14 New Insights into the Duskbloods

A bunch of previews just dropped for The Duskbloods, FromSoftware’s upcoming PvPvE title for the Nintendo Switch 2, and there’s a lot to unpack!

The Duskbloods looks like a truly unique experience, blending elements of PvP and PvE that can change on the fly. At times, it feels reminiscent of Elden Ring, while at others, it channels the vibe of Nightreign, and sometimes it’s something entirely different. I found it fascinating to dive into the various insights shared today, along with the new official details from FromSoftware that clarify what this game is all about and how to play it—information that was previously scarce.

Here’s a quick rundown of what I gathered about The Duskbloods for those eager to know what to expect from this latest offering.

You step into the shoes of one of several Bloodsworn, dropped into a level filled with enemies and fellow players. Your mission is to navigate the area, taking down foes and completing various objectives to rack up as much “Virtue” as you can. These tasks might involve exploring, battling bosses, or hunting for items. You can engage in PvP or team up with another player to gather Virtue together. It’s like a mini single-player Souls campaign, but with a few other players roaming around.

Throughout the game, players who haven’t amassed enough Virtue will be eliminated at two different points, leaving only three survivors for the final showdown. Those final three will be sent to an arena to battle it out, where any alliances formed earlier are broken, and all the effort you put into gathering items, forging pacts with NPCs, and leveling up your character will be put to the test alongside your skills.

If you die during the main part of a round, you’ll respawn with all your Virtue intact. It’s only in the final phase, when you face off against the last players, that death becomes permanent, but you do have a few lives to spare. You can die up to three times in that final phase before you’re completely out of the game.

And yes, there’s a character named Zork. Need I say more?

In the upcoming network test, players will have access to six of the ten total characters. Here’s the lineup:

All characters can perform impressive jumps (even over buildings), sprint, and drain the life from staggered enemies to regain health, which also temporarily turns weaker foes into allies.

During the main phases of a match, you’ll encounter other players. You can choose to fight them or propose an alliance, which, if accepted, makes you immune to each other’s attacks. However, be cautious—these alliances will dissolve in the final round, so teaming up with someone who could easily take you out might not be the best strategy.

There’s also a Duos Mode available from the start, allowing you to partner with someone for the entire match, with four teams of two competing and one team eliminated each round. In this mode, you either win or lose together in the final battle.

Of course, you can also choose to eliminate other players. While this doesn’t knock them out of the game, some quests may encourage you to attack others to gain Virtue.

Kin can be summoned from portals scattered across the map, acting as NPC allies (similar to Elden Ring’s spirit summons) that will accompany you for the rest of the match and grow stronger alongside you. Eight Kin were available in the previews, including a massive singing monster that can suplex enemies, a fireball-throwing mage, a cowgirl, a wolf, and a character named “Undead Marlowe.” Sounds awesome!

Items called Sigils will assign you specific objectives, like taking down a certain player or forming an alliance. You start with one equipped, and completing it rewards you with a hefty amount of Virtue. Additionally, various objectives will pop up around the map, such as areas that reward you for eliminating players or capturing points, bosses that spawn for you to defeat, and hidden items—all of which grant Virtue!

It’s worth noting that you earn EXP from defeating enemies, allowing your character to level up and unlock new abilities, increase HP, and more. This progression is crucial; otherwise, you risk being outmatched by players who have leveled up more effectively.

Previewers only got to explore one map: a sprawling town featuring a church, a cave system, some ruins, and, of course, a poison swamp. Two additional maps will be available at launch that we haven’t seen yet. The space feels quite expansive, especially with the powerful jumps players can execute. Events will also shake things up, transforming areas of the map with effects like raining fire, zapping players with lightning to teleport them, or crashing shooting stars.

While it wasn’t included in the preview build or the upcoming network test, customization options for characters are apparently in the works.

The matches seem to be shorter than those in Nightreign, but it’s still a mystery how players will fit everything into a 30-minute session.

Although rankings may not be visible to players, the matchmaking system is designed to pair frequent winners with other skilled players, ensuring that those of us who aren’t as adept at Souls games won’t be constantly overwhelmed.

In a recent interview, reassurances were given that the simultaneous releases of Elden Ring, Nightreign, and The Duskbloods don’t signal a shift away from single-player experiences. It’s more of a coincidence that these titles are launching close together, and The Duskbloods was simply a project the team was excited to pursue. “Personally, it’s very fun to make a multiplayer game like this,” one of the developers shared. “It’s not something we’ve done a lot, and we’re eager to see player reactions and feedback. But the more you work on something multiplayer for a long time, the more it makes you want to create something single-player again.”

The September 24 date mentioned earlier appears to have been a mistake.