"Undone by the Blood": Bloodborne (2015) and the Human Cost of Medical Progress

Abstract: The 2015 action role-playing game Bloodborne takes place in a nightmarish Victorian city, a centre for medical treatment that has been overrun by monsters as a result of uncontrolled scientific research. Weapons, items, and game mechanics emulate nineteenth-century medical technologies such as whole blood transfusion and anatomical dissection. Bloodborne offers a critique of an important legacy of the nineteenth century: the widespread social acceptance of human suffering as a necessary precondition for medical progress. As players unravel Bloodborne 's medico-Gothic horrors, they are compelled to rely on exploitative medical technologies in order to progress in the game. Players must grapple with the same moral questions that troubled the Victorians as they witnessed the gruesome beginnings of modern medical practice.