10 Secret Ways You Can Save Video Game Bosses From Themselves

For many Bloodborne players, Gehrman, The First Hunter is simply a swift, powerful final boss with an incredible weapon (the Burial Blade) and a fantastic battle theme. He is all of these things, for certain, but he's also so much more.

Through the nightmarish journey, Gehrman is something of a guide for the player. From the Hunter's Dream, he provides cryptic hints as to where to go (suggesting that Old Yharnam would be a "perfect place for a Hunter") and other typically enigmatic dialogue. One thing seems certain, though: He's been here for a long time, and he's not going anywhere anytime soon. He may be encountered lamenting, "Laurence... Master Willem... Somebody help me. Unshackle me please, anybody. I've had enough of this dream. The night blocks all sight."

His duty presiding over the Hunter's Dream seems eternal, and when encountering him at the end of the game, the player has a choice. Opting to submit their life will see them bow before Gehrman, who promptly kills the Hunter who appears to wake up in the real world. Gehrman is able to save others from the Dream, it seems, but not himself. By opting for one of the game's other two endings, though, it's possible to free this tormented soul. Refusing to submit begins the aforementioned boss battle against the wily old Hunter instead, and Gehrman seems to express relief at being freed upon his death.

The result of this ending, though, is that the Hunter takes his role and is stuck watching over the Dream in his stead. To (somewhat) save both characters from this fate, the secret ending, activated by finding and consuming three of the four One Third Of Umbilical Cord items before the battle. Doing so instigates a battle with the Moon Presence after the Gehrman bout, after which the Nightmare is slain. An infant Great One is born, in what could be considered a happy ending (by this title's standards).