Interview on Creator's Voice Blog: Hidetaka Miyazaki Discusses the Duskbloods (First Installment)
In the world of gaming, FromSoftware has made a name for itself with its intricate and challenging titles, such as Dark Souls and Bloodborne. Now, the studio is venturing into new territory with their upcoming release, The Duskbloods, a PvPvE game set in a gothic, Victorian-era inspired world.
At its core, The Duskbloods is a multiplayer game where up to eight players assume the role of warriors known as "Bloodsworn". These super-human beings, with special powers due to their blood, face off against each other and various hostile NPC enemies in a deadly contest known as the "First Blood".
The game's core gameplay involves competing to achieve "victory points" that determine the match's winner. Players engage in direct combat with others but can also adopt opportunistic strategies to gain advantages. While matches are generally last-player-standing, there are unique scenarios where players may need to cooperate temporarily to defeat powerful bosses or fulfill other special conditions before continuing the PvP competition.
The Duskbloods features tough PvE boss fights designed to challenge players and reward skill development, maintaining a balance between PvP and PvE elements. Dynamic world events can alter the course of matches by spawning special enemies or introducing extra objectives, providing players with bonus rewards and shaking up the competitive environment. Matches conclude with rewards granted regardless of victory or defeat, emphasising progression and learning through gameplay rather than solely winning.
Hidetaka Miyazaki, the director of The Duskbloods, developed this game by FromSoftware. The development path for The Duskbloods was revamped to accommodate the new hardware of the Nintendo Switch 2. The new hardware's focus on online features allowed the developers to stay true to the original vision of The Duskbloods.
A Nintendo Switch Online membership is required for online features in The Duskbloods. The game is slated to launch exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2 in 2026. It's interesting to note that while Nintendo Switch 2 software for Elden Ring is planned for release in 2025, the game is a single-player focused game that embraces FromSoftware's more traditional style.
Blood in The Duskbloods symbolizes the game's key themes, including history, power, fate, and surpassing human limitations. It's used conceptually in the game, rather than for literal depictions of injury. The title, The Duskbloods, refers to the Bloodsworn characters controlled by the player.
In conclusion, The Duskbloods brings a competitive yet strategic PvPvE experience in a dark gothic setting with a progression system influenced by skill acquisition and multiplayer dynamics. It distinguishes itself from similar FromSoftware titles by focusing heavily on multiplayer extraction-style combat with player-versus-player and player-versus-environment elements.
- FromSoftware's upcoming release, The Duskbloods, has been developed specifically for the new hardware of the Nintendo Switch 2.
- Players will need a Nintendo Switch Online membership to access the online features in The Duskbloods.
- The game The Duskbloods is set to launch exclusively on the Nintendo Switch 2 in 2026.
- In The Duskbloods, blood symbolizes power, fate, history, and surpassing human limitations conceptually, rather than as literal depictions of injury.
){kind=link}