What is a “soulslike”? The genre’s defined by the unique features popularized inFromSoft’sDark Soulsseries. A dark world full of monsters, a story you piece together yourself, many characters, and challenging combat. You gain XP through combat and lose it when you die, respawning from some iteration of a “bonfire”. You build your stats and fight massive, difficult bosses.
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Indie developers have built on, rearranged, and otherwise remixed what it means to be a soulslike, but the best have those key components. Today we’ll just be talking about indie games, but this list of games is just as strong as one including AAA titles.
10Immortal: Unchained
The idea of a shooter soulslike sounds pretty cool on paper, but Immortal: Unchained is last because it isn’t the best proof of concept. Limited ammo on your main weapon combined with close-quarters combat makes Immortal feel closer to a survival horror game. The most aggravating thing might be the completely nonsensical enemy hitboxes.
Rather than the typical dodge-strike-dodge combat style, this game encourages the sneaky-archer technique you’d see inSkyrim. The levels are all very samey, and it’s easy to get turned around. On the plus side, the melee/ranged combo can be fun sometimes, and there’s plenty of weapon variety. Also, the sci-fi designs are really cool, and it’s fun to piece the story together.
9Pascal’s Wager
Yes, Pascal’s Wager is a mobile game, perhaps the best example of a soulslike on the platform. From a design perspective, the game truly goes all out utilizing the hardware. Movement and combat are super clunky, but there’s a pretty in-depth stat upgrade system and a sanity system that adds a second, harder phase to enemies.
The characters and world have pretty cool, elaborate designs that are heavily inspired byBloodborne. So heavily, that it sometimes feels like a blatant ripoff. TheNintendo Switchport plays better, and the game is cheap, short, and accessible to folks who don’t favor the genre. It’s mostly soulslike in appearance but impressive for what it is.
8Hollow Knight
Hollow Knighthas already been called one of the greatest metroidvanias out there, and it ranks low so the soulslike spotlight can shine on other gems. But man, is this game firing on all cylinders when it comes to emulating Dark Souls’ best traits. The atmosphere is moody and reverential, in a unique almost cutesy world.
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The movements feel tight, and magic upgrades work well in making the Knight feel agile. There are so many varied bosses to face that eventhe best speedrunning techniquesare categorized by the bosses you must defeat.
7SteelRising
This one had perhapsthe most eye-catching trailerin the lot.SteelRisingutilizes a historic setting rarely seen in gaming, the French Revolution, meshed with steampunk influences. Playing as an android does make for an interesting take on the typical soulslike progression system, even if some of the design choices feel pretty cookie-cutter.
While the visuals are nice, the linear pacing seems to lack direction, such that the level designs can be confusing, and fighting enemies becomes tedious. The animations are great, but SteelRising greatly suffers from the lack of combat variety, keeping it in seventh place.
6Hellpoint
This game is an incredible twist on the soulslike genre that mingles science fiction with old-world occultism. You’d never believe that the game was developed by a team of a dozen people by its thoughtful enemy and set designs. There’s some ripping at the seams with soft-lock bugs and missing features such as fast travel, which keeps the game in third place.
Not to mention, such a unique world practically begs for greater attention to be paid to the overarching narrative, but we don’t really see that here. Nevertheless,Hellpointshines in its combat, withthe best boss fightson the list, even if the challenge curve plateaus after a point.
5Blasphemous
Sure,Blasphemousis primarily a metroidvania, but it’s so defined by the visual and story-telling style of soulslikes that it easily fits into the genre. Blasphemous’ world truly feels like a fine blending ofCastlevaniaand Dark Souls influences so densely packed with gothic Catholic imagery.
Blasphemous allows you to explore pretty freely, and consistent but minor side quests add to the intrigue, even if backtracking can be a pain. The animations are beautiful, the movement is smooth, and your weapon has weight. The game’s greatest strengths lie in its classification as a metroidvania, which keeps it at number four.
4Darksiders 3
TechnicallyDarksiders 3isn’t an indie title, picked up by publisher THQNordic to continue this beloved series. But, we hate to say it: it definitely looks like an indie game. Darksiders 3 follows the series’ pattern of introducing different styles of gameplay based on the character you’re playing as, so Darksiders 3’s soulslike dynamics are new in this game.
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Despite its almost nostalgic simplicity, the level and character design work with the material. Combat is pretty satisfying and requires a degree of careful movement and strategizing you’d expect in a soulslike. Exploration is a major part of it, and it’s actually fun; backtracking doesn’t feel super tedious. DS 3 sits in fourth due to its uninspired story and characters.
3Remnant: From The Ashes
If you turn up your nose at soulslikes that refrain from ultimate punishment, don’t worry,Remnant: From the Ashescan be as hard or as lenient as you want. The environments are beautifully varied from level to level, and the enemy designs are truly inspired. The class you choose to start isn’t super important, since traits and weapon specialization can be altered and built upon as you play.
The shooting is so responsive, differences in enemy behavior forces you to be reactive, and the procedural worlds make endless exploration a blast. Where Remnant fails as a soulslike is its lack of interesting boss battles, which are often padded out with minion hordes. While the lore is interesting, it mostly exists in simple flavor text; missing these key features of the genre keeps it in third place, despite its exquisite gameplay.
2The Surge
The Surgedefined the genre before we’d even really coined the term “soulslike”, and inspired games that better expound on Dark Souls mechanics. Putting a time limit on picking up your XP feels pointlessly punishing, but if you enjoy playing soulslikes, that’s probably exactly what you came for. Combat is responsive, striking that balance between difficult to learn and rewarding as hell.
The leveling system mostly focuses on building ever-stronger equipment. Though the story’s definitely there, both in flavor text and environment, it’s definitely not what you’re playing this game for. Despite being more colorful than Dark Souls, the environments are pretty bland; whatever comes to your head when I say “industrial” is probably accurate.
Ashen’s minimalist style practically begs you to focus on the finer machinations of its soulslike gameplay and atmosphere. Despite looking like someone’s unfinished Blender project, the world is pretty, and the movement is precise and impactful. Although unabashedly borrowing from Dark Souls, Ashen adds its own signature features like player companions, open levels, and a much lighter tone than usual.
Everything that makes a soulslike’s combat fun is here, as well as strong characters, great design, and interesting lore. It’s also blessedly short, wrapping up a pretty story in a fleshed-out fantasy world defined by the “Light vs Dark” trope without becoming tiresome as so many soulslikes do.
