Highlights

  • The popularity of Soulslike games is increasing, and non-FromSoftware developers are creating unique experiences within the subgenre.
  • Recent Soulslike games have challenged the level of quality achieved by FromSoftware, and future games could take inspiration from Sekiro and Elden Ring.
  • The introduction of a dedicated jump button in Sekiro and Elden Ring improves the mobility and quality-of-life features of the games, and it will be interesting to see how this mechanic is expanded upon.

Unless FromSoftware suddenly decided to quit developing Soulslike games after Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, it seems fair to estimate that Soulslike games will continue to appear in droves in the near future, whether by FromSoftware or other studios. It’s been exciting to see how non-FromSoftware developers have approached their own inspired takes on the subgenre, and now that it certainly is not a niche subgenre by any means, that creativity in crafting a unique Soulslike experience might only make them that much more enticing.

Seeing Soulslikes gain more popularity and grow in terms of their degree of quality has been wonderful, too. There was a time when Soulslike imitators were looked at as being incapable of coming close to what FromSoftware has achieved, and while some purist fans might still believe that, recent Soulslike games such as Lies of P and Lords of the Fallen have arguably given certain FromSoftware games a run for their money. Now, what Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Elden Ring have both implemented could see the same level of inspiration taken into account with future Soulslikes.

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Elden Ring and Sekiro Iterated on Jump Mechanics for the Better

Sekiro’s Jump Benefited the Game’s Terrific Mobility

Before Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, jumping was only possible in Soulslikes through a rigorous means that felt like it was bridging a gap between intentional and unintentional. Dark Souls technically does have a jump, for instance, but it can only be performed at the end of a sprint, resulting in a somersault of momentum when the player lands.

There are countless examples of where this jump is used that make it seem purposeful and advantageous, but it’s always been an odd staple of FromSoftware’s Souls games since it’s not particularly simple to execute and rarely are gaps ever easy to cross when using this janky jump mechanic. Therefore, while almost all FromSoftware Soulslikes have some element of ‘platforming’ in this manner, it hasn’t often felt satisfying and is seemingly designed this way to make traversal incredibly perilous and precarious—at least, that’s how it felt before Sekiro.

Sekiro’s dedicated jump button was subtle in comparison to the overall mobility that the player has grappling around from perch to perch, but actually being able to leap without the jump itself being restricted to a precise input was an incredible change. Jumping feels natural in Sekiro as a result of all the other movement improvements players are given, but FromSoftware recently proved that a dedicated jump wouldn’t be exclusive to Sekiro’s wildly unique Soulslike gameplay.

Elden Ring’s Jump wasn’t Necessary, But is a Great QoL Change

Elden Ring needed certain features in order to justify a few open-world trappings, such as an actual overworld map and crafting recipes to make use of resources salvaged in that open world. One mechanic it arguably didn’t need, though, was a dedicated jump. Elden Ring definitely doesn’t have the mobility that Sekiro has besides when players are double-jumping around on Torrent, but this similar jump mechanic is another great way for FromSoftware to loosen its leash on what players can and can’t accomplish, adding to its quality-of-life features.

Elden Ring’s open world demands that players are less restricted in their moment-to-moment movement, and thankfully FromSoftware was generous enough to allow players to jump freely, let alone sprint without consuming stamina as long as they aren’t in combat. Now that it seems as if jumping is a mainstay with the press of a button alone, it’ll be interesting to see how FromSoftware expands on it in future games and if future Soulslike games from other developers embed it in their own design philosophies.