Y'all like Bloodborne?

I wanted to let you guys know first that I have a total gear shift planned for the month of October and Im getting started on it now. Dont worry, DRG content will continue as well but Ive had this idea sort of bouncing around in my head for a while now and I want to see what people think of it. What better time to make a video about bloodborne than during the spooky month?

The basic premise is that I will be telling the story of the Bloodborne OST by narrating my thoughts on specific songs as they play. It will be sort of an audio tour of all the songs I find particularly interesting and an analysis on what I find to not only sound cool but also what plays into telling the story of the game itself. Its REALLY fun to write this stuff so let me know what you think.

Im going to do a test run of the audio as soon as I get the rest of the first part written so you can hear exactly what I intend for it to sound like. It'll also be one of those videos thats sort of meant to be listened to so the visuals will be more or less secondary, probably some game footage if I can find it or stuff from the official art of the game. I do however plan on doing a sick intro animation because... I mean come on it needs one.

Oh and dont worry, you dont need to be a long time Bloodborne enjoyer, though that will definitely help with the enjoyment factor. I want to make this easily enjoyable even if youve never played the game from a "check out this cool art" sort of angle too.

Anyways, heres the script and the links to both youtube videos of the songs youll want to listen to if you want to hear them while you read the descriptions.

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Can you hear it? The shuffling footsteps of the townsfolk listlessly searching the streets, the cackling of fat crows, the wailing laughter and knocking from behind bolted doors beneath ascending spires reaching towards the heavens, like the bristling hair on the back of a cornered beast. The pale moon hovers low tonight as the hastened steps of the hunters cuts through the blood thick night air like the sharpened edge of a saw blade. The night unfurls over Yharnam, and once again the hunt begins.

If you cant already tell, I love Bloodborne. It been one of my favorites for a long time now for so many reasons I could probably talk all day about it. I could go on and on about the gameplay, the mood, the setting, the lore, the characters, the weapons- everything really! But you and I both know we cant sit around all day for that, besides you have beasts to hunt right? No, I’m going to focus on something that is absolutely pivotal to my enjoyment of the game and something that can easily fade into the background if you dont pay attention to it, or Kos or some say Kosm forbid, you turn it off.

That’s right, the music! This game has an absolutely phenomenal soundtrack! I doubt thats a huge revelation to anyone who has played game. It pairs perfectly to the action and atmosphere to the world of Bloodborne. But thats not it, not at all. You see Im one of those weirdos who listens to game soundtracks constantly in his car or when he’s cleaning his apartment or whatever so I end up hearing these songs in a vacuum more or less. And you know, I started to hear things… No not the eldritch whispers those are normal, I mean something more in the music than simply set dressing for the action in the game. The soundtrack tells a subtle story, a parallel one to that of the game itself. The songs exude the essence of what is happening throughout the story of the game. Like the intrusive thoughts of the eldritch truth clawing at the barriers of your mind, if you listen closely you can glean insight from the music of Bloodborne.

This is video will be the first of a series where I take you on a deep dive through some of my favorite game soundtracks. I am not a musician, composer or expert in any way when it comes to the creation of these tracks and you dont need to be either here. We will be focusing on the ways in which these tracks tell a story and enhance those already being told visually. I think its fun to point out details and pick these songs apart to see the parts the composers may or may have intended to be hints at what is truly going on, all hidden in plain sight, or in this case, sound. This is will be a sort of walkthrough of the music i an order of my choosing. A bit like a museum tour but with sound. Don your tricorn hats and light your torches. Welcome to Yharnam, good hunter.

Oh! Before I begin, MAJOR spoilers ahead if you haven’t played Bloodborne! I highly suggest you either go play this amazing game or at very least familiarize yourself with the lore if you want the full experience BUT if you are fine with going in blind, Ill do my best to tell you the tale of the Endless Hunt either way.

I also suggest you turn up the volume or wear some headphones or something! I’m going to be pointing out some subtle things in the music that may be hard to hear on your phone speaker or with your volume low.

(The Night Unfurls playing)

https://youtu.be/A75Bhbhm0Os?si=M8i6Uq8QWKjE5PKq

We begin with a pair of songs that I feel encapsulate everything Bloodborne is very nicely. The songs are Omen and the Night Unfurls. The one youre hearing now is The Night Unfurls, the music you are greeted with on the main menu of the game. Already you can feel the menacing atmosphere its trying to establish. The low strings building tension, rising ever higher as if from the street fog only to be cut through by a woman’s voice. She sings with a sense of wariness, like shes fully aware of what awaits you if you pass this way down the cobbled streets into the heart of the city. Her voice building as the strings continue to creep up on you, finally opening up into a musical howl, the strings in full force with a choir to meet her in the distance. This is your first look at the city of Yharnam, the sprawling mountain of gothic spires reaching into the misty night, built in such a way that defies any semblance of sense. After a long journey, you, the hunter, have made it here at last… Remember that howl by the way. You’ll notice the voices in these songs cant help but howl at the low hanging moon, like the music itself is afflicted by the plague of beasts. The song ends, not with an answer, but a question. As if to offer your fate up to this city and its secrets.

(Omen playing)

https://youtu.be/cKk6XqcmB4Q?si=oNnCNO3wuUiFnBrJ

Omen begins now, the song that plays in the cinematic trailer cutscene. We first hear a deep boom, just under us, the music opening up like clouds blowing overhead with the moonlight showing through. We then hear the characteristic bass, the instrument of the hunter. It gives us the theme motif and then stops briefly. The low dragging of the strings, each whir like a heavy step in the night. The steps pick up, the breathing of a hunter rhythmic with the pace of the song, as if psyching themselves up for the first kill of the hunt. They can almost smell the intoxicating aroma of blood as they approach their target. The howling woman’s voice comes back to us again, as if its a song only the hunter can hear in their mind. Kill, it says. Kill and revel in it for tonight is the night of the hunt. You’ve been waiting for this monument haven’t you good hunter!? Almost there! `She howls louder! And then… nothing.  Its quiet again, the hunter is nowhere to be seen, only her voice in the night, calling now to you to join in the hunt.