If there's one thing Fromsoft is known for other than the intense challenge of their games, it's the quality of their DLCs, and Bloodborne: The Old Hunters, arguably the best DLC in existence, is now one decade old. Let's sing it some praise.
Table of contents
Bloodborne: The Old Hunters is lightning in a bottle
The original Bloodborne is already one of the greatest games ever made, and, 10 years later, I feel no guilt or shame declaring it the best game in the already stellar PS4 catalog. Yes, even with its sometimes shoddy framerate.
One of the best things about the original title is how it uses the most fun version of the Souls gameplay formula to tell a complete mind-bending story in a fully realized and unique world. Nowadays, we usually get one out of the three per game. Nothing's amiss in the original Bloodborne. A DLC wasn't necessary, as it could damage the perfect "balance" of this beautiful monster-ravaged place. Fortunately, the fear was proven unfounded, as Old Hunters not only filled a few curiosity gaps, but also delivered in what we all know damn well we're here to see: big bad bosses.
Anyone who's experienced The Old Hunters will know that I might be wrong, but I definitely believe it when I say that it has the top three best boss encounters in the entire From boss catalog, quite the achievement for a DLC featuring just five bosses. Up until The Old Hunters, FromSoftware DLCs had never disappointed, even with most of the Dark Souls 2 DLCs proving better than the main game itself, but they never brought all that many new bosses to the table. Five was a new record, and most of the encounters, I won't spoil which, are all-timers. And the greatness of Old Hunters goes much further than the bosses, as it shows not only a beautiful alternate version of Yharnam segments, as well as two other immediately memorable areas, each filled with some of the most fun and uniquely terrifying enemies in the game.
Why is Old Hunters such a great package
The overall quality and off-the-charts bang for the buck fans got out of Old Hunters is no accident, as it's also a testament to FromSoft's generosity. The reason why it features so much great content, and in an area so large it would only later get dwarfed by the amazing Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, is that Old Hunters was originally envisioned as two different DLCs, but Miyazaki and co ended up merging it to become a super DLC. We didn't notice that because it was sold at a pretty reasonable price, especially for such a package, and even more especially for a game that, despite selling well, had numbers that greatly paled in comparison to most other big PS4 blockbusters.
We're eagerly waiting to learn if FromSoft will ever follow up on Bloodborne, or at least port it to the PC to run at 60 FPS, but right now, fans can pre-order the 10th anniversary Vinyl box set. Hey, it's something.
The post The best DLC ever made is now ten years old appeared first on Destructoid.
