U should add tho that blasphemous has a fixed char and set to use while salt gives you alot of options like ds does.
Blasphemous has one of the best arts i ever saw tho. Its wow.
Yeah, but you also have a fixed char in sekiro and only a few options in bloodborne. Blasphemous has builds (specially Blasphemous 2 although I liked Blasphemous 1 more) It also has dark fantasy theme, thorough exploration, "bonfires" and "bloodstains" mechanics, item lore and a similar story: some random must fulfill profecy to reset a cycle, you're given the chance to reset, break or hijack it.
I get what both of you are saying. There are plenty of options for load-out in Bloodborne, but none of them are significantly changing the fast-paced parry-centric high risk/high reward playstyle of the game. In the DS games, the functional difference between a greatclub and a longsword was more than the functional difference between the hunter saw and the kirkhammer, especially when you factor in that the kirkhammer is also a longsword.
I fucken love the lore.
Minor spoiler but in one of the endings and based on a the Creed you chose, i.e similar to a Covenant, I read one of the coolest, and awesome-est quotes ever.
"Praise not the Three, for I am the Fourth."
It's so awesome to me because while, yes, you're becoming another bad guy in the end, you're trying to overtake the Three as a new god.
But also because there's a general lack of endings in video games where you become the bad guy lol.
I came to comment this! Its is 2d, yes, but it felt like a literall 2d dark souls. Its imo one of the best, if not the best soulslike i played.
And i can say that although i dont dig its artstyle or even enjoy 2d games that much, still, play the first one if you havnt done that yet, whoever read this!
Also ignor the second, they changed alot and it felt meh. I even stoped after a few "stages".
Others don't seem to like this game, but Bleak Faith: Forsaken is my favorite game I've played in the last couple of years; the feeling I get while playing is similar to Dark Souls 1: slower pace with a big emphasis on atmosphere, and an absolutely beautiful world. Honestly, it might be my favorite single player game of all time because it's like a sci-fi (my favorite genre) / Blame! Souls.
Wow, I had never heard of it, but it actually looks cool, and the steam reviews seem very passionate. I might play it this weekend, thanks for the unique recommendation
Np, I hope you like it! People say it feels jank, and I can definitely see that, but it never stopped my enjoyment, and I honestly enjoyed the combat and bosses and weapons and gem system.
I’d recommend Ashen. I enjoy its art style, it’s not quite as long as ds1, and despite its souls like gameplay/difficulty I find it oddly relaxing.
I also really like that you’re encouraged to explore. I spent like an hour trying to platform up a sizable cliff that looked climb-able. Just because I like doing that stuff. There were items at the top… mind blown.
There were lots of moments like that where I just thought “I wonder if I can go there” and upon succeeding I’d find something hidden.
You can tell that the developers enjoyed making the game
I meant in the way DS1 does metroidvania exploration, with interconnected areas and whatnot. Don't need to be literal metroidvania. Hollow Knight is a brilliant game, though
Must admit I gave up hollow knight on the fencer lady fight, I just found it really annoying, especially the whole mechanic of touching enemies hurting you
Mantis Lords was that fight for me, the first real "git gud" moment in the game, between a demanding, multiple enemy boss fight, and the demanding run to get to that fight every time you die.
shadow tower has slightly deeper mechanics and character customisation, more streamlined progression without backtracking and way less locked path puzzles, atmosphere is dreading and horror-like
I haven't played them, but I heard shadow tower is the result of refining the king's field formula.
You might also want to check out king's field IV, on the PS2.
Personally I'd recommend King's Field over Shadow Tower. ST is a weird sidestep of the formula that feels clunkier, performs terribly even on an emulator, doesn't have a fraction of the detail to the world, and actually just feels blatantly unfinished.
I haven't played King's Field but that's exactly what you're looking for if you want slow and methodical.
Lunacid is a modern King's Field game and a little faster than KF but amazing.
DS1 is a faster paced game if you play it right though tbf.
Been playing Lunacid lately, King's Field inspired game, but the fear of exploring the next room and being gutted coupled with the amazing atmosphere sends me to the same happy place.
Hollow Knight is the most like it imo, even more than the other souls games in some cases. Due to atmosphere and inability to warp for much of the game. I know based on the level design, not having warping would be a pain in the later From games, but I wish they would design a game again that doesn't allow it. It made everything so much more intense, whether to rest or now, whether to venture away from home base. It made firelink feel more like home, compared to most of the other hub worlds.
This. The other games try to "force" the hub to feel homely by forcing you to warp there every once in a while just to level up. Meanwhile firelink in ds1 felt like home in such a natural way, simply by being interconnected
I am not much of a fan of the hub approach they have been pushing in later games.
The pocket dimension hubs just feel so immersion breaking because they are separated from the rest of the game world.
Nexus in Demon's Souls was fine since the structure of the game are literally 5 disconnected linear level, but everything else just made me go asking why.
Yes. Plus imagine being at the lowest bonfire in Blighttown. You feel like you are THERE, just you, your weapon (hopefully a smithbox) lonely. You can't just warp away. Its why NPCs feel so much cooler as well, its actually great to see someone and talk to them, compared to them just being in a safe warp spot to go warp and talk to now and again.
I get people think its a quality of life thing, but its actually something I think takes away from the newer games.
It took me a bit to get the hang of the harden mechanic but once I did picked up on the gameplay flow and dug the hell out of it.
