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Why FromSoftware’s The Duskbloods Cured My FOMO and Left Me Confused
After playing the closed network test for FromSoftware's Switch 2 exclusive The Duskbloods, our resident veteran explains why the PC FOMO completely vanished.
As a devoted Tarnished with hundreds of hours logged in Elden Ring and an embarrassing amount of time poured into Nightreign, the initial anxiety of missing out on FromSoftware’s next multiplayer venture was agonizing. Hearing that The Duskbloods would launch as a Switch 2 exclusive hit my PC-centric soul hard. However, after spending the weekend slogging through the closed network test, that FOMO evaporated faster than stamina on a heavy roll.
To be entirely fair to Hidetaka Miyazaki and his crew, network tests are rarely designed to woo players with polished first impressions. The weekend build restricted us to a single map, a meager roster of six pre-built characters, zero build customization, and a solo queue that felt like shouting into a void. Coupled with borderline unplayable input lag whether docked or in handheld mode on the Switch 2, I spent my first few hours fighting the hardware rather than the enemies. It was a chaotic baptism by fire, and not in the satisfying way we usually expect from this studio.
A PlayStation 2 Relic Disguised as a Modern Nightmare
What genuinely fascinates me about The Duskbloods isn’t necessarily how it plays right now, but how defiantly bizarre it feels in the modern gaming landscape of 2026. At times, navigating its systems felt akin to firing up an obscure PlayStation 2 rental from Blockbuster—a title with an eccentric multiplayer framework born before battle royales and hero shooters standardized the industry. Reading tutorial prompts telling me to ‘obtain Virtue at Sites of Ritual on the Eve of the Third Moon’ delivered that delicious, deliciously opaque FromSoftware flavor I crave, even if it provided zero practical help for survival.
Ultimately, The Duskbloods might still blossom into a twisted masterpiece once netcode issues are ironed out, tutorials are fleshed out, and full progression is unlocked. But as it stands today, it feels like an aimless collection of fascinating mechanics that simply do not justify rushing out to buy a brand-new console.
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