Highlights

  • Bloodborne fans may not see a sequel anytime soon, but its influence can be seen in other FromSoftware projects and non-FromSoftware games.
  • Chalice Dungeons in Bloodborne offer endless engagement and resource gathering, but can feel grindy and repetitive for some players.
  • Adapting Chalice Dungeons into a Roguelite game could capitalize on the procedural generation aspect and offer more flexibility in build variety.

Bloodborne fans have been left in the dark for years, as neither FromSoftware nor Sony has made any official statements about the IP's future. It's sad to say, but Bloodborne is probably going to be on the shelf for the foreseeable future, as FromSoftware continues to work on other projects.

But this isn't the end of the world. After all, Bloodborne itself couldn't have been made if FromSoftware never deviated from the Dark Souls series. The same goes for Elden Ring and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. And although Bloodborne is dormant and may never be roused again, its spirit lives on in a number of other projects, with Dark Souls 3 and Elden Ring both taking notes from Bloodborne's fast-paced combat, worldbuilding, art design, and more. Non-FromSoftware games, like Lies of P and Thymesia, have also been spawned from Bloodborne's ashes. All of these games take inspiration from FromSoftware's Lovecraftian opus, but none have managed to truly expand upon one of its most peculiar features: Chalice Dungeons.

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Bloodborne's Chalice Dungeons Can Be the Seed for a Proper Roguelite Souls Game

Chalice Dungeons Leverage Procedural Generation to Great Effect

Though they are totally optional and no doubt skipped by many players, Chalice Dungeons are among Bloodborne's best features. The procedurally generated nature of these dungeons allows for virtually endless engagement with Bloodborne's combat loop, ensuring novel experiences even after hundreds of hours of gameplay. Chalice Dungeons also fold into Bloodborne's lore, adding valuable context to its story.

Only Root Chalice Dungeons are procedurally generated. Non-Root Chalice Dungeons are fixed, and players must clear one fixed dungeon before gaining access to Root dungeons.

Chalice Dungeons house some of Bloodborne's best optional bosses and minor enemies, making them essential for anyone looking to squeeze everything they can out of the game. They also offer great opportunities for resource gathering which, while not particularly useful during a first playthrough, is essential for upgrading gear on subsequent ones. Having said that, Chalice Dungeons aren't for everyone, as they can feel a bit grindy, inconsequential, and repetitive in spite of their randomized design. But they can be expanded upon in a stand-alone game.

Adapting Bloodborne's Chalice Dungeons to a Roguelite Framework

FromSoftware is known for its level design, so it says a lot that Chalice Dungeons can work as well as they do, being as randomized as they are. They work in tandem with the rest of the experience, from both a gameplay and narrative standpoint, though the core of the system could easily be fleshed out into a more typical modern Roguelite.

Roguelites and Roguelikes are ubiquitous in the modern games industry, but there haven't been many that adhere to FromSoftware's patented Soulslike brand of combat, atmosphere, and storytelling. This is a bit odd, as Soulslikes are ripe for this treatment: their simple yet satisfying melee combat, build variety, harsh learning curve, and diverse enemy design all lend themselves well to the Roguelite structure. Even FromSoftware's much-imitated style of narrative delivery, which relies heavily on item descriptions for worldbuilding, would translate well to the Roguelite genre, as upgrades gathered during a run could also flesh out lore.

A Roguelite Souls game could also combat a common FromSoftware shortcoming by offering more flexible build variety, encouraging experimentation with unique power-ups and weapons in each run, rather than tethering players to one playstyle via a rigid weapon-upgrade system.

A game that merges the refreshing procedural generation of Bloodborne's Chalice Dungeons with the ever-changing nature inherent to Roguelite gameplay could work remarkably well. FromSoftware has repeatedly proven its ability to tackle diverse gaming conventions, as evidenced by the success of Elden Ring's open-world design, so there's reason to believe the developer could work wonders with a Roguelite game as well.