Technologies

Bloodborne Is My Favorite FromSoft Game. I’m Dreading Switch 2’s The Duskbloods

Though the new Switch 2 exclusive game has real Yharnam vibes, the main multiplayer gameplay loop has me raising an eyebrow.

I’m not the biggest player of FromSoftware’s notoriously tough Souls games out there, not by a long shot. I’ve dabbled in the original Dark Souls and the Demon’s Souls remake and I’ve conquered the Lands Between in Elden Ring. Let me tell you something though: There’s not a single PlayStation game that means more to me than the PS4-only title Bloodborne.

From the grisly streets of Yharnam to the tenebrous floating islands that make up much of the Nightmare Frontier, few games capture the futility of cosmic horror quite as well as FromSoft’s gothic action RPG. The interconnected layers of the world boggle my mind, and the rich lore that connects old gods, ancient humans and the modern Healing Church feels like it could’ve been ripped straight out of an H.P. Lovecraft story.

When The Duskbloods appeared in the Switch 2 Nintendo Direct, my heart caught in my throat.

There was an establishing shot of a clocktower and a character yapping about the moonlight and the introduction of player characters who are a group of monster hunters that «transcended human strength thanks to their special bloods» — I wasn’t the only one baited into believing this was the Bloodborne sequel we’ve all been waiting a decade for.

When the more steampunk-y elements started appearing (a jetpack and automatic firearms weren’t on my bingo card), I was a tad deflated to see that this project didn’t have any direct connections to my favorite FromSoftware game. The aesthetic of The Duskbloods is still appealing to me, however, so I was still excited to see how the game would turn out.

Now that more details about FromSoft’s latest game are trickling out, I’m starting to suspect that this isn’t a game for me.

A player-vs.-player FromSoft game doesn’t inspire confidence in me

Your average Soulsbourne game is an epic singleplayer experience that encourages players to take advantage of their character’s strengths to overcome unforgiving challenges. They’re long, grueling campaigns that are, most importantly, solo quests into the dark unknown.

If you’re able to commit yourself to learning enemy attack patterns, figuring out how to attribute your stat points properly and master the game’s combat, you can conquer any legendary knight or towering monster the game throws at you.

Occasionally, players will invade your world, and for five minutes the gameplay loop degenerates into a chicken fight hack-and-slash or spell-dodging simulator until you win or you die. In my eyes, these are some of the low points in a FromSoft game.

Compare that to The Duskbloods, which is an eight player «PvPvE» experience that pits players against each other as well as the monsters throughout the map.

No single player mode has been confirmed for the game and this isn’t a cooperative experience with a more threatening Souls challenge like Elden Ring: Nightreign, at least as far as we can tell. There’s always the chance that FromSoftware sneakily puts some PvP element into its Elden Ring spinoff to make these games more alike than we suspect.

The Duskbloods will force players into PvP combat, and I have never enjoyed FromSoft’s brand of PvP. No matter how many cool things I spot in the trailer, I can’t get excited about what is essentially a FromSoft battle royale. It’s not the style of game that many Souls fans are used to, and I find the sudden shift in gameplay to be extremely alienating.

Don’t get me wrong, there are parts of this game that sound absolutely thrilling. FromSoftware director Hidetaka Miyazaki revealed that not every match will be a knockdown drag-out free-for-all, and between Nightreign and The Duskbloods, it will certainly be fun to see how the developer builds cooperative play between multiple players.

«Players may be tasked with teaming up to take down a powerful boss enemy, or find themselves in other special circumstances,» said Miyazaki in an interview on Nintendo’s website. In fact, part of the game’s character customization will see players choosing the type of goal they want to commit to during a match.

«In online play, roles give players special responsibilities and objectives that often lead to unique interactions and relationships between players based on their corresponding roles,» Miyazaki said. «[One] example is «Destined Companion,» where one player is required to seek out another designated as their companion, which results in a special reward if they form a bond with one another.»

