u/ChiefLeef22

(Credit to Photoingame for these jaw-dropping, incredible in-game stills)

Outlets have now played a good few hours and gotten a hands-on initial impression for Fromsoftware's new game 'The Duskbloods'. So I thought we could compile some of them here. Once again, these are not full reviews, they are previews

Feel free to comment any other articles, videos or tidbits you come across! I'll try adding them to the post

(live updating):

MIYAZAKI INTERVIEW:

MIYAZAKI: “The PvPvE [label is] a little bit confusing in the context of this game. It’s not that we set out with that exact label when pitching to Nintendo,” Miyazaki said via a translator. “We had a couple of key things that we really wanted to do: The Sigil and Event system to create this [sense] of constant drama [and] excitement between players. The relationships, [and] the Virtue system contributes to that [as well]. It’s not just 100% PvP; there [are] ways to win and enjoy the matches outside of simply playing against other players. Those were the things that we wanted to accomplish first and foremost. Saying it was a PvPvE game makes it sound like that’s all that there is, and saying it’s a PvE game doesn’t really do it justice either. It’s sort of just a combination of [the] two. Enemies specifically draw inspiration from our previous titles, and fitting them in made sense for our methodology.”

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VaatiVidya (FULL VIDEO)

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Oroboro (FULL VIDEO: I PLAYED DUSKBLOODS: ITS LIKE A DREAM)

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GameSpot - Jake Dekker

>I’ve Never Played Anything Like The Duskbloods, And I Cannot Wait To Play More | After eight hours with the technical test, From Software’s next endeavor is impossible to nail down...summary excerpts:
The Duskbloods represents From Software’s penchant to upend expectations and chart new territory. Regardless of the risks, it always seems willing to push its design and, in turn, its players in new directions. After all, that willingness to take risks is how Demon’s Souls reinvented the action-RPG genre. I don’t anticipate The Duskbloods doing the same for PvPvE games, but I think that desire to chase new ideas and experiment with off-the-wall mechanics is what I truly want out of a From Software game.

IGN - Michael Higham (FULL VIDEO)

>I got to play about eight hours of The Duskbloods on a visit to FromSoftware in Tokyo, and while there are a ton of nuances I'll dissect in this preview, I'll say upfront that it has the makings of another hit in the Souls lineage where fun is found in the challenge and the mysteries of its world propel you to keep pushing – just now in the context of a competitive multiplayer Switch 2 exclusive. If any team can pull off such a wild idea, it'd be director Hidetaka Miyazaki and company. So buckle up y'all, The Duskbloods just might be the most complex and most fascinating project to come out of FromSoftware yet.

GameRant - Anthony Taormina

>At first, the game feels a bit overwhelming, but all those systems and mechanics are laid out for you to master over time, not to tackle all at once. Being able to form alliances with players, for example, isn’t necessary for success, but it adds a fun wrinkle to a match if you choose to take advantage of it. Similarly, there is a whole story and lore aspect of The Duskbloods that I never even saw, but that will fuel many players’ desires to log just one more match. The Duskbloods took me out of my comfort zone when it comes to FromSoftware experiences, and yet again I walked away from my first hands-on itching to get back. It fits right alongside the studio’s past work and also stands out as its own thing. If you haven’t picked up a Nintendo Switch 2 by now, FromSoftware has made a strong case for a whole new community of gamers to join in.

The Guardian - Kirk McKeand

>The final battles are thrilling, though. The Duskbloods has distinctive characters with unique weapons and abilities (some representing traditional FromSoftware archetypes, and at least one that can turn into a dinosaur), and these make fights feel dynamic and exciting. Every character has a projectile weapon to interrupt heals and chip away damage from a distance, and they’re all capable of running a fleeing player down. There being only three players at the end means you’re never out of danger, and all combatants are constantly calculating who is the biggest threat as the fight progresses. The way the game lets you jump 30 ft into the air and string jumps together means even the sky isn’t safe. It’s frantic. Positioning, timing, abilities and even which summon support you bring into the final battle – dozens of factors flip through your mind as you trade back and forth with the other two finalists. These climactic battles really capture the best of FromSoftware player fights, spiking your adrenaline until your heart booms out of your chest.

