Soulslike is one of the labels you will read most often in game reviews and store pages. It describes action role-playing games that follow the formula of FromSoftware’s Souls series: large worlds full of enemies, demanding combat and a story told through the environment more than through dialogue.
Where it comes from
The credit goes to the Japanese studio FromSoftware and to director Hidetaka Miyazaki. Demon’s Souls, from 2009, laid the foundations. Dark Souls, from 2011, made the formula popular and gave the genre its name. Later games from the studio, such as Bloodborne (2015) and Elden Ring (2022), are usually discussed as part of the same family.
What defines a soulslike
- High difficulty: dying again and again is expected and is built into the way the game is played.
- Stamina-based combat: you have to watch an energy reserve, and committing to an action can leave you exposed.
- Checkpoints in the style of bonfires: places to recover, and sometimes to level up or travel, where resting may bring the enemies back.
- Currency that can be lost: when you die you can lose what you were carrying, with a chance to recover it.
- What you keep: items collected and bosses defeated usually stay that way after dying.
- Environmental storytelling: the story is pieced together from the world, the item descriptions and cryptic dialogue.
Examples from other studios
- Lords of the Fallen (2014 and 2023)
- Salt and Sanctuary (2016)
- Nioh (2017) and Nioh 2 (2020)
- The Surge (2017)
- Code Vein (2019)
- Mortal Shell (2020)
- Lies of P (2023)
Other games take ideas from the series without always being classified as soulslikes. Hollow Knight, from 2017, is a frequent example.
Is it a useful label?
The term has its critics. PC Gamer’s Austin Wood argued in 2017 that it misleads players into expecting something close to the Souls games, and others have called the category too restrictive. Developers asked in 2020 generally considered it useful for players, while admitting that it can set the wrong expectations: some buyers of Remnant: From the Ashes were disappointed to find that it is mainly a shooter.
Frequently asked questions
What is a soulslike game?
An action role-playing game that follows the formula of FromSoftware's Souls series: high difficulty, stamina-based combat, checkpoints that reset enemies and a story told through the environment.
Why are they called soulslike?
After Dark Souls (2011), the FromSoftware game that popularised the formula first seen in Demon's Souls (2009).
Is Elden Ring a soulslike?
It is made by FromSoftware, the studio credited with creating the genre, and it is usually discussed in relation to it.
This article was written with AI assistance from the sources linked above.
