Games Inbox: Bloodborne is 10 years old and there’s still no remaster

The Tuesday letters page doesn’t think the God Of War series has many stories left to tell, as one reader wonders when Final Fantasy 17 will be announced.

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Praise the old blood
Just to highlight a non ‘trivial’ birthday, but it was the 10th anniversary of Bloodborne on Monday. That’s right, it’s been 10 years since the best PlayStation exclusive, which Sony has completely ignored ever since and barely seems to want to acknowledge exists.

I did hold out a smidgen of hope that they might say something today but it’s 6pm and there’s been nothing. Tweets about Indiana Jones and God Of War and a bunch of others but not a word about FromSoftware’s greatest achievement.

What is it with this game, that Sony wants to pretend it never happened? I know no-one here has the answer but it’s just baffling and I wish it would stop because I want the PlayStation 5 patch, I want a remaster, and eventually I want a remake.

Although to be honest it doesn’t really need a remake. It’s still amazing to playthrough today and I highly recommend it to everyone. Welcome home, good hunter.
Limpton

GC: Happy birthday Bloodborne, we miss you.

Made for Switch 2
Thinking about what third party games might be announced during the Switch 2 Direct I wondered whether it was too early to hear about Final Fantasy 17 yet. I’m sure the launch is a long way off, but it strikes me as the sort of thing Nintendo would be keen to promote as coming back to their consoles.

They’ll probably just stick with ports of the Final Fantasy 7 remakes, but I wonder if the next mainline sequel will also be on Switch 2. We know Square Enix want things to be multiformat from now on, so I’m sure it’ll be on PC and Xbox Series X/S, but will it be able to run on the Switch 2?

If the Switch 2 can’t run it, because it’s not powerful enough, would Square Enix simplify the game for all formats, in order to fit it on? If the Switch 2 is a runaway hit, and they have enough advance warning of that, it’s got to be possibility and one that a lot of fans won’t like.
Pascal

Hors d’oeuvre Direct
I find it hard to believe that Nintendo is going to have another Direct this week, just a week before one of the biggest events in their history. Surely they’d be worried that less clued-up people would assume this week’s was the big one and leave very confused, assuming it’s only about minor Switch 1 games.

I can easily believe they’re going to port some old 3DS Kirby game but I find it harder to imagine that they’ve got some fan service sequel to a forgotten series on the boil, much as I’d love that to be true. I heard one person suggest it could be that Fire Emblem remake they’ve apparently had ready to go for ages. That is believable too, but Fire Emblem is hardly a forgotten franchise. Maybe some wires got crossed and they just meant lower profile than Mario and Zelda.

I don’t really mind, as long as the Switch 2 reveal doesn’t disappoint. I’m hoping for a lot from next week.
Onibee

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Kart it off
Speaking of games that do or don’t get cloned a lot, I agree it is interesting the seemingly random way publishers choose what to copy and what not to. There’s never any Animal Crossing or Zelda clones, and barely any Mario ones nowadays, but for a while there you couldn’t move for Mario Kart clones.

I know in theory they must be easier to make but only in theory. Apart from Crash Bandicoot and, to a degree, Sonic, which were made by proper developers, I can’t think of any Mario Kart clones that were successful, simply because they never play as well as the real thing.

I’d say I’m curious to know who Warner Bros. would’ve put in their cancelled one but I’m going to guess it was the cast of MultiVersus. So Batman vs. Bugs Bunny vs. Arya Stark. Yeah, I can live without that.
Trepsils

Physically absent
Excited to play Indiana Jones And The Great Circle on PlayStation 5 and very glad to hear that there’ll be a physical edition… until you read about the internet connection stuff and it basically sounds like an empty disc, which is becoming sadly common nowadays.

I know digital won out over physical long ago but we’re fooling ourselves if we think we’re buying physical copies for anything other than the box. The game is not on the disc, either literally it’s empty or it just won’t work without additional downloads. If you want to buy a physical edition because you like to see it sitting on your shelf that’s fine, I get that, but I think we have to accept that copies today are not preserving anything.
Chekov

Skip, grind, and complete
Just wrapped up my playthrough of Starfield on PC and I’ll be honest, I actually enjoyed the main story – far more than if I actually explored every barren planet. That’s the secret to an enjoyable playthrough. Focus on the positive aspects of the game, such as the main story and the few worthwhile side quests; never waste a second on the procedurally generated planets. They’re the worst part of the game and we all know it.

