Bloodborne's Story ► Explained! 

bloodborne endings: live a normal life eldritch slave worm

You know the game‘s hella eccentric when the good ending is you turning into a space squid

During my first playthrough, all I was told was "A hoonter must hoont." And so hoont I did, I just hoonted everyone and everything in the game without a single clue on what's actually going on.

I just love how it starts as a Van Helsing like setting, killing werewolves and other traditional beasts, then it takes a hard turn into Eldritch horror. I love this stuff man. I just wish I was better at the game. I would love a sequel.

I feel like this "higher state of consciousness" that everyone is lusting for, is just like a private chatroom where the old ones just sorta talk

I clicked on the video with curiosity I left with a masters degree in literature

Lawrence: Hey Willem can I get some Old blood Willem: Only a spoonful Lawrence: *pulls out comically oversized spoon*

Hearing Gherman cry out to his friends to be freed from his dream like that hit me hard, its very frightening to think about being inprisoned and trapped somewhere with no hope of getting out. Great game though.

Bloodborne’s lore in 2 words “Goddammit Laurence!”

Bloodborne's story in a nutshell: Willem: Yo humanity needs to evolve, but don't use the blood to do so! Lawrence: k *proceeds to use blood to do so* *everyone who uses the blood goes insane and mutates* Willem: Psh, idiots. Insight is the way to evolve! *everyone who uses insight goes insane and mutates*

Vaati: Makes a 30 minute lore video based on his own research Me: **heals with blood vial** Ah, yes... Blood healing

I just realized that Laurence rejects Willem's warning and doubles down on his research. But the MC (if you take reach the childhood beginning ending), saves Gehrman by freeing him from his dream and his puppet master. That's poetic. This mess started because a teacher was forsaken. This mess ends because a teacher was saved.

Hunter, look out behind you, there’s an Amygdala. Oh my Great Ones, he has AirPods, oh my Great Ones

Fear the Pre-Patch Loading Screen times

Reject humanity. Return to SQWID.

After five years of playing this game over and over, delving into the lore and studying it like a bible, and even claiming it as my favourite game, I finally realise... The game is called Bloodborne because that's how the disease is spread: "It's gone airborne/waterborne/BLOODborne." I'm an idiot.

Lawrence: Can I evolve humanity? Willem: Using Insight? Lawrence: Yeeees *actually uses old blood like a boss* *insanity time*

Moral of the story: Never make a blood pact with someone you don’t know, or else you may become infected with all kinda of diseases

I think the path to become an Old One is actually a mix of insight and blood. Insight to see the things hidden from our eyes and the blood to give us the strength to ascend. But if you delve too deep into one or the other then you become a monstrosity or a drooling "madman". I love the theory that the Moon Presence is a predator of Old Ones, casting its hunters out into the dream like a net looking for prey and as you yourself grow stronger, so does the Moon Presence. But with you consuming the 3 umbilical cords, you become something more. It gives you a chance to take the Moon Presence's place as an Old One yourself. Fulfilling a destiny meant only for a few.

My favorite game of all time. Really nothing else comes close for me. I’ll never forget my first play through. That feeling of slowly realizing what I’m playing is an incredibly surreal, deeply mysterious, lovecraftian masterpiece. I feel lucky I went in blind. It still makes my imagination run wild. It’s really hard not to gush to this day.

Moon Presence: Hey u, become my slave Hunter: (consumes 3 umbilical cords) No u *FIGHT BEGINS*

In other words: Great Ones = Aliens Old Blood = Alien blood Arcane = Alien power Beast = Alien blood effect on humans How Bloodborne happened: Aliens

The fact that I am still finding out both minor and major things about this one stand-alone game from 2015 is a testament to its quality.

Me when my drink has gone cold: "Grant us iiice"

After watching this video, I saw an Amygdala chilling outside of my window.

Started out with "waste of skin." Became a Great One. Best ending ever.

The voice acting for Gherman is just so amazing. You can literally feel his pain of being locked in the dream

Had to come back to this after YEARS- having just watched Jack's new series. Thank you for everything you do for the community! Always our #1 pick for soulsborne lore!

Gehrman sobbing in his sleep begging to be released rips my heart out of my chest. Someone as old as he is, crying and begging for the nightmares to end just... Damn, it hurts to hear it.

