Bloodborne Multiplayer Bug Prevents Progression

It looks like Bloodborne players are reporting a serious progression bug that pops up within the action game's online mode within a certain area. It's easy to avoid if you haven't already fallen victim to it and, thankfully, Sony is reporting a fix is fast-approaching.

So here's the deal, if you activate Bloodborne's online activities using either the Sinister Resonant Bell or the Small Resonant Bell within the Forbidden Woods, chances are pretty good that you'll either be forced to miss out on a boss fight or be kept from further progression. More details follow but, considering how spoiler aware the Bloodborne community is, I wanted to give you proper warning before continuing on.

Just like the Souls games before it, Bloodborne has become infamous for its difficulty less than a week following its exclusive launch on the PlayStation 4. Enemies and traps can pop out of nowhere. You might be pitted against a brute three times your size. Numbers could be overwhelming and, sometimes, an enemy has a move that will one-shot kill you.

It can be a bit daunting in its own right, which is why a bug like the one that folks are reporting might seem more like a “feature” than a glitch. The difference is that all of those things listed above can be overcome with careful planning and skillful play, leading to some of the most rewarding encounters in recent gaming history. If you trigger the game-wrecking bug, well, you're just plain-old screwed.

So here are the basics of what the bug actually does. Again, if you don't want to fret over the specifics, just don't call in multiplayer support in the Forbidden Woods and you should be golden. For whatever reason, doing so can prevent a certain key from popping up in the game, found in the Byrgenwerth region of the Forest. If you don't have that key, you can't drop by the Moonside Lake to visit Master Willem and, in turn, that will prevent you from going toe-to-eight-toes with the Vacuous Spider.

Both Sony and the developers at From Software have acknowledged the bug, strongly recommending players avoid multiplayer gaming in that one area until the fix can be provided. Apparently we can expect it sometime this week. Also coming down the pipeline is that patch we discussed late last week, which From Software promises will shorten those lengthy load times and provide other overall performance enhancements.

Currently working on another review, I haven't been able to dive too deeply into Bloodborne just yet, only just now reaching the starting city's second major area. It's been a blast, though, slowly unwinding the ball of yarn that is the city's interconnected alleyways while fighting off hordes of terrible creatures. But how is the game treating everyone else? Are you enjoying its more fast-paced brand of combat? How about that Victorian Gothic setting? Have any favorite (as spoiler-free as possible) moments from your hunting sessions? Let us know in the comments!