My experience with “Soulsborne” games is pretty much just the Demon’s Souls remake from 2020, but I keep trying to remember to play Bloodborne once this year slows down with all its massive releases. In the meantime, I got to check out the closed network test for its spiritual successor – The Duskbloods. It’s definitely not what I expected, but I had a total blast during the test, and I feel more motivated to finally take a cold plunge into Bloodborne and its kin as a result of it.
Though I knew it was some sort of multiplayer-oriented Souls game, I didn’t anticipate it taking on its boon-based format. Throughout the first few rounds, you run around a large map trying to gather buffs and experience points to make yourself as strong as possible. You’re also trying to collect Virtue – a type of currency that keeps you from being eliminated in later rounds. It can be extremely tense to encounter your rivals during the prep period – especially if they’ve gotten significantly stronger than you – though the punishments for dying aren’t too harsh, keeping the competition from feeling unfair as you make yourself stronger.
Credit: Nintendo
Additionally, you can choose to ally up with other players during these earlier rounds, creating alliances to take on stronger enemies and the like. You can leave an alliance whenever you want, so there’s a lot of potential for deception and the like that I enjoyed. If NPCs are more your thing, there are computer-controlled party members you can invoke in certain spots that help quite a bit with taking on the many threats you’ll have to deal with. Plus, they’ve got pretty ridiculous designs, which are all appealing in different, gnarly ways.
The real drama comes if you make it to the last round, as you’ve got to survive against the people you’ve likely either killed or been killed by. I managed to squeak out a win during my time with the closed network test, but it was certainly hard-won. The experience of trying to make your character as powerful as possible in a limited time is both panic-inducing and blood-pumping, and I really dug the “pressure-cooker” feeling that came with trying to both survive and grow more powerful in the freaky, gothic world of the game.
Credit: Nintendo
The Duskbloods plunges you into a truly unsettling world.
Speaking of which, the aesthetic is easily one of the game’s best parts thus far. The dark, creepy architecture, the ghoulish enemies, and the unsettling playable character designs all craft a distinctly eerie feeling that I love. The sound is similarly engrossing, as the nasty squelches and slashes add another layer of immersion to the mix. I think my only gripe with what I played was that a ton of information was constantly being presented to me throughout my playtime, with all sorts of lore terms and control schemes being introduced, which could feel a bit overwhelming as a less-experienced Soulsborne player.
I came away from The Duskbloods’ closed network test more interested in the game and its predecessors than I was prior. The gameplay loop is both well-tuned and unique, making for an experience that’s likely to offer Soulsborne fans a refreshing twist on the familiar formula whilst still being completely accessible for newcomers. There’s no specific release date yet, but it’ll come to the Nintendo Switch 2 at some point in 2026.
