I rarely ever buy new consoles on release. I don’t see the point. It’ll go down in price soon enough, the launch titles will get discounted, and all the awkward hiccups will be ironed out as they’re stress-tested by early adopters, leaving you with a much smoother onboarding experience in a year’s time. Meanwhile, you can enjoy the dregs that wash up on the last-gen shores, content in knowing you’ll get a free (or at least, cheap) upgrade for all these new exclusives when you finally bite the bullet.
Well, unless there’s an exclusive FromSoftware game. I didn’t want to buy a PS5, and they were exceedingly hard to find at the beginning of the pandemic, but the Demon’s Souls remake promised to bring back the forgotten first Soulslike. I started with Dark Souls 2, and by the time I circled back to the original PS3 exclusive to live through the genre’s history firsthand, the online scene was completely dead. There was no way I’d miss it again.
So, even with shortages and people virtually stumbling over each other to lock in a pre-order as we found ourselves stuck indoors with nothing better to do, I scrambled to get my hands on a PS5. I’d broken my cardinal rule of simply waiting, all because Sony dangled Demon’s Souls in front of me. But that rush of a new (well, old) FromSoft game made the early jank of the PS5 worthwhile and the gaping hole in my wallet less painful.
The Duskbloods Is Bloodborne 2 In All But Name, Of Course I’m Going To Buy It
So, as I sat down to cover the dedicated Switch 2 Direct today, I assured myself I would hold back, save the money, and get the new console at a reduced price. I wanted nothing more than to be responsible and patient; Mario Kart World will only ever get played every other weekend when I have friends over, and all the other exciting Nintendo exclusives, like Metroid Prime 4 and Pokemon Legends: Z-A, are coming to the original Switch. I can wait.
Then, a twink appeared, and a woman whispered in enigmatic riddles while clutching at his hand. It’s FromSoftware. I know it is. Yep, there’s the logo — told you so. This time with what is clearly a Bloodborne spiritual successor, The Duskbloods. And once again, I’m getting ready to elbow my way through a digital queue, this time against parents and children excited to play Donkey Kong and Kirby.
I wasn’t fussed about the PS4 at first, either. I was mostly a PC gamer at the time, but when Bloodborne was announced, I begged my mam to get me one. FromSoftware, please let my wallet (and my family) go.
One company with one game is enough to make me spend $400. The Switch 2 will, for all intents and purposes, be a FromSoftware machine when I get my hands on it. I’m even ready to buy Elden Ring for the third time just because I saw Lucatiel’s armour from Dark Souls 2 in the trailer. I’m not normally this person, the eager fan who laps up everything. I try to be a bit skeptical, especially as a critic, but even the worst FromSoftware games are endearing enough to have an enchanting hold over me.
I’m ashamed to admit that it isn’t a fresh take on the Mario Kart formula, a new Zelda game, or even Donkey Kong (I love DK!) that sold me on the Switch 2. It was FromSoftware, again.