The Duskbloods isn't just 'Nintendo Bloodborne', it's better than Elden Ring: Nightreign

FromSoftware’s Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, The Duskbloods, recently finally invited players to see what it’s all about - and despite some initial technical hiccups, I actually quite enjoyed it.

Before I dive into my thoughts and feelings, I can confidently say that my time with The Duskbloods was more enjoyable than Elden Ring: Nightreign. That’s not to say I don’t like Nightreign, but aside from the odd game with friends, it never gave me much of a reason to stick around.

The Duskbloods felt different however. Once the server issues were mended and players could finally jump into some matches, it was clear this is more than FromSoftware trying to relive its Bloodborne glory days.

Learning how to play The Duskbloods with help from Zork

You’ll no doubt have seen some of the memes online, but when it came time to select a character, I felt compelled to choose Zork.

This goofy little guy perfectly exemplifies why The Duskbloods is a completely different animal to any other FromSoftware game.

Each character has their own unique design, fighting style, special abilities and general stat loadout. As a strength build aficionado, Zork looked like the right choice for me and boy oh boy was I correct.

Aside from his heavy weapon and bulky armour, Zork’s ability lets him ascend into the air and become a living missile directed at anything you’re locked on to.

I let out a hearty chuckle every time I chased down a fleeing player with this move, and even when I went off course and paid the price, it was still a good laugh. His other move is a missile barrage, which was great for pummelling enemies at range.

Once you’re accustomed to what your character can do, your objective is to kill. Like Elden Ring: Nightreign, slaying enemies gradually levels you up, but what I love about The Duskbloods is there’s no penalty for biting off more than you can chew. If you die, your level remains the same, meaning you can spawn back in and have another go, or wander off in search of easier prey.

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Sigils are scattered throughout the map hiding powerful NPC allies, which you can summon like eldritch Pokémon to help you overpower foes, or just draw their attention while you heal up from afar. Again, this gave me a good laugh, especially one that sang opera before giving an unsuspected enemy the prime Hoarah Loux experience (just straight hands and elbow drops).

The ultimate goal is to raise your level as high as possible within the time-limit, as the players with the lowest rank get eliminated from the game.

Those fortunate or skilled enough to make it to the end take part in one final battle against your fellow survivors, for the ultimate glory.

In essence, that’s what I loved most about The Duskbloods, and it completely rid me of my woes over the game being PvPvE.

Despite being enemies, you can develop an odd kinship with the other players. Some in-game events even see you all team-up to hunt a major boss, and you can even initiate pacts that let you partner up till the very end.

Alternatively, you can go completely ravenous and slay whatever stands in your way, man or beast.

I had a lot more fun with this short Network Test than I’ve ever had with Nightreign, and it did exactly what it was supposed to do; it left me wanting more in the best way.

The Duskbloods' Nintendo Switch 2 performance

Now I’ve seen plenty of gamers take issue with The Duskblood online. It’s receiving hate for both the gameplay and the graphics/performance, but I can’t honestly say I struggled with either.

Sure, the game would probably look and play better on the Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and PC, but throughout my several matches, I had no hardships with connectivity, framerates, etc.

Plus visually speaking, the game looks gorgeous. In both docked and undocked mode, the map felt just as stylised as any other FromSoftware game, even if it had been created for weaker hardware. It feels like some just can’t accept that it’s a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, though I can fully understand that logic.

The Duskbloods is not Bloodborne 2. It has plenty of similarities with the PlayStation exclusive, but they’re only skin-deep. At its core, it’s a different beast.

It’s also, in my opinion, the best multiplayer game FromSoftware has developed so far, but I’ll of course be reevaluating that stance when I’ve played the full game.

The Duskbloods is still tough as nails, but slightly more forgiving than Nightreign was. Nightreign’s challenge pushed players to their limits if they wanted a somewhat smooth run to the final boss, whereas The Duskbloods seemingly has more supportive measures to keep you from falling behind.

At the time of writing, The Duskbloods still doesn’t have a release date, but it’s reportedly still coming out this year exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2.