Heartforge is the game development studio that created Ratcatcher, along with other games such as The Red Rose Path. It is currently unknown if the studio still exists, or is operational. While famous for working on highly ambitious projects and producing high quality art, the studio (allegedly) has never once managed to release a completed game, despite at least two of them seeming to be completed or nearly completed. This has led to the urban legend of the studio being cursed. Others think it is owned by an anonymous billionaire, since it did manage to keep starting (and nearly releasing) new and ambitious projects despite never successfully selling a game. As the studio has been radio silent for some time, we may never know unless someone associated with Heartforge decides to come forward.

But, of course, I know the secret of Heartforge Studio. And I will share it with you.

Please call me Ilusen. Heartforge is the name I gave the fictional game studio, while I tell the story of Ratcatcher. As you may have guessed (because it is so thinly veiled, and that kind of hat is so common), Ratcatcher began when I was thinking how I, if given the chance, would make a sequel to Fromsoftware’s 2015 game Bloodborne. I’m sure this will shock you, but I quite like Bloodborne.

When thinking about how one would make a sequel to Bloodborne, I thought that I really didn’t want any more of Bloodborne’s story explained. A lot of the joy of the game’s story, for me, is the uncertainty. It gives players room to think about what might really be happening, and the discussion on “But What Is Bloodborne Actually About Really” has been thriving for almost ten years. Making a direct prequel or sequel would, in my mind, spoil the mystery. And besides, the horror that someone describes to you directly is nowhere near as chilling as what your own mind can invent.

The best Bloodborne sequel, I thought, would be a game with the same artistic, thematic, and mechanical elements (expanded upon, of course), but feature an entirely new setting, story, and characters. This keeps the mystery alive while also being More Bloodborne. Ratcatcher is the result of me imagining what my Bloodborne II might be like.

I wanted to document my thoughts, because I had a lot of fun with them (I still do), and I wanted a place to show off the fantastic art by equally fantastic artists, way beyond my skill to create myself. Please definitely check them out; I’ve linked their pages underneath each piece of art they’ve made.

So why the conceit of the lost game made by a cursed studio? Because I thought it would be a fun way to present my ideas, essentially. I am not a game developer, and even if I was, there’s no way I could make Ratcatcher because Sony would certainly find me and give me a stern letter. And just typing up reams and reams of paper’s worth of design notes and mechanics ideas would not be half so fun for other people to read. Instead, I set up this site to play pretend in a way. Because Ratcatcher is not a real game and will not be a real game, I can give it every mechanic I think might be fun, regardless of how difficult it would be to make a game so packed and complex.

I invite you all to play pretend along with me. Not just with Ratcatcher, but with any game you dream you might one day be able to play. We live in a harsh, often cruel world, and whatever joy and fun we can find –even in make believe video games– is both our refuge and how we can help live on, that we might one day see a better tomorrow.

If you enjoyed what you’ve seen about Ratcatcher so far, I would certainly appreciate any donations on Ko-fi (so that I can commission more art for this site). However, this is definitely not necessary. I am not making Ratcatcher for money, but because I have fun doing it. If anyone has had fun reading what I’ve written, that will do for me.