At this point, it feels next to impossible to find a third-person action game completely devoid of very direct Soulslike influence. This isn't just low-level stuff like hard-as-nails bosses or cryptic storytelling through flavour text (though they're definitely more prevalent too), but the foundation mechanics, like rest points, death mechanics, and lots of stamina management.
The Ultimate Challenge: Hardest Soulslike Bosses Not By FromSoftware
You'll get them next time: Here are the most brutal boss encounters in Soulslike titles not developed by FromSoftware!
In fact, there are plenty of games out there that if they just had a bit more faith in their own ideas, they really could have soared. And there are plenty of great games with Soulslikes features at the forefront too, and they could have been even better if they stripped them away and embraced their own killer features instead.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
And Maybe A Bit More Sekiro And Metroidvania
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Mild Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Respawn Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- Franchise
- Star Wars
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure, Soulslike, Sci-Fi
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- How Long To Beat
- 20 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 134 GB (May 2024)
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
When Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order originally released, it was stark just how many features it had akin to Sekiro. While it was openly acknowledged as having plenty of Soulslike influence, from the Meditation points and respawning enemies, no one could have expected both it and Sekiro woul release in the same year with parrying as a core mechanic to quickly dispatch enemies.
So many were hopeful that Jedi: Survivor would go harder on these aspects instead, but it didn't. It was more, but not really different. If they had stepped back from some of the Soulslike mechanics and instead went even heavier on the flashy combat and dueling aspect of Lightsabers, it would have helped the game stand out more from its predecessor.
Hell Is Us
War Is Hard Enough As It Is
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Rogue Factor
- Publisher(s)
- Nacon
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Number of Players
- Single-player
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unknown
- PC Release Date
- September 4, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- September 4, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- September 4, 2025
- Genre(s)
- Action, Adventure, Open-World
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
When Dark Souls became massively popular, seemingly everyone started to take from its for their own games, combat systems supplemented with the popular and functional one from Souls games. Except most people seem to understand why that combat system is enticing. It's not the core mechanics, but the enemy design and variability of builds.
This was a mistake Hell Is Us made. The exploration is great, and it has a world and enemies that are genuinely enticing to discover. Except there are only five of them, and nowhere near the depth you'd need to make this combat enticing. Had they instead made the game more focused on avoiding enemies, the pitfalls of Soulslike combat systems could have been avoided.
Stellar Blade
Looks Like Nier, Just Doesn't Quite Play Like It
- ESRB
- M for Mature
- Developer(s)
- Shift Up
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- Wiki
- Metascore
- 82
From day one, Stellar Blade was compared to Nier: Automata. From the intentionally eye-catching female protagonist to the presentation of its UI and world, it felt very directly influenced by it. In fact, in a wave of games that included so many Souls mechanics, it seemed like a breath of fresh air, even if it felt derivative of Nier in the same way.
Except then it did have Souls combat. It was much faster and flashier, and notably had a large focus on parrying, but it was a far cry from the character-action combat of Nier. Locking-on and circling enemies was key, and you had to be more precise in timing your attack and managing your various meters. It separates it from Nier, but ends up falling into a middle-ground that doesn't stand out by itself.
Black Myth: Wukong
All Vim But No Vigour
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Game Science
- Publisher(s)
- Game Science
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unknown
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PC, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
- How Long To Beat
- 39 hours
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- Wiki
Black Myth: Wukong falls into an awkward position. On reveal, it looked more like a character-action game, with big combos, fancy animations and high-speed combat. Except it was actually more Soulslike, with limited healing, stamina bars, and more grounded than expected combat. While at times beautiful, it feels lacking in identity.
Can't Wait For More Black Myth? Play These Games While You Wait
There are a lot more options out there during the long wait for the next Black Myth.
In reality, it feels like the game lacked the confidence to be what it looked like. Character-action games have nowhere near the popularity of Soulslikes, but that style of gameplay would have fit the extravagance of Sun Wukong much better. The man flies on a cloud and has incredible agility, yet here he is confined by stamina and gravity.