Thanks for the free insight.

I played this game for 3 weeks straight, getting all trophies and endings, getting the platinum after every other trophy, DLC included. Yet never did I see Gehrman in the dream crying like that. That actually kinda hurt.

27:46 - That got me thinking... What if there were actually 2 goals? Perhaps, in addition to Moon Presence's desire to "eliminate" other Great Ones, there was also Gherman's desire, between the lines, to end the nightmare. That and the fact that we started a fight against the first hunter when we didn't "accept death" makes me believe that Gherman, in addition to wanting to get rid of the nightmare he was placed in, also didn't want to see other hunters suffering the same punishment. This story is so captivating, but at the same time it's too much for my potato brain... By the way, excellent work! A video that is certainly among my favorites for several reasons!

Third ending: YOURE A SQUIIIIIIIIID NOW

The way I see the second ending, is you and Gherman fighting to free the other from the dream.

As someone who’s never even thought about playing blood borne, I think I’m going to be brought on a wild ride.

Bloodborne's Story ► Explained! Chapters [00:00] Intro [00:35] Pthumerians & their Dungeons [00:56] The Great Ones & their Truth [01:53] Intro to Byrgenwerth [02:32] Willem's Scholars & Blood Healing [03:56] Runesmith Caryll & his Runes [05:53] Laurence & Willem Part Ways: Old Blood vs New Eyes [07:48] Laurence's Founding of the Healing Church [08:35] Yharnam [10:17] The Healing Church's Tomb Prospectors [10:46] The Healing Church in Yharnam & Its Branches: [11:27] I. The Choir & Ebrietas [13:16] II. The School of Mensis & Yahar'gul [14:05] III. Gehrman's Workshop, the Hunters & Their Issues with Blood [15:06] Old Yharnam: Ashen Blood & the Beastly Scourge [16:42] Beasts All Over: The Hunt Begins in Central Yharnam [17:18] End of the Workshop Hunters, Birth of The Healing Church Hunters [18:47] Ludwig [19:37] "Meanwhile, in Byrgenwerth...", More Eyes! [20:47] Rom, the Byrgenwerth Spider; The Blood Moon [21:31] The School of Mensis Splits from The Healing Church [22:23] The Umbilical Cords & Micolash's Eldritch Liaison [23:24] Queen Yharnam [24:06] The Nightmare & Mergo [25:50] Gehrman & The Hunter's Dream [28:00] Three Endings: Acceptance, Rejection, Metamorphosis [29:50] Outro

Ah, Vaati, or some say Vaatividya. As you once did for the vacuous Rom, grant us eyes, grant us eyes. Plant eyes on our brains, to cleanse us of our ignorance.

“I’ll have a video out soon analyzing the endings..” Where Vaati, WHERE?!

8 years later and we never got our full in depth lore videos :(

I had this theory when studying the schism between the Church and the Academy: what if they're both right and wrong? What if, for true evolution, humans need both the Blood and the Insight? What if we need to temper one with the other: have the Blood evolve the body and the Insight evolve the mind, and use each to temper the flaws of the other? I mean, look at the third True ending where the player becomes a Great One. We level up our character with echoes of Blood, building our bodies in advancement through transfusion of the Old Blood; yet we also need the Insight gained from the Umbilical Cords to truly ascend. Could that be the true answer to how humans can evolve beyond our current state?

Bloodborne, a perfect combination of Victorian scenery, Gothic and Cosmic horror. FromSoftWare stole my black heart, they took Dracula, The Wolfman, Frankenstein and several other classic Gothic Horror stories along with Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft and made them into a game.

Is it just me, or does the idea of being ripped into a nightmare realm really fuck with you?

5 years later and this is still an amazing video. Love your dedication and efforts to share lore with us.

This game has my favorite lore ever. The feeling this game gives you when playing it is so strange and addicting.

I really want Bloodborne 2...

"Oh good hunter, you've become a squid"

This story is so elaborate, amazing. Just finished my first playthrough, got the bad ending (2nd). I was so focused on not dying that I didn't see any of this.

