After 9 Years Bloodborne’s Community Is Still Not Sure What Bloodborne Is Even About.

paleblood is explicitly the moon presence. there's a note in the lecture hall that says "The nameless moon presence beckoned by Laurence and his associates. Paleblood."

The "borne" in Bloodborne is an entirely different word from "born". It means "carried by" or "transmitted by" That is, the beast plague is transmitted via blood - the old blood. Basically the game spoils a massive twist in the title. But the two do work well together. "Borne" could be a double ententre, and the idea of something being a host of a disease is often paralelled with women being hosts of children, menstration, etc.

That ending note about plagarism and how we see derivative work was honestly such a great way to finish the video. Bloodborne really is an example of how to make something better than the sum of its parts (and wow, those are quite some parts) and I think that alone is worth celebrating.

Miyazaki explains his definition of Paleblood pretty explicitly in an interview - it's the way the sky looks after beating Rom and revealing the ritual.... the sky is pale blue, "like a corpse drained of blood". Thus "Seek Paleblood" = get the sky to turn light blue = reveal the mensis ritual. I know that the moon presence being Paleblood makes more sense in the context of the story, and that the sky is more purple than pale blue, but that's still what he said.

I think the argument FOR the healing system is that you get punished for NOT using the rallying system. The stamina is so forgiving in this game because even in the midst of battle you should use the rallying mechanic, and not doing so will cost you. I got this from AesirAesthetics btw.

God, every time I see a new upload from this channel I get genuinely excited to watch it. I absolutely LOVE your philisophical discussions and the lens through which you examine games like this. And of course when I saw that you made a video about Bloodborne, a game which I would consider to be one of if not THE greatest game currently in existence, I immediately clicked on it. If I had the financial stability to support you on patreon I 100% would, but since I can't do that at the moment I want to show some genuine appreciation by just letting you know how much these videos not only entertain, but also genuinely enlighten me. The way through which you examine games is unlike any I've personally seen on youtube before and provides such a fresh and interesting perspective on things otherwise talked to death. You truly succeed at providing interesting perspectives on great games. I wish you the best of luck with your next projects and I look forward to watching them!

I haven’t finished the video, but a huge thing about the note at the beginning of the game is that the Japanese version says that it’s written by your character

My interpretation of the true/hidden ending is that both Willem and Lawrence were wrong, it is neither through pure insight or holy blood that will lead man to a new childhood, but rather a special combination of both. If you consider the way the game is typically played, throughout the game you gain strength from blood (bloodechoes) and knowledge from insight. What do the One Third Umbilical Cords do? Give us large bursts of insight with each one used, as if our character has an epiphany with each use. Yet, to survive all the way to the Moon Presence, great strength is required through the use of the Blood. (level 1 runs not-withstanding)

This is the most unique interpretation of Bloodborne I've seen. Bloodborne has become the video game equivalent of the shining at this point with so many different takes on it. Fantastic video.

What an incredible and enlighting interpretation of Bloodborne. Ceave truly is one of the best video game essaysts out there, keep up the good work man!

I mean meeting a symbol for death as the alternative or bad ending to finding meaning within yourself could certainly be seen as a metaphor for how if one falls into nihilism, doesn't find meaning in life, it can result in them taking their own life. The reaper allegory being a "shadow fight" also supports that interpretation.

if you had told me years ago that the funny mario maker creator i was watching would one day post a 90 minute video about the death of god, and that it'd be one of the greatest youtube videos i'd have ever seen, i'd have laughed in your face. but here we are.

The way you structure your videos and work towards your conclusions is so unique and engaging, I have honestly not had this much fun with hour long video essays for an eternity. I'm really glad I stumbled over your channel.

i LOVE the analysis of the themes and story in this video (i had a real "oh" moment when you pointed out the symbolism of the angel pouring blood into a skull), but i'm a little confused by the initial gameplay analysis regarding the healing system. i was surprised when you said there's no way to get back your health when you run out of blood, because a different video i'd watched (hbomberguy's "Bloodborne is genius and here's why") said the opposite. in fact, it praised bloodborne for having a system very similar to the game you compared it to. when you lose health, you can gain it back if you attack very shortly thereafter, which encourages an aggressive playstyle. you can even see it happening during the gascoigne fight at around 34:19 - you take a hit, and your health bar depletes, but there's still a pink bar remaining where you lost your health, showing that it can be regained. then, you hit him a few times, and the health comes back. i understand that this would be hard to see without the UI up most of the time, but i'm surprised you hadn't seen that in previous playthroughs. otherwise, it's really a stunningly well put together video! i don't want to downplay that with this comment. "perspective" was a great word to add to this channel name, because your videos really give me a whole new perspective on media that i never would have thought of before, and i love it so much. i'm SO pleased you're back from your hiatus; there's really nothing else quite like these videos out there. keep it up, man - you're very appreciated, and your efforts do not go unnoticed. edit: someone cleared this up for me in the replies, it makes more sense to talk about it the way ceave does if you’ve played the game

Regarding blood vials, my own take and the reason why I don't hate the system is that they are so common a drop, that they facilitate long stretches of exploration without rest, something estus flasks do not allow. If you're a patient and methodical hunter, you can clear out areas and rarely die outside of boss battles, which then allows you to develop a large enough stockpile that the lack of vials never becomes an issue. 37:49 - The transformation is based on the bosses' HP, with 3 phases in total.

I don't know why, but I feel like video games, as a form of art, are underappreciated (even though they combine art, storytelling and music), but the way you analyze games makes me, without explitly mentioning its an art, appreciate video games overall a lot more. I really thank you for that, Ceave.

Ceave I'm so glad you split the channels, I've been enjoying this one so much, every video a masterpiece.

Somehow you have managed to be my childhood YouTuber with mariomarker, and grow into one I still watch today. I don’t know if it’s your style just growing with me, or that I just like whatever you create, but it’s kinda cool to have followed you online for so long. (Since the cow farm video I think) Can’t wait to see what stuff you do next. I cannot stress enough that without you and a few others, my channel wouldn’t exist. My online life and presence would be completely different had I never found you, and I am very grateful I did. Hope your videos start doing better again.

the theme and overall flow of your videos makes them feel like a journey. By the end of it I always feel sad but somehow optimistic, it's a super weird mix but I love it so much, and it's in a way the original media doesn't even evoke. It's a crazy difference from when I used to watch your mario maker vids a few years ago and i'm 100% here for it

I have never played bloodbrone but clicked on this video because Ive always enjoyed your videos and whatever you had an hour and a half to say about what I assumed would just be some ambiguous key item in a weird ambiguous game, and was gifted with an incredible lecture about religion, art, and how we view and interact with it whether or not its something we have a positive relationship with. Thank you for sharing this work of art, and all the effort that went into it. It inspires me as an artist and creator.