The birth of a new genre is always fun to watch. You see the initial game trying something new. A cult forms around the game crowing about untapped potential. Then, the follow-up delivers, setting the world on fire. Other developers pick up the torch, differentiating theming and mechanics until we have enough games to warrant a new category. In 2019, we’ve reached the tipping point with Soul-likes, a collection of brutal action RPGs where dodging a hit is just as important as getting one in yourself. With the release of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice generating hype, we thought it’d be the best time to survey the genre as it’s gone so far.
So, what does it take to be a Souls-like? Outside of the animation priority in combat, many of these games share a few signature mechanics. The “fireplace,” or the marker where you save your game in exchange for respawning every enemy in the area. The currency you collect from kills, originally called “Souls.” Running back to your corpse after you die in order to save your hard earned “souls.” The mysterious item descriptions that force players to experiment with every little trinket they discover along the way. Not every game has these, but they usually have at least a few ways of calling back to the originator of the genre.
There are some that cringe at the name “Souls-like”, saying it’s not a real genre. However, these are very distinctive games that each follow a rigid pattern. Sure, some mix it up here and there but denoting this style of combat as its own thing is most useful. You wouldn’t want someone who only plays Devil May Cry to stumble into Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. They’re just very different experiences for very different players. With Sekiro leading the charge for a whole new group of these games, I think “Souls-like” is here to stay.
Sekiro Soulslikes
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Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and the Best of the Soulslikes
It's always exciting to see a new genre emerge. You get that original hit game, the follow-ups and the attempts by other developers to recapture the magic. With the release of Sekiro, let's look back at the landscape of Souslikes so far. -
Demon's Souls
The original that kicked it all off (unless you count King's Field), Demon's Souls went under the radar on the PlayStation 3. Originally, gamers didn't know what to make of it, but anyone who stuck with it got an amazing experience that was unlike anything on the market. -
Dark Souls
By the time a new generation rolled around, From Software had moved from demons to darkness. The Dark Souls trilogy cemented the genre tropes, proving to achieve the popularity that their previous title had only hinted at. Far more than a cult success, these games proved to be influential even outside the genre. -
Bloodborne
Once things started taking off, original Demon's Souls publisher Sony had to get back in the action. Teaming with From, the result was Bloodborne. Taking things was from medieval castles and including firearms for the first time, this was the first hint that this formula was flexible. -
Lords of the Fallen
Developed by Deck13 Interactive and CI Games, Lords of the Fallen takes things in a more Norse direction. Using hammers and axes, you must fight towering gods and demons. After this game's success, the two developers split, with CI working on an upcoming sequel to this Viking Soulslike. -
Nioh
Team Ninja tried their hands at Souslikes with Nioh, a game where you control an Irish Samurai and fight yokai. The game was announced back in 2004 as Oni and changed hands multiple times before release. Originally another PlayStation 4 exclusive for the genre, the game has since come to PC with all its DLC bundled in. -
The Surge
Deck13 took what they learned from Lords of the Fallen and took the Soulslike genre into the future. The Surge has you stomping around in a mech suit fighting uncontrollable robots. Once you destroy an enemy, you can scrap their parts and convert them into weapons for you to use. A sequel is currently set to release in 2o19. -
Ashen
Developed by A44, Ashen puts players into a world without light. Each character is a muted faceless person, adding to the downtrodden vibe of the entire experience. While combat is inspired by Dark Souls, the game also features open-world exploration and novel passive multiplayer encounters. -
Immortal: Unchained
Going even more Norse than Lords of the Fallen, Immortal: Unchained finds you battling the monsters of Ragnarok. Instead of swords and spears, your character uses a mix of technologically advanced firearms to take down each and every mysterious foe. More fast-paced than other soulslikes, you'll need to duck and weave to stay alive. -
Death's Gambit
Pitched as a merger of Souslike and Castlevania, Death's Gambit is also one of the first games to take these concepts into the second dimension. You can choose from seven playable classes as you seek immortality in this labyrinth of death. -
Sinner: Sacrifice for Redemption
What if you didn't have to explore a Soulslike? What if you just fought a collection of out of control boss monsters? Then, you'd have Sinner: Sacrifice for Redemption. In this game, you start at your strongest and level down as you progress, adding to the challenge.
