It isn’t hard to find a boss fight among the Bloodborne roster that fans consider to be an incredible showcase for FromSoftware’s enemy design. However, even though many of these encounters are unique enough to stand out, few have the dual purpose that Bloodborne’s Vicar Amelia has as a boss and an intended speed bump for new players.
Since the difficulty of the FromSoftware catalog is often part of the draw, the experience of running into Vicar Amelia’s fast-paced encounter is more than welcome. That being said, the difficulty of Vicar Amelia holds a secondary purpose, acting as the preparation for players to grow accustomed to the new challenges that Bloodborne has in store after moving beyond the Cathedral Ward.
Being Crushed in Bloodborne’s Grand Cathedral
With a narrative that is told subtly, a title like Bloodborne doesn’t include too many cutscenes that stop the action and thrust players into a scripted sequence to be watched instead of interacted with. So, when Vicar Amelia is introduced with a short cutscene that shows the boss shifting from a praying woman to a huge writhing beast, it really sticks with the player. That’s on top of the cutscene starting with a visual that earns Bloodborne’s bloody lore and namesake with gallons of the stuff being sprayed over the walls.
However, while Vicar Amelia’s introduction is bloody on her own sake, once the fight starts it turns bloody against the player instead. This is a boss who falls perfectly in line with the fast-paced, dodge-heavy combat of Bloodborne. Players will need to dodge into Vicar Amelia’s giant claws in order to avoid being hit, keeping their own aggression up in order to ensure that they are able to survive.
The need for players being more aggressive than the FromSoftware formula normally calls for against Vicar Amelia is enhanced with being able to break her limbs and open the boss up for punishment. Then, there is the way that the boss will heal herself during the later phases of the fight, stealing precious progress from the player in the process. So, staying close and dealing consistent damage becomes even more necessary on Vicar Amelia that many of the earlier bosses that come before her.
How Vicar Amelia Acts as a Necessary Wall
Difficulty spikes are nothing new to the FromSoftware catalog, such as the transitions between worlds in Demon’s Souls or the jump in enemy health and damage after Lyndell in Elden Ring. However, this is a concept that can be difficult to balance exactly right, even for a developer well known for creating especially challenging content. So it isn’t a given that any game will be able to prepare players for when the difficulty is about to start increasing in the way that Bloodborne’s boss roster does, especially with Vicar Amelia.
For players who have played and replayed Bloodborne multiple times over, Vicar Amelia might not come off as one of the hardest bosses of the early game. However, for any player whose build isn’t ready to take on the mid to late areas of the game, she can easily tear apart any hunter without enough vitality to survive more than a couple attacks at a time. In this way, Vicar Amelia is able to leave a lasting impression on players, even if she isn’t one of Bloodborne’s most powerful bosses when it comes to raw damage.
Considering that the next area to appear is the Forbidden Woods, preparing players for the uphill climb that is coming is a necessity to keep Bloodborne’s pacing steady. If players could breeze past Vicar Amelia with lower stats or personal skill than what is necessary to survive the incredibly long Forbidden Woods, then the sudden difficulty spike could turn players off the game. It can be difficult to craft a meaningful experience like Vicar Amelia, but that is one way that Bloodborne stands above other FromSoftware titles more than seven years later.
Bloodborne is available now for PS4.