Bloodborne: The Pursuit of Knowledge

Hello All! For my first post on Occasionally Clever I wanted to talk about a game that is very important to me. The Dark Souls series is my favorite video game franchise and Bloodborne, I believe, is one of the best games ever made. I could go on forever about every single element of Bloodborne (and believe me at some point I will) so I will restrain myself to start out. Lets talk about the role of the pursuit of knowledge in Bloodborne. How its tied in with the plot and what Bloodborne says about it.

The plot of Bloodborne is difficult to follow due to the detective work required to understand it but if you do you are treated to a fantastic Gothic tale. For those unfamiliar with Bloodborne or played it and became confused, I will summarize the plot as best I can. Bloodborne takes place in the city of Yharnam, where a group called the Healing Church has been using magical blood to cure the sick. Unfortunately, the magical blood turns people into beasts and so hunters are necessary to clean the streets of monsters. The protagonist is one such hunter but he/she is connected to the Hunter's Dream, a strange parallel universe which prevents you from dying. The game takes you across the city and into its most dangerous corners to discover the truth behind the Healing Church and its magical blood. By the conclusion the player has killed an infant god and has possibly ascended themselves to higher plain of existence. The world of Bloodborne takes many cues from Lovecraft but melds it with Japanese folklore and Shintoism. This combination creates a focus on knowledge (especially forbidden knowledge) that drives the characters as well as the player.

At the heart of the story is a university called Byrgenwerth, and from this school all of the most important Bloodborne characters originated. These individuals, as well as the entire school, was defined by its ambitious pursuit of knowledge. They were rapid in their desire to better themselves and elevate mankind beyond our current existence. Whether it was Master Wilhelm's brilliant experiments, Laurence's obsession with blood healing, or Lady Maria's invasion of the fishing hamlet; the leaders of Byrgenwerth were hell bent on discovering the truth. But why is that so important to the plot of Bloodborne? Well all of the characters I've mentioned created all of the conflicts you resolve over the course of the game. The scholars of Byrgenwerth precipitated the events that spiral to the beginning of Bloodborne proper. Wilhem founded the organization of Byrgenweth, Laurence creates the Healing Church, and Maria creates the Hunter's Nightmare. But what does Bloodborne say about the pursuit of knowledge? If its so important to the plot then what does the game say about the topic?

Well I'm glad you asked.

Lets go through those three characters in more detail and then the journey of the player character and see if we can see.

Firstly, Master Wilhem, the creator of Byrgenwerth. Wilhem experimented in the arcane and was obsessed with the Great Ones. The Great Ones are Bloodborne's take on Lovecraft's similar enitites called Great Old Ones. These are god-like beings with immense power and inscrutable goals. The knowledge of Great One outstrips anything an average person could hope to attain. He began Byrgenwerth's desire to find a way to elevate the consciousness of mankind to that of the Great Ones. For Wilhem this task was described by how he believed man needed to develop, "Eyes on the inside," to reach the intellectual height of the Great Ones. Wilhem wanted evolution and he believed the Great Ones were the next stage for humanity. He was clinical, analytical, and willing to experiment thoroughly to achieve his goals. However, Wilhem was hesitant and patient almost to a fault. He did not approve of delving into more dangerous magics such as blood healing, believing insight was the only thing required to ascend. This mindset eventually took its toll as many left Byrgenwerth to pursue more aggressive techniques to reaching the height of the Great Ones.

The leader of this departure was one of Wilhem's most brilliant students, Laurence. Laurence resented how timid Wilhem was and encouraged extensive experimentation of blood healing. To further this he constructed the Healing Church, an academic organization that masquerades as a church and gives healing blood to the citizens of Yharnam. Laurence is the cause of the beast plague upon Yharnam due to his using of the city's population as his experimental sample. His disregard for those he experimented on creates the majority of the issues within the Bloodborne universe but there is some merit to his scientific approach. Laurence was fully aware that to make change and to discover truth that radical measures were needed. Insight alone cannot allow man to evolve; grit and blood and daring is needed for true progress. Unfortunately Laurence is undone by is headstrong methods, not tempered by Wilhem's wisdom.

Somewhere between the two, Lady Maria sits with the curiosity of Wilhem with the aggressiveness of Laurence. She was an apprentice hunter who in the early days of Byrgenwerth performed one of the most heinous acts in the history of the school. Rumors of a fishing hamlet that became the home to a Great One circled to Byrgenwerth and in response they sent the first hunter, Gerhman, and his best student, Maria, to investigate. When they arrived they saw that the village had been taken over by the influence of the Great One. The villagers had become monstrous fish hybrids and the buildings were coated in strange eldtritch material. Maria interrogated the villagers and those who would not answer were killed. She lobotomized villagers to see if they had, "eyes on the inside," and killed an infant Great One with Gerhman. These actions led to a curse being placed upon the hunters but that is an entirely other matter. These actions show how Maria fervently pursued answers and insight, a star pupil of Byrgenwerth but she found no answers. Maria sought the same insight Wilhem did with the voracity of Laurence, but this would be her failing as it was Laurence's.

So it seems like Wilhem had the best idea so far? Well maybe, but he doesn't have the best method in pursuing knowledge. Wilhem wasted away, patiently awaiting his next discovery. His reluctance to try new methods resulted in stagnation for him and Byrgenwerth.

The player character puts together all of the elements of the past Byrgenwerth scholars into one complete picture. The player searches through the dreams and nightmares of Great Ones, explores for wisdom, and consumes the blood of Great Ones. Your character employs the methods of all that came before and ascends into godhood. You become a Great One.

So what does all of this say about the pursuit of knowledge? It says that it takes patience. Its hard. It takes daring and determination; the willingness to sacrifice and take chances. It takes obsession, passion, and unending curiosity. The pursuit of truth is harrowing and takes strength as well as calm mind. Bloodborne treats the journey for knowledge with the type of respect not usually seen for intellectual pursuits. And what is at the end of all of this effort? True progress. True evolution for mankind, a new age of untold benefits. That is what Bloodborne says about knowledge: the journey of discovery is hard but it leads to the ascension of our entire species.

I hope you enjoyed my first post and have a great day!