Summary
The soulslike genre isfull of amazing gamesthat all follow a similar, challenging formula, while innovating and experimenting in their own unique ways. It’s great to be able to hop into a familiar environment that still provides something new, and every new game added to the genre comes with even more mechanics for players to try.
The balance between innovation and failure is a fine line that is very hard to find, as there are many instances of games adding a feature that makes the gameplay feel worse. But when that sweet spot is found, it ushers in a new era for others to follow and iterate upon, bringing the whole genre forward with it.
1Messages And Phantoms
Extra Information From The Community
One of the coolest features that the Soulsgames brought with them was the multiplayer messages that served as tiny pieces of extra information, coming straight from other players' worlds. Exploring an area with no tutorials or directions can be quite tricky, so it was always nice to have a bit of guidance and company along the way, even if the messages were sometimes funny tricks.
Aside from the messages, seeing other players' bloodstains and their moves around the world is a super-cool feature that adds another level of depth to every encounter. Sometimes, a room would contain a tasty-looking piece of loot, but a phantom would appear, showing them dying to an unseen enemy,encouraging extra patience, and giving players more tools to deal with the threats in the world.
2Jump Button
It Just Makes Sense To Have One
The topic of mobility has always been around in soulslike games, as for the most part, players are glued to the ground with very few options in terms of movement. Games likeBloodbornebroke the mold a bitwith the quick-step, but still used the same clunky jump method that required multiple inputs to pull off.
But with new games releasing likeElden RingandSteelrising, the inclusion of a jump button seems like the perfect way to open up both the world and the combat in the genre. In the past, jump attacks always involved sprinting, but having an individual button helps out the process significantly, and also allows certain areas to be expanded vertically in more intuitive ways.
3Bonfires
Handy Checkpoints Along The Way
Checkpoints are an incredibly important part of any game, and they are even more crucial in the soulslike genre, where death is almost guaranteed. The best games in the genre always have well-placed and useful save points that help the player take a breather and give them more than just a place to pause the game.
Straightforward save points that reset the area, restore health, and provide more options like leveling up are always the most enjoyable to use, but when games omit certain features or require players to take extra steps, it can feel like a poor design choice that adds unnecessary time that could be spent elsewhere.
4Co-op
Better To Have The Option Than Not
Soulslike games, for the most part, are almost always associated with single-player experiences that see players taking on challenging opponents all by themselves. There are plenty of multiplayer options in these games that allow other players to be summoned for assistance, but many titles don’t allow the function or gate it behind awkward mechanics that take too long or don’t work at all.
Newer titles likeNightreigndemonstrate how seamless co-op can be and how it can work incredibly well with the existing formula. The feature shouldn’t necessarily be a compulsory one, but it is nice to have as an insurance policy for when players want tomake things a bit easieror to just play with their friends.
5Free Respecs
Try Something New Whenever You Want
When playing through a long campaign with a character, players will be leveling up and collecting all kinds of weapons and skills to add to their arsenal. There are plenty of examples of games that allow players to refund their skill points or reset certain stats, yet those abilities are often gated behind a currency or item that is hard to come by.
The best respec mechanics, like inBlack Myth: Wukong, are the ones that allow players to change out their skills at any time, without it costing them anything. Mechanics like this let players try out some extra things that would otherwise be locked and switch to other weapons without worrying about wasting their precious resources on something they actually don’t want.
6Refillable Heals
Keeps The Fight Coming
Healing is an integral part of thesoulslike experience. Taking damage is impossible to avoid in a playthrough, so having a reliable way of healing makes every fight feel better and doesn’t punish mistakes nearly as hard.
Any time the player has to collect more healing items, like inMortal ShellorBloodborne, is time spent away from the actual gameplay. The flow of the games just makes more sense when players can rest or find a save point and instantly get back into the action, knowing they have the heals they need to keep going.
7Fast Travel
Run-backs Are Never Fun
Back in the early days ofDark Souls, fast travel was a feature that needed to be earned and was inaccessible at the start. Although this mechanic was thematically related and made the game feel more rewarding from an explorative standpoint, the lack of direction and need to run around the whole map can make things feel a bit disorientating and frustrating.
Fast travel makes every part of a soulslike game feel better, as it means that all of the system-related things like leveling up, upgrading weapons, and buying items can all be accessed with ease, without the need to run for ages to get back. Also, being able to travel between save points makes grabbing items that were missed so much easier, while still keeping the core gameplay untouched.
8Parries
Skill Expression As A Choice
Deflect mechanics have been around since the beginning of the genre, starting as simple parries and quickly evolving into real tests of skill that ushered in a new, fast-paced era. Not every game needs to have the insane difficulty and precision as something likeSekiro, but having the option to repel attacks in some way is always a delight to learn and makes fighting certain enemies so much more enjoyable.
InElden Ring,for example, parries exist but are never enforced, meaning that players are free to swing their sword as much as they like, then if they want to switch to a slower, more methodical playstyle, they have the option to do so. Or withLies of P, where parries are a core part of the gameplay, players are encouraged but never forced to use them, which opens the door for adrenaline-inducing deflect battles as well as standard dodging strategies to fit any player.