Darksiders 3
Don't Change What's Not Broken
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Gunfire Games
- Publisher(s)
- THQ Nordic
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- Franchise
- Darksiders
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
- How Long To Beat
- 15 Hours
- PS Plus Availability
- Extra & Premium
- Wiki
The Darksiders games, at least the original duology, are much closer to character-action games, though honestly fit closer to the God of War Hack'n'Slash style of combat. Darkiders 2 even added some RPG mechanics to the mix, yet still expanded upon the combo-heavy combat in a way that felt deeper and allowed playstyles.
Darksiders 3 did away with basically all of that. The game gave you a partially non-linear structure, and the combat became directly taken from Dark Souls, but with a splash of the flash from earlier entries. And sadly, it's just worse. There was so much room to improve upon the combat in previous entries, especially with Fury being so much more nimble.
Hollow Knight
I Really Don't Need To Fight Myself
Hollow Knight
- Released
- February 24, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ for Everyone 10+: Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood
- Developer(s)
- Team Cherry
- Publisher(s)
- Team Cherry
- Engine
- Unity
- Franchise
- Hollow Knight
- Genre(s)
- Metroidvania
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, macOS, Linux
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- How Long To Beat
- 27 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- No
- File Size Xbox Series
- 7 GB (November 2023)
- PS Plus Availability
- Extra & Premium
- Wiki
Hollow Knight has for years after its release been described as a Soulslike, almost exclusively down to the fact that it has many bosses that are very hard. It is a hard game, but that's hardly the sole criteria to being a Soulslike game. Hard games have always existed. That said, Hollow Knight does actually have one core Souls mechanic it could do without.
Hollow Knight Enemies And The Real-Life Creatures They're Based On
Can you identify the creatures these Hollow Knight characters are based on?
Upon death, you drop all of your currency, and your Soul meter gets cut by a third, just like Dark Souls 2. You also need to defeat the shade you drop to reclaim your currency, which is pretty weak, but may make things harder considering there's a reason you died there originally. At least Hornet doesn't have to deal with any of this.
Lies of P
It's Already Great, But It Could Have Been Even Better
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Round8 Studio, Neowiz
- Publisher(s)
- Neowiz
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- Genre(s)
- Soulslike
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
- How Long To Beat
- 20 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 35 GB (November 2023)
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- Wiki
- Metascore
- 84
Lies of P is great, likely much better than anyone expected from another dark take on a classic children's tale. Making machines the core enemies was a great stylistic choice, and the ability to functionally make your own weapons plays heavily into the industrial period the game is set in. Funny enough, it gets the work it has adapted, even if it basically retains nothing of the actual story.
However, there are times where it feels like the Soulslike structure is a limit to its ideas. At times, with its heavy reliance on parrying and prosthetic arm, it feels like Sekiro is where the bulk of its ideas came from, and more of that agility would have been welcome in the game, both in terms of combat and exploration.
Rise Of The Ronin
It's No Elden Ring
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Team Ninja
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Engine
- Proprietary
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op
- PC Release Date
- March 11, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- March 22, 2024
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Adventure, Open-World
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
- How Long To Beat
- 25 Hours
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- Wiki
- Metascore
- 76
Elden Ring proved that an open-world Soulslike game can work, but you have to do it right. Enemy camps become more enticing when every action is critical, but collectibles are basically a non-entity. You have to have a target to beat or to reach, and a functional reward. Rise of the Ronin, though a great game, didn't make that choice.
Instead, it's much more of an Assassin's Creed-style open-world, packed with zones to clear, items to find and gear to collect. This is fun because Team Ninja creates great combat systems. However, relying on limited healing and checkpoints and losing so much of your experience when you die is maybe not the best fit for a game like this.
Forget Bloodborne, These Are The Best Gothic Soulslike RPGs
Itching for another Soulslike in a gothic setting? Look no further than these titles that will surely scratch that itch!