After spending eight hours with The Duskbloods’ technical test, I finally understand what this game is. Let’s start at the beginning.
The Duskbloods has been labeled a PvPvE game, and that’s not entirely wrong. You and seven other Bloodsworn explore a map crawling with enemies. Killing enemies (not necessarily players) and completing objectives awards you with Virtue. The players with the least amount of Virtue are culled over a series of rounds until three remain. The final three are transported to an arena where they duke it out for “First Blood,” a mysterious substance that the Bloodsworn are hunting down.
Matches last roughly 30 minutes and are split into four phases. Bloodsworn must choose how to spend their limited time. They can kill basic enemies to level up, hunt down bosses, track down objects and items that award Virtue, and so on. The key is to be efficient with your time.
As you explore the map, you might run into other players. You can duke it out, but–in most cases–fighting other Bloodsworn won’t net you any Virtue. There are exceptions to this, but typically fighting another player just wastes precious time. Alternatively, you could forge an alliance with them which will prevent you and your new friend from accidentally hitting each other. This alliance dissolves if you both make it to the final round.
At the end of phase two and phase three, ritual sites appear on the map. Inside these zones, players will find stationary columns of light that can be claimed. Holding on to these pillars nets you a good amount of Virtue. These segments almost play out like a game of king of the hill. Multiple Bloodsworn converge on the ritual site and battle it out for control.
However, holding onto these ritual sites isn’t the only way to earn Virtue. Killing other players within the ritual site also rewards you with points. This allows players to take a more offensive or defensive approach in the final few minutes of phase 2 and 3. However, you don’t have to go to the ritual site. You can chase other objectives, but you’ll likely fall behind the pack if you do.
At the end of phase two and three, two Bloodsword and three Bloodsworn are culled respectively. The final three players are warped to an arena to throw down.
Fundamentally, The Duskbloods plays like Elden Ring or Bloodborne. You have a light and heavy attack, a block and a roll, and a ranged weapon. However, the Bloodsworn are a lot more mobile. They can jump incredibly high and dash mid-air to cover more ground. Each character has a unique melee and ranged weapon and two skills tied to a cooldown.
In the technical test, players will be able to choose from six different characters: Albert, Trang Lanh, Bloodhand Jan, Sniper Layla, Senator Samir Patres, and Zork. Each Bloodsworn fits into a From Software character archetype we’ve come to expect.
There’s an added wrinkle to matches, though. Inspired by tabletop RPGs, The Duskbloods introduces a customization mechanic called Sigils. These items alter a Bloodsworn’s backstory and encourage role-playing within a match by giving your character a specific objective.
Rival Bloodsworn are assigned passive Sigils based on your Sigil and unknowingly play a role in your quest. For example, one Sigil marks another player as your sworn enemy, and hunting them down will earn you extra Virtue. Another one tasks you with tracking down an old friend and forming an alliance with them. One particularly interesting Sigil has you find your lost love who also happens to be another player and propose to them.
These Sigils get more complicated as you progress, but they are relatively simple for the purposes of the technical test.
In between matches you return to a hub area called The House of Night where you can customize your Bloodsworn, wail on a training dummy, and presumably talk to other characters. Most of these areas within the House of Night are locked down for the technical test.
That’s an overview on how a typical match plays out in The Duskbloods. Check out our in-depth preview or interview with game director Hidetaka Miyazaki if you’d like to learn more about From Software’s Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive.