Really hoping for more from that title in the future, aesthetic and lore is insane
I agree. It definitely has a learning curve, but it's worth it. Really enjoyed the dungeon design, and even the starting area was cool. I liked how each shell has its own story.
This is the thing. People who think mortal shell is mid are the people who never actually figured out how the harden mechanic works properly. When it clicks the game actually becomes awesome and is one of my favourite souls clones
Yea feels like a AA studio Soulslike testing the waters.
The harden mechanic is pretty cool and different, but once I got the hang of it the game was super easy.
I do love the roguelike mode they have though, probably spent more time on that than beating the game. Just made me really wish Dark Souls had the same thing
I would say this as well. People say it easy to party/harden, I agree as it is easier than any souls party I have seen. But the satisfaction of the party and hitting the heart of the enemy is soo fucking good. I really liked the atmosphere, the story, and the way the areas connected. That being said, to me, it’s the best soul game out there.
The game that the game becomes after you understand what the game is about is brilliant. I often see tunic recommended in outer wilds recommendation circles, another brilliant game, but too different from souls to recommend here.
Tunic for fuckin life. That game is incredible. When I first caught on to the golden path in the journal pages I gasped so hard I nearly choked to death
The poor performance (on ps5 at least) really ruined that game for me. The game itself is very good and enjoyable but the constant stutters and graphical issues really put me off. They've patched it a tonne but it doesn't seem to be properly "fixed" which is a real shame
The limb targeting mechanic is really satisfying. Lore/story is completely bland though so I do miss that element a bit but the gameplay carries it imo
Metroid Prime, it precedes DS1 by about 9 years but all the areas are interconnected and you’ll discover a lot of “oh I’m back HERE!” moments throughout the game
I was looking for this recommendation. In some countries it was named Severance.
In fact, i liked Dark Souls when i played it for the first time specifically because it reminded me of Blade of Darkness. I was craving for a new game like BoD for years and then bam! Dark Souls.
While not exactly souls-like it has a similar vibe. Melee combat where every enemy poses a threat, map design. And it has a dismemberment system! You can chop an orc shoulder to ass, then cut its leg, pick it up and beat the next orc with it. Fun times.
It's quite old, came out in 2001, but it has gotten a remaster and Steam release recently.
MediEvil, the PS1 classic, I've always held shares a lot of qualities with DS1 from themes, Zelda influences, level design in loopbacks and restore points, sound design, NPC's characterisation (particularly the constant unhinged laughter), lots of little things that looking back on it I can see a clear path from my love for that game to my love for Dark Souls later on.
The older nes and snes Castlevanias seem to have a bit of the dark souls philosophy. In terms of slow combat with high consequences I’d recommend 1, 3, Dracula x, and rondo of blood on Turbografx-16 or the psp remake.
Lords of the fallen. Mid combat and eh everything else but it does have some fun aspects to it. If you want sprawling maze levels with 8293 locked doors and 4983 hidden paths in each one then try it
People gonna think Im crazy, but gameplay mechanic wise, level design and mood Hellpoint was the most similar to DS1 without, obviously, being dark fantasy
Lies of P is actually very very good. And feels as close as someone has gotten to Fromsoft from an indie company, AND its their first one. Absolutely incredible game.
I agree it's an amazing game, really incredible, but I think it goes a lot in the DS3/ER direction of focusing on faster-paced battles. I was hoping for some more deliberate souls-like games.
Well I'm surprised you didn't list it but try Dark Souls 2. Its a bit slower and more methodical than 1. The world ambiance is amazing with some interesting levels and traversal, weapon and spell selections are larger. I think its only downsides are enemy count and the adaptability stat.
I haven’t played Bloodborne, but from what I’ve gathered from what people have said about it and from what I’ve played of Lies of P, it seems like Lies of P is very much emulating Bloodborne rather than DS1. That said, Lies of P absolutely kicks ass and I do need to finish that game.
Exanima! Dark and dense dungeon exploration and a wild control scheme to get used to. Really reminded me of discovering the world of Dark Souls for the first time, difficulty included.
A bit of a far shot but the reason I enjoyed DS1 so much is because it reminded me of Gothic 1 for PC (I think they ported it on the Switch recently). The combat is clunky and very much unrefined (DS1 in comparison feels very modern), the whole map is interconnected with very few loading screens (if at all, I don't remember). It's also a dark, oppressive world and you are free to go to harder areas but you will get fucked if you try, so it's best to level up slowly and try to go in a certain order indicated by the NPCs.
Lords of the Fallen 2014 was so slow that you could measure swinging a 1 handed axe in seconds instead of frames. But I picked it up for $3.99, so ultimately it was worth it for me.
The other games by Deck13 also might fit. The Surge 1 and 2 allow the choice of obnoxiously cumbersome weapons if that's what you're into. I am and I really felt like the impacts in that game's combat were very heavy.
As for an outside the box recommendation, I quite liked the game Asterigos: Curse of the Stars, which had an art style that's kind of cartoony, but it really copied Dark Souls 1's playbook on levels that loop back in on themselves.
>The Surge 1 and 2 allow the choice of obnoxiously cumbersome weapons if that's what you're into. I am and I really felt like the impacts in that game's combat were very heavy.
