In honour of His Souliness
Sorry, definition nerds.
‘Soulslike’ is a word now.
Disgusting, I know, but this is how genres are made.
Along comes a giant likeDark Soulsthat everybody won’t stop bleating about and soon it has copycats.
Read on to discover more.
After all, you’re able to’t be “like” the thing you are.
And like most of our lists, the game you like is number 11.
Anyway, let’s get on with it:
10.
And it’s a good game about being a crow who loves to fight bosses and dig up secrets.
All of which are glossed with smooth surfaces that make the little details pop.
For similar-ish gothic vibes,Lords Of The Fallen (2023)delivers a more traditional souls romp.
Namely: you dodge roll enemies and you shoot them to death while doing so.
So no,Remnant 2doesn’t offer the typical Souls experience.
Oh and the guns in this game are excellent!
You simply couldn’t ask for more.
Elsewhere, Nine Sols storytelling brims with imagination, and its environments range from oppressive to gorgeous.
But if you fancy something more soothing, there’sOri And The Blind Forest.
It’s a grounded metroidvania full to the chalice brim of religious iconography and hard-hitting enemies.
You slice holy men in floating chairs, slash self-flagellating whipfellas, and fell sad tree beasts.
And all that soulsian lingo we’re used to has a gory Christian twist.
Beating a boss is a ‘Humiliation of Penance’.
But it handles well and feels good in the old soulfingers.
Parrying is nice and generous and you’re able to clasp onto missed ledges automatically.
Plus it runs so hard with its theme that you’ve got to admire its blood-soaked vestments.
Ashenis a lighter, softer souls, but it retains just enough of that toughness you probably like.
Veterans of Undead Burg will drop in comfortably.
This soulchild hugs FromSoft’s skirt so close it’s hard to spot its face among the folds.
That might be because it doesn’t have a face.
The characters in Ashen have fluffy moustaches and hair, but no eyes or mouth.
Occasionally that NPC will start acting weird.
That’s because a real player is controlling them now.
you’ve got the option to help each other up ledges and enter special two-player dungeons.
In a lot of ways this is the most gentle sorta-souls on this list.
If the Buddha were a mythical creature, he’d be this thing.
Or if you fancy something more strategic set in feudal Japan, tryShadow Tactics.
God, I’ve spent hours slicing through Sengoku Japan inNioh 2.
The level select screen returns, as do the spiky-shouldered demons and corrupted yokai slabbered in blood.
Or like, fling mines?
What’s brilliant about Lies Of P is its combination of customisation and feel.
It’s polished,realpolished, and in the hands it comes very close to the FromSoft experience.
The fiery dagger combined with spear is a delightful way to quickly set enemies on fire from a distance.
Seriously, don’t pass this one up folks.
Oh, I see.
you’re able to’t summon pals or get invaded by nasty men with giant hammers.
a giant steel umbrella, a gun that shoots money).
But what a blade.
The fighting in Sekiro is eerily satisfying.
And there are some bosses that will make you go absolutely ape.
Dead Cells
What else should I be playing:Any other roguelite.
The RPS treehouse has plenty ofBinding Of Isaacdevotees if grim-funny psychoanalytical mum-killing is your bag.
Genre is stupid, we’ve established that.
Honestly, some games are just greedy.
Greedy for FUN, that is.
It’s a speedy slicer of constant change.
In Souls games, you often get fixated on one character build that works.
Oh look, a ‘cursed" sword.
I wonder what it does.
Or go forCelesteif you want platforming magic and challenge, but with easy options.
Bigger than that giant spider on your neck.
You scuttle downward, nail in hand, slicing at baddies until you hit the first real boss.
But this is only the tip of the termite mound.
Here’sa map of the first area.
And here’s a map ofthe full game.
Your journey through the subterranean landscape of Hallownest has all the established quirks of this filthy newborn soulgenre.
It’s got tough-as-jerky bosses, and punishing rooms full of cheeky invertebrates.
And it has that characteristically obtuse storytelling, delivered with some classic cryptosouls lore peppering.
So yes, Hollow Knight conforms to all the dogma of His Souliness.
And while that secret-hiding stonework might be shaky, everything else is rock soild.
