There are simply too many Soulslike games today. The oversaturation of this genre has reached astronomical heights since FromSoftware’s Elden Ring became a massive success in both scope and design. After that, everyone and their mothers scrambled to make their own version of a Soulslike, churning out offshoot after offshoot, each packed with intricate lore and novel gameplay mechanics.
Now, there’s just too many to count.
I’ve been a die-hard Soulslike fan ever since I discovered what Dark Souls was capable of. After the nightmarish experience of navigating its tricky levels and punishing boss fights, I found myself constantly searching for the next Soulslike to hit the market.
Back then, finding one was a challenge. You’d only get a few, since most of them were classified as ‘Action RPGs’ back in the days. But now, the surge in games following FromSoft’s design philosophy has increased tenfold.
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+ 3It’s not that I’m ungrateful for this influx of new Soulslike games. It’s just that there are so many of them, and few do anything to stand out. None have come close to the mastery shown in Elden Ring or Dark Souls. Even Game Science’s Black Myth: Wukong — which, according to the devs, isn’t a Soulslike — still couldn’t escape the label of “just another Soulslike game.”
NeoWiz’s Lies of P seems to have captured some of the same magic FromSoftware perfected. With the release of the Overture DLC, it’s a fantastic take on the genre. The twisted fairy-tale theme and brutal yet fair boss fights feel rewarding; satisfying in that way only a well-made Soulslike can be.
click to enlarge+ 3We’re nearly halfway through 2025, and I’ve seen countless Soulslike titles trying to replicate FromSoft’s formula. From Enotria: The Last Song to The First Berserker: Khazan, they all carry that “I’ve played this before” vibe. None of them has truly caught my attention. Everything feels a little too predictable.
More Soulslikes are on the horizon this year, too. Lost Soul Aside, the long-awaited Devil May Cry-like action game from Sony, and Leenzee’s Chinese-inspired Wuchang: Fallen Feathers are both set to launch soon. At first glance, they already resemble what came before. It’s not a bad thing to try and capture that Soulslike magic — but the growing trend of “Dark Fantasy Asian Soulslike” adventures is starting to feel played out.
Even Pokemon creator Game Freak is doing it too!
click to enlarge+ 3With so many Soulslike titles flooding the market, it’s getting harder to tell one from another. Some are just derivatives of others, and if you’ve played one, you can’t help but compare it to the greats that came before.
I’m not saying I’m not interested in this new wave of Soulslikes. It’s just that most of them feel cut from the same cloth, and very few seem willing to try something truly new. At least FromSoftware tried to innovate with Elden Ring: Nightreign.
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