Announced all the way back in March 2021, Thymesia quickly made the rounds online with an eye-catching trailer that instantly had FromSoftware fans intrigued. The announcement trailer didn't show much, but Thymesia's Gothic setting, its challenging action-RPG gameplay, and its general darker tone made it stand out immediately, with Bloodborne fans getting particularly excited. From first glance, the two games share a few things in common, with the main comparison being their similar art styles, but chipping away the surface reveals a whole slew of similarities.
One of the main areas of comparison between Thymesia and Bloodborne are the games' central protagonists. In Thymesia, players take control of Corvus, a plague doctor tasked with clearing the kingdom of its infected population. In Bloodborne, the player is the Hunter, searching Yarnham for maddened Beasts and slaying them. But the comparisons between the two protagonists go much, much deeper.
Comparing Thymesia's Corvus to Bloodborne's Hunter
Corvus and the Hunter share a common goal, albeit with different contexts. Both of their respective worlds have been taken over by an otherworldly infection that has turned its citizens into feral monsters, and now they're tasked with finding the source of the outbreak, and eliminating it, restoring order to the world once more.
In Thymesia, the kingdom Corvus belongs to once thrived on groundbreaking alchemy science, with it being used to advance just about every technology and practice. Primarily, alchemy was used to cure the kingdom's inhabitants, and ward off the plague, but through the rulers' hubris, this ultimate power was abused and ended up causing the very thing it was designed to protect against. Now, the kingdom's inhabitants have been infected with an otherworldly plague, transforming them into violent monsters.
Bloodborne's Yarnham suffered a similar fate, though instead of alchemy, it was blood magic. Discovered by the scholars at Byrgenwerth College, the Old Blood was used to advance society's medicine. However, some scholars believed that it could be used to evolve humanity. With the Old Blood coming from ancient gods, the scholars knew frighteningly little about its use, though that didn't stop them from experimenting with it. Eventually, this led to an outbreak known as the "Beastly Scourge," whereby citizens of Yarnham would be turned into beasts.
Both Corvus and the Hunter are attempting to save their worlds, but each face issues with their own psyche. Corvus suffers from amnesia, and must journey inside his own mind to unlock the secrets behind defeating the plague, while the Hunter often returns to his own dream, where they too learn more about defeating their enemy. Through their reflection, both Corvus and the Hunter are able to unlock new, powerful abilities.
Much like the Hunter, Corvus is just a man, so while he may have powerful abilities, he's not invulnerable. As such, Corvus needs to make use of his dodging and parrying abilities to gain the upper hand in a fight. To parry larger foes, Corvus makes use of throwable raven feathers, much like the Hunter does with their Quicksilver Bullets and firearm. As Corvus continues to fight the infected citizens, he charges up a Plague Damage meter, which allows him to unleash devastating combos and finishing moves onto his enemies. These finishing moves bear a striking resemblance to the Hunter's weapon transformation attacks, as well as their riposte, though Corvus' attacks imbue his weapon with an eery green glow.
Thymesia launches August 9, 2022, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
