Bloodborne's cut Great One Beast boss is now playable again thanks to new mod
But only on a modded PS4.
Bloodborne fans have been tirelessly uncovering cut content inside developer From Software's code, an absolute mountain of it in fact, since launch in 2015; and now one of these excised treats - the fearsome Great One Beast boss - has been made playable in a new mod.
The Great One Beast is a cut boss first uncovered by Bloodborne sleuths Sanadsk and Zullie back in 2018. The pair's initial probing uncovered the creature - a towering behemoth of red eyes and undulating fur, with a deadly aura - as only a partially implemented model.
Once restored through coding and save-editing wizardry, however, the Great One Beast - seemingly related to the Nightmare's Silverbeasts and their Loran Silverbeast boss variant, based on its filename - was able to roam its cylindrical Chalice Dungeon abode, taking a few angry swipes at the player character but not, admittedly, a whole lot more.
Now however, one enterprising modder by the name of Foxy Hooligans has gone to the trouble of taking the basic framework first uncovered by Sanadsk and turning the Great One Beast into a fully fledged, and completely playable, boss fight.
"Those who follow the cut content of Bloodborne know about the Great One Beast," wrote Foxy, "What is left in the game isn't much, low resolution textures and many attacks lacking visuals. With this mod, you can fight this boss as the developers would have intended."
Foxy Hooligan's work won't be accessible by many given that it requires a modded PlayStation 4 to operate, but curious sorts can at least admire the Great One Beast courtesy of the mod's accompanying video trailer. As we can see, the end result - accessible via a Chalice Dungeon - is an imposing thing, capable of launching itself around the arena and of unloading electrical attacks powerful enough to make its luxuriant hair stand on end.
Of course, as enjoyable a piece of restoration work as it is, it's far from the only fascinating bit of cut Bloodborne content to be found hidden within the game's code.
To date, modders have discovered everything from an option to murder a still-alive Maria in the clocktower to evidence that, at one point, Annalise the Queen of the Vilebloods was to have had a familial connection to Maria and The Doll. We've even seen a number of other excised bosses, including one based on Master Willem, and a gargantuan snake ball - and yet, miraculously, Bloodborne still doesn't appear to have revealed the last of its secrets.