Should Bloodborne really be an M Rated game?

[BakedSardine]

Now that I have kids playing games (10, 8 and 6) I've had to begin scrutinizing what is appropriate content and what is not. In general, I've ruled out military shooters like COD and Battlefield, but beyond that, unless there is overt sexual content, profanity or nudity, I'm finding even a game like Bloodborne fine for them (the 8 and 10 year old) to play.

Sure, there is blood, but it's set in such a fantasy world that I don't really consider it something that's a 17+ game. If anything, I think it's just that technology has advanced that it's probably analogous to me playing something like Double Dragon or Ninja Gaiden back in the day.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I would say yes.

It's just there to indicate that the game features hefty amounts of blood, murder, and horror so that any parent who might consider buying it for their kid is aware of that. After which they can decide for themselves whether they want their kid to be exposed to it or not.

It's a friendly warning, that's all.

 

[Fappy]

It should most definitely be M-rated. It doesn't have graphic gore or sexual content, but it has gallons of blood, mild gore, horrific/demented imagery, a depraved narrative and a bleak-as-fuck atmosphere.

Narrative and thematic context has a huge impact on ratings and this game is incredibly dark in those areas.

Honestly, those things should be more worthy of an M-rating than a pair of exposed tits if you ask me.

 

[joest01]

There are afew reasons i am not playing it yet. I dont have a ps4 and my ps3 backlog is intense is the main one. I am also notoriously sceptical of new souls games.

But this time? Why kill things with fur and feathers? I hated killing sif. Way back to wolfenstein i never liked killing dogs in games.

So, yea, to me this aint a fantasy world if it has blood, fur and feathers

 

[Jamash]

Yes, most definitely.

If the ESRB deemed Fable 2 to be unsuitable for Americans younger than 17, then Bloodborne should absolutely also be M Rated.

That's not to say I actually agree with that rating, because as an outsider the ESRB and it's ratings seem to be a bizarre and broken system that reflects bizarre and broken values, but as long as that system is in place then it should stick to it's precedents and give any game which is as violent or unsavoury as Fable 2 an M rating.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

Wait what? It's NOT M-rated? Well that's a surprise. From the previews I watched I definitely assumed it was going to be rated M, considering the copious amounts of blood and bleak, ominous atmosphere. Hell, Dark Souls wan't M-rated, but it had some of the most disturbing imagery I'd seen in games in a while, like the piles of skeletons in the catacombs or the mountains of wet, rotten corpses in New Londo. I haven't played Bloodborne though, so I don't know if such things are as prevalent in it.

It is M rated.

he's saying that he doesnt think it should be.

well shit, now I'm embarrassed.

 

[Lufia Erim]

I think it does. It has blood/ gore/ creppy shit . As a parent it is your right to decide if a game should or shouldn't be played by your kid(s) the esbr is just there as guidelines.

Imo bloodborne is worst than CoD, because in CoD there is little to no blood. It's practically looney toon violence.

 

[Aerosteam]

In my opinion, ESRB ratings are merely guidelines, and that I think it's ultimately up to the parent (if the player is younger than 18) to decide whether if the game is suitable for them or not.

For me, I wouldn't take the ratings that heavily and instead ask myself:

Will this game fuck up my child mentally?
Do I think my child is responsible enough to not imitate what the characters are doing?
Is my child going to develop a bad taste in games by playing this?

In the case for Bloodborne:

I played Mortal Kombat games when I was 10 without supervision, I turned out fine.
I'll allow imitating sword slashes if it's imaginary. Sharp things are going to be out of reach anyway.
Hell no. Far from it.

 

[Aerosteam]

Imo bloodborne is worst than CoD,

YOU THINK BLOODBORNE IS WORSE THAN CALL OF DUTY?!?!?!

because in CoD there is little to no blood. It's practically looney toon violence.

Oh. That's what you meant.

Anyway I agree, I think kids are smart enough to know that the stuff in Bloodborne is completely unrealistic/isn't representative of real life and know they shouldn't grab a cleaver and hit the first person with a top hat they see with it, expecting him to turn into a giant werewolf thing.

 

[JagermanXcell]

Ooooooh yes, because on top of this thread's obvious point outs of blood, gore (one of your attacks is called VISCERAL ATTACK, awesome, but rightfully so), horror, and what not, there is a lot of dark subject matter that is not suitable for the faint of heart/little tots.

Spoiler: Spoilers to a very dark side quest at the beginning of the game

You find the bloodied remains of a little girl whom you tried to help get to shelter. With the implications that her insides where ripped out.

Themes and such in this game are pretty gnarly.

 

[Scow2]

Ooooooh yes, because on top of this thread's obvious point outs of blood, gore (one of your attacks is called VISCERAL ATTACK, awesome, but rightfully so), horror, and what not, there is a lot of dark subject matter that is not suitable for the faint of heart/little tots.

