The Duskbloods: the best of FromSoftware fights in a frantic multiplayer battleground
The Elden Ring creator is known for epic single-player RPGs, but its new action game is all about multiplayer interactions: fighting, chasing, befriending, even … proposing?
Lowanro City’s skyline is dominated by an oppressive clock tower, silhouetted against a moody red sky and an impossibly large, ominous moon. A retractable bridge splits the map in two, and a network of slimy sewers runs beneath the city streets, offering flanking routes for crafty players. This layered and multi-tiered map bears all the hallmarks of the team behind some of the most memorable stomping grounds in video games.
But The Duskbloods, which I recently spent two days playing in Tokyo, is a strange departure from developer FromSoftware’s usual offerings. These have included massive single-player RPGs with light, experimental multiplayer components such as Elden Ring and Bloodborne. Those games have always attracted duellists – players who love to invade other people’s games to fight them to the death – but this Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is a different proposition entirely.
Matches whittle down eight players over three phases, culminating in a free-for-all battle between three survivors. In each phase, players sweep the map forming alliances, proposing to each other with bouquets of flowers (yes, it’s still weird), killing AI creatures and bosses, holding capture points, collecting items, and fighting one another. All of these actions earn a currency called Virtue, and it’s the two players with the least Virtue who are culled at the end of each phase.
Battles against AI feel like playing a more familiar FromSoftware game at 2X speed. Jumping, dodging, blocking and sprinting while in battle drain stamina, but attacking does not, so you’re encouraged to see your entire attack chains through and take chances you wouldn’t usually take. The regular fodder enemies are almost like the mobs in a MOBA game (like League of Legends) – they’re a means to an end, a re
When you fight a boss, other players are given the option to teleport directly to your side to help and share the spoils. This is where The Duskbloods is most fascinating: even other players are re is a key part of tactical play
Game director Hidetaka Miyazaki says he was inspired by board games and pen and paper RPGs. That’s immediately clear. Players start each match with a Sigil, which gives them a personal objective such as marrying another player (bonding you until the final battle) or hunting down heretics. These objectives interact and give players opposing goals, so your ability to read the room is vital, even if “the room” is just a cluttered UI (user interface) that constantly moves around your screen.
It makes you change your entire mindset as a FromSoftware player. I quickly learned that it’s best to let players burn out fighting bosses on their own in the early game because it’s risky and time-consuming to get involved.
While all of this feels novel, it’s also confusing, and some may be put off by the chaos. There’s also an element of randomness to how the game doles out Virtue that occasionally feels unfair. Then there’s the community element, and how the game will look once a thousand YouTubers have shared the most efficient routes and strategies.
skip past newsletter promotion
The final battles are thrilling, though. The Duskbloods has distinctive characters with unique weapons and abilities (some representing traditional FromSoftware archetypes, and at least one that can turn into a dinosaur), and these make fights feel dynamic and exciting. Every character has a projectile weapon to interrupt heals and chip away damage from a distance, and they’re all capable of running a fleeing player down.
There being only three players at the end means you’re never out of danger, and all combatants are constantly calculating who is the biggest threat as the fight progresses. The way the game lets you jump 30 ft into the air and string jumps together means even the sky isn’t safe. It’s frantic. Positioning, timing, abilities and even which summon support you bring into the final battle – dozens of factors flip through your mind as you trade back and forth with the other two finalists. These climactic battles really capture the best of FromSoftware player fights, spiking your adrenaline until your heart booms out of your chest.
-
The Duskbloods is released on 24 September
-
Kirk McKeand attended a press event in Tokyo with other journalists. Transport and accommodation costs were paid for by Nintendo
Explore more on these topicsShare
Reuse this content
