If you’d told me two years ago that Nintendo and FromSoftware would team up on an online PvPvE Switch 2 exclusive that’s also kind of a spiritual successor to Bloodborne, my first reaction would have been, “it’s called the Switch 2??” But jokes aside, I would’ve found this collaboration hard to believe.
FromSoftware is one of the hottest devs on the planet right now, but its games rarely come to Nintendo platforms. Nintendo is publishing this game outside of Japan, and you can count all of the M-rated games the typically family-friendly company has ever published on basically two hands. Both companies also have long histories of fairly clunky online multiplayer, making the type of game they’ve gone in on together stand out even more. On paper, it’s a bizarre partnership, but after spending around eight hours with The Duskbloods network test last weekend, I totally get it now.
In IGN’s interview with FromSoftware’s Hidetaka Miyazaki, he spoke about how the deal came to be, stating that Nintendo was “very excited and receptive” to the idea from the jump. And now that I’ve played it, it’s so easy to see why folks at Nintendo thought this would be a good fit for Switch, because once you go beneath the surface of its wonderfully grotesque, unwelcoming exterior that’s right in line with FromSoftware’s house style, The Duskbloods plays so much like a classic multiplayer Nintendo game.
Before I jumped into the network test, a coworker pointed out that The Duskbloods is basically Bloodborne mixed with Kirby Air Ride’s City Trial (or Super Smash Bros. for 3DS’ Smash Run), and I can’t unsee that comparison. A bunch of players drop into a large map and have a limited amount of time to level up, find new powers, and contend with random field events, all in preparation for a final round where one player is crowned the victor.
It’s stuffed with crazy powerups and last-second comebacks, and it all revolves around a core belief that you don’t have to be the best, or even win, to still have a great time. That philosophy has fueled the best Nintendo party games like Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. for decades, and The Duskbloods takes those concepts and brilliantly packages them in a very different, bloodstained wrapper. I only claimed victory in a single match over the whole weekend, but every time I lost the final bout or was culled before I got there, I excitedly queued right up to try again.
My favorite moment happened because of a random item I found that completely turned the tide in my favor. I don’t remember its exact name – and screenshots and video capture were disabled for the Network Test so I can’t really check – but it was essentially a pocket watch that let me add 30 seconds to the phase’s countdown timer. Nobody knew I had this power, and it was up to me to use its shock factor to the greatest effect.
I waited patiently to strike, perched high above a stake I wished to claim as my own to earn enough Virtue Points to advance to the next phase. Its current holder was defending the perimeter, but with about 10 seconds to go, they left to rack up some last-second kills. 10 seconds isn’t really enough time for someone to show up and steal those precious points, right? But 40 seconds is. I turned back time, leapt down, and stole the virtue for myself, just barely earning enough to move onto my first-ever finale. I promptly got crushed, but I didn’t care. That brief moment of triumph is what I’ll carry with me.
Despite loving Elden Ring and Nightreign, FromSoftware PvP has never been my strong suit. I play all sorts of other competitive multiplayer games, but something about FromSoftware’s methodical combat has never entirely clicked with me. So, I didn’t really expect to like The Duskbloods all that much. But apparently, Miyazaki designed The Duskbloods with a similar perspective in mind: “Personally, I am not very great at these high-intensity action games and things like PvP,” Miyazaki said. “So, at the start, the audience really is just myself while thinking about how I would go at this. Are there systems in place that I would enjoy, that cater to me as a player, not being someone who's really into that intense PvP? That's a lot of where it starts.”
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.ign.com/articles/the-duskbloods-feels-like-a-nintendo-party-game-in-a-bloody-wrapper
