Highlights
- The success of Dark Souls led to the birth of a new subgenre of challenging action-adventure games with deep lore and intricate level design.
- Some Soulslikes, like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Mortal Shell, deviate from the traditional formula by focusing on a fixed protagonist and unique gameplay mechanics.
- AAA publishers, such as EA with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, have adopted the Soulslike formula to create engaging single-player experiences, although not all have been successful, as seen with the poorly launched sequel.
FromSoftware burst onto the gaming scene in definitive fashion with the release of Dark Souls, an action-adventure game that took the world by storm with its hard-as-nails gameplay, incredible level design, and massive amounts of lore that players could seek out via item descriptions, NPC conversations, and the like. The fact that this game led to the birth of a new subgenre is a testament to how successful the title really was.
The sheer number of Soulslikes on the market right now is pretty impressive and goes a long way in proving just how revolutionary FromSoftware's magnum opus was. While many Soulslikes allow players to create an original protagonist, there are others that feature fixed protagonists to make for a more focused and engaging story-driven experience.
6 Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Calling Sekiro a Soulslike may be doing a huge disservice given that it's made by the same people who led to the birth of this genre in the first place, but it does qualify in some ways. For starters, it bucks the trend of these games having a multitude of weapons and RPG elements that let players pursue a certain build and use the weapon they like to wallop their enemies.
In Shadows Die Twice, players have to either master the ways of the katana or just die over and over again, with deflection and timed attacks being key to victory. Players control the eponymous protagonist as he strives to take revenge on Genichiro while using a prosthetic arm in a title with a story that is unlike FromSoftware's other offerings.
5 Mortal Shell
There are many studios with their own spin on Soulslikes, and Mortal Shell is one such title that players around with many unique mechanics. Players can assume control of a husk that can control different shells in combat against a wealth of powerful enemies in this short but sweet Soulslike.
The Harden mechanic makes things relatively easy since players can just activate it mid-combo if they feel that they've become too overzealous with their attacks, preventing them from taking any unnecessary damage. It's easily one of the most approachable Soulslikes that fans can check out if they're in two minds about getting into this genre because of its assumed difficulty.
4 Nioh
A samurai title that holds the distinguished honor of being one of the first well-received Soulslikes around, Nioh is a title that marked a return to form for Team Ninja after being in a bit of a rut for the longest time. Players control an Irish sailor named William who has the abilities of a distinguished samurai during the Sengoku period with a fantasy twist.
Players are encouraged to manage their ki in this brilliant game that takes no prisoners, with the difficulty spiking quite a bit unless players master the combat system and track their ki in a manner that lets them unleash a flurry of attacks without worrying about depleting this valuable resource.
3 Lies Of P
The latest Soulslike to come out has served as a breath of fresh air for fans of darker and more brooding titles, with Bloodborne being a clear inspiration for Lies of P. With a rather unique take on Pinocchio's story, the game lets players control this character in a world where puppets have gone rogue and ravaged the landscape, with only a handful of humans present in the world as they're forced into hiding.
The game's combat is pretty great as is, with the fast-paced nature being reminiscent of Bloodborne in many ways. The game also has a unique mechanic where Pinocchio can either lie or tell the truth during certain instances, all of which have an impact on the title's ending.
2 Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
The fact that AAA publishers like EA are using the Soulslike formula as a template to develop their own single-player experiences shows the winning formula that Miyazaki and FromSoftware cracked with Dark Souls. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is easily one of the greatest games that fans should check out, especially if they're a fan of this legendary IP.
The story of Cal Kestis makes for a pretty fun ride, and it helps that the combat of the game is pretty engaging without being as hard as most people expect the Soulslike genre to be. It's a shame that the sequel launched in such a poor state on PC, permanently besmirching the reputation of an IP that had a lot of promise indeed.
1 Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin
The idea of a re-telling of the first game's story using the combat present in the Soulsborne games was a bold initiative from Square Enix, and the goofy previews certainly didn't help Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin's case. So, fans were pleasantly surprised to see that the game was a pretty competent action title despite all the warning signs indicating that it would be a failure even before its launch!
The game can be a bit too overbearing with its main character's edginess and some uninspired level design, but players who manage to look past these flaws will enjoy a decent action game with a job system mechanic that is pretty fun in its own right. It's no world-beater, but fans will still love what Final Fantasy Origin brings to the table nevertheless.