CGMagazine - Brendan Frye

>The Duskbloods combines a lot of ideas that, in theory, should not work together, but somehow the team at FromSoftware has managed to turn them into something incredibly fun. I cannot wait to see how the game takes shape as it gets closer to release. From what I have played so far, I am excited to dive back in and see how the world unfolds in this strange and exciting new universe.

GameInformer - Marcus Stewart

>(Summary excerpts): The best compliment I can give is that I ended each match eager to begin another. The game’s mix of skill, strategy, and luck makes each match dynamic, exciting, hilarious, and unpredictable. Getting narrowly eliminated made me punch the air, while competing in the final round is genuinely thrilling. The characters are fun and varied, catering to multiple playstyles; if you prefer to deal damage from afar, go with Sniper Layla, while tank-loving players should roll with Zork. And if you’re concerned about the platform choice, don’t be: The Duskbloods performed perfectly fine on Switch 2 (which really shouldn’t be surprising; the console’s not a potato by any stretch) to the point I forgot it was the platform running it. 

The Verge - Andrew Webster

>The Duskbloods has the potential to do something very significant. With Elden Ring, FromSoft took an extremely intimidating genre of action RPG and opened it up to a new audience by fusing that style of game onto an open world that gave players more choice for how they approached challenges. The result was a massive hit: Elden Ring has sold more than 30 million copies, its expansion Shadow of the Erdtree sold 10 million, and the game is being made into a Hollywood movie. The Duskbloods, meanwhile, is tackling the similarly intimidating field of competitive multiplayer. And while The Duskbloods is still pretty hardcore, it’s designed in a way that attempts to give players things to do even if they can’t win a match. The same things that make the game a risk are also what make it so fascinating. The Duskbloods is unlike anything else in the Switch 2’s lineup — and it could help Nintendo reach players beyond Zelda and Mario fans.

Gary Neville: “Oh, Marcus Rashford. What do we think? Last question”

Jamie Carragher: “Oh fuckin hell...Can we do a podcast without mentioning Rashford? Stop it. Oh my God! It’s like the Trent and Rashford, there was like a little part of the podcast. The Trent part or the Rashford part.

Neville: “But he's come back to United”

Jamie: “So what? Oh my God. He's just a good player for Manchester United.”

Rashford replied via X: "Thanks, Jamie. It would be great to be able to get my head down and play football without my name being mentioned every day😭"

Gemma is a young mother who discovers she can travel into the Further, a purgatorial realm of lost souls. When something evil comes after her, she realizes she can bring what lives there back to the real world. Once the demons realize her power, our world becomes their playground.

Director: Jacob Chase

Cast: Amelia Eve, Lin Shaye, Sam Spruell, Brandon Perea, Maisie Richardson-Sellers

Rotten Tomatoes: 60%

Metacritic: 50 / 100

Some Reviews:

DEADLINE - Pete Hammond

>Despite the return of fan favorites like KeyFace, Doll Girl, Lipstick, and other demons, along with a slew of others, it still feels a bit stale compared to the New Wave of cinematic horror ushered in by Obsession, Backrooms, Weapons, Barbarian, and Sinners, all of which make endless iterations of the same old/same old like Out Of The Further feel instantly forgettable. The success of the aforementioned movies indicate, if nothing else, that audiences are craving something fresh and different. Insidious: Out Of The Further might just as well be titled Insidious: Out Of The Same Playbook.

IGN - Tom Jorgensen - 7 / 10

>A better soft reboot than a sixth franchise entry has any right to be, Insidious: Out of the Further delivers a popcorn-rattling ride full of fun, creative scares and serviceable human stakes that, while not breaking much new thematic ground for a series that has done the parental trauma dance before, justify any uppercase-T Travelers’ tiptoeing through the tulips back to the spirit world.

