The Duskbloods' winged rat "elderly gentleman" was actually FromSoftware's rare attempt at something "Nintendo-esque" and "cute"

FromSoftware's The Duskbloods stirred up a lot of conversation when it was revealed as a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, partly because of that unexpected partnership, partly because of how it's a multiplayer-focused game, and partly because of the speculation that comes from showing off a mysterious rat thing at the end of your trailer. We now know that the winged rat creature is actually the studio's best attempt at doing something "Nintendo-esque" for a change.

Cute creatures aren't exactly what you think of when it comes to the studio behind Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Elden Ring, and Sekiro, but soulslike maestro and The Duskbloods director Hidetaka Miyazaki said that's exactly what the team were going for in a new Creator's Voice blog.

"I suppose you could say we tried doing something a little Nintendo-esque in the spirit of the partnership," Miyazaki joked. "We tried something cute for a change. Although I will say this character is actually an elderly gentleman."

Miyazaki doesn't delve too much into who this older manrat is apart from the fact that it "shares a similar role with the fire keepers from the Dark Souls series." That means "they remain in the hub area" and provide us with "advice and guidance" in between the game's eight-player matches. I don't know how "cute" a dark fantasy flying rat old man actually is, but it's at least FromSoft's rare (and slightly hilarious) attempt at making a mascot of sorts.

The Duskbloods is less Dark Souls and more Elden Ring Nightreign with "over a dozen characters" who can only "be customized to a certain extent"