Another negative was the companions. Sarah Morgan was my favourite character and I used her from the beginning to the very end and I’ll also mention the mods helped me out a lot. From skipping the temple puzzles to the cheat room. It allowed me to skip any grind and complete the story in 28 hours. I’ll say that I also very much loved the time I spent on Neon. You travel with Walter Stroud from Constellation and that stands out to me as a highlight.

The loading screens are insidiously excessive but it stood as a factor for me to skip dogfights in space. I detest that element of the game, so it was a welcome addition for myself. But the greatest quest in my opinion, and what was truly a marvel, was Entangled. Taking a few cues from Stranger Things, phasing seamlessly between parallel universes and having to navigate between, a lab, and a nightmarish infested underbelly was a welcome surprise.

Even Morrowind or Oblivion have never utilised such a complex and interesting narrative, intertwined with a shifting landscape. A memorable romp and infinitely better use of time than exploring a wasteland teeming with a few creatures and an outpost opportunity.

I’ll say that I played this title the right way. I never joined the United Colonies, the Crimson Fleet or the Freestar Rangers, because it may have soured my experience and the story pulled me in that way. So, in conclusion, I enjoyed my time with Starfield and though there’s an opportunity to experience a parallel universe after the credits I’ve shifted my interest to what Bethesda will serve us with The Elder Scrolls 6. A new engine is sorely needed and some fresh ideas, the first one is the use of Unreal Engine 5. Innovate Bethesda.
Shahzaib Sadiq

The Outlaws strikes back
Now that Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been confirmed a hit, and will hopefully stabilise Ubisoft for a while, I really hope that they will consider making a Star Wars Outlaws 2. I know the game really underperformed but I have no idea why. I got it (admittedly at quite a bargain) and I’ve loved it. It’s the best open world I’ve played in a long time, and you can see it is making an effort to avoid a lot of the tropes and flaws of earlier Ubisoft games.

I really like the way skills are learnt and the graphics are great, with a good variety of different locations and enemies. The problems are that the combat and story are just fine, but they don’t really bring it down. Kay is a bit of a nothing character as well, which is maybe why a lot of people didn’t connect with it, but I really think it’s a great game even with the flaws.
Sir Steve

Godless world
We’ll have to see, if and when it’s announced, but I’m not sure what is to be gained from another God Of War prequel set in Greece, unless it’s to retcon everything, including Kratos’ personality. I would actually kind of expect that at this point, but it seems a bad idea to me.

On the other hand, going to Egypt, or wherever, and beating up on another pantheon of gods might start seem a bit redundant, but I don’t feel the series has ever really address the idea of people not needing gods anymore and Kratos helping getting rid of them. I feel that’s the underlying theme of what’s going on, but nobody ever comes out and says it.

That’s probably because, as many people have pointed out, there are no ordinary people in the Norse games. Which is strange because there are plenty in the Greek ones. If there’s ever been an explanation for this I’ve never heard it, but I think we need at least one game where a reformed Kratos helps ordinary mortals and sets out what he thinks should be the order of things.

Beyond that though I’m not really sure the character has anywhere else to go. The series has just had two great games, the last one left plenty of plot threads for a new game, and yet the franchise feels like it really hasn’t got much left to say, beyond what I’ve just written.

A prequel always seems like a sign of a series running out of steam and I have trouble imagining this will be any different, especially after Ascension turned out so meh. Maybe I’ll be wrong, but I’m glad to hear that Santa Monica Studio is working on a new IP at the moment, as I think that’s the best decision for them right now.
Clamps

Inbox also-rans
Just putting this out there but if the surprise ‘final’ Switch 1 game is F-Zero then I am pre-ordering a Switch 2 the second it’s available. Do you hear me Nintendo?!
Moist

Atomfall was sounding pretty good up until I saw the price. There’s no way I’m paying full price for what looks and sounds like an Xbox 360. At £30 to £40 it would’ve been fine, but I’m sure it’ll reach that price pretty quick.
Tacle

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The small print
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