A souls-like is an action RPG built around slow, deliberate combat, limited stamina, and heavy penalties for dying. Enemies and bosses hit hard, and death usually costs the currency you were carrying at the time.
The name comes from FromSoftware's Dark Souls, and the one-word spelling, soulslike, means the same thing.
How a souls-like works
Every souls-like is a kind of action RPG, but here the difficulty is the point rather than a setting you turn down. The loop is quick to describe and slow to master.
- Stamina rules every move. Attacks, dodges, and blocks all drain a stamina bar, and emptying it leaves you wide open.
- Bosses are the real checkpoints. Progress means reading an enemy's attack patterns and reacting, not out-leveling the fight.
- Dying has a cost. Death usually drops the currency you were carrying, and you get one attempt to reach the spot and pick it back up.
- Rest points refill you and reset the map. Sitting at a checkpoint restores your health, and every ordinary enemy comes back with it.
- You learn by repeating. The same corridor gets easier because you do, not because the game gets softer.
Souls-like games worth trying
- Elden Ring is FromSoftware's benchmark, dropping you into a broken kingdom with almost no direction and an ESRB Mature 17+ rating. A single boss can take many attempts before it falls, and it's our number one open world PS5 pick.
- Ashen builds its whole world around slow, stamina-limited combat, so every fight is a decision rather than a formality. It lands at number five in our open world Switch guide, carrying a Teen rating.
Lewis Doddy is a content writer specialising in clear, research-backed guides. His work focuses on giving readers honest comparisons, real numbers, and practical takeaways they can actually use.
Take a break between boss runs
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