Many fans of From Software’s famous franchises have wanted to discover more games with similar style gameplay. I mean who doesn’t love the sweet satisfaction of finding victory after having their face pummeled in a million times with the Adjudicator assaulting you with his terrifyingly long tongue. From the Victorian-style walls of the decrepit ruins left from Castle Cainhurst, through the maze of towering city buildings scattered through Anor Londo, the content alone is enough of cause of a feeling of emptiness after clawing the way through triumph over each game. However, there are still many amazing games to discover outside of the king of Souls-like ARPGs, and we at Vibe decided to come together with our top five recommendations.
5. Mortal Shell
Mortal Shell is a briefly fantastic adventure filled with a Dark Souls-style atmosphere. It brings back that maze feeling players experienced when first playing through the first Dark Souls game and had many suffering soldiers scattered about that greatly resembled the hollowed. The combat was unorthodox, mainly because you cannot block. Battles forced you into essentially dodging or parrying every hit possible. Rather than dying off the bat, the Foundling you play as loses its “shell” (skin and armor), which gives a second chance. If it dies, it respawn at the Sesters (bonfires) that resembles dolls. The combat was still satisfying despite having no shield, and bosses felt rewarding to beat. The only downside to the game was that it fell back to the same strategies and felt overall very short. While playing felt close to home with the first Dark Souls, The soundtrack failed to top off the ambiance. However, it is still one of the best Souls-like games that kept true to the franchise, and if anything, forces players to adopt new strategies outside of the traditional playstyle.
4. Remnant: From the Ashes
Remnant: From the Ashes was another tribute to the gameplay we all hold dear to our hearts, but with more of a twist. Combat mechanics resemble Dark Souls, but instead of swords, you can only blast their way to victory utilizing guns. This game is a shooter style of ARPG, and not it is far from Bloodborne. Surviving in a post-apocalyptic world, an interdimensional evil known as the Root have taken over. Playing as a survivor that harbors a vendetta against the Root, players travel to an island at the source of the enemy in hopes of defeating them. The gameplay feels rewarding, especially with the difficulty curve between damage scaling and unique combat. Some bosses are brutal leading to gratifying challenges for players that love pain. Multiplayer is favored due to the cover-based fighting arena designs, making solo runs exceedingly difficult depending on the boss. There are also so many different ways to build a character due to many unique items, weapons, and armor scattered throughout each level making backtracking a necessity. If it were not for the fact that overall damage is stunted, and the encumbrance system for armor is obnoxious, this title may have been perfect.
3. Salt and Sanctuary
Salt and Sanctuary might seem out of place due to the genre, but this masterpiece is influenced by the Dark Souls franchise. The only difference is that it is a 2D platformer; everything else remains the same for the gameplay. Playing as a guardian, they start the game shipwrecked after being attacked by a group of marauders who capture the princess, leading to a despairing rescue mission. Bosses are challenging and unconventionally designed, but many suffer from very awkward hitboxes and even glitches that result in brutal deaths. Each boss fight requires different strategies for each battle, and most of them suffer from various weaknesses that can be fought with items or spells. Overseers also usually do certain damage that can be countered with armor sets if you are lucky enough to obtain them. Every area is a maze filled with items ranging from salt boxes and bags to game-changing armor and weapons. The homage paid to the Souls franchise and led to incentive for exploration between item hunting and the overall enticing atmosphere. Sadly boss attacks felt unpredictable with the most outrageous hitboxes as previously mentioned. Every fight also shared the same music which felt like it took away from the individuality of each boss despite it being a decent song.
2. Code Vein
Code Vein is another excellent Souls-like game that provides exciting combat topped off with the best weeb experience fans as we want. Rather than having a knight in shining armor or edgy, steampunk-designed hunter, you create a full-blown anime character dressed in Victorian or skimpy gothic style clothing. The tale is dark despite the fun anime-style vibe, for the world has been infected by parasites that turn humans into revenants (vampires) in need of blood, otherwise the vampires would turn into demons known as the Lost. Memories are lost as a result of turning into a Vampire, causing feelings that they are losing themselves and becoming strangers in their bodies. The goal is to recover lost memories to escape the nightmare that plagues the world. The combat plays very similarly to the traditional Souls gameplay as far as combat, resting at vestiges to level and revive enemies, and even the ambiance and exploration. Classes (known as blood codes) are original and built on gifts and, as a bonus, which can be cycled in combat. While picking up on new blood codes as the game progresses, each Blood Code comes with a skill tree filled with gifts. The only downside is that some classes suffered from boring gifts, mainly the mage classes. Many abilities felt repetitive, especially with the first caster class. Boss fights were fun but sometimes suffered from awkward hitboxes. Otherwise, this adventure was a great addition to the Souls collection.
1. Nioh
While it is odd that I did not pick the second Nioh, the first entry made more sense given that they relate to each other. So it is better to start with the first game to appreciate the franchise. Nioh is based on the Western Samurai and follows a man named William Adams. Set during the Sengoku Period in the 1600s, William becomes imprisoned by Englishmen after being contracted by the queen to steal Amrita stones. He ends up on a plot for revenge after being wrongfully imprisoned and robbed of his water spirit by an evil man known as Edward Kelley. Nioh has a fantastic storyline matched with insanely good gameplay that is not only Souls-like but also heavily influenced by Ninja Gaiden. Weapon choices dictate the player’s build in the game as other Souls games do. There are so many weapons to choose from between fast dual wield damage or the traditional katana. Even weapons like kusarigama and battle-axes give a mix-up to cater to every playstyle. There is no blocking with shields just like in Remnant and Mortal Shell, but the difference is blocking with your weapon is possible if parrying timing is off. Combat will feel way faster since it is fully Ninja Gaiden based, but the mechanics for resting, leveling, and monster spawns feel right at home. The only downside to the game is that most mechanics and content are poorly explained, and the coop design is very sub-par. Overall Nioh is hands down the best Souls-like game in terms of combat, story, and content.
Honorable Mentions
- Nioh 2
- The Surge (1 and 2)
- Hollow Knight
- Blasphemous
- Lords of the Fallen
Veteran gamer, tech nerd, comic addict, anime lover, and just your average introverted weeb.
