Автор: Online Games VIP Editorial
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Game Informer’s hands-on preview explains The Duskbloods’ competitive structure, Bloodsworn abilities, Kin allies, and the questions still unanswered.
Game Informer’s hands-on preview presents The Duskbloods as a competitive multiplayer game that is broader than its initial PvPvE Soulslike description suggested. After spending several hours with the Switch 2 exclusive at FromSoftware’s Tokyo headquarters, Game Informer reports that the experience combines player-versus-player combat with exploration, enemy encounters, secrets, and boss fights.
According to Game Informer, FromSoftware now believes the original description created an incomplete impression of the game. Battles against other players remain central, but the preview describes a structure in which players also search for advantages and build power before confronting their rivals. The result, based on Game Informer’s hands-on session, is a dense multiplayer format that can appeal beyond players focused exclusively on competitive combat.
The next major evidence arrives with a closed network test scheduled to begin on August 21, with six Bloodsworn characters available in that test. Game Informer’s report offers a detailed look at the systems behind the preview build, while leaving important launch questions unanswered.
Game Informer reports that The Duskbloods has been in development since 2021, during the period when FromSoftware was still working on Elden Ring. The game centers on the Bloodsworn, a group of vampiric and superpowered warriors competing in an event called the Twilight of Humanity. Their goal is to obtain a prize known as First Blood.
Game Informer also reports that FromSoftware president and game director Hidetaka Miyazaki told participating journalists the project was not created as a reaction to Elden Ring’s success or as a continuation of an assumed move toward multiplayer following Elden Ring Nightreign. In the same account, Miyazaki said the game was the project he wanted to make and that FromSoftware is not abandoning single-player games.
The report places the game on Nintendo’s Switch 2. Game Informer says development originally targeted the original Switch, but the team viewed the newer hardware as a fortunate change because the older system would have required compromises. The preview does not establish the nature or scale of those compromises, so that part of the development history remains background rather than a technical assessment.
At launch, more than 10 Bloodsworn characters are planned, according to Game Informer. Six were playable during the preview session and are also expected to be available in the closed network test. Each character uses short-range and long-range weapons alongside individual special abilities, giving character selection a role beyond appearance.
Game Informer describes the core combat as familiar to players of FromSoftware’s Souls games, but the movement system changes how encounters unfold. Bloodsworn characters can jump high and perform four consecutive jumps before they need to land. The preview also reports that these leaps do not cause fall damage. Sprinting does not consume stamina, although stamina still drains when characters attack or dodge.
That combination creates a different relationship with the environment. In Game Informer’s analysis of its session, vertical movement made it possible to cross ground quickly, leap over buildings, or approach enemies from above. This is an interpretation of the preview experience rather than a claim about every map or encounter in the finished game. Still, the reported movement rules suggest that positioning may matter as much as traditional attack timing.
The Bloodsworn can also bite staggered enemies and drain their blood. Game Informer reports that this provides a small health boost and can convert smaller enemies into temporary allies. To create the opening, players must successfully use a howl with parry-like timing before an enemy lands a hit. A successful stagger creates a brief window for the neck bite.
Game Informer’s hands-on analysis identifies several uses for this system. Converted enemies can distract opponents, create additional pressure, or help a player overwhelm a rival. The same parry-like howl can interrupt attacks from other players, and draining another player’s blood causes significant damage, according to the report. These details make the mechanic relevant to both exploration and direct competition rather than limiting it to routine enemy encounters.
Game Informer reports that players can activate special portals to summon entities called Kin. These allies remain with a player for the duration of a match and become stronger as they defeat enemies. The preview compares their role to Spirit Ashes in Elden Ring, while emphasizing that the Kin have their own unusual abilities and presentation.
Eight Kin were available in Game Informer’s session. The report identifies a singing behemoth named Baritone, whose performances provide stat buffs while the creature attacks with wrestling moves. Other reported examples include a gargoyle that improves health and a fast dual-sword warrior that uses lightning. Game Informer does not confirm whether eight is the complete launch roster or whether additional Kin remain unrevealed.
