First Impressions: Network Issues Aside, The Duskbloods Could Wind Up Being Really Special

The Duskbloods 1 — *Image: FromSoftware*

The Duskbloods has been a long time coming – it was first shown off during the Switch 2 Direct in April 2025, if you remember – but it’s finally here. Well, sort of.

Over the past weekend, we – and indeed many of you – had the opportunity to dive into the world of The Duskbloods with its network test, experimenting with six playable ‘Bloodsworn’ characters as we explored the beautiful yet deadly Lands of Dusk. But after a small handful of sessions, what do we make of it so far?

There’s an awful lot to grapple with in The Duskbloods, including Virtue, Ritual Sites, Alliances, Sigils, Kin, and more – not to mention the various weapons and abilities that come with each playable character. So our impressions so far will only barely scratch the surface of what FromSoftware’s new title has to offer, especially when the full game launches later this year.

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So with that said, let’s dive right in.

“I love it all” – Ollie Reynolds, reviews editor

Image: FromSoftware

My time with The Duskbloods was utterly plagued with network issues, which was obviously disappointing in the moment, but I’m going to try and not carry that with me when the full game eventually launches – this is the whole reason for the test, after all. When I did manage to get into some matches, however, I had an absolute blast.

FromSoftware has managed to make The Duskbloods feel completely unique against its other games, despite borrowing elements from each. You’ve got the counter-attack from Elden Ring, the dodge mechanic from Bloodborne, the quadruple jump from… Nope, that’s brand new – and it’s awesome. There’s a lot of new stuff here, actually, and I’m excited to explore all of it properly in the coming months and years.

As someone who generally likes to be left alone in Soulslike games, the PVP element did concern me going into the network test. But honestly, it all works really well. Outside of the Ritual Sites (which are only activated in Phases 2 and 3 at specific times), you don’t have to engage with other players at all. In fact, if you’re worried about being attacked, it’s actually more beneficial to temporarily form an alliance. I can’t wait to see how these systems evolve in the future, and how players manipulate it to gain the upper hand.

What truly blew me away, however, was the look of it all. FromSoftware has mastered the art of the skybox, and The Duskbloods contains some of the most beautifully-coloured backdrops in the company’s history. The architecture, the enemy design (Milhüsa Cavalryman is a right cheeky git), the verticality… I love it all. Give me more.

“Eager to play more” – Gavin Lane, editor

Image: FromSoftware

After the first session was rained off, I managed to get an hour in on Saturday night, scratching the surface of this thing with my boy Zork. Something about that character in particular appealed, to the point that I can see myself making this a Zork game whatever the odds even if the meta shakes out and he’s objectively the worst character.

I’d love to have some piercing insights to share here, but my time with the game so far was FromSoft 101: I spawned in and wandered around for a minute before succumbing to a basic enemy who gave me a good stabbing while I mistimed my attack. Having got to grips with the controls (the quadruple jump feels like cheating) and my attack wind-up, I was taking down some hefty dudes in a great-looking environment when somebody showed up who may have been an ally…but I tried to boom them with my club-thing anyway. A few respawns and restarts later (I had a handful of disconnections) and that was that.

Which makes it sound underwhelming, but quite the contrary – I’m eager to play more and make sense of the systems and the landscape. I just wonder how this game will be when I get to it a year or two from now. As tradition dictates, the launch of a new FromSoft game means I’ll finally get around to playing the old one – in this case, Elden Ring. Fingers crossed this will still be approachable in a couple of years’ time when everyone got gud.

“Wonderfully moody and macabre” – Mai Ladyman, video producer

Image: FromSoftware

I’ve always had a weird time with FromSoftware games (aside from Bloodborne, as it can do no wrong) so I was a little concerned jumping into The Duskbloods. I was expecting it to be brutal, frustrating and sluggish but I felt quite the opposite.

After going through the tutorials and exploring the hub area I tried out a few matches and although I struggled to gain more Virtue than my fellow Bloodsworn I still had a whale of a time! Unsurprisingly the atmosphere was wonderfully moody and macabre, controls were relatively smooth (which is good for newbies to the genre) and above all the Kin feature was possibly my favourite. Each one I tried felt unique but I often found myself picking the Baritone Kin just so I had a hulk of an opera singer performing by my side as I sliced and dice enemies.

Did I reach the final phase at all in matches? I think we both know the answer to that.

What are your thoughts on The Duskbloods after the network test?

It’s a banger, I love it
I’m impressed so far, but I need to see more
It’s okay, not really my thing though
Can’t stand it, get it away
I wasn’t selected / didn’t apply for the network test

Did you have many network issues during The Duskbloods’ test?

None at all
One or two, but it was mostly smooth
Yes, it took a while to find a match
Constant disruptions – what a mess

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