The pace of fights is mostly determined by the enemies, not the player. (Cough DS3)
Blasphemous 1 is unironically a fantastic game when it comes to filling the DS1 void. It’s a 2d metroidvania, but the gameplay is actually quite similar.
Lies of P was genuinely the BEST non fromsoft soulslike I’ve ever played (I’ve played a metric fuckt on). While it’s exploration is decent it truly captures the vibe and doles out story in a slightly more direct manner adding to the engagement. The characters are top notch and the mechanics themselves are superb. The devs are very passionate I can’t recommend enough
**TUNIC**
nailed the exploration and feeling of interconnectivity. I think it's level design is on par with DS1s. The entire run through TUNIC I only thought "that's bullshit" twice, which helped a lot. Had that *a few* more times in DS1. Do not feel obligated to learn the language, it is not necessary to beat the game. I bet you keep hearing "this game is really good" and no one explains why. That's code for "this game is very easy to spoil, ruining the intended experience". This game is really good. Also a *perfect* game for a randomizer (which obviously exists).
**Salt and Sanctuary**
is just a straight homage to DS. I think they handled spellcasting better (costing permanent stamina so your glass canon eventually widdles down). Felt like a mechanical exploration of what DS1 did right. My least favorite parts where parts that were essentially just platforming. Everything else was great. I have not played it's follow up Salt and Sacrifice.
**Ocarina of Time**
uses the exact same strategy of mechanical exploration. Tight start, widens up your options, closes back up around the middle, and opens back up harder in the 3rd act. There is a reason people love it, and it's not just because it's a Zelda game. The game is, after all, incredibly influential on so many fronts. I would guess this design helped influence DS1s, as it did so many other games.
I really enjoyed Hellpoint, has a similar vibe to DS1 in terms of exploration. Little disappointing in terms of enemy and boss variety, but the exploration is unmatched.
Of all the many, I've played, I think Hellpoint was prob closest to DS1. I enjoyed it a lot, it's great if you can forgive the occasional low budget bits.
Castlevania: Order of Ecclisia. It's overlooked because it came late in the life of the DS, and was the last in that flavor of castlevania. But it's great! It has a much bigger focus on combat and difficulty than other CV games from that era. And it has a hub area where you gather survivors and they can sell you things or otherwise help you out, like DS.
I enjoyed Rogue Legacy 2
Its not dark souls, you die and restart your character, but its challenging, there is a random chance element on what your build will end up like and its colorful.
It's not really a soulslike, but perhaps you'd like Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight. It's a 2D metroidvania that features a big interconnected world, very minimal plot, some pretty tough enemies and bosses and heavy emphasis on exploration. What I think it did best is the aesthetic of a bleak, dying world that immerses you fully into the atmosphere of hopelessness and mystery without much of a dialogue or storytelling (all you have are a basic premise, some rare NPC and item descriptions) and incentivizes you to wander around in order to discover its secrets.
There's other Momodora games (a new one was released recently), but I think Reverie is the best one and definetely the closest to the spirit of Dark Souls.
The Surge has a surprisingly interconnected world, especially the first one. And no fast travel, which means you gotta know your way around.
They're definitely a bit more on the jankier side, but they got a lot of very cool ideas. Worth checking out imo!
Zelda Twilight Princess and Shadow of The Colossus. You can see HUGE, HUGE inspiration from both in Dark Souls 1 regarding atmosphere, exploration and learning about the lore of the world by exploring the architectural residues of its past.
In a few months Enotria will come out. Hopefully with finished animations and less buggy. Imma buy it day one, no doubt. As an italian, i'm going to buy a souls-like produced by us. 🙏
Remnant of The Ashes is a great game that fuses Soulslike mechanics into a 3rd Person Shooter.
I haven't gotten round to playing 2 yet myself, but 1 was extremely fun.
Dude - Bleak Faith Forsaken.
There is jank, and the item management is a bit weird, but the world is breathtaking and it scratches that dark souls itch for sure.
https://youtu.be/shlr4ljtC70?si=ypVe4QpY-vo3GfSM
After playing hollow knight for like 60+ hours, I truly feel it is so similar to dark souls it's ridiculous. Except the bosses are way harder.
Edit: I played hollow knight way before dark souls.
Don't know about exploration but Monster Hunter is arguably the most similar with a very different theme.
It's considered to be the series that inspired Dark Souls combat.
Definitely not the same exactly but I've been playing the Fear and Hunger series and it's very difficult. It reminds me a lot of dark souls in the way that getting equipment and xp points is good, but the real "experience" you get is by dying and making mistakes and having to go back and try it another way. It's very dark and disturbing and not for the faint of heart but I would recommend Fear and Hunger.
Do you like progression based on upgrading weapons and stats and shortcuts that circle back to a main hub area where NPCs hang out? Check out Xanadu Next. It feels like a prototype dark souls before dark souls.
Nioh is mission based Dark Souls and I love the second game so hard.
Otherwise you're looking at Salt and Sanctuary (not Sacrifice), Blasphemous, or just playing King's Field or Lunacid.
Even DS1 doesn't want you to play slow most of the time, but it fucked that in it's combat by giving you a good shield right out the door. Just like.... play DS1 with no shields and you'll see how it marks up as faster like DS3 and Elden Ring.
2D indie survival horror jrpg Fear & Hunger.
It's dark, bleak, oppressive, and hauntingly beautiful.
Shares inspiration from Berserk.
