FromSoftware’s next title, The Duskbloods, looks certain to follow in the footsteps of its cult favourites.
After a string of smash hits like Bloodborne, Dark Souls 3, Sekiro and Elden Rin — which elevated FromSoftware to fan-favourite status — the studio seems to have entered a more experimental era.
There’s many reasons to welcome this; a studio that’s filled with such obvious talent, flexing its creative muscles and pursuing the projects that it wants to is cause for celebration. However, these newer titles have naturally come with a slightly more polarised reception.
Armoured Core 6 was a welcome return to the franchise for dedicated fans of that series, but the sharp deviation from what players associate with FromSoftware — i.e. the Souls-like genre — led to a more muted success.
However, compared to what came after, Armoured Core might seem more in line with what you’d expect from their previous works. Elden Ring: Nightreign was a co-operative multiplayer, rogue-like effort which utilised mechanics similar to those found in Fortnite, to create a gameplay loop.
Is The Duskbloods Gameplay Souls-like?
It’s difficult to say to what extent The Duskbloods, releasing as a Switch 2 exclusive in 2026, will feature the gameplay loop introduced in Demon’s Souls, and later popularised by Dark Souls.
On the one-hand, its description as an action role-playing game is very much in-line with how the studio defines its other Souls-likes, but the multiplayer component creates a gameplay loop which will likely be very different from their other games.
If you define Souls-like as the way that the combat flows; challenging combat with fragments of lore scattered around the world and a central character which you gradually upgrade, The Duskbloods might fit the criteria.
However, if you also require that game to be single-player and narratively focused, with a map that you gradually explore and unlock, then it’s likely not what you’re looking for. In that case, it would instead be described as a PvPvE game.
Will it Play like Elden Ring: Nightreign?
Elden Ring: Nightreign was released to players back in May of this year, and players got their first taste of what a multiplayer-driven FromSoftware game looks like.
The game received generally positive reviews, and the developers have kept their ear to the ground with regular Elden Ring updates.
Is it a good template for what to expect from The Duskbloods, however? Perhaps not.
While Nightreign was strictly a co-operative experience that had players team up to survive its hostile world, The Duskbloods director and auteur, Hidetaka Miyazaki, has stressed that the game is about putting you in competition with both other players and non-player enemies.
There will be a traditional FromSoftware hub world, from which a player can enter online games that host up to eight players. The winners of these games will receive rewards which can be used to permanently upgrade their character, before beginning the loop again.
While each game is won by whoever is the last one left alive, certain matches will have special conditions — such as the defeat of a boss, for example. Miyazaki has stated that ‘victory points’ will be implemented to help decide the outcome of a given match.
The Duskbloods Setting and Story
FromSoftware are known for their evocative worlds and striking art style, making even their games set in worlds closer to our own — like Sekiro — more richly fantastical than many other games on the market. The Duskbloods will be no exception, though it looks as though it’s going to be drawing on a greater variety of historical and thematic inspirations for its setting.
There is a very clear gothic inspiration, from the vampire-esque Bloodsworn who are the player characters, to the gloomy sunsets and high spires.
That alone might have people comparing it to Bloodborne, but The Duskbloods also incorporates a steampunk aesthetic through trains, and what looks like a flying, antiquated robotic character. To mix things up further, there are many fantasy elements thrown in; a giant smiling moon resembling the one from Majora’s Mask, and even the ability for players to transform into dinosaurs.
It’s difficult to see how all of these different elements are going to come together, but Miyazaki has described this melting pot as being part of the narrative.
The Duskbloods actually takes place across multiple different timelines and eras, with characters all looking for something called the First Blood during the Twilight of Humanity. This will no doubt be a way to make one match feel distinct from another, as well as an opportunity for FromSoftware to flex their creative design muscles in these environments.
When is The Duskbloods Release Date?
The finer details of the release window aren’t yet known, with ‘2026’ being the extent of what’s been revealed.
Aside from that, it’s been announced as an exclusive for the Nintendo Switch 2, which is new for the company, given that they haven’t historically developed for Nintendo consoles.
It comes alongside news of a Switch 2 Elden Ring port.
For diehard FromSoftware fans, however, this news might be what tips them over to buying Nintendo’s latest console, even if the game represents a departure from what the studio is known for.