I’m happy that there will still be an outsized focus on delivering some kind of co-op experience in The Duskbloods, but the forced PvP action still threatens to drive me away from the game. Like most of FromSoftware’s older Souls games, Bloodborne let you tag in friends for boss fights, but the main quest was — importantly — a solo journey.

Of all the games for FromSoft and Nintendo to partner on, why The Duskbloods?

Some FromSoftware fans have voiced their anger online that Duskblood will only come out on the Switch 2. Frankly, I don’t mind FromSoft partnering with Nintendo to create an exclusive game for the latter’s new console.

By early accounts, this is a far more powerful piece of hardware than the original iteration of the console. If the Switch 2 can run Elden Ring or Cyberpunk 2077 (albeit at 40 frames per second, even while docked) then it can likely run The Duskbloods perfectly fine. I fell in love with Bloodborne while playing it at 30 frames per second, so this isn’t exactly a problem for me.

What I can’t abide by is the fact that the one game FromSoft chose to partner with Nintendo on is its multiplayer-only project. Look, Switch Online is better than any of Nintendo’s other stabs at facilitating an online multiplayer experience, but it’s still one of my biggest pain points on the console.

Frustratingly, many Switch games still use peer-to-peer connections instead of dedicated servers — and FromSoft has historically done the exact same thing, so although we don’t yet have all the details on The Duskbloods, I don’t expect a break from tradition with this game.

I see the potential peer-to-peer networking, buggy netcode and exclusivity on the Switch 2’s hardware and it’s throwing up multiple red flags for me.

Will this game really be able to consistently handle putting eight people in one lobby and ensuring all of them are able to play at the same level of fluidity? I don’t know if I buy that.

Getting ganked by someone you effectively can’t hit never feels good: The main conceit of The Duskbloods is that you’re constantly at risk of getting jumped by another player. That’s just not my idea of a fun time.

Perhaps Nintendo and FromSoft will be able to pull this off and The Duskbloods will become one of their most lauded games yet. But I think I’ll stick to my co-op adventures in Yharnam and the Lands Between.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for May 11, #1422

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle No. 1,422 for May 11.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

I have a feeling today’s Wordle puzzle could be tricky. The solution isn’t a word that would immediately come to mind, unless you’re a woodworker.

If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

There are two vowels in today’s Wordle answer.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with the letter D.

Wordle hint No. 4: Rhyme time

Today’s Wordle answer rhymes with a word for something you might take to the beach.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to a peg of wood that holds things together.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is DOWEL.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, May 10, No. 1421 was YEAST.

Recent Wordle answers

May 6, No. 1417: SUITE
May 7, No. 1418: MACHO
May 8, No. 1419: BALMY
May 9, No. 1420: TRIPE

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for May 11, #700

Hints and answers for Connections for Mother’s Day, May 11, No. 700.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections puzzle is pretty fun. I patted myself on the back when I spotted the purple connection right away. Say some of the clues out loud to yourself, and look for a word that fits into a phrase with four of them.

Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Good vibes.

Green group hint: We lost ’em!

Blue group hint: Atari, Nintendo.

Purple group hint: Not father.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Make happy.

Green group: Evade.

Blue group: Common video game features.

Purple group: Mother ____

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is make happy. The four answers are delight, please, suit and tickle.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is evade. The four answers are dodge, duck, shake and skirt.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is common video game features. The four answers are boss, health, level and power-up.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is mother ____. The four answers are earth, goose, may I and superior.

Technologies

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge: What We Know Ahead of the Slim Phone’s May 12 Debut

Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge will be getting its own Unpacked event on Monday.

Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge will be the fourth edition to the company’s flagship phone line, with a thin and light design that’s meant to set it apart from the Galaxy S25, S25 Plus and S25 Ultra. While Samsung initially gave the device an early look during the same January event that debuted the rest of the S25 lineup, the Edge will get its own Galaxy Unpacked event on Monday, May 12, at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT).

And in an early tease of the event, Samsung has also announced that the phone will get a new glass ceramic display called Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 and a 200-megapixel wide camera. Outside of that display and camera announcement, the S25 Edge may have also received its biggest unofficial leak yet, with a post from WinFuture that claims to describe the phone’s design, dimensions, camera and other details about its internals.