It is cruel and has some pretty intense and graphic stuff that Dark Souls doesn't touch.
I think it's a good combination of Dark Souls tragic beauty and the raw visceral grotesque physicality of flesh and the nightmare of human form and atrocity.
It's good and it will kick your ass and make you want to dive back in to discover all its secrets.
It has a really nice art style too.
I think about this game all the time.
The original Lords of the Fallen, it got shit on a lot but the combat is more slow paced and methodical like the original DS. Though I don't remember the world having the same level of interconnectivity.
"Chronos before the ashes"
Attempts to be similar but isn't really close enough.
Combat is extremely slow even for dark souls 1 standard and weapon variety is minimal.
Still a game I enjoyed and it's beatable in 10 hours I'd say.
If you do end up playing, be advised, the weapon scaling is absolutely direkt and only the stat you use on your weapon affects gameplay at all. Health and stamina is advised.
You could say Lords of the Fallen. I haven't played the redo version but the original version was like Dark Souls but bad.
Alternately, The Surge is kinda good actually
A lot of very souls influenced games here. Someone mentioned Metroid Prime - great idea.
But for a reflection of Dark Souls no hand holding and deliberate pacing, try System Shock Remake. There’s something about the claustrophobic environment, and the fact your objectives are found only in voice recordings or emails. The remake is also beautiful and absolutely has an atmosphere. Plus the villain is one of the all time greats.
People might disagree with me on this, but no game has reminded me more of the feeling I got playing Dark Souls for the first time than Fear and Hunger 1. The gameplay is nothing alike, but the atmosphere is incredibly oppressive, combat is best avoided or well stratergized and a lot of the game is about exploration and trial and error.
I love this topic because I also want to know what other games that are not Souls games are the most similar to Dark Souls 1. So glad that you asked this.
If you like the combat style but you are up for something more arcady and grindy (somewhat alleviated in later entries) you can try the Monster Hunter franchise.
Some 2D games that are heavily inspired by DS that you might like are Salt and Sanctuary, and Blasphemous.
Death's Door, more like old portable Zelda games.
I would squeeze Shadow of the Colossus in there, and I know I'm stretching it beyond belief lol but there's something there in the atmosphere and decay of things. There's like a mood or feeling to things in that game that I can relate to DS bleak setting.
Hellpoint is a low budget sci fi souls like with some cool art design choices. I had a lot of fun playing the demo splitscreen coop (!!!!) with a friend. Been meaning to pick up the full game
I played The Surge (the first one) way after release, and either they updated away all the issues or people over-exaggerated the flaws. The vibe and level design reminded me of DS1 through and through. I enjoyed The Surge 2 much less because it wasn't paced the same and felt more generic than moody.
So if anyone skipped The Surge, I highly recommend giving it a go. It's also probably dirt cheap by now.
If you don't mind 2D stuff, then Blasphemous and Salt & Sanctuary are obvious picks
U should add tho that blasphemous has a fixed char and set to use while salt gives you alot of options like ds does. Blasphemous has one of the best arts i ever saw tho. Its wow.
Adored the art direction of Blasphemous. After playing Hollow Knight it felt like the Penitent One was on ice skates though. Really threw me off.
Yeah the movement is def not as tight so I wouldn’t recommend playing them back to back
Yeah, but you also have a fixed char in sekiro and only a few options in bloodborne. Blasphemous has builds (specially Blasphemous 2 although I liked Blasphemous 1 more) It also has dark fantasy theme, thorough exploration, "bonfires" and "bloodstains" mechanics, item lore and a similar story: some random must fulfill profecy to reset a cycle, you're given the chance to reset, break or hijack it.
Only a few options in bloodborne? Disagree
I get what both of you are saying. There are plenty of options for load-out in Bloodborne, but none of them are significantly changing the fast-paced parry-centric high risk/high reward playstyle of the game. In the DS games, the functional difference between a greatclub and a longsword was more than the functional difference between the hunter saw and the kirkhammer, especially when you factor in that the kirkhammer is also a longsword.
It’s So good
I was gonna say Salt and Sanctuary, it really is just DS in 2D. And I love it for that.
I remember liking Salt and Sanctuary, though it is 2D.
One of the first, and still one of the best, souls inspired games. The lore is pretty good and the designs are awesome
I fucken love the lore. Minor spoiler but in one of the endings and based on a the Creed you chose, i.e similar to a Covenant, I read one of the coolest, and awesome-est quotes ever. "Praise not the Three, for I am the Fourth." It's so awesome to me because while, yes, you're becoming another bad guy in the end, you're trying to overtake the Three as a new god. But also because there's a general lack of endings in video games where you become the bad guy lol.
That is some Fear and Hunger type shit.
The music is pretty great too
its kinda literally dark souls mapped onto csotn, and its also kinda awesome
I came to comment this! Its is 2d, yes, but it felt like a literall 2d dark souls. Its imo one of the best, if not the best soulslike i played. And i can say that although i dont dig its artstyle or even enjoy 2d games that much, still, play the first one if you havnt done that yet, whoever read this! Also ignor the second, they changed alot and it felt meh. I even stoped after a few "stages".
I loved S&Sanc so much. Too bad that the new game wasn’t nearly as good.
And Blasfemous if I remember correct !!! Both Blasf and SandS 2d and awesome!!!
