8 Essential Soulslike Video Games
This is a list-style feature from Collider rounding up essential "Soulslike" video games — titles inspired by FromSoftware's Dark Souls, Bloodborne and Elden Ring, but not made by FromSoftware itself. It highlights games that borrow the genre's hallmarks of tough combat, checkpoint-based resting spots and heavy environmental storytelling while pushing the format into new settings and mechanics.
The article discusses several standout entries, though the excerpt provided is incomplete: – Another Crab's Treasure — a cartoonish but genuinely difficult Soulslike set undersea, where players use discarded rubbish as disposable shells instead of armour – The Surge — a sci-fi take with an upgradable exosuit in place of swappable armour, a dismemberment-focused "bullet time" combat mechanic, and a lengthy 30-40 hour campaign – Bleak Faith: Forsaken — an indie entry set in a vast, unsettling megastructure called the Omnistructure, praised for its atmosphere and lore-driven storytelling despite modest length – Mortal Shell — mentioned as another notable entry, though its description is cut off in the available text
- Feature lists essential Soulslike games beyond FromSoftware's own titles
- Another Crab's Treasure and The Surge show genre's range beyond dark fantasy
- Bleak Faith: Forsaken praised for atmosphere and environmental storytelling
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Soulslike games take their name from FromSoftware’s Dark Souls series, which helped popularise a style of action role-playing game built around demanding fights and exploration. Players often return to checkpoints after defeat, while the world’s history is conveyed through places, objects and brief clues rather than a straightforward explanation.
Other studios have adapted those ideas in different settings and with their own mechanics. The games in this feature include Another Crab’s Treasure, set beneath the sea, and The Surge, which uses science-fiction equipment and combat; Bleak Faith: Forsaken and Mortal Shell are also among the titles discussed.
These games matter to players and developers because they show how a recognisable formula can be reshaped without being made by FromSoftware. Their different worlds and systems offer varied approaches to challenge, exploration and storytelling.