Here’s everything we know so far, along with some rumors on what we could get with the S25 Edge.

What does the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge look like?

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge’s actual dimensions aren’t yet available but a display (which attendees couldn’t touch) showcasing a surprise first look during Samsung Unpacked event in January revealed that it’s noticeably slimmer than a standard Android flagship phone. Samsung placed its first look of the Edge alongside stand-in models that approximated the typical thickness of other phones.

That display implied that the S25 Edge would have similar height and width dimensions to phones akin to the standard Galaxy S25 but would be noticeably slimmer. Unlike other S25 phones that have three or more rear cameras, this edition will include only two, like the foldable Z Flip series. One of those cameras will be a 200-megapixel wide lens, which Samsung confirmed when announcing the Edge’s Unpacked event.

We do know that the display will be made from the new Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 for a «sleek yet strong design,» according to Samsung’s announcement of that display.

That display announcement lines up with prior comments on the phone’s durability, which Samsung UK Marketing Director Annika Bizon said was a priority despite its thinner frame. After remarking on the phone’s design that was revealed in January as a top feature, Bizon began teasing the phone’s durability during an interview with TechRadar at Mobile World Congress 2025.

«With anything slim, durability [has to come as part of the package]. Those are the two features [of the Edge] that are exciting [for us]. Well, I know durability isn’t exciting, but it’s really important. So watch this space because there are some exciting things to come regarding this phone,» Bizon told TechRadar.

While we don’t have official specs yet on the phone, a reportedly leaked Galaxy S25 Edge specs list has popped up on WinFuture that claims to reveal the phone’s dimensions, battery, colors and other features. These include a 3,800mAh battery, a 6.7-inch AMOLED display, the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chip, 12GB of RAM and storage variants that include 256GB and 512GB. The list also claims that the confirmed 200-megapixel main camera will come alongside a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera but no details about the front-facing camera. Samsung typically offers its phones in a variety of colors, but the WinFuture report claims that Jet Black, Icyblue and Silver will be among what’s available. It’s expected to weigh in at 163 grams (5.74 ounces).

When will the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge arrive in stores?

A specific release date has not yet been revealed for the new phone, but it seems likely that the phone’s release date will become clear after the May 12 Unpacked event. This will likely make the Edge phones available in the late spring/early summer time period, which lines up with the aforementioned WinFuture report that suggested a launch at the end of May.

Samsung’s TM Roh, the company’s president of mobile devices, told Bloomberg in January that the Edge would be one of at least two new devices on the way, including a mixed reality headset that will run on Android XR.

How much will the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge cost?

In the same Bloomberg report, Roh said that pricing wasn’t settled by Samsung yet, but that the Edge is expected to be cheaper than the $1,300 Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.

«Our goal is to position this at pricing that is lower than the Ultra models so it’s more accessible and has more customers,» Roh said in the report.

This lines up with WinFuture’s spec list, which claims that the S25 Edge will cost 1,249 Euro for the 256GB variant or 1,369 Euro for the 512GB variant. By comparison, Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra costs 1,449 Euro for the 256GB model and 1,569 Euro for the 512GB model.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge

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Will the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge include a curved screen like prior Galaxy Edge phones?

Samsung formerly used the Edge name to delineate Galaxy phones that had a curved screen. This included Edge editions of the Samsung Galaxy S6, S7 and the Galaxy Note. While the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge appears to be a revival of the name, it does not imply a curved edge display.

If you are looking for a phone with a curved edge display, though, last year’s Motorola Edge and the OnePlus 12 each include displays that wrap around the edges.

What about Apple’s rumored iPhone 17 Slim?

Apple is rumored to be developing its own slimmer take on the iPhone and it’s possible that Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge could beat it to the market. We have an entirely different rumor roundup on what we’ve heard about a possible iPhone 17 Slim, which might replace the «Plus» edition of the iPhone that Apple’s been releasing since the iPhone 14.