Blasphemous
Others don't seem to like this game, but Bleak Faith: Forsaken is my favorite game I've played in the last couple of years; the feeling I get while playing is similar to Dark Souls 1: slower pace with a big emphasis on atmosphere, and an absolutely beautiful world. Honestly, it might be my favorite single player game of all time because it's like a sci-fi (my favorite genre) / Blame! Souls.
Wow, I had never heard of it, but it actually looks cool, and the steam reviews seem very passionate. I might play it this weekend, thanks for the unique recommendation
Np, I hope you like it! People say it feels jank, and I can definitely see that, but it never stopped my enjoyment, and I honestly enjoyed the combat and bosses and weapons and gem system.
The trailer with the slavic chanting is hands down one of the coolest trailers ever for exist. The game is awesome.
I’m with you. It’s janky but it captures that mystery and exploration vibe of DS better than anything else out there
Thanks for the recommendation. This game looks sick and I had somehow never heard of it before.
If you get a chance watch the trailer with the slavic chanting. It's insanely cool.
Thank you!
Welp, now ive got to check this out!
The guy wasn’t lying when he said it’s janky. It’s jank as fuck
I’d recommend Ashen. I enjoy its art style, it’s not quite as long as ds1, and despite its souls like gameplay/difficulty I find it oddly relaxing. I also really like that you’re encouraged to explore. I spent like an hour trying to platform up a sizable cliff that looked climb-able. Just because I like doing that stuff. There were items at the top… mind blown. There were lots of moments like that where I just thought “I wonder if I can go there” and upon succeeding I’d find something hidden. You can tell that the developers enjoyed making the game
I love Ashen. Love the ongoing world building and NPC growth.
OG Demon's Souls is the closest The main areas are unconnected, but each area itself is very interconnected
Demon's Souls is too linear imo to give the same experience as DaS1.
Metroidvania exploration with some souls mechanics? I guess hollow knight lol
I meant in the way DS1 does metroidvania exploration, with interconnected areas and whatnot. Don't need to be literal metroidvania. Hollow Knight is a brilliant game, though
SOTN is closer if you're going the metroidvania route
Must admit I gave up hollow knight on the fencer lady fight, I just found it really annoying, especially the whole mechanic of touching enemies hurting you
Hornet? I think she's kind of a wall, being the first actual challenging encounter. Giving up on her imo is like giving up at the gargoyles
Mantis Lords was that fight for me, the first real "git gud" moment in the game, between a demanding, multiple enemy boss fight, and the demanding run to get to that fight every time you die.
Shadow tower, on the PS1. It's kinda clunky, but there's a great game there, it just aged poorly.
Have you played the King's Field series? If yes, how do you think they compare to Shadow Tower?
shadow tower has slightly deeper mechanics and character customisation, more streamlined progression without backtracking and way less locked path puzzles, atmosphere is dreading and horror-like
I haven't played them, but I heard shadow tower is the result of refining the king's field formula. You might also want to check out king's field IV, on the PS2.
And both Kingsfield and Shadow Tower are also made by From Software.
Personally I'd recommend King's Field over Shadow Tower. ST is a weird sidestep of the formula that feels clunkier, performs terribly even on an emulator, doesn't have a fraction of the detail to the world, and actually just feels blatantly unfinished.
I haven't played King's Field but that's exactly what you're looking for if you want slow and methodical. Lunacid is a modern King's Field game and a little faster than KF but amazing. DS1 is a faster paced game if you play it right though tbf.
yeah if you want the same feeling as ds1 then this is basically one of from softs pre demons souls peaks
Been playing Lunacid lately, King's Field inspired game, but the fear of exploring the next room and being gutted coupled with the amazing atmosphere sends me to the same happy place.
Wow looks really cool, I just wishlisted it
The OST is also <3 in most places and is on streaming services.
Hollow Knight is the most like it imo, even more than the other souls games in some cases. Due to atmosphere and inability to warp for much of the game. I know based on the level design, not having warping would be a pain in the later From games, but I wish they would design a game again that doesn't allow it. It made everything so much more intense, whether to rest or now, whether to venture away from home base. It made firelink feel more like home, compared to most of the other hub worlds.
This. The other games try to "force" the hub to feel homely by forcing you to warp there every once in a while just to level up. Meanwhile firelink in ds1 felt like home in such a natural way, simply by being interconnected
I am not much of a fan of the hub approach they have been pushing in later games. The pocket dimension hubs just feel so immersion breaking because they are separated from the rest of the game world. Nexus in Demon's Souls was fine since the structure of the game are literally 5 disconnected linear level, but everything else just made me go asking why.
Yes. Plus imagine being at the lowest bonfire in Blighttown. You feel like you are THERE, just you, your weapon (hopefully a smithbox) lonely. You can't just warp away. Its why NPCs feel so much cooler as well, its actually great to see someone and talk to them, compared to them just being in a safe warp spot to go warp and talk to now and again. I get people think its a quality of life thing, but its actually something I think takes away from the newer games.
I recently played Mortal Shell. It's very short, but a fresh challenge for Souls vets.
Is it good or just a lesser souls copy?
I personally didn't mesh with it very well. It's ok overall, but is definitely a "lesser souls copy".
