If you've played a FromSoftware "Soulslike" during the past decade and a half, you probably know what to expect from the developer's games: white-knuckle combat, challenging and grotesque monsters, and inventive online interactions with other players both friendly and adversarial. FromSoftware's next game, The Duskbloods, will feel familiar in that sense. In it, players take on the role of supernatural beings known as Bloodsworn who hunt grisly creatures. Players will do so with the aid — and interference — of other players in online play.

But The Duskbloods focuses less on players charging forward against challenging odds, dying repeatedly, and charging forward again. It is instead a match-based multiplayer game in which eight players fight to earn victory points called Virtue, following multiple possible pathways to victory.

FromSoftware has described The Duskbloods as a PvPvE game. That's accurate, in that there are player-versus-player moments, including each match's final contest. But much of the game can be played fighting against the environment, and rarely facing off against other players. During a hands-on gameplay preview at FromSoftware's headquarters in Tokyo, I focused as much as I could on the PvE aspects of The Duskbloods, slaying hordes of creatures, powering up my character, and collecting items from the environment.

My strategy was successful enough that I ultimately won five of the matches we played as a group. But some matches were a total bust, and the PvP-focused players were victorious.

OK, so what is The Duskbloods?

In The Duskbloods, players choose a prebuilt character called a Bloodsworn. The pre-built nature of the characters is similar to those of Elden Ring Nightreign. Each has a close-range melee weapon and a long-range attack, and all characters have unique special abilities and superpowers, some of which unlock over the course of a match.

Bloodsworn all share one thing in common: They're all good at jumping, making them capable of easily navigating the highly vertical environments of The Duskbloods' maps. Characters can triple jump, air dash, and perform a Superman-like leap to scale buildings, hop onto bridges, or cross vast chasms.

Bloodsworn have another ability in common. They can "Howl" to stagger enemies, similar to the stunning effect of Bloodborne's firearms. Bloodsworn can then "Drink Blood" from a staggered foe to refill their health and spellbind certain foes to make them temporary allies.

In FromSoftware's upcoming network test for The Duskbloods, six Bloodsworn are playable. More are expected for the game's 2026 launch on Nintendo Switch 2. The current list of Bloodsworn includes easy-to-grasp characters like Albert, who fights with a sword, submachine gun, and whips of blood, and weirdos like Zork, a man in a metal diving suit who uses a length of undersea cable and a speargun to fight. Zork can also take off like a rocket ship, thanks to his built-in jetpack.

Players of past FromSoftware games will find some analogs in the Bloodsworn cast. Chakram user Trang Lanh fights like Nightreign's Duchess, while Zork is a classic Dark Souls "fat roll" type of fighter. But FromSoftware clearly isn't afraid to get weird with the playable roster: One character unlocks the ability to transform into a hungry dinosaur as he levels up.

How matches work in The Duskbloods

Matches of The Duskbloods, known as Dusk Battles, require eight players, based on the network test build I played. Each match can be played solo or in duos. Players matchmake into a game and are transported to one of the game's maps. I played exclusively on Lawanro City, a Victorian city that features a handful of key landmarks: a giant clock tower, an underground sewer system, a large cathedral, and a shallow lake. Forests, caves, and bridges flesh out the map.

Players can choose which sector of the map they want to spawn into, both at the start of the game and after dying. There's little to no penalty for dying, though it takes you out of the game for a moment and other players may benefit from your death.

Once on the map, your mission is explicit: earn Virtue. These points are akin to victory points in tabletop games, as The Duskbloods' design was directly influenced by games like The Settlers of Catan, in which players have multiple avenues to victory.

In The Duskbloods, players can earn Virtue in various ways, including slaying other players or killing major bosses that spawn on the map. Players can also earn Virtue outside of combat, by looting items and power-ups, or by successfully completing certain match conditions. Some Virtue points are earned rather esoterically, but those options typically pay out in big numbers.

Here are the eight ways to earn Virtue in The Duskbloods, from their in-game descriptions:

•                                 **Sword**- Earn by defeating other Bloodsworn at a ritual site. Defeating Bloodsworn outside of ritual sites does not earn this kind of Virtue.
  

•                                 **Pledge**- Blood Pledge pillars can be found within each ritual site. Swear to them to earn Pledge Virtue. This Virtue is lost if the pledge is overwritten by another Bloodsworn.
  

•                                 **Repulsion**- Defeat Great Foes (field bosses) and Trespassers (major bosses battled cooperatively)
  

•                                 **Flame**- Rewards exploration and lighting a flame within the skull of a corpse sitting in a chair. Large corpses provide large amounts of Virtue, but only the first Bloodsworn to arrive can light the flame.
  

•                                 **Commendation**- Bloodfang (earned by defeating enemies) and Collector (earned by acquiring items, the rarer the better) commendations
  

•                                 **Other**- Acquire Virtue by completing Sigil objectives or collected as random items.
  

•                                 **Redstones**- Can be claimed from rock plinths. Taking one and defeating other Bloodsworn will earn the holder additional Sword Virtue.
  

•                                 **Goldstones**- Can be claimed from rock plinths. Swearing to a blood pledge pillar will earn additional Pledge Virtue.
  

