After waiting years for its leaks and rumors to materialize, the Nintendo Switch 2 is finally in players’ hands. It’s still early, but after shattering multiple sales records in its first week, the Nintendo Switch 2 seems to have been worth the wait. There’s more to come too, not only from additional first-party games in the Switch 2’s first year, but also in some later titles,The Duskbloodsbeing chief among them. As FromSoftware’s next game,The Duskbloodshas already turned many heads, but it’s not just leaning on its legacy to succeed.
Like most of FromSoftware’s games released sinceDemon’s Soulson the PlayStation 3,The Duskbloodsfollows the studio’s Soulslike formula, but not like any of its predecessors have. Following upElden Ring Nightreign, which experimented with teams of players navigating a roguelike, Soulslike, and battle royale hybrid,The Duskbloodshas eight players entering various maps to complete different objectives. Essentially,The Duskbloodsis a compact extraction shootermerged with a Soulslike, and is a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive on top of that. It’s a risky venture, andThe Duskbloods’ success or failure could have wider consequences for its platform of choice.
The Duskbloods Releasing Exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2 Is A Big Deal
Lots Of FromSoftware Fans Could Show Up For The Duskbloods Alone
That may sound like a stretch, especially given thatThe Duskbloodsisn’t even a first-party Switch 2 title, but FromSoftware has become a big deal in recent years thanks toElden Ringselling over 20 million copies. Its name now carries enough weight to buoy atypical titles likeArmored Core 6: Fires of RubiconandElden Ring Nightreign, and the same could happen toThe Duskbloods. For a brand-new console like the Nintendo Switch 2, that’s a big deal, as it means a fair number of people are going to buy a Switch 2 just to playThe Duskbloods, at least initially.
Players that come in forThe Duskbloodshave the potential to stay in Nintendo’s ecosystem, especially now that the Nintendo Switch 2 is strong enough to run more multiplatform titles. There hasn’t been a notablecollaboration between FromSoftware and Nintendountil now, soThe Duskbloodscould also lead to more FromSoftware games either migrating to or being designed for Nintendo platforms.Elden Ring: Tarnished Editionis already joiningDark Souls Remasteredon the Nintendo Switch family’s hardware, and there could be more where that came from ifThe Duskbloodsguarantees that interested parties are present.
Poor Sales For The Duskbloods Could Hit The Switch 2 Hard
All of that is a big “if” right now, though, asThe Duskbloodsneeds to prove itself. Having a compelling third-party game on the Switch 2 that brings its fans with it is a great proposition, but the game needs to be compelling for that to work, andThe Duskbloodsis not playing things safely. Many players come to FromSoftware titles for their single-player experience, and whileThe Duskbloodsmay have that, likeNightreigndid, it doesn’t appear to be designed for solo play, again likeNightreign. Thanks to its chosen genre,The Duskbloodsalready has a diminished pull onSoulslike players.
The Duskbloods Is Playing A Dangerous Game With The Switch 2’s Livelihood
More risks could also affectThe Duskbloods’ success, including the extraction shooter genre only having a couple of long-term success stories likeEscape from TarkovandHunt: Showdown, and the need to pay for Nintendo’s potentially rough online servers to try FromSoftware’s potentially rough netcode. If these issues renderThe Duskbloodsa failure, people who would have bought a Switch 2 for it wouldn’t, and that’s a hefty audience to lose. It’s also not a good look for one of theSwitch 2’s biggest early third-party gamesto flop.The Duskbloodsand the Nintendo Switch 2 have a lot to gain from mutual success, but just as much to lose.