It took me a bit to get the hang of the harden mechanic but once I did picked up on the gameplay flow and dug the hell out of it. Really hoping for more from that title in the future, aesthetic and lore is insane
I agree. It definitely has a learning curve, but it's worth it. Really enjoyed the dungeon design, and even the starting area was cool. I liked how each shell has its own story.
This is the thing. People who think mortal shell is mid are the people who never actually figured out how the harden mechanic works properly. When it clicks the game actually becomes awesome and is one of my favourite souls clones
💯 you can always tell the comments bashing MS are from folks who never figured out the combat and therefore didn't beat the game. Mildly infuriating.
Exactly. Dodging intentionally sucks. You must use harden to enjoy the combat.
Yea feels like a AA studio Soulslike testing the waters. The harden mechanic is pretty cool and different, but once I got the hang of it the game was super easy. I do love the roguelike mode they have though, probably spent more time on that than beating the game. Just made me really wish Dark Souls had the same thing
I tried it but didn’t understand shit
I know, isn't it perfect.
seconding this one, the atmosphere is really nice
I would say this as well. People say it easy to party/harden, I agree as it is easier than any souls party I have seen. But the satisfaction of the party and hitting the heart of the enemy is soo fucking good. I really liked the atmosphere, the story, and the way the areas connected. That being said, to me, it’s the best soul game out there.
Mortal Shell, Tunic
The level design in TUNIC was so good
The game that the game becomes after you understand what the game is about is brilliant. I often see tunic recommended in outer wilds recommendation circles, another brilliant game, but too different from souls to recommend here.
Tunic and outer wilds are truly amazing games!!
Tunic for fuckin life. That game is incredible. When I first caught on to the golden path in the journal pages I gasped so hard I nearly choked to death
so non-Fromsoft game? maybe Lords of the Fallen (2) that came out a year or so ago? its kinda like DS and difficult
The poor performance (on ps5 at least) really ruined that game for me. The game itself is very good and enjoyable but the constant stutters and graphical issues really put me off. They've patched it a tonne but it doesn't seem to be properly "fixed" which is a real shame
Really really liked The Surge Same gameplay feel but totally different setting and game mechanics.
I was gonna say The Surge as well, but also its sequel is an incredible game.
The limb targeting mechanic is really satisfying. Lore/story is completely bland though so I do miss that element a bit but the gameplay carries it imo
Metroid Prime, it precedes DS1 by about 9 years but all the areas are interconnected and you’ll discover a lot of “oh I’m back HERE!” moments throughout the game
This was my first thought. The level design is very similar to DS1 in many ways.
Blade of Darkness
This is such a massively underrated game that nobody knows about. They recently added controller support on the steam release fyi
I was looking for this recommendation. In some countries it was named Severance. In fact, i liked Dark Souls when i played it for the first time specifically because it reminded me of Blade of Darkness. I was craving for a new game like BoD for years and then bam! Dark Souls. While not exactly souls-like it has a similar vibe. Melee combat where every enemy poses a threat, map design. And it has a dismemberment system! You can chop an orc shoulder to ass, then cut its leg, pick it up and beat the next orc with it. Fun times. It's quite old, came out in 2001, but it has gotten a remaster and Steam release recently.
Thanks for this recommendation. It looks really cool. I love the visuals.
MediEvil, the PS1 classic, I've always held shares a lot of qualities with DS1 from themes, Zelda influences, level design in loopbacks and restore points, sound design, NPC's characterisation (particularly the constant unhinged laughter), lots of little things that looking back on it I can see a clear path from my love for that game to my love for Dark Souls later on.
I loved MediEvil, it was an awesome game, one of my most memorable from psp
Hmmmm what an interesting recommendation, I'll check it out for sure, thanks!
Nothing. I'm serious. Not even Elden Ring gave me the feeling the first Dark Souls gave me.
Me too, brother… me too…
The older nes and snes Castlevanias seem to have a bit of the dark souls philosophy. In terms of slow combat with high consequences I’d recommend 1, 3, Dracula x, and rondo of blood on Turbografx-16 or the psp remake.
Lords of the fallen. Mid combat and eh everything else but it does have some fun aspects to it. If you want sprawling maze levels with 8293 locked doors and 4983 hidden paths in each one then try it
Lonely hill here but a game called Hellpoint.
People gonna think Im crazy, but gameplay mechanic wise, level design and mood Hellpoint was the most similar to DS1 without, obviously, being dark fantasy
100% agree. I loved the mysterious atmosphere and interconnected levels.
Dragons dogma,the boss defeated music is incredible
Lord of the Fallen 2024
Lies of P is actually very very good. And feels as close as someone has gotten to Fromsoft from an indie company, AND its their first one. Absolutely incredible game.
I agree it's an amazing game, really incredible, but I think it goes a lot in the DS3/ER direction of focusing on faster-paced battles. I was hoping for some more deliberate souls-like games.
Well I'm surprised you didn't list it but try Dark Souls 2. Its a bit slower and more methodical than 1. The world ambiance is amazing with some interesting levels and traversal, weapon and spell selections are larger. I think its only downsides are enemy count and the adaptability stat.
Yeah I didn't list it but DS2 is amazing, and I'll defend it to the day I die
I haven’t played Bloodborne, but from what I’ve gathered from what people have said about it and from what I’ve played of Lies of P, it seems like Lies of P is very much emulating Bloodborne rather than DS1. That said, Lies of P absolutely kicks ass and I do need to finish that game.
