FromSoftware unveiled a new exclusive for Nintendo’s new console during this week’s Switch 2 Direct. The Duskbloods had an ominous trailer, showing lots of action, horrors, and magic. In a new interview, we’re now learning much more about FromSoft’s plans for this multiplayer experience.
Nintendo posted a three-part interview series with The Duskbloods director Hidetaka Miyazaki, going over what The Duskbloods is, and how it’s different from other FromSoftware games.
Despite the multiplayer PvPvE focus, Miyazaki has assured fans that FromSoftware will keep making single-player focused games. But with The Duskbloods, the studio is experimenting, with everything from general game type to having a cute hub keeper.
Here are some of the major takeaways we’ve learned about The Duskbloods from this new set of interviews.
The meaning of ‘The Duskbloods’
While the name, aesthetic, and constant mention of blood might bring to mind another FromSoftware title, Miyazaki said The Duskbloods refers to the Bloodsworn themselves. These Bloodsworn—the characters players control—are people who have achieved superhuman abilities through special blood, similar to vampires.
“We tried to extract the sort of romantic aspects we found interesting from concepts such as vampires and ‘blood’ and reinterpreted them as the Bloodsworn,” Miyazaki said.
The Duskblood is a collective term for these characters, who all partake in a bid for First Blood, which flows during an event known as the “Twilight of Humanity.”
There’s no set time or place for The Duskbloods
Because the Twilight of Humanity takes place across different times and locales, there is no “fixed era or location” to pin down when or where The Duskbloods takes place.
“There are more traditional Gothic- or Victorian-style maps as well as those depicting the closing years of the early modern period, like the one glimpsed in the trailer with the train running through it,” Miyazaki said.
You can choose between different characters
In a manner that sounds similar to the upcoming Elden Ring Nightreign, players can choose from “over a dozen” characters in The Duskbloods. Each character can also be customized, and you’ll swap between those options in a main hub area.
While characters will each have their own abilities, it sounds like some skills are universal. The Bloodsworn fighters are essentially superhuman, so they can sprint, super jump, and double jump. Additionally, every character is equipped with “some means of attacking from a distance,” which Miyazaki said he feels is one of The Duskblood’s “unique aspects” when compared with previous FromSoftware games.
Progression doesn’t rely solely on victory
A key component of The Duskbloods is the PvPvE set-up. Online matches support up to eight players, vying for a win. Miyazaki said online matches are “generally” last player standing, but there are “certain cases where victory conditions differ.” He gave the example of players being tasked with teaming up to take down a powerful boss, or “other special circumstances.”
“Regardless of whether it’s PvP or PvE, the idea is to provide players with an experience that allows them to learn and hone their skills as they play,” Miyazaki said. “We’ve therefore designed the PvE boss encounters to present a tough challenge and a sense of accomplishment upon defeating them.”
Obtaining “Victory Points,” which ultimately decide the outcome of a match, can happen in a few different ways. Direct combat is one, but engaging in more “opportunistic behavior” is also an option. And Miyazaki noted that when players return to the hub after a match, they receive a reward whether they won or lost.
Events can shake up the match
There will be world events through the event system, which has the potential to shake up a match. This can range from special enemy spawns to additional objectives, all with bonus rewards offered.
Miyazaki drew attention to a portion of The Duskbloods trailer, where a giant stone face loomed in the sky. “This is one example of the events that can occur in a match,” Miyazaki said. “In this case, the appearance of this stone face affects the environment and changes match rewards, which can have an immediate impact on player motivations and objectives.”
Players will have personal objectives and roles, too
While First Blood is something worth chasing, Miyazaki said there will also be “personal objectives” to provide separate rewards for players.
It’s unclear whether these fully tie into another system Miyazaki also mentioned, called “roles.” While online, roles offer players unique circumstances and opportunities to interact with each other. He outlined a few examples, like the “Destined Rival,” which tasks a player with finding and defeating another player. Doing this will count as a personal goal, separate from the overall victory conditions.
Roles can be assigned to characters through customization, so players can roleplay a bit and, as Miyazaki said, add to the “drama” of these engagements.
Lore will be delived through customization
FromSoftware is no stranger to putting some deep lore in its games. And there will, of course, be lore in The Duskbloods.
“One thing I love doing in any game I direct is leaving fragments of lore and worldbuilding details, allowing the player the fun of using their imagination to make connections,” Miyazaki said. “The Duskbloods is no exception to this.”
However, for The Duskbloods, Miyazaki said the team is going about it a little differently from previous games. Fragments are found in character customization items, the “blood history and fate.” Customizing characters, analyzing and altering their blood history and fate, will reveal more information about the world and its story.
“Focusing these elements on the concept of ‘blood’ or ‘blood history and fate’ allowed for a deeper exploration of customization and is another reason we placed the Bloodsworn as the protagonists,” Miyazaki said.
FromSoftware is certainly painting an interesting picture, but we’ll have to wait a little bit to see the image fully realized, as The Duskbloods is currently planned to be a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive sometime in 2026.
For now, you can check out more info about the Switch 2 by reading over our first-hands on with Nintendo’s newest console, or read up on the sudden delay of Switch 2 pre-orders here.
Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.