Metro - Alicia Adejobi - 3 / 5

>One of the creepiest entries in the Insidious franchise, Out of the Further reinvents the lore with humour, heart and genuine chills. It doesn’t necessarily offer anything new to the horror genre in general, but it does make for good-time viewing.

Slant Magazine - Rocco T. Thompson - 2.5 / 4

>To say that Out of the Further, which is familiar and odd in ways that only a late entry in a horror franchise can be, has the aura of one of the less popular A Nightmare on Elm Street and Poltergeist sequels may sound like a backhanded compliment. But it exhibits an admirable disinterest in converting newcomers, offering instead plenty of fan service while also finding a few dark corners and alleyways to explore in the Insidious mythos. And it does it with gusto.

The Guardian - Scott Tobias - 2 / 5

>With Wan and Whannell having stepped away, save for their producer credits, Insidious seems to be barreling toward the same dead end as the Saw franchise, doomed to circle a cul-de-sac of shopworn images and story beats. At a certain point, the audience might start to feel as evidently bored as the film-makers.

IndieWire - Ryan Lattanzio - 'D'

>Direly, dreadfully boring, “Insidious: Out of the Further” has money on the brain. So do most things, but this time, it’s way too conspicuous and underserving of the epochal year Blumhouse-Atomic Monster is having between “Backrooms” and “Obsession.” And the comparisons will only stop when the slop stops being poured.

AwardsWatch - Trace Sauveur - 'B-'

>In a year of horror directors making their mark, it’s also not the most exciting story to see one conform so dutifully to the franchise’s long-decided temperament. But Out of the Further scrapes by on its inherent eccentricities and small moments of clear ability. If Chase doesn’t prove the potential of his own style, he proves the machine still runs, and for a franchise this many entries deep, that can be seen as its own kind of achievement.

Next Best Picture - Josh Parham - 4 / 10

>What starts as an intriguing showcase of horror imagery quickly devolves into a pedestrian exercise, underlined by a mundane villain and a deflating emotional throughline. Even the performances are merely serviceable, as they operate within a narrative that becomes increasingly banal. This franchise may still produce some thrills, but at six films in, pure perseverance may be the only thing left to admire in its future.

Collider - Charlie Ridgley - 6 / 10

>There are ineffective scares and a boring stretch in the middle. All that said, rather than settle for a middling Insidious sequel, Chase takes the opportunity with Out of the Further to swing for the fences, turning the franchise into a story of redemption, grace, and forgiveness that already feels more rewatchable than most of the franchise's previous entries.

MovieWeb - Mark Keizer - 2 / 5

>The original Insidious was a decent haunted-house thriller that was only worth sequelizing when it starred Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne. Broadening out the world to include other families only reveals the franchise’s limits, especially now. In a world where Backrooms and Obsession are putting a young and exciting charge into horror, Insidious: Out of the Further doesn’t look old-school; it just looks old.

ScreenRant - Josh Bate - 4 / 10

>In a day and age when horror films are more intelligent and innovative than ever, these set-piece scenes fail to impress. There’s only so many times the audience can see the same character trapped in a dark environment with evil spirits around her before it becomes dull, and Out of the Further falls into that trap continuously. To its credit, Out of the Further does get better as it goes along, but it still arrives too late for the movie to give the character the depth he deserves.

Framed for the murder of his billionaire boss, a vengeful man uncovers an international conspiracy as he battles a gang of thugs aboard a cargo ship.

Director: Jean-François Richet

Cast: Jason Statham, Annabelle Wallis, Jason Wong, Roland Møller, Ben Cartwright

Rotten Tomatoes: 40%

Metacritic: 52 / 100

Some Reviews:

Radio Times - Terry Stanton - 3 / 5

>Mutiny won’t win any awards and it certainly won’t be the best action flick devotees of the genre see this year (they may well see a better one on a streaming platform this week), but at 95 minutes it doesn’t outstay its welcome, and is curiously capable of still raising a smile. Maybe not from Jason, though; that’s never been his thing.

Digital Spy - Ian Sandwell - 3 / 5

>Do we want to see Jason Statham in something a bit different? Sure, but next year's Jason Statham Stole My Bike should scratch that itch. For now, Mutiny has Jason Statham doing what Jason Statham does best, and that's good enough for us.

HighOnFilms - Liam Gaughan - 3 / 5

>Although “Mutiny” doesn’t include any of the gratuitous, gloriously silly excess that can be found in other recent Statham vehicles like “Wrath of Man” and “The Beekeeper,” it does go out of its way to show that the star is doing his own stunts when it comes to hand-on-hand combat. It’s the type of film that includes moments of such innovative carnage that they incite the sort of enthusiastic laughter of a good crowdpleaser.

SlashFilm - Bill Bria - 7 / 10

>In a similar manner to how Charles Bronson came to represent the frustrated, confused, cisgendered Everyman in a country increasingly unmoored from the morality of the past, Statham seems to be representing the modern working class who are being treated unfairly, if not being left behind. In this way, "Mutiny" isn't a misnomer of a title, because Cole Reed is never a member of the ship's crew that he rebels against. Instead, it's all about Cole mutinying against larger, worldwide corruption. When it comes to needing a representative of our frustrations in this realm, "Mutiny" is well aware that Jason Statham is our man for the job.

ComingSoon - Jonathan Sim - 7 / 10

>The plot is occasionally absurd, its villain is thinly written, and its logic frequently collapses under scrutiny. But the action is brutal, the choreography is endlessly enjoyable, Annabelle Wallis gets to throw some punches, and Jason Statham gets to be Jason Statham. At this point, that is a genre all its own, and honestly, I’m perfectly happy to keep watching it.

Next Best Picture - Dan Bayer - 5 / 10

>To the extent that all action star vehicles must present their leading man as a paragon of masculine values, having the trafficking victims all be non-English-speaking migrant refugees could be seen as a bold choice, given the current political climate...That said, no one is coming to a Jason Statham movie for trenchant sociopolitical commentary. They’re coming to watch a strong, silent man of honor dish out justice with his fists. On that front, “Mutiny” delivers all the hard-hitting, blood-splattering action you could want. “Mutiny” isn’t as strong overall as Statham’s other recent films, but in the moments where it lives up to its potential, Statham fans will be satiated.

AV Club - Jacob Oller - 'C'

>That Mutiny doesn’t seem all that interested in its own white savior plot would seem like an ironic virtue, if that plot didn’t just feel like collateral damage in service of Statham’s own brand of grumbly ass-kicking. But it’s at least a knowingly cheesy brand, which makes it far more tolerable than any of the similar plug-and-play thrillers featuring the Steven Seagals of the action world.

InSession Film - M.N. Miller - 'D+'

>I remember my grandparents once telling me that if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all. So, let me start here: if you have 90 minutes to waste, there are certainly worse ways to spend them than watching Jason Statham’s latest. Unfortunately, I’m also obligated to point out the ineptitude and laziness of Mutiny. And if Grandpa Frank is looking down at me today, I’d remind him that when he gave me that advice, he never had to sit through a Statham-by-the-numbers action picture that is anything but spectacular. So much for smooth sailing, as the viewer has no choice but to go overboard, and even the most passionate Statham supporters have no choice but to abandon ship.

ScreenRant - George Bate - 3 / 10

>Perhaps the most egregious misstep of all is the sense that one has seen Mutiny before. Richet’s film feels destined to induce déjà vu among anyone who has seen even a couple of Jason Statham movies in the past 10 years. Aimless, dull, and uninspired with its action, Statham’s latest is a ship most viewers will want to jump off of.