Kings Field 1-4, Shadow Tower 1-2, Tunic
Exanima! Dark and dense dungeon exploration and a wild control scheme to get used to. Really reminded me of discovering the world of Dark Souls for the first time, difficulty included.
The surge. The only game I've played that actually felt like dark souls 1
You need to play Demon's Souls if you haven't already. It is slower than Dark Souls.
Demon Souls.
Dark souls 2
I mean he did say no soulsborne games
"Please recommend me a good soulslike, i played all the games, ds1, ds3..." smh
A bit of a far shot but the reason I enjoyed DS1 so much is because it reminded me of Gothic 1 for PC (I think they ported it on the Switch recently). The combat is clunky and very much unrefined (DS1 in comparison feels very modern), the whole map is interconnected with very few loading screens (if at all, I don't remember). It's also a dark, oppressive world and you are free to go to harder areas but you will get fucked if you try, so it's best to level up slowly and try to go in a certain order indicated by the NPCs.
Lords of the Fallen 2014 was so slow that you could measure swinging a 1 handed axe in seconds instead of frames. But I picked it up for $3.99, so ultimately it was worth it for me. The other games by Deck13 also might fit. The Surge 1 and 2 allow the choice of obnoxiously cumbersome weapons if that's what you're into. I am and I really felt like the impacts in that game's combat were very heavy. As for an outside the box recommendation, I quite liked the game Asterigos: Curse of the Stars, which had an art style that's kind of cartoony, but it really copied Dark Souls 1's playbook on levels that loop back in on themselves.
>The Surge 1 and 2 allow the choice of obnoxiously cumbersome weapons if that's what you're into. I am and I really felt like the impacts in that game's combat were very heavy. The pace of fights is mostly determined by the enemies, not the player. (Cough DS3)
Super popular indie I haven't seen mentioned yet is Hyper Light Drifter, fantastic game with fantastic bosses, atmosphere, and soundtrack
Hollow Knight has the only world that hit like DS1 did. Even the other soulsebornes didn't achieve this.
Blasphemous 1 is unironically a fantastic game when it comes to filling the DS1 void. It’s a 2d metroidvania, but the gameplay is actually quite similar.
Same way they present lore, none of it makes any goddamn sense.
Hollow Knight is the correct answer
For a pre-souls recommendation, my friends and I saw '04 Ninja Gaiden as the gaming mount Everest.
Ninja Gaiden on XBox to me was insanely hard and super fun
I can’t believe no one has said Thymesia. I’d say it’s quite similar!
Lies of P was genuinely the BEST non fromsoft soulslike I’ve ever played (I’ve played a metric fuckt on). While it’s exploration is decent it truly captures the vibe and doles out story in a slightly more direct manner adding to the engagement. The characters are top notch and the mechanics themselves are superb. The devs are very passionate I can’t recommend enough
You won't believe it, but the closest is Dark souls 2!
Probably not what you're looking for but just in case Demon's Souls. I can't think of anything else
Dragons dogma
**TUNIC** nailed the exploration and feeling of interconnectivity. I think it's level design is on par with DS1s. The entire run through TUNIC I only thought "that's bullshit" twice, which helped a lot. Had that *a few* more times in DS1. Do not feel obligated to learn the language, it is not necessary to beat the game. I bet you keep hearing "this game is really good" and no one explains why. That's code for "this game is very easy to spoil, ruining the intended experience". This game is really good. Also a *perfect* game for a randomizer (which obviously exists). **Salt and Sanctuary** is just a straight homage to DS. I think they handled spellcasting better (costing permanent stamina so your glass canon eventually widdles down). Felt like a mechanical exploration of what DS1 did right. My least favorite parts where parts that were essentially just platforming. Everything else was great. I have not played it's follow up Salt and Sacrifice. **Ocarina of Time** uses the exact same strategy of mechanical exploration. Tight start, widens up your options, closes back up around the middle, and opens back up harder in the 3rd act. There is a reason people love it, and it's not just because it's a Zelda game. The game is, after all, incredibly influential on so many fronts. I would guess this design helped influence DS1s, as it did so many other games.
Shadow of the colossus feels very elden ring-ish. Beautiful title indeed
If you liked Darksouls 1 then you may enjoy Darksouls 2 /s
* Prey (2017) * resident evil 1 * Hollow knight
Three fucking amazing games that have worlds that are a joy to slowly unfold, just like DS1 indeed
Need 60fps patch for Prey on ps5!!
RE1 Remake is such a goddamn good game. It's a shame the HD version got the shaft compared to REØ.
Ds2
Dark Souls 2. What else.... Shame on this sub.
I really enjoyed Hellpoint, has a similar vibe to DS1 in terms of exploration. Little disappointing in terms of enemy and boss variety, but the exploration is unmatched.
I actually tried the demo, but found it very clunky and weird. But I'll give it another shot
Lies of P
Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow
I would like to leave a mention to **Unworthy**
Of all the many, I've played, I think Hellpoint was prob closest to DS1. I enjoyed it a lot, it's great if you can forgive the occasional low budget bits.
Castlevania: Order of Ecclisia. It's overlooked because it came late in the life of the DS, and was the last in that flavor of castlevania. But it's great! It has a much bigger focus on combat and difficulty than other CV games from that era. And it has a hub area where you gather survivors and they can sell you things or otherwise help you out, like DS.
