One of the most eagerly awaited games for the Nintendo Switch 2 in 2026 is The Duskbloods, a new action RPG from FromSoftware. The game will feature both player-versus-player (PVP) and player-versus-environment (PVE) modes for up to eight players. While FromSoftware historically hasn’t prioritized Nintendo consoles – typically releasing games like Dark Souls Remastered and Elden Ring on Nintendo platforms much later – The Duskbloods is planned as a Switch 2 exclusive. This marks a significant change for FromSoftware, ending a 23-year pattern of avoiding Nintendo-exclusive titles with its release later this year.
Taking strong cues from games like Bloodborne and Elden Ring: Nightreign, The Duskbloods puts you in the role of a Bloodsworn character within a dark, gothic world. Like Elden Ring: Nightreign, you’ll select a specific class of Bloodsworn to play, each with its own distinct weapons and skills. While you can customize your character somewhat, the class you choose will largely determine your role in each match.
The Duskbloods Will Be the First FromSoftware Game Exclusive to a Nintendo Console Since 2003
While FromSoftware is now best known for challenging action games like Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls, they used to create different types of games, including the King’s Field and Armored Core series. Before achieving widespread fame, they also developed several RPGs, many of which were only released in Japan. Notably, they partnered with Nintendo to create a pair of games exclusively for the GameCube, marking their last console collaboration with the company.
Loadout Logic
Tap on a weapon to rotate it or press R while dragging.
Results
Although a specific release date for The Duskbloods hasn’t been announced, FromSoftware is still aiming to launch the game sometime in 2026.
Lost Kingdoms: FromSoftware’s Forgotten GameCube Card-Based Action RPG Series
The games Lost Kingdoms and Lost Kingdoms 2 came out for the GameCube in 2002 and 2003, meaning it had been 23 years since FromSoftware last released a game exclusively for a Nintendo console, with The Duskbloods. Although Hidetaka Miyazaki, the creative force behind FromSoftware’s recent successes, wasn’t involved with the Lost Kingdoms titles, these games clearly show the beginnings of ideas that would later appear in Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls. What really made Lost Kingdoms stand out was its unique battle system, which combined card collecting and deck building with fast-paced action RPG gameplay.
The Story of Lost Kingdoms
Fans of classic FromSoftware games will recognize the setup in Lost Kingdoms: a strange fog is spreading across the land of Argwyll, and demons are appearing with it. The king sets out to find the fog’s origin and save his kingdom, and is soon followed by his daughter, Princess Katia. Katia carries the kingdom’s Runestone, which lets her fight using cards. Like games such as Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls, Lost Kingdoms uses fog to separate the human world from the realm of demons – a recurring idea in many FromSoftware titles.
Lost Kingdoms 2 is set long after the events of the first game, where Katia is remembered as a legendary queen. This time, the story follows Tara Grimstone, who, like Katia, can use cards in battle thanks to a special Runestone. The game delves into the history of these Runestones, but the gameplay is largely the same as the original Lost Kingdoms.
The Gameplay of Lost Kingdoms
Card-based RPGs were surprisingly popular in the early 2000s, particularly on Nintendo consoles. The Game Boy Advance got Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories in 2004, and the GameCube also saw a release that year with Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean. In fact, the GameCube had been featuring this style of gameplay for a couple of years, as both Lost Kingdom games used card-based combat.
Scratch & Peek 
Identify the cover art while scratching off as little foil as possible.
Results
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Like games such as Demon’s Souls, Lost Kingdoms features a user interface where four cards are mapped to buttons arranged in a diamond shape. These cards are used to perform skills during battles, but each card is consumed after use. This encourages players to expand their card collection through purchases or by converting defeated enemies into cards. This system of collecting creatures gives Lost Kingdoms a similar feel to games like Pokemon or Shin Megami Tensei, letting players turn their foes into allies.
Like other games where you collect creatures, Lost Kingdoms has a unique elemental system that makes battles more strategic. Each card represents a different element – fire, water, earth, wood, or neutral – and these elements have strengths and weaknesses against each other, similar to rock-paper-scissors. Lost Kingdoms 2 added a mechanical element type as well. This system forces players to think carefully about their card choices and build a well-rounded deck to succeed throughout the game.
How The Duskbloods is Set to Inherit the Legacy of Lost Kingdoms
Although Lost Kingdoms is primarily a single-player experience, it does include a versus mode for two players, letting them battle each other with customized decks. This is much smaller in scale than the eight-player battles in The Duskbloods, but it’s consistent with FromSoftware’s tendency to add some kind of multiplayer option to their games that are mainly focused on single-player play.
As a gamer, I think what The Duskbloods really takes from Lost Kingdoms is that special Nintendo vibe. Back in the early 2000s, a lot of Nintendo exclusives used card-based battles, and Lost Kingdoms really nailed that blend of what would become FromSoftware’s style with that classic Nintendo feel. And with the Switch 2 looking like a fantastic platform for multiplayer – it’s portable and Nintendo Switch Online is pretty affordable – it totally makes sense that The Duskbloods is going for that same mix of challenging gameplay we love from FromSoftware, but built for Nintendo’s strengths.
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2026-05-21 00:35