I have always believed that the third ending is the best of the three as the first has you leave and terrible event continue to transpire, in the second you just become Gerhman, but the third leaves some hope of a future for Yharnam with a human becoming a great one

12:31 The church, tapping a spigot into Ebrietas: come get y’all juice

By using the umbilical cords, we gain Insight. And only by gaining Insight, we can fight the Moon Presence and ascend to godhood. Master Willem said that what we need are more eyes. So in the end, Master Willem was right, but he took his own words too literally.

3 years later and I keep coming back to this video.

Imagine waking up in the world of bloodborne/souls knowing you have to go through all this crap o.o I'd probably just never leave the workshop/shrine.

Such a deep rich and twisted story. Bloodborne deserves a movie.

Holy shit, Gehrman's dialogue at 26:56 when he's sleep-talking is some of the best voice-acting I've ever heard. The way he says "please" at the end literally made me tear up. Man, and I never even heard it through any of my play-throughs.

The pinnacle of video games right here. I didn’t know a thing about the story. I knew the world itself told me a personal story that resonated with me. The change from hunting beasts and monsters to alien abominations was so satisfying and had me so hooked. This is the game that made me fall in love and try other Fromsoft/souls games. Now I can’t really enjoy other games nearly as much as anything from FROM.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but it was always my understanding that in order to ascend to a Great One that both Blood and Insight were required. Because in the beginning of the game you are given a blood transfusion. So even if you never use heals throughout the game, the blood of the great ones is in your hunter's system. So ultimately it is a shame that Willem and Laurence split and never came together because it seems like they would have ascended to great ones if both schools of thought came together.

"...Even the doll, should it please you..." -Gehrman, The Old Hunter

For some reason I'd like to see yharnam on an average normal morning with people out and talking. It'd be interesting honestly.

I keep coming back to this video, the story is just told so well

Only just got into Bloodborne this year and it is my first From game. Just finished it, and I am absolutely mind blown. Can't believe how insanely good this game is and it's over 5 years old. I instantly started NG+ and I plan to play through it all again at least once. I very quickly fell in love with this game. It goes without saying that I had many questions about the story once the credits rolled, and you have cleared up a lot for me in this. Thank you so much for this amazing video! Your channel truly is one of the best out there.

I feel so bad for Gehrman after hearing his pleas to get out. :( It almost made me cry.

I feel so bad for Gehrman... You can truly hear the sadness in his words...

Every couple of months I come to this video to listen to while working. Never once get tired of it. Thanks for this VaatiVidya

I admire your dedication to detail in all of your videos. Here comes another play through of Blood Borne!

This videogame deserves a movie directed by Guillermo del Toro

After playing this in NG+ after watching this video makes me think my character is complaining "I only wanted medicine, but all i get weapons, coats, and a job"

Been seven years since this video came out, I saw it the day it was uploaded. I keep coming back to it though, my playthrough of Bloodborne was honestly one of the most memorable playthroughs of every game I’ve played. I had no understanding of what was happening or why, then I found this video, and I’ve been watching Vaati ever since. This is easily one of my favorite vids, and I keep coming back for the grim, creepy tones and the story Vaati stitched together for us

I share your videos often and you're the only person I subscribe to ever! You have the perfect narrative voice and I love how deep you do your research. I love all your hard work and I appreciate it bud

"Is all what we see or seem, a dream within a dream?" Edgar Allen Poe

I find the Healing Church's goal to be ironic...poetically so. They sought to harness power and knowledge far beyond their comprehension, hoping to ascend to a higher level of consciousness. But in the end...humanity is nothing but beasts when compared to the Great Ones...and thus...the old blood revealed humanity's true nature. At least...that's how I interpret Bloodborne.

I play this video whenever I’m unable to sleep or stressed, it’s so calming.

My God the amount of lore storytelling within the game with very few cutscenes or dialogue is legendary. Masterpiece... imagination helps you fill in the blanks, beautiful

God, I am in love with your Bloodborne videos. It's like attending a lecture for philosophy, mythology, literature, and history all at once!

