I am a big fan of the Dark Souls games. Huge fan in fact. I consider Dark Souls and Dark Souls III to be some of the best games to have been created in recent memory. As a fan of these games, it is understandable that I have tried to seek out games similar to these, the term Souls-Like being coined to describe games similar to Dark Souls.
Let’s start by defining what a Souls-Like is. Being such a new term, there can be disagreements on what defines Souls-Like games but commonalities typically include:
- tough but fair combat in which you observe the movements of the opponent and respond
- minimalist storytelling in which you learn about the world and characters by examining the world and items rather than being told information
- maps that include shortcuts to places you have already been
- a checkpoint system that punishes you when you die.
Dark Souls has undoubtedly had an impact on various games with regards to difficulty, combat and level layout. However, the games I want to talk about are the games that wear the Souls-Like moniker on their sleeve. Souls-Like games that I have played are Salt and Sanctuary, Nioh and The Surge. Each has tried to live up to the high standards of Dark Souls but, in my opinion, none have managed to reach it.
Each game has attempted something new. Salt and Sanctuary is a 2D Souls-Like. Nioh takes place in a Japanese setting with more emphasized RPG mechanics. The Surge takes place in a Sci-Fi setting in which combat allows the player to target specific parts of enemies bodies. I appreciate these changes but I feel that staying so close to the Dark Souls formula allows for many comparisons, many of them unfavourable.
Anyone who has played Dark Souls or its sequels will know how important movement is. Combat revolves around your ability to interpret your opponents body movements, dodge their attacks and counter. Playing these other games, I quickly realized that their movement felt different, clunky and not as responsive.
Another area I feel is lacking in these other titles is the lore. The intricate lore of the Dark Souls series constantly challenges your views of the world and adds to your many encounters with the enemies and bosses. I would argue that Salt and Sanctuary came closest to achieving the feel of the Dark Souls lore but, even then, I found it lacking with relatively few revelations.
So far, none of these games I have played have managed to reach the lofty heights of the Dark Souls series. I have hope though that we will see Souls-Likes that manage to achieve something similar to the Dark Souls series. I have yet to play Ashen, Code Vein, and many others and I continue to look forward to these games.
Thanks for reading and if you wish to seek any of the titles I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs! Also feel free to follow my curator page on Steam “JRPG Reviews” for thoughts and opinions on any JRPGs that I play and my YouTube channel “Victory Achieved Gaming” where I guide my friend through challenging games.