Some Bloodborne fans are less than thrilled about Astro Bot’s Yharnam Hunter pre-order bonus costume, feeling that Sony is mocking them after years of not announcing any kind of remaster or sequel. FromSoftware released Bloodborne as a PlayStation 4 exclusive in 2015, earning much praise for bringing its famous Soulslike formula to a gritty, Victorian England-inspired setting. A DLC expansion titled The Old Hunters was released in November 2015, but there has been very little else since.

Despite FromSoftware head Hidetaka Miyazaki remaining tight-lipped on the subject and virtually no indication that Sony is planning to bring the IP back anytime soon, players have hoped for a Bloodborne PS5 remake or sequel over the past nine years. These fans were left especially discouraged after Astro Bot, an upcoming title featuring references to various Sony franchises, didn’t include a single nod to Bloodborne in its recent announcement trailer. This would be somewhat rectified in Astro Bot’s Digital Deluxe Edition pre-order bonuses, which include an outfit inspired by Bloodborne’s Yharnam Hunter.

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Bloodborne fans have had a mixed reaction to this Astro Bot pre-order since it was revealed earlier this week. Some gamers, like Twitter user OrangeTeddyy, are hopefully taking it as a sign that the long-wished-for Bloodborne sequel could come someday. However, others such as Zarrox consider it to be a "sick joke" by Sony. Reddit users on the r/bloodborne subreddit have echoed these sentiments, saying that it is bad faith for Sony to include such a small reference to Bloodborne if there are no plans for a remake/remaster, especially since other titles like The Last of Us have been “remastered multiple times.”

Astro Bot’s Bloodborne Pre-Order Skin Gets Mixed Reaction

Astro Bot Pre-Order Bonuses

Standard Physical Edition

• Physical poster
• PaRappa Lovestruck Lyricist outfit
• Glorious Graffiti Dual Speeder paint color
• 2 Astro Avatars

Standard Digital Edition

• PaRappa Lovestruck Lyricist outfit
• Glorious Graffiti Dual Speeder paint color
• 2 Astro Avatars

Deluxe Digital Edition

• Astro’s Yharnam Tourist outfit
• Astro’s Golden outfit
• The Neon Dream Dual Speeder paint color
• The Champion’s Gold Dual Speeder paint color
• The official Soundtrack and Digital Art Gallery
• 10 Astro Avatars

As noted before, Bloodborne is just one of the first-party PlayStation games being referenced in Astro Bot, which is a follow-up to the surprisingly popular Astro’s Playroom from 2020. The Astro Bot announcement trailer was jam-packed with Easter eggs and robots dressed up as PlayStation characters like Kratos and Atreus from God of War, Nathan Drake from Uncharted, and Aloy from Horizon Forbidden West. Players who pre-order either the Standard Edition or the Digital Deluxe Edition will also get an outfit inspired by the cult classic PS1 rhythm game PaRappa the Rapper.

In many ways, Astro Bot feels like a love letter to PlayStation’s many popular first-party titles, but some Bloodborne fans feel like they have been left jilted by the game’s inclusion of a Yharnam Hunter-themed pre-order skin and little else. These feelings are somewhat understandable after nine years of waiting and hoping for some sort of sequel or remake of the original Bloodborne, which has gone down as one of FromSoftware’s most beloved titles. While Bloodborne players are waiting for an update, those looking forward to Astro Bot will be able to play the game on September 6.

Astro Bot

The follow-up to the PS5 pack-in game Astro's Playroom, Team Asobi's Astro Bot is a fully fleshed-out 3D platformer with over 80 stages. Throughout the campaign, Astro will get access to more than 15 abilities.

Platform(s)

PS5

Released

September 6, 2024

Developer(s)

Team Asobi

Publisher(s)

Sony Interactive Entertainment