Best Souls-likes

[Memory]

I'm a big Dark Souls fan, but it takes so long for From Software to make a new game that I always get a craving in between. There are a lot Souls-likes, but a lot of them aren't very good. So let's compile a list of the good ones.


Ashen



I love the art style of this game. Everything has a faceted look with sort of impressionist textures. The coop is a bit like Journey, where you just stumble on other players who are in the same area, but I don't think many people are still playing it so you're more likely to come across NPCs. You're not really meant to tell which is which.


Death's Gambit



This is the only 2D Souls-like I really enjoyed. I don't think the Souls-style combat translates well into 2D, but Death's Gambit is more of a traditional platformer with Souls-like elements so I think it works out pretty well.


Jedi Fallen Order



When EA first showed this game, I thought it looked lame. EA's track record definitely didn't help. But if they had just said that it was a combination Star Wars/Souls-like/Metroidvania game, I would have been instantly sold. It's definitely the best Souls-like I've ever played.

[debleb]

well it isn’t reaaaally a soulslike but if you like soulslikes you’d probably like monster hunter! excluding MH rise it’s got a similar sort of combat. and also everything before monster hunter world is pure masochism fuel lmao

[ocean]

I really enjoy Code Vein. 

The game has a number of small issues, but the story and style and setting is just fantastic. The character creator is really robust and you can make yourself look super cool.



This is my character!

The story is really gripping and emotional, and idk, I just think it's a great game.
It runs really well across a wide range of hardware, even plays great on Steam Deck.

I wrote a big article about it on my website too, actually.
If anyone would like to have a look
https://oceanmew.com/blog/code-vein

[Inlusione]

Nioh is great but way tougher to get into, it has many more systems that you must understand before getting into the fights later in the game. The stance-based combat is also a plus that adds an indirect layer of difficulty to the game imo.

Remnant: From the Ashes: It's not really a souls-like, it's more like a co-op shooter with souls-like elements, but the game is great and many consider it a proper souls.

I still consider the first Dark Souls to be the best of them all as I didn't play any others that would make me feel similar to the original DS franchise and other FromSoftware games. That sense of awe paired with the "knights and castles" era combined with that mysterious atmosphere and "aura" was unmatched for me.