You mean the stuff the kids are most interested in?

Of course... I'm someone who finds 'age restrictions/guidelines' laughable, because who the hell is making them, and why the heck are they so clueless about children? Then again, I find society in general is stupidly ignorant about what is(Actually almost everything) or isn't (Practically nothing) appropriate for children to be exposed to.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Oh yes. As everyone else has already pointed out, there's the blood. Your character can literally end up soaked in it, and most parents are going to strongly object to that. There's also the fact that the second boss you fight has an opening cutscene where is his casually cutting the heads off of bodies. Another boss explodes in her opening, spraying a nearby statue with blood. Again, not exactly child friendly. Finally, whenever you kill a boss, it rains blood on you. Think about that for a moment. You are standing in a storm of blood and your celebrating. That's not something I would want my kid to play until he was in the middle of his teens.
There are also the burning bodies everywhere, and maybe kids are different nowadays, but when I was little, some of these monsters would have terrified me.

Spoiler: Spoilers to a very dark side quest at the beginning of the game

You find the bloodied remains of a little girl whom you tried to help get to shelter. With the implications that her insides where ripped out.

Themes and such in this game are pretty gnarly.

Wait...WHAT?! You mean that girl who gave me the music box? I gave her back the gem and she cried, then I went back to the house later and it's dark, but I never found...well, that. Or is this something else I missed? I find I have missed a lot of things apparently.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I've read the ESRB summary and I would agree with the Mature rating for "Blood and Gore" and "Violence".

Taken from the website:

This is an action role-playing game in which players assume the role of a hunter on a quest through an ancient gothic city. Players use cleavers, axes, and pistols to kill monsters and human-like creatures. Battles are accompanied by realistic gunfire, impact sounds, and large blood-splatter effects. Some sequences depict instances of blood and gore: a ghost holding its own severed head; a creature ripping its limbs to attack characters; a partial view of a beheading.

 

[default]

Yeah. 'Realism' doesn't play any part in how something is rated. Bloodborne has a lot of dark horror themes and very violent imagery. Just because it's hyper-stylised doesn't mean it's not impacting, especially on a mentally developing child.

 

[Sleepy Sol]

Dude. Wait until you see the later parts of the game. Shit's fucked. Even more fucked than it already is in the beginning.

Berserk fucked. Maybe even worse than that. So yeah, I think Bloodborne is way more than deserving of its M rating.

 

[TristanBelmont]

Now that I have kids playing games (10, 8 and 6) I've had to begin scrutinizing what is appropriate content and what is not. In general, I've ruled out military shooters like COD and Battlefield, but beyond that, unless there is overt sexual content, profanity or nudity, I'm finding even a game like Bloodborne fine for them (the 8 and 10 year old) to play.

Sure, there is blood, but it's set in such a fantasy world that I don't really consider it something that's a 17+ game. If anything, I think it's just that technology has advanced that it's probably analogous to me playing something like Double Dragon or Ninja Gaiden back in the day.

I've been playing the Resident Evil games since I was young, and those are rated M pretty often. But since it's a scifi series that isn't realistic in the slightest, I would have no problems with my kids playing them.

But yeah, shit like CoD and Battlefield are out.

Still on the fence about Halo.

 

[JagermanXcell]

Wait...WHAT?! You mean that girl who gave me the music box? I gave her back the gem and she cried, then I went back to the house later and it's dark, but I never found...well, that. Or is this something else I missed? I find I have missed a lot of things apparently.

Yeah, it's really easy to miss tiny things in Miyazaki's wild rides (I apparently missed A WHOLE AREA because I didn't let a specific, I think 1 time spawn, enemy have his way with me). I won't say much, but go kill the giant pig you found under Yharnam's aqueduct for some of the most unpleasant butterflies in your stomach.

 

[BakedSardine]

But yeah, shit like CoD and Battlefield are out.

Still on the fence about Halo.

I kind of put Halo and a game like Destiny in the same category as Star Wars, while I put CoD and Battlefield in the same category as something like American Sniper. They can watch Star Wars all day long, but I don't think I'd be taking them to American Sniper.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Wait...WHAT?! You mean that girl who gave me the music box? I gave her back the gem and she cried, then I went back to the house later and it's dark, but I never found...well, that. Or is this something else I missed? I find I have missed a lot of things apparently.

Yeah, it's really easy to miss tiny things in Miyazaki's wild rides (I apparently missed A WHOLE AREA because I didn't let a specific, I think 1 time spawn, enemy have his way with me). I won't say much, but go kill the giant pig you found under Yharnam's aqueduct for some of the most unpleasant butterflies in your stomach.

Oh, I did, almost immediately after I read your little post. And it gets even worse than that. Try going back to her window later in the game and you'll find out why that thing is there.