In a nutshell, Bloodborne follows a hunter trying to find the source of a plague that turns local residents of Yharnam into terrible monsters and beasts, this virus being blood-borne explains the name. The game has been cited as one of the ‘best games of all time’ by various critics and gamers, including Seán "Jack" McLoughlin (Jacksepticeye) who is one of three producers for the upcoming film adaptation of this game. As a keen fan of the game, he has expressed how eager he is to be a part of this development and understands how important it is to fans to watch an authentic adaption of a beloved game. Jack has various memorabilia of Bloodborne, including a tattoo of the Hunter’s mark on his arm, and stated in a recent video on YouTube covering the announcement that “Bloodborne is like the thing I wake up and play video games for. It is the top of the top.” The sheer level of excitement does settle some players’ hopes that it is in good hands, as he promises to fight to make this film “the best it can possibly be.”
However, this announcement did spark a lot of memes, jokes, and arguments online on how he is going to ruin the game and destroy what makes it such a fantastic game for players. But, the fact that Jack has gone from cameoing as MountainShopBot in Vacation Simulator, to voicing Punch Up in the award-winning story game Dispatch and even acting himself in short films like In Space With Markiplier is a testament to how enthusiastic he is about the industry and gaming.
Bloodborne is the latest game to be given an adaptation in the recent trend of videogames receiving the same treatment, to varying levels of success. This could be due to fan engagement with projects and how vocal fans are about their favourite franchises. More successful projects like Exit 8, Iron Lung, and Five Nights at Freddy’s have gained incredibly positive reviews from fans globally due to inclusions of cameos, easter eggs, and just an overall authentic replication of sets. For example, the Exit 8 film completely replicated the iconic subway hallway from the game, even including the creepy old man too. But not every adaptation has gone down well, for example The Mortuary Assistant, a popular horror game following a nightmarish experience working in a morgue, had a film released this year but performed terribly on streaming services; fans felt dissatisfied with the apparent dodgy acting, poor story handling, and overall boring experience. Iron Lung was a very short indie horror game, and with help from Markiplier’s loyal fans its film turned over $51 million worldwide, while its story handling received mixed reviews, the effort and authenticity pushed this film into a global success story.
Sonic the Hedgehog had a very rough start in its film journey. Upon the release of its trailer back in 2019, fans were horrified by the design of Sonic, no cartoon hedgehog should have human teeth. After everybody complained to Paramount and Sega to save their beloved character from being butchered in the cinema and even provided their own variations to what the film could use, the producers released a new trailer at the end of the year with a much more accessible and similar design to the Sonic fans know and love. Fan feedback is a necessity in any film or TV show development, especially for a game as big as Sonic or Fallout. And in some cases, having such a massive following gives the adaptation a pre-sold audience to play with, those who will automatically go watch the film no matter how poor the reviews are: for example, with A Minecraft Movie.
Should videogames be turned into films and TV shows at all? While for people like Markiplier or Jacksepticeye who are turning videogames into films purely for the love of the game is encouraging, there are companies like Illumination or Blumhouse who see these beloved videogames and instantly jump on the trend expecting a commercial success, potentially butchering storylines, and characters without a second thought. Because realistically, does Chris Pratt need to voice Mario? Fans hold a very important role when handling videogame IP, being vocal about concerns is one of the most powerful things an audience can do. And ultimately it could shift an adaptation’s entire course of development upside down.