There is something uniquely satisfying about playing a soulslike game. Something that often begins with frustration as you constantly lose to a boss until it suddenly clicks and you manage to kill it with a well-placed parry. There is something so satisfying about overcoming these seemingly insurmountable challenges, which is why millions of players flock to this type of game and why there are so many different titles that utilise this challenging genre.
The franchise begun by FromSoftware with Demon’s Souls and amplified by Dark Souls has seen numerous different titles built around its core gameplay loop. It has seen countless different developers attempt to build their own game in the image of FromSoftware’s franchise. Some of them succeeded, and now the genre has evolved into an entirely different space that sees both a FromSoftware-published entry and a Soulslike game from another developer published on the same day.
If you are on the hunt for the best souls like games, you have come to the right place! Here is a list of the best Soulslike games that are worth playing!
What Sets Soulslike Games Apart?
Not just any punishing action RPG qualifies as a soulslike, though. There are certain key characteristics that set these games apart from the rest.
Soulslike games typically have:
- More deliberate and stamina-based combat
- A variety of punishing bosses and enemies
- Fair yet punishing difficulty
- Respawnable bosses that become stronger after death
- Loss of stats upon respawning/death
- Exploration with lots of secrets to uncover
- A lack of guidance in favour of exploration
The best soulslike games reward players’ effort and investment, making the payoff of defeating a particularly challenging boss that has taken dozens of attempts more rewarding.
The Best FromSoftware Souls Series Games
No list of the best Soulslike games would be complete without highlighting the games that defined the genre in the first place.
Elden Ring
Elden Ring is easily the best example of a Soulslike game as it captures everything that makes games in this genre so compelling. Rather than follow the tried and tested formula used by other entries in the franchise, Elden Ring innovates on nearly every element, from combat to bosses to progression. Rather than being locked on a single path, players can explore the huge, varied world of the Elden Ring at their leisure, obtaining upgrades to better prepare themselves for stronger bosses.
Elden Ring’s mixture of incredible atmosphere, variety of interesting builds, and challenging, yet fair gameplay has earned it a spot as one of the best action-adventure games of all time, and one of the best entry points into the Soulslike genre due to its open world nature.
Dark Souls Trilogy
The games that defined a generation of action RPGs, Dark Souls and its sequels comprise the most canonical example of a Soulslike game there is. Dark Souls Remastered captures the wonder of discovering the interconnected regions of Lordran for the first time, Dark Souls II experiments with builds and settings, and Dark Souls III improves upon nearly every element of combat and provides some of the best boss fights in the series.
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Bloodborne
Bloodborne is easily the most challenging and rewarding entry in the series. If Dark Souls is a game about carefully calculated movements and precise parrying, Bloodborne is a game about aggression, using the powerful Rally mechanic to instantly regain health after dealing damage. Set in a gothic horror-inspired world, Bloodborne provides some of the most punishing gameplay, the most unique boss encounters, as well as some of the most rewarding loot in the series.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Sekiro is an odd example of a soulslike title as it diverges drastically from the Dark Souls formula. Where other entries in the series give players a plethora of build options, Sekiro focuses on a single build and challenges players to hone their skills in combat. It replaces stamina with posture, which can be damaged in combat to utilise various special attacks and break the opponent’s guard. It has some of the deepest combat mechanics of any soulslike game and is challenging in an entirely different way.
Demon’s Souls
This Demon’s Souls remake is the perfect entry point into the Soulslike genre for newcomers as it is far less punishing than many of its successors and provides numerous upgrades to make traversal and combat easier. It introduced many concepts that later soulslike games utilised, such as the respawn system and the punishing-yet-rewarding difficulty spike.
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Best Soulslike Games Not Made by FromSoftware
Whilst FromSoftware provided the foundation for the Soulslike genre, many other developers have experimented with its core principles, providing unique twists on the tried and tested formula.
Lies of P
Lies of P is, perhaps, the closest that any other developer has gotten to rivaling FromSoftware’s prowess at developing soulslike games.
Set in a gothic horror-inspired city, Lies of P offers a Soulslike twist on the classic monster-slaying fairytale. It possesses many of the same mechanics that one would expect to see in a FromSoftware game, such as incredibly rewarding bosses, an intricate crafting system, and incredibly challenging combat that requires players to perfect their parrying. The latest version of the game also boasts numerous accessibility upgrades and extra content.
Nioh 2
Developers at Team Ninja opted to improve upon nearly every aspect of their critically acclaimed action game Nioh. It expands greatly upon the variety of combat stances and skills from the first game and combines it with incredibly punishing combat and fascinating lore surrounding the titular Oni spirits and the Japanese folklore that the game is based on.
