The world of video games is so broad and changing that, within it, genres and subgenres emerge over time. And an adventure game is not the same as a fighting game, nor a role-playing game as a puzzle game.
Although, obviously, many of these genres are combined with each other or are born from the innovations of a specific game. One of these subgenres, which has gained considerable attention and passionate followers in recent years, is the ‘soulslike’ or ‘souls-like’ genre.
This term refers to action role-playing or action-adventure video games that have two very marked characteristics: the main one is a high level of difficulty, making it demanding on the player; the other is a very elaborate narrative, giving great importance to the story and setting.
Dark Souls: the soul of the genre.
The ‘soulslike’ label comes from the successful video game saga ‘Dark Souls’, developed by FromSoftware. Since its debut, the franchise has sold 35 million copies worldwide between its titles ‘Dark Souls’, ‘Dark Souls II’, ‘Dark Souls III’ plus their respective expansions or DLCS, becoming a cult phenomenon.
These games offered a dark setting, with a plot rich in nuances, in a hostile world. Furthermore, death was very present, and avoiding it by progressing through the game was really difficult, considering it to be one of the most demanding games that exist. And that combination was the key to their success.
That is why it ended up resulting in its own subgenre, imitated or honored by titles from other developers, which offered, as in the titles of the successful series, a combined experience of demanding difficulty and elaborate plot.
Later, once the term ‘soulslike’ began to spread, another label appeared to refer to the games of this subgenre also developed by FromSoftware, ‘soulsborne’, also alluding to the best known of them beyond the aforementioned franchise, the video game ‘Bloodborne’ (2015).
And, as a whole, all the ‘Soulsborne’ games, including those already mentioned and other titles from the company such as ‘Demon Souls’ (2009), which was the seed of the ‘Dark Souls’ series, ‘Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice ‘ (2019) ‘Elden Ring’ (2022); They have sold more than 87 million copies.
The beauty of a challenge.
In addition to those already mentioned, other features of these games include challenging and tactical combat, an interconnected and labyrinthine world, an intriguing plot, and often a dark setting with an oppressive or sinister atmosphere.
Usually, in these titles, a single mistake can constitute the player’s total defeat, which generates a very immersive feeling of tension, as well as being very rewarding when a particularly difficult challenge is solved.
Because, unlike other more conventional action games, where reflexes are almost the only thing to take into account, in ‘soulslike’ each important combat requires patience, since you have to learn the behavior of the enemies to combine strategy with precision.
Another notable aspect of this type of video game is the importance of exploration through the map. Often, the worlds they present, full of mystery and danger, hide secrets such as alternative routes, shortcuts and hidden areas; and are tricky to explore, in exchange for rewarding curious players for their perseverance.
This feeling of exploration is reinforced thanks to the usual narrative in these games: the plot is usually fragmented, offering alternative endings depending on the player’s decisions, intense dialogues and a very elaborate setting, usually deep and with a dark and adult tone, which invites to reflection.
Other ‘soulslike’ games.
The difficulty of ‘soulslike’ games has been a topic of debate among players and critics. Lovers of this type of title praise the challenge as its main attraction, and some even believe that there should not be optional difficulty levels.
For their part, detractors of the genre find it frustrating and feel that the skill gap can be exclusionary, not allowing any user to progress through the story.
But it seems that, even if it never rains to everyone’s liking, ‘soulslike’ games have a lifespan, because the list of available titles only grows, and many of them are critically acclaimed, sweep sales and sometimes win awards. with the main prizes in the ‘gamer’ world.
Other great games of this subgenre, outside of the titles developed by FromSoftware, are ‘Lords of the Fallen’ (2014), ‘Salt and Sanctuary’ (2016), ‘Nioh’ (2017), ‘The Surge’ (2017), ‘Code Vein’ (2019), ‘Blasphemous’ (2019), ‘Mortal Shell’ (2020), ‘Lies of P’ (2021), ‘Steelrising’ (2022), ‘Thymesia’ (2022), ‘Star Wars Jedi : Survivor’ (2023), ‘Rise of the Ronin’ (2023) and ‘Stellar Blade’ (2024).
One of the most recent ‘souslike’ video games, which just saw the light of day on May 22, is ‘Enotria: The Last Song’, set in Italian folklore and with luminosity as a distinctive element instead of the dark tones typical of the subgenre, making the players into a perverse play.
In short, you know: if you are one of those who think that death, within a video game, can be the beginning of another great adventure, or want to test your nerves, ‘soulslike’ games can be the incentive you were looking for. .
By Nora Cifuentes.
EFE / Reports.
