ♡ 24/4/2015 ♡

DARK SOULS Darkroot Garden

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ BYRGENWERTH | BLOODBORNE

I adore how soulsborne games explore the theme of humanity in their story with the premise of "are all of us who possess souls humans even if we don't look like one?" How far can a person be modified until they are still considered human? If the soul is the essence of life, what differentiates the humanity we have within us? How much can you change until your humanity vanishes? — but I particularly enjoy the way Bloodborne does it.

It's cruel to the point it inflicts you with existential dread when you stop to think properly about what you've been doing the whole time. It forces you to wonder what makes you better than the beasts you so mercilessly slay throughout the game — they came from the same place as you, and still carry a soul regardless of their appearance, so what gives you the right to end their lives? You're no better than them — you're all equal in essence, you simply have your mind intact and they don't. Being a hunter is sinful and dirty and their vileness is known by everyone, which explains why they are so antagonized by everyone.

Djura is the first one to point out the Hunter's hypocrisy — he's the opposite of you: a retired hunter who decided to protect the beasts instead. "The things you hunt, they're not beasts. They're people. One day you'll see." Is what he tells the hunter. Brador, the church assassin, recognizes you as a hunter instantly and says "Are you going to kill me? After all you've done, kill me, as if to right your wrongs?" and the Afflicted Beggar — who also has my favorite quote of the entire game that provoked a sharp shiver down my spine and made me question my morality after his speech: "Have you got a screw loose? Or is it your... animal intuition? It doesn't even matter... You hunters have got more blood on your hands! Hunters are killers, nothing less! You call ME a beast? A beast? What would you know... I didn't ask for this! Rancid beasts, every last one of us..."

You, the hunter, are a walking killing machine murdering everyone and everything that exists, not minding the humanity that still exists or not. The "they're people, not beasts" mindset turns even more devastating once you look back at your enemies and remember the glimpses of humanity they displayed: Amelia, even after losing herself to beasthood still clutches tightly onto her pendant because she still recalls it's something precious to her, even if her memories are gone. Ludwig, who even as a beast still performs his duty to protect the entrance to the research hall — and even recovers his consciousness during the fight to wield his sword with the posture of a knight and fight like he used to before the transformation. He appears to be the only one who understands what's become of him and is able to maintain his sane mind for long enough to hold a rational conversation with the hunter.

All of them still have a soul, but you slaughtered them all regardless — but that is what is expected of a hunter, to hunt and carry the unforgivable sin of their cruelty forever. Hunters are rotten to their core, but what else could they do if not kill?

BLOODBORNE