Summary
FromSoftware’sElden Ringsolidified a new era of action RPGs and Soulslikes with its sprawling world, cryptic lore, and punishing but rewarding combat. While many Soulslike games andElden Ringborrow elements fromDark Souls, there are only so many that achieve the same feeling of exploration and danger.
The great thing aboutElden Ringis how many challenges it offers, with many ways to approach them in the form of equipment and skills. The followingSoulslike gamesemulate the same feeling of freedom when it comes to facing challenging worlds.
Another Crab’s Treasureis a cartoonish, brightly colored game with deceptively deep mechanics, following Kril the hermit crab who was stripped of his shell and forced to use trash as weapons. Beneath the ocean’s colorful surface lies a challenging Soulslike focused on dodge and parry timing, pattern recognition, and strategic gear choices. LikeElden Ring, each enemy requires focus, especially the bosses.
The world ofAnother Crab’s Treasureinvites exploration throughenvironmental storytellingand backtracking to find Microplastics to upgrade Kril. This game mimics FromSoftware designs in the best ways through its freedom of exploration, hidden items to discover, and challenging combat.
Enotria: The Last Songis aesthetically similar toElden Ring, aside fromthe Italian folklore theme, complete with eldritch horrors and a ruinous world. This game plays like many Soulslike games, with combat emphasizing timing to parry, dodge, and punish attacks.
Players take on the role of the “Maskless One,” a warrior who wields different masks that provide varying combat styles and equipment loadouts. This system is unique because players can switch between masks on the fly, making each encounter a strategic dance between styles.
Remnant 2is heavily inspired by Soulslike games, but it mechanically plays closer to a third-person shooter game. Players in this game can wield up to two guns alongside their melee weapon, with a set class archetype that has unique skills to contribute to combat. The world ofRemnant 2feels as big and scary asElden Ring, with bosses that require a great balance of dodging and dealing damage.
This game sends players into a twisted sci-fi eldritch horror universe, traveling across different worlds to find segments of “the Index.” The biggest difference to contend with here is how procedural generation affects everything from enemy types and boss characters down to the aesthetic of a region and storyline quests.
AI Limitfeels likeElden Ringwith its brutal melee combat and Soulslike exploration, only this one is set in an anime-inspired apocalyptic sci-fi world. With a similarly moody and twisted world,AI Limitstands out as a challenging and alternative version of Soulslike games.
The world ofAI Limithas powerful enemies that require quick thinking and understanding of combinations of weapons and weapon skills. And similar toBloodborne, combat encourages constantly attacking enemies, here with a Sync Rate meter, where weapons increase in effectiveness the higher the meter is.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynastymay be more linear than a game likeNioh, but it feels likeElden Ringin terms of its combat mechanics and how challenging every enemy encounter is. This game is an action RPG rooted in Chinese history and close-quarters combat, featuring magical creatures and epic boss fights.
After players create their avatar and choose one of the five classes, they will find themselves at odds against the world.Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty’schallenging combat revolves around deflecting attacks to counter opponents, andbuilding a spirit gaugethat allows players to unleash powerful spirit attacks.
Lords of the Fallenfeels like an alternative to theDark Soulsseries, and likeElden Ring, features a dark fantasy world with creepy monsters and a narrative that ends in multiple different ways. Players can fight in this world as one of nine classes and explore Axiom andits twisted monsters.
This game presents itself more like aDark Soulsgame rather than a Soulslike, featuring a similar mechanic of retrieving lost experience points when they die and the intense fights in between runs.Lords of the Fallenfeels like it could be an extension toElden Ring, swarming with eldritch horrors on a mangled path.
Thymesiais a dark, eerie world with plague-ridden environments and fragments of lore, like a mix betweenBloodborneandElden Ring. This game focuses on aggressive, quick-paced combat driven by precise parries centered around a dual-weapon system. Parrying slightly drains the health of enemies, which encourages players to get close and take risks.
The bosses inThymesiaare relentless, ranging from human-sized to massive beast encounters. Players can mix their attacks with plague-based magic to get an edge on their opponents. Overall, this game is a tight addition to Soulslike games and an impressive debut from the devs at OverBorder Studio.
The First Berserker: Khazanis a heavy-hitting, combat-driven game featuring parry mechanics and brutal enemy design. Every encounter, from minor to major, is ruthless, and for a game centered around managing stamina to dodge, block, and attack,Khazanmakes for a strategic challenge in approaching enemies. Enemies can recover their stamina, so like a berserk warrior, players must relentlessly attack.
Similar toElden Ring, the world design is bleak, filled with interconnected zones full of ambushes and secrets, and a narrative with multiple endings. AlthoughThe First Berserker: Khazanis more linear and only features three weapon types to fight with. Players can find equipment upgrades and level up their skills, and engage in an epic plot against necromancy and chaos magic.
Black Myth: Wukongis a unique action RPG with Soulslike elements, steeped in Chinese folklore and played through high-speed martial arts action and mythological worldbuilding on a cinematic scale. The scale and difficulty of this game resembleElden Ring, and match its energy with sprawling landscapes, nonlinear progression, and detailed characters with intense combat.
Like other Soulslikes,Black Myth: Wukongexcels at quick combo-based combat with engaging battles centered around pattern recognition and effectively using skills combined in a skill tree. There are many bosses in this world, and many of them are so large in scale that it feels like an insurmountable challenge, yet achieving victory is so satisfying.
Lies of Pis one of the best additions to the Soulslike genre, feeling likeElden Ringin terms of atmosphere, scale, and challenging combat. In a world loosely based on the storyThe Adventures of Pinocchio,Lies of Pfollows a puppet traversing the hostile city of Krat. The world design unfolds through interconnected zones with a haunting gothic atmosphere reminiscent ofBloodborneandElden Ring.
Combat tests players' ability in timing, resource management, and weapon mastery throughweapon crafting that allows for mixing and matching customizations. The multiphase boss fights are relentless and rewarding for those who learn enemy patterns and succeed. With tight combat and layered exploration,Lies of Pstands as one of the most refined Soulslike experiences in recent years and is a must-play for anyone who lovedElden Ring.