Remnant 2
What happens when you combine the Soulslike genre with a third-person shooter? You get Remnant 2, a co-op focused action game that sees players battling hordes of monsters with a variety of guns and melee weapons. It combines the challenging, punishing difficulty of a Soulslike game with the immense variety of weapons and deeper multiplayer-focused combat of a shooter. Many of the bosses in Remnant 2 are absolute delights to fight, and the game’s secret-filled open world ensures that there is always something new to uncover.
Lords of the Fallen
The reboot of Lords of the Fallen introduces one of the most unique twists on the Soulslike genre, one that sees players traverse two vastly different realities, uncovering a wealth of secrets, lore, and unique gameplay mechanics.
Mortal Shell
Mortal Shell is much shorter than many of its competitors, but it provides an incredibly unique entry into the Soulslike genre, one that opts to replace many of the staples of the genre in favour of a more methodical, deliberate combat loop. Rather than classes or stats, Mortal Shell offers Shells, unique skill trees that can be customized in a myriad of ways. It also replaces the quick, stamina-based combat of other soulslike games in favour of slower, more careful movement.
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Hidden Gems Every Souls Fan Should Try
Some of the most interesting games tend to appear at the lower end of popularity charts. Some of the best Soulslike games fly under the radar and can offer a unique alternative to playing Dark Souls or Bloodborne.
Thymesia
A fast-paced action game that combines Soulslike gameplay with fast combat and a variety of interesting mechanics, Thymesia replaces the constant grind of stat-inflation that defines many other soulslike games in favour of a shorter, more rewarding loop.
The Surge 2
The Surge 2 is an interesting variation on the soulslike genre that replaces the Dark Souls-inspired medieval horror for science fiction horror, and it does it in a way that highlights some of the best mechanics of the genre. It introduces a variety of interesting upgrades that allow players to customize their playstyle to utilise specific enemies’ weaknesses. It also has a unique limb-targeting system that allows players to decapitate weaker foes or claim their high-quality gear.
Code Vein
Code Vein is an anime-adjacent action game that has a lot of the Soulslike genre’s best traits but refined to be more approachable. It has a wide variety of classes and interesting companion systems, but none of that overshadows the fantastic combat and punishing boss fights.
Salt and Sanctuary
Considered by many to be a 2D Dark Souls clone, Salt and Sanctuary captures nearly all of the mechanics of the Soulslike genre, but in a 2D setting. It may look simple, but Salt and Sanctuary is a Soulslike game that hides massive depth beneath its seemingly simple 2D pixel graphics.
Which Soulslike Is Best for Beginners?
Some of the biggest criticisms of Soulslike games are that they are needlessly punishing and can be too difficult to get into for newcomers. Fortunately for those that wish to experience what makes the Soulslike genre so rewarding, there are several different games that do not share these traits.
The best options for newcomers are:
Elden Ring – An open-world action RPG that lets players take on the challenge at their own pace
Lies of P – A modern soulslike title that implements most quality-of-life improvements
Code Vein – A soulslike game that makes use of AI companions to assist the player
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order – A more forgiving game that implements many of the Soulslike genre’s best traits.
By playing these games, newcomers can get a better understanding of what makes the Soulslike genre so rewarding before moving onto more punishing entries in the genre.
Why Are Soulslike Games So Good?
It is somewhat perplexing that an entire genre built around making players fail needlessly continues to gain popularity with every passing year. These games, however, continue to captivate the minds of players all over the world with the sheer reward of overcoming their punishing challenges. Soulslike games offer something that other games seldom do: a sense of genuine accomplishment.
Many other games attempt to hold players’ hands as they traverse the game world. Soulslike games, on the other hand, reward players who seek to uncover every hidden secret and explore every corner of the game world. Players can unlock upgrades and rare loot by overcoming particularly challenging encounters. In many ways, Soulslike games are the pinnacle of rewarding player exploration.
The game worlds are just as rewarding, as they often provide a wealth of secrets, lore, and unique gameplay mechanics to those that seek them out. Finally, whilst many games punish the player for failure, few games utilise failure as a teaching tool as well as Soulslike games do.
Final Thoughts
The best souls like games continue to captivate and challenge players from all walks of life. From Elden Ring’s incredibly rewarding open-world adventure to the punishing-but-fair combat of Lies of P, challenging mechanics of Sekiro, and the unique twist on Soulslike gameplay demonstrated by Code Vein, there is an entry in the Soulslike subgenre for everyone. The Soulslike genre may have begun with FromSoftware, but the genre has grown massively in the past decade due to the efforts of numerous other developers. If you have never attempted to master the combat mechanics of a Soulslike game, now is the perfect time to do so. Be warned, though, since you will most likely die numerous times before ultimately triumphing.