Upon defeating Maria, the player reveals the secret she was protecting: the ruins of a fishing hamlet that had been pulled into the nightmare, and its inhabitants transformed into grotesque monsters. Chalice Dungeons, like the main story, can be played alone or cooperatively with other players.Shortly after their arrival in Yharnam, the player enters a spectral realm called the Hunter's Dream, which acts as both a sanctuary and workshop.While traveling through Central Yharnam, the second area, the Hunter is told to go to the Cathedral Ward by an At this point, three different endings are possible depending on the player's actions. Players may purchase useful items, such as clothing, from the Messengers using Blood Echoes or Insight, level up their character by talking to the Doll, or upgrade their weapons in the workshop, among other things. The player also chooses a starting class, known as an "Origin", which provides a basic backstory for the Hunter and sets the player's starting attributes. The player then discovers that the hamlet is the origin of the nightmare, the result of a curse placed on the Byrgenwerth scholars and their Hunter subordinates, who tortured and massacred the hamlet's inhabitants in their quest for knowledge, as the hamlet's inhabitants had a connection with the Great Ones. While exploring the village, the player can come across a mortally wounded Simon, who then gives the player a key and his bowblade, and pleads for the player to end the nightmare. Choosing to accept Gehrman's offer unlocks the After discovering an item called "Eye of a Blood-Drunk Hunter", the player learns of the Hunter's Nightmare, where the first hunters are trapped, drunk with blood. Chalice Dungeons are optional and provide additional content to the player. After fighting their way through the "Living Failures" in the Research Hall, the player reaches the clocktower. When the player searches the corpse, they are pulled into the Hunter's Nightmare, populated by both beasts and long crazed Hunters, by a lesser Amygdala. Other items the player may find include various forms of Coldblood, which grant the player Blood Echoes when consumed, Antidotes, used to cure poisoning, and Hunter Badges, items that allows the player to purchase more items in the Hunter's Dream.Chalice Dungeons are randomly generated dungeons that vary in depth and difficulty, and can be reformed by performing a ritual with a Chalice and other certain materials in the Hunter's Dream. For example, one Origin may describe the Hunter as a cowardly weakling, which would indicate the player prefers to avoid conflict, while another Origin may describe the Hunter as being a ruthless, killing machine, which would indicate that the Hunter prefers to engage in combat.The player can return to the safe zone, known as the "Hunter's Dream", by interacting with lanterns spread throughout the world of Yharnam. Chalice Dungeons are only indoors, cramped, and contain many traits of a typical dungeon. The Origins allow the player's Hunter to have a distinct play style, which, along with physical appearance, give the Hunter a unique personality. Lanterns also serve as the game's checkpoints; the player will return to the last activated lantern when they die. After its defeat, the creature's phantom retreats to its dead mother's side and upon killing it, the Hunter's Nightmare is ended.Screenshots and a gameplay trailer of the game were leaked on the Internet weeks before the official reveal, under the title of A limited collector's edition was launched with the game. Positioned away from Yharnam, the Hunter's Dream delivers some of the game's basic features to the player. It was released worldwide in March 2015. In the main story, players journey through many different locations with many different objectives. An infant Great One and the source of the Nightmare, the "Orphan of Kos", suddenly emerges from the corpse's womb and attacks the player out of blind terror. For example, the Hunter Axe in its initial state is wielded with one hand and can be used to quickly dispatch enemies in cramped areas, but when transformed into its secondary state, it becomes an extended two handed weapon more suited for crowd control.
Bloodborne follows the player's character, a Hunter, through the decrepit Gothic, Victorian era–inspired city of Yharnam, whose inhabitants have been afflicted with an abnormal blood-borne disease. Unlike Yharnam and all other locations in the game, the Hunter's Dream is considered completely safe as it is the only location in the game not to feature enemies. The player can also sacrifice health to create Blood Bullets for their ranged weaponry. However, the last two boss battles of the game take place in the Hunter's Dream, although both are optional to the player.Combat is fast-paced and requires an offensive approach in order for the player to combat dense hordes of enemies. In the Chalice Dungeons, the player's basic objective is to locate a door, then find the lever to open the door, which is located elsewhere, and then battle the boss behind the door. The branching paths featured in the main story are still present in the Chalice Dungeons. While traveling through Yharnam, the player comes across the corpse of a strange Hunter.