Like Elden Ring Nightreign, players will be constantly on the move searching for new combat encounters, mobs of creatures to kill, and bosses to fight in The Duskbloods to earn their Virtue. It's frantic.

A match consists of four phases, each of which lasts a set amount of time. Phase one has players fighting to earn Virtue and level up their character. At the end of phases two and three, the players with the lowest number of Virtue points are "culled" from the group. Phase four is the final section, in which the remaining players face each other in player-versus-player combat. The ultimate victor receives the final prize, Moonblood.

Kith and kin (and zeppelins)

Players won't have to fight alone in The Duskbloods. They can form ad hoc alliances with other players to improve their odds or follow the rules of Sigils, some of which encourage alliances. Players can also find assistant characters that fight alongside them. These NPCs are called Kin, and like the Bloodsworn, they all have their own special powers and combat abilities.

During the network test build I played, I fought alongside a wide variety of Kin, which are plucked from golden portals found across the map. One of my go-to Kin was Undead Marlowe, an immortal street urchin who fights with a dagger and can poison enemies. Another personal favorite — and a big surprise during my first encounter with him — was Baritone, a towering opera singer who buffs a Bloodsworn by belting out solos. Baritone also employs a lot of Zangief-style wrestling moves in combat.

Kin can be invaluable in a match of The Duskbloods. Like Bloodsworn, they level up and become stronger over time, unlocking special abilities. Undead Marlowe, for instance, unlocks the ability to end his life in an explosive manner, spreading a large cloud of poison in an area when his health is low.

Here are all the Kin I experienced during my 10 hours with The Duskbloods:

•                                 **Undead Marlowe**- Immortal street urchin and down on his luck delinquent.
  

•                                 **Baritone**- Former opera singer, his singing boosts physical and stagger defense for nearby allies.
  

•                                 **Thaumaturge Avester**- A sorcerer with mastery over flame.
  

•                                 **Nia, Sister of the Briar**- A young, well-trained sword fighter. Excels at quick movement and rapid onslaughts.
  

•                                 **Gargoyle**- A half-petrified woman of the cloth, she can move through the aid of a great serpent. Heals and raises max HP.
  

•                                 **Gunslinger Beatrice**- A gunner who specializes in providing support, proficient in close quarters combat.
  

•                                 **Black Wulf of Mars**- A black wolf who hunts its parents’ killer.
  

•                                 **Valentius the Unwise**- Emperor from antiquity known for being a gourmand. Rides around in a chariot and recovers HP by consuming delicacies. Enemies prioritize him as a target.
  

In addition to allied Kin, players can follow the rules of Sigils to earn an ally (or eliminate a rival target). When players equip a Sigil, they'll define a match's rules for themselves and another player. Examples include the Sigil of an Old Friend, in which players are tasked with finding another player who is designated as their "once-bonded" and forming an alliance. Fighting together until the final phase will earn each player additional Virtue.

There's also Sigil of Love Ephemeral, which is similar, but basically requires one player proposing marriage to another by performing the emote “Flowers for You” close to their "lost love."

There are antagonistic Sigils as well. One will mark another player as a heretic, which the Sigil-wearer is tasked with hunting down. Players who are marked as a target by other players' Sigils will earn additional virtue if they slay their pursuer.

Further mixing up the rules of matches are randomized in-game events. In one event type, a zeppelin will appear in the skies, and players will receive an item called a Transmitter that will let them call in airstrikes on their enemies. In another event, players will see meteorites fall from the heavens. These fragments can be collected for Virtue.

Here are the events I saw during my time with The Duskbloods:

•                                 **Nearle Storm**- A powerful magnetic storm causes all Bloodsworn to be transported to a faraway place. A Nearle Arrow will be obtained which can be used to swap positions with an opponent.
  

•                                 **Star Fragment**- Fragments come crashing down to earth, and Virtue is awarded to the BS who holds them. Star fragments leave a glimmering trail as they fall. Defend held fragments until the end of the phase.
  

•                                 **Prowling Sword Lion**- A Lodomerien zeppelin attacks, every player will receive a Transmitter item that can be used to request support fire
  

•                                 **Dusk’s Toll**- Those who ring the bell earn Virtue. The effect of Goldstones is enhanced. The blessing granted will diminish each time the bell is rung.
  

•                                 **Bloodsac Gala**- Hunt down Bloodsacs [**Ed. note:**Bloodsacs are little scurrying guys, similar to*Demon's Souls*Crystal Lizards and*Elden Ring*'s Scarabs. They drop Bloodsworn power-ups called Powers of Blood.]
  

These in-game events, a variety of Bloodsworn and Kin, and various rules defined by Sigils should help The Duskbloods feel fresh match to match. During my hands-on time with the game, no two Dusk Battles ever felt the same, as randomization and experimentation help fuel the drive to keep going again and again.

Even after 10 hours of hands-on time with the game, there's still plenty more to learn. We haven't even touched the option to customize characters or learn about their histories. Yes, there's a story element to The Duskbloods that's still to be revealed, but it will play out over time as players experience more in FromSoftware's new world.

The Duskbloods' network test runs from Aug. 21-24. The game does not yet have an official release date beyond 2026, but it's coming exclusively to Switch 2.