Players can recall a Kin when they do not need its help, and they can replace one by finding another portal. However, Game Informer reports that a replacement begins at Level 1. That creates a clear tradeoff: a newly discovered Kin might suit a situation better, but switching means giving up the progress of a stronger companion.
Analysis: The Kin system could make exploration a strategic investment instead of a detour between player fights. A player who spends time defeating enemies may improve a companion and gain support for a later confrontation. At the same time, a player who encounters a different Kin must decide whether its abilities justify resetting its level. The preview does not establish how long a typical match lasts or how quickly Kin levels increase, so the practical weight of that decision remains to be tested.
Game Informer reports that players select a Bloodsworn in the House of Night, the game’s main hub. The hub includes a training area and other unlockable sections that were not available in the preview build. From there, players queue for Dusk Battles.
Each Dusk Battle places eight players against one another and is divided into four timed phases. Players are gradually eliminated as the match advances, with the last surviving player winning. The report also confirms that the game supports random matchmaking and private lobbies for groups who want to play with friends, based on information Game Informer received from Miyazaki during a group interview.
Victory depends on accumulating Virtue, a resource that can be earned in multiple ways. According to Game Informer, players gain Virtue by defeating rival players, smaller enemies, and powerful bosses. They can also find Virtue-infused corpses and other secrets while exploring. The report begins describing a category called Repulsion Virtue, earned by defeating bosses, but the supplied account ends before explaining the broader Virtue system or its categories in full.
That unfinished portion is important because Virtue appears to connect the game’s competing priorities. Fighting rivals may be the fastest route to immediate progress, while hunting enemies, bosses, or hidden rewards could provide another path. The available reporting confirms those sources of Virtue, but it does not confirm how much each activity awards, whether the resource carries between phases, or how elimination affects a player’s accumulated total.
Analysis: The most significant point in Game Informer’s report is not simply that The Duskbloods has eight-player matches. It is that the game appears to make preparation part of the competition. Players are not only looking for opponents. They are also deciding when to explore, which enemies to defeat, whether to challenge a boss, and how to use their limited time before the battle moves forward.
That design may matter to players who usually prefer FromSoftware’s single-player games. Game Informer’s author identifies as a single-player-minded player and says the hands-on session was enjoyable. That is the publisher’s writer’s assessment of the session, not an OnlineGamesVIP hands-on verdict. Still, the observation points to a possible route into the game for players who are less interested in conventional competitive matchmaking.
The movement system may be equally important. Four consecutive jumps, high vertical reach, and stamina-free sprinting could make travel feel more expressive than in the studio’s traditional Souls games. In analysis, that mobility could also make ambushes, escapes, and rival tracking more dynamic. The source does not provide map layouts, match footage, or details about how environmental design supports these abilities, so players will need more practical evidence before judging how consistently the movement changes combat.
The Kin system adds a second strategic question to character selection. Bloodsworn abilities define a player’s direct toolkit, while Kin provide a companion that develops during a match. The preview confirms the presence of multiple Kin roles, but it does not explain whether players choose them before queuing, discover them only during a battle, or build a preferred combination over time. Those details could strongly affect accessibility and long-term strategy.
What remains unknown
The supplied Game Informer report does not confirm a full launch date, pricing, or the final number of maps and battle environments. It also does not establish whether the closed network test represents the complete match structure or a limited sample. The report confirms that six Bloodsworn will be available in the test, but it does not identify every character or explain how the full roster will differ.
The total Kin roster is also unconfirmed. Game Informer reports eight Kin in the preview session, while noting that it is not known whether this is the complete number planned for launch. Their progression rules need further explanation as well, including how levels are earned and whether Kin retain any progress outside a Dusk Battle.
Players should also watch for a fuller explanation of Virtue. Game Informer confirms several ways to earn the resource and mentions Repulsion Virtue, but the supplied article text ends during that explanation. The remaining categories, the impact of each phase, and the conditions for elimination are therefore not confirmed here.
The closed network test should provide the next meaningful check on the preview’s conclusions. Players will be able to assess matchmaking, pacing, network performance, character balance, and whether exploration feels rewarding under real match pressure. Until those results and further official details are available, Game Informer’s report supports a clear conclusion: The Duskbloods is built around competitive battles, but its identity also depends on what players do before they confront one another.