From Software’s acclaimed PS4 exclusive Bloodborne may not yet have a PC port (although you can stream it on PC via PlayStation Now), but this hasn’t stopped fans doing their level best to will it into existence.
So I made Bloodborne but it's super cute and it's also kinda Zelda. And it's out!:https://t.co/cjx5zz5lvC#screenshotsaturday #pixelart #indiegame #bloodborne#solarus pic.twitter.com/033IVYfHlp
— Max Mraz (@11Mraz) July 18, 2020
A top-down 2D Zelda-like tribute to Bloodborne, dubbed Yarntown, has released for PC, Mac, and Linux, courtesy of indie developer Max Mraz. Anyone expecting Bloodborne’s brooding aesthetic may be in the for the shock as Mraz has condensed the action-RPG’s death-riddled Yharnam into gorgeous a pixel art Gothic town.
Anyone familiar with Bloodborne’s opening area will spot familiar landmarks, boss fights, props, Gothic architecture, and enemies. Players can take on Father Gascoigne and the Cleric Beast, slash their way through mobs of Huntsmen and dogs, and even encounter the game’s all-too-familiar ‘You’ve Died’ screen. There are also blood vials, a stamina bar, and lantern checkpoints like in the real thing. You can stun enemies with a quicksilver bullet-equipped pistol, perform visceral attacks, collect blood echoes for weapon and character upgrades, and enemies all re-spawn when resting at a lantern. You can even visit the Hunter’s Dream.
While Mraz has certainly incorporated many of the most loved elements of Bloodborne, it isn’t so much a direct replica scaled-down, but rather an homage with Zelda elements thrown in. Mraz has rendered it in a way that harks to pixel art staples like Stardew Valley, but still channels Bloodborne’s somber themes. Mraz explains they created Yartown using the open-source Solarus engine as a fun ‘little side-project’ to their more ambitious pixel art action-adventure Ocean’s Heart project. It may be a side-project, but Yarntown certainly doesn’t feel like one with the broad range of features and a level of challenge, that while not on the same scale as the real thing, should test Bloodborne veterans.
Yarntown is available over on Max Mraz’s Itch.io page for free. It stacks up to a feathery 34 MB and comes with controller support. You can also peek several screenshots to get a sense of what’s in store. As we wait to find out whether there’s any substance to last month’s rumors about a PC/PS5 remake of Bloodborne, Yarntown is the perfect, lovingly-crafted, and not to say cute, stopgap.