Key Highlights:
- Bloodborne now reaches 4K and 60 FPS on PC through the latest ShadPS4 update.
- Performance far exceeds PS5 backward compatibility, which remains locked to 1080p and 30 FPS.
- Steam Deck tests show major stability gains, bringing the handheld closer to a consistently smooth experience.
Bloodborne has taken a major step forward on PC thanks to ShadPS4’s latest update. Version 0.12.6 pushes the game well beyond the limits of PS5 backward compatibility, which still runs the title in its PS4 configuration at 1080p and 30 FPS. With emulation, those constraints fall away, revealing how well the game scales on modern hardware.
On mid-range GPUs such as the RTX 4060 Ti, Bloodborne now reaches 80 to 100 FPS at 1080p.
Cards like the RTX 5070 maintain similar performance at 1440p, creating the fluidity that the original release could never deliver. High-end cards show the biggest leap, with a 5090 capable of running the game at native 4K above 60 FPS. Fast attacks and animation tells become much clearer at these frame rates, improving the feel of combat throughout the game.
The update also includes several visual refinements. Ambient occlusion for vegetation has been reworked, asset LOD transitions are now cleaner, depth of field has been improved and the original chromatic aberration effect has been removed. These changes help modernise the presentation while respecting the game’s art direction.
Steam Deck OLED testing by Deck Wizard on YouTube shows a similar improvement. In handheld mode, the game hovers close to 60 FPS, dipping into the 40s during heavier scenes. Docked, it maintains a stable 30 FPS with noticeably better pacing than the PS4 version. While it still requires additional configuration and stability mods, this update brings the handheld experience closer to what players have been asking for.
The emulator’s limitations haven’t disappeared. Bloodborne’s engine still struggles above 100 FPS, and stability fixes such as the Vertex Explosion mod remain important for consistent play. Even so, load times are nearly twice as fast as on the original hardware, including when running from an HDD, which highlights how much room for improvement existed beyond the PS4 environment.
Bloodborne remains one of the most acclaimed action RPGs of the last decade, set in the plague-ridden Gothic city of Yharnam and rooted in the best qualities of FromSoftware’s design. Yet it’s also still locked to a single last-gen platform with no native PS5 patch or PC release. ShadPS4’s progress isn’t a replacement for an official upgrade, but it does underline the same point fans have made for years: Bloodborne was built to shine on modern hardware, and every glimpse we get confirms how much potential is waiting to be unlocked.
Last year a PlayStation 5 listing was spotted, but there’s since been no progress on a next-gen release.
What do you make of the 60 FPS graphics on PC? Let us know in the comments section below.