Gehrman is the true champ of bloodborne, the same old man begging to be killed and crying kicks your ass just so you don't have to go through the same pain he does. I cry everytime I think back to this

I played Bloodborne for the first time this year. We all want to chase that nostalgia feeling we had as a kid or that moment that truly captures your entire imagination but as we get older, it becomes a rarer moment. Bloodborne did that for me this year. It took me to that place where the experiences i was having for the first time around Bloodborne, i truly fell in love and it grabbed every bit of my attention. The story telling, the fabulous environment, the small details, the emotionally grabbing music and how fantastic the eldrich horror was pulled off. I usually shy away from doing NG+ as i get fatigued from playing over the same game again too soon but i sat through and played through 3 times back-to-back-to-back including the DLC to see all 3 endings immediately after finishing my first playthrough. And, i got more enjoyment after the subsequent playthroughs as i pieced everything together. It's head and shoulders my favourite game.

You have such a godly talent in telling story's i love it

I swear ive learned more about literature from games than from school

One of the things I loved about Bloodborne versus Dark Souls is how the game is set right in the middle of an explosive yet climactic turning point in the universe's lore. In Dark Souls there were many key events that the lore eludes to that we don't get to be a part of, the primeval man, the creation of demons, lighting the kiln for the first time, slaying the dragons, infighting between the factions of the first flame, etc., but the player is thrust into the world that is more left in the devastating aftermath of these events rather than being a key part of it. It's meant to show the almost insignificance of the player in the context of this vast landscape, but this is almost what gives the story of Bloodborne so much weight and power in comparison. There was a great deal of lore that the player doesn't participate in Bloodborne sure, but they act more to set the stage for the world that the hunter is about to be violently thrust into. Throughout the story, the player slays the most threatening and powerful beasts in the town, severs the Church's ties to the cosmic great ones, shatters the Nightmare of Mensis and slays both the infant God and its mother within, and potentially brings on a new age of prosperity for the people in this great city... all of these dominoes perfectly being set to fall before the character arrives to tip them over. All the while the motivations for doing so is up to the one controlling the hunter: you can be a killer looking for the next big challenge blindly accepting the tasks set ahead of you, reject the end to a long night but be chained to an even greater nightmare as punishment for your bloodlust, or do what no one else could do before you and attain the ascension to godhood that everyone so desperately sought after. I love the story in both universes, but as the players gained more insight (huehue) into the lore of Bloodborne the weight of the character's importance to the overarching story helped leave a much greater impact looking back on it in my opinion.

I just love that bye bye at the end that always makes my day when I fully watch this video

Vaati's Bloodborne videos are my favorite lore videos ever.

Just realised that Gherman is crying out to Lawrence and Wilhelm for help, not aware that Lawrence is also trapped in a nightmare himself

When you only play to clean the tarnished streets but then realize there's actually a deep lore hidden within 😅

This video got me into playing Bloodborne, then eventually the Souls games and now Elden Ring. Thank you.

This will remain my favorite video of yours for years to come

The 1st and 3rd sounds like the good endings 1st: you are basically relieved of duty after you defeated a great one 3rd: you ascend and become a god basically

Every time i hear Gehrman cry my heart shatters...

I love how the more insight you have, the more you can see of what the world truly looks like.

Your content is a MASTER PIECE... Thanks Vaati.

If Dark Souls is a love letter to Berserk, then Bloodborne is a smut dedicated to H.P. Lovecraft.

So, what I'm getting from the Doll's Tear is that Gherman is just a sad bro who had to ascend his consciousness into the Hunter's Dream to guide the hunters. In doing so, he leaves his love (Lady Maria) who cannot ascend with him because she has her own part to play for the Healing Church. Gherman made the doll (as the doll said, she was "made out of love") so he would have a piece of his love with him. Poor guy...

Having only now come across this channel, this has made me want to play BB, DeS, DS1-3 all over again. Fantastic Job mate!

Why can't I stop playing this on repeat? the narration is... on point

Gherman's cry for help is enough to send chills down you're spine

Looking forward to Prepare to Cry : The First hunter

Ah getting one shotted by Mikolash's galaxy brain attack

Miyazaki's Soulsborne style of Storytelling, Lore, Symbolism and Philosophy + H.P Lovecraft's Cosmic Horror = Art

"We are made men by the crunch... Undone by the crunch." "Laurence, you think now to betray me." "It is a taste you cannot see. I swear to you, it is a part of this balanced breakfast."

Tread carefully in this game...For the night is dark and full of terrors.

I am so glad you made this video, well done.

very cool, thank you for taking the time to do this