Bloodborne players are celebrating its 11th anniversary by replaying it. Please FromSoft, just give us a remaster
Bloodborne players are celebrating its 11th anniversary by replaying it. Please FromSoft, just give us a remaster
Spare a thought for Bloodborne fans at this time of year. It's the hit action game's 11th anniversary, and they're celebrating by… playing it again. I suppose it helps dry their tears because Sony and FromSoftware can't agree to remake or remaster the fan favorite game. Ever the folks to make the best of a bad situation, however, Return to Yharnam encourages fans to spend two weeks retracing their steps in FromSoftware's brilliant world.
Bloodborne quickly reached cult status when it was released in 2015, with its grim Victorian fantasy world providing something different to the more traditional dark fantasy trappings that FromSoftware had explored before. It remains many people's favorite FromSoftware game - which sure is saying something, considering it has produced Dark Souls, Elden Ring, and Sekiro, all of which shine in their own ways.

Unfortunately, Bloodborne doesn't seem to be getting a remake, remaster, or PC port any time soon. This is despite the fact that Bluepoint, one of the finest remastering developers in the business, pitched one to Sony before the studio was shut down. At this point it's clear that a remaster won't happen unless FromSoftware does it itself, and it doesn't seem to want to do anything of the sort.
But fans can make their own fun. Return to Yarnham is a fan project spearheaded by 'Mephistophea', the creator of the Bloodborne wiki. An annual event, Return to Yarnham encourages Bloodborne fans to head back into the game, start a new save with a new character, and celebrate with fellow hunters.

You can join in in whatever capacity you want, but the suggestion is to create a multiplayer experience. Mephistophea suggests summoning "as many random cooperators and invaders as possible" with your matchmaking set to worldwide. Additionally, players are encouraged to use Bloodborne's strand-like messaging system to write "You're in the know, right?" next to lamps.
Players will join the Return to Yarnham celebrations for two weeks, beginning on Tuesday, March 24 - the game's 11th anniversary - and ending on Tuesday, April 7.
If this isn't a good enough excuse to start a new Bloodborne save, I'm not sure what will convince you. It's been too long since I've faced Father Gascoigne or Gehrman, so I'll have to dig out my old console to have another run. It would be so much easier if you just ported it to PC, though, Sony. I know you're moving away from the PC market, but just make this one little exception. If fans are willing to create entire events to celebrate the game's legacy, can you think of how many copies you'll sell to PC players who've never had the opportunity to play?