Bloodborne player uncovers hidden item we had no idea existed

Fans have discovered a secret related to FromSoftware classic Bloodborne which would have completely changed its approach to gameplay.

Released in 2015 for the PlayStation 4, Bloodborne instantly became one of FromSoftware’s best games and that’s saying something considering it's from the studio that gave us the likes of Dark Souls and Elden Ring.

Check out the Bloodborne trailer below!

“A deadly mystery that swallows everything it touches. Face your fears as you enter the decaying city of Yharnam, a forsaken place ravaged by a terrible, all-consuming illness,” reads the synopsis of Bloodborne. “Scour its darkest shadows, fight for your life with blades and guns and discover secrets that will make your blood run cold – but just might save your skin…”

As you might expect from a FromSoftware game, the combat of Bloodborne is very challenging, and we’re not just talking about epic boss fights because the standard residents of Yharnham won't think twice about opening up a can of whoopass. However, unlike some other games from the studio, Bloodborne doesn't encourage players to wield a shield.

Don't get me wrong, there is a shield in Bloodborne, but it’s a brittle wooden shield that is practically useless and feels more like a troll by FromSoftware. Instead, Yharnam adventurers will be advised to focus their combat skills on parrying, dodges, and ranged attacks with sword slashing for good measure.

Despite being a PlayStation exclusive, PC gamers have made Bloodborne playable on PC thanks to emulation and with the added talents of modders, it’s been discovered that there were at least some plans to have proper shields in the popular FromSoftware action RPG.

As discovered by the YouTuber fromsoftserve, a proper metal shield was discovered deep within Bloodborne files instead of that poxy wooden shield that made its way into the full game.

on a whim I digging through Bloodborne character files and decided to pull up c9991. how dare you not give me this sword and shield in Bloodborne, Miyazaki. I thought they engendered passivity, HMM? lol pic.twitter.com/hgYXKJJ8Y5

— fromsoftserve (@fromsoftserve) August 21, 2024

“On a whim, I was digging through Bloodborne character files and decided to pull up c9991,” tweeted fromsoftserve. “How dare you not give me this sword and shield in Bloodborne, Miyazaki,” he joked.

Fromsoftserve suggested that the file featuring a character model of the playable Hunter holding a shield is probably just a debug, but it’s an interesting discovery nonetheless.

Bloodborne is out now on PlayStation 4 and is playable on PlayStation 5 via backwards compatibility. Unfortunately, it comes with no extra bells and whistles when played on Sony’s most recent console.