FromSoftware, known for its challenging Soulslike titles, is venturing into a new multiplayer territory with The Duskbloods, an upcoming game for the Nintendo Switch 2. While retaining the developer's signature challenging combat and grotesque monsters, The Duskbloods shifts focus to a match-based experience where eight players vie for victory points, known as Virtue, through multiple pathways.
The game is described as a PvPvE title, incorporating player-versus-player elements, particularly in the final contest of each match. However, a significant portion of gameplay involves fighting against the environment and its creatures, with less frequent direct confrontation with other players. During a hands-on preview, the focus was largely on PvE aspects, including slaying creatures, powering up characters, and collecting items.
Players assume the role of supernatural beings called Bloodsworn, each a pre-built character with unique close-range and long-range attacks, alongside special abilities that can unlock during a match. A common trait among Bloodsworn is their advanced mobility, allowing for triple jumps, air dashes, and a powerful leap to navigate the highly vertical environments. They also share the ability to "Howl" to stagger enemies and "Drink Blood" from downed foes to restore health and potentially turn them into temporary allies.
Six Bloodsworn were playable in the network test, with more expected for the game's 2026 launch. The roster includes characters like Albert, wielding a sword, submachine gun, and blood whips, and the unique Zork, who uses undersea cable and a speargun, with a jetpack for enhanced mobility. Some characters have echoes of past FromSoftware archetypes, like Trang Lanh's resemblance to Elden Ring's Nightreign characters, while others, such as a character who transforms into a dinosaur, showcase the developer's willingness to experiment.
Dusk Battles, the core match format, require eight players and can be played solo or in duos. Players are transported to maps like Lawanro City, a Victorian setting featuring landmarks such as a clock tower, sewers, and a cathedral, alongside forests and bridges. Players can choose their spawn points with minimal penalty for dying, although other players may benefit from a player's demise.
The primary objective is to earn Virtue, the game's victory points, influenced by tabletop games like The Settlers of Catan. Virtue can be acquired through various means: defeating other players at ritual sites, pledging to Blood Pledge pillars, defeating field bosses (Great Foes) and major bosses (Trespassers), exploring and lighting flames within specific environmental locations, and earning commendations for combat or item collection. Other methods include completing Sigil objectives or collecting random items. Special items like Redstones and Goldstones can be found on rock plinths, offering bonuses to Sword and Pledge Virtue respectively when used in conjunction with player combat or pledges.
A match unfolds across four phases. The first phase is dedicated to earning Virtue and leveling up characters. At the end of the second and third phases, players with the lowest Virtue scores are eliminated. The fourth phase culminates in a player-versus-player showdown among the remaining contestants, with the ultimate victor claiming the prize known as Moonblood.
Players are not restricted to fighting alone. They can form alliances, often encouraged by Sigils, which are sets of rules that can define player objectives and interactions. Players can also recruit NPC allies called Kin, who possess their own distinct abilities and combat styles. Examples include Undead Marlowe, a dagger-wielding urchin who can poison enemies, and Baritone, an opera singer who buffs allies with defensive songs and utilizes wrestling moves. Other Kin include Thaumaturge Avester, Nia the sword fighter, Gargoyle the healer, Gunslinger Beatrice, Black Wulf of Mars, and Valentius the Unwise, who rides a chariot and draws enemy aggro.
Sigils introduce further complexity by establishing specific objectives. Some Sigils, like "Sigil of an Old Friend," encourage alliances by tasking players to find and cooperate with a designated player. Others, such as "Sigil of Love Ephemeral," involve role-playing gestures like proposing marriage. Antagonistic Sigils exist too, such as marking a player as a "heretic" for others to hunt.
Randomized in-game events also contribute to the dynamic nature of matches. The "Nearle Storm" event teleports players and grants an item for positional swaps with opponents. "Star Fragment" events reward players for collecting falling meteorites and defending them. A "Prowling Sword Lion" event sees a zeppelin attack, providing players with a "Transmitter" for calling airstrikes. "Dusk's Toll" allows players to earn Virtue by ringing a bell, with diminishing effects on subsequent rings, and the "Bloodsac Gala" involves hunting "Bloodsacs" that drop power-ups.
These varied elements—Bloodsworn abilities, Kin companions, Sigil rules, and randomized events—ensure that each Dusk Battle feels unique. FromSoftware plans to reveal more about The Duskbloods' narrative and character customization options over time. The game is slated for a 2026 release exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2, with its network test running from August 21st to 24th.