Summary
- The Duskbloods draws inspiration from various sources beyond video games to create interesting new mechanics, including tabletop RPGs.
- The game introduces a Role system influenced by TTRPG party mechanics.
- Players can choose roles, incentivizing unconventional gameplay and increasing replayability.
Though it has been compared extensively to Bloodborne, The Duskbloods draws its inspiration from many different and varied sources. The PVPVE game type has let FromSoftware explore a lot of ideas that its more linear single-player games might not, from a roster of powerful characters to setting its maps across different periods of time.
But it isn’t just by looking inward at past games that FromSoftware has been pushing the envelope forward. The Duskbloods takes inspiration from other genres of video game, and even further afield. One of the most interesting is how director Hidetaka Miyazaki compared a new mechanic in the game to a staple of tabletop RPGs.
Related
The Duskbloods May Continue an Important Theme of Elden Ring
FromSoftware carries a lot of similar themes over from past games, and The Duskbloods seems to be leaning into one from Elden Ring heavily.
The Duskbloods’ Role System Puts a Twist on Familiar TTRPG Party Mechanics
As a multiplayer co-op game similar to Elden Ring Nightreign, The Duskbloods is a large departure for FromSoftware’s design. Players choose between a roster of characters, called Bloodsworn, who they take into matches competing for First Blood, the final victory condition. However, a lot can change in a match, and Miyazaki has spilled some details on what sorts of variables players can expect to encounter.
Most of the recent FromSoftware games have included some form of PVP. Sometimes, PVP battles can end in surprising ways, sometimes with invaders joining the side of the host they were supposed to kill. The Duskbloods expands on this bizarre and unique interaction by offering quite a few ways to win matches versus other players, including the ability to pick roles.
Roles can be assigned by any player during customization and give them a special objective. They might choose the Destined Rivals role that designates a particular opponent as their target who must be eliminated, or they might do the opposite, and pick Destined Companion, taking on the responsibility to protect their target. When the objective of a role is completed, the player gets a special reward in addition to standard victory conditions.
The individual roles are all tied to character customization, so players can build a character that truly reflects the type of Bloodsworn they want to be. This is all very reminiscent of TTRPG party roles from Dungeons and Dragons, which let players pick a niche to fill and become a specialist. Miyazaki has often found ways of incorporating strange and different mechanics from other game systems into his work, and this is one of the most creative yet.
The Duskbloods’ Roles May Incentivize Players to Do More Than Just Kill Each Other
It isn’t known yet what all the roles are, but it puts forward an interesting idea about how PVP games could evolve. There are so many opportunities in games beyond FromSoftware’s catalog for opponents to come together and work toward a common goal, or just goof around, as can often be seen by Mordhau’s lute players entertaining friend and foe.
The Duskbloods leans into the TTRPG playbook to further incentivize this behavior, offering concrete rewards for playing unconventionally and increasing the replayability of matches. There was certainly some pushback when Elden Ring Nightreign revealed its preset characters, but both it and The Duskbloods seem to have found ways to increase the level of roleplaying available by making it very player-choice-driven.
There may be some more comparisons to make to other systems that aren’t known yet, but that’s the beauty of FromSoftware’s ethos – give the players the tools, and they will make the experiences with each other. The Duskbloods seemingly aims to appeal to all kinds of players, whether looking for interesting ways to roleplay, or just wanting to get a few games in on an evening.