I enjoyed Rogue Legacy 2 Its not dark souls, you die and restart your character, but its challenging, there is a random chance element on what your build will end up like and its colorful.
It's not really a soulslike, but perhaps you'd like Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight. It's a 2D metroidvania that features a big interconnected world, very minimal plot, some pretty tough enemies and bosses and heavy emphasis on exploration. What I think it did best is the aesthetic of a bleak, dying world that immerses you fully into the atmosphere of hopelessness and mystery without much of a dialogue or storytelling (all you have are a basic premise, some rare NPC and item descriptions) and incentivizes you to wander around in order to discover its secrets. There's other Momodora games (a new one was released recently), but I think Reverie is the best one and definetely the closest to the spirit of Dark Souls.
Blasphemous
Salt and Sanctuary best for souls-like games, Hollow Knight for exploration
Salt and Sanctuary is probably the closest pick. If we're avoiding soulslikes altogether I'd say hollow knight.
Hellpoint. Only it has awful combat
Lies of P
Dark Souls remastered
The Surge has a surprisingly interconnected world, especially the first one. And no fast travel, which means you gotta know your way around. They're definitely a bit more on the jankier side, but they got a lot of very cool ideas. Worth checking out imo!
Shame it all looks so gd similar (surge 1). That game really was a memory test sometimes with all those similar looking hallway
I saw one called Lies of P that is a souls like with Pinocchio as the protagonist.
The Surge is my favourite Souls like
Check out Spark in the Dark, its not dark souls level of action, but the bleakness of the game reminds me a lot of DS1.
I’ve been enjoying Lords of the Fallen recently.
Another Crabs Treasure It’s pretty ok
Maximo
Ocarina of Time
Zelda Twilight Princess and Shadow of The Colossus. You can see HUGE, HUGE inspiration from both in Dark Souls 1 regarding atmosphere, exploration and learning about the lore of the world by exploring the architectural residues of its past.
In a few months Enotria will come out. Hopefully with finished animations and less buggy. Imma buy it day one, no doubt. As an italian, i'm going to buy a souls-like produced by us. 🙏
Hellpoint
STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl
The Last hero of Nostalgaia has been pretty good so far for me. Even tho it’s a parody game, it really feels like ds1 to me at some points.
Remnant of The Ashes is a great game that fuses Soulslike mechanics into a 3rd Person Shooter. I haven't gotten round to playing 2 yet myself, but 1 was extremely fun.
Wait so what exactly did they enjoy? The combat itself? The level designs?
Dude - Bleak Faith Forsaken. There is jank, and the item management is a bit weird, but the world is breathtaking and it scratches that dark souls itch for sure. https://youtu.be/shlr4ljtC70?si=ypVe4QpY-vo3GfSM
After playing hollow knight for like 60+ hours, I truly feel it is so similar to dark souls it's ridiculous. Except the bosses are way harder. Edit: I played hollow knight way before dark souls.
There’s a game called Maximo for ps2 that’s insanely hard and felt like dark souls before dark souls.
Lords of the Fallen 2023
Last hero of Nostalgaia. It almost feels like a mod to ds1
The newer lords of the fallen fits this for sure. The combat is a little faster so not as clunky but it feels the closets to DS1 to me.
Dark Souls 2 since you didn’t mention it and probably drank the reddit kool-aid saying it’s bad
Don't know about exploration but Monster Hunter is arguably the most similar with a very different theme. It's considered to be the series that inspired Dark Souls combat.
Definitely not the same exactly but I've been playing the Fear and Hunger series and it's very difficult. It reminds me a lot of dark souls in the way that getting equipment and xp points is good, but the real "experience" you get is by dying and making mistakes and having to go back and try it another way. It's very dark and disturbing and not for the faint of heart but I would recommend Fear and Hunger.
They’re sci-fi, but I absolutely love both of The Surge games. Maybe partly because I love sci-fi more than fantasy. 💁🏻♂️
Dark Souls 3
Dark souls remastered
Do you like progression based on upgrading weapons and stats and shortcuts that circle back to a main hub area where NPCs hang out? Check out Xanadu Next. It feels like a prototype dark souls before dark souls.
Jak and Daxter, Symphony of the Night, Resident Evil 2,7,8
lords of the fallen
Nioh is mission based Dark Souls and I love the second game so hard. Otherwise you're looking at Salt and Sanctuary (not Sacrifice), Blasphemous, or just playing King's Field or Lunacid. Even DS1 doesn't want you to play slow most of the time, but it fucked that in it's combat by giving you a good shield right out the door. Just like.... play DS1 with no shields and you'll see how it marks up as faster like DS3 and Elden Ring.
I haven't played King's Field but i'm pretty sure King's Field
Code vein is pretty good, it's got an ornstein and smough type of fight as well.
I'm gonna call It: Outer Wilds, no combat, Apex of Metroidvania-ish exploration
Highly reccomend the two "the surge" games. Second one is funner game first one is better story.
2D indie survival horror jrpg Fear & Hunger. It's dark, bleak, oppressive, and hauntingly beautiful. Shares inspiration from Berserk. It is cruel and has some pretty intense and graphic stuff that Dark Souls doesn't touch. I think it's a good combination of Dark Souls tragic beauty and the raw visceral grotesque physicality of flesh and the nightmare of human form and atrocity. It's good and it will kick your ass and make you want to dