A fan of two of the biggest names in gaming have been combined them into one indie game, Yarntown, an inventive demake of Bloodborne wrapped in a charming The Legend of Zelda-inspired art style. The name Yarntown is likely a play on the name of Bloodborne‘s Central Yharnham location (and perhaps a nod to The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask‘s Clock Town).
Bloodborne is a massive 3D open world game with a dark Victorian setting, a macabre atmosphere, and the same taste in enemies as the rest of From Software’s games – as vile and deadly as possible. In contrast to this, SNES classic The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is a 2D adventure set in a child-friendly world with a fun, vibrant atmosphere and a village full of people ready and waiting to help the player succeed in their quest for good over evil.
In a tribute to the two games, Max Mraz combines the horror combat of Bloodborne with a cutesy aesthetic reminiscent of Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Yarntown is a top-down, almost perfect 16-bit replica of From Software’s Bloodborne, from emerging in a garden with a creepy doll down to those slimy sewers where the Wretched Undead grab at players’ heels, except in Mraz’s version the enemies are all quirky sprites and the cursed town has an adorably quaint feel to it. Mraz has included all the little enemies right where they would be in the Bloodborne map, and has kept the basic combat mechanics from the difficult game.
Players still have a melee attack, a pistol, and the ability to roll in order to dodge an attack. The difference is that it’s all top-down fighting and fits the style of the well-known Legend of Zelda, cute and ready for a hero to save the day. The health is also modeled after Bloodborne’s Blood Ministration mechanic, where using a blood vial heals the player. The setting, meanwhile, is very detailed, and even the shortcuts and secret passageways that Bloodborne players have mapped out in their heads can be found in Yarntown. Some of the most memorable bosses can be found recreated too, like the Cleric Beast and Father Gascoigne, and it appears they put up a good fight just like in their source material. And of course the infamous death screen from Bloodborne shows up with its Legend of Zelda graphic flair.
Yarntown is an incredibly detailed indie game all made by one man. The intricacy of the map, the enemies, and the graphics make for a game that is both a nostalgic blast from the past for players of both Bloodborne and Legend of Zelda, and at the same time a new and exciting experience for any gamer interested in a beautiful sprite-filled world plagued by violent beasts. This is also a chance for PC gamers to get a taste of Bloodborne. The game is available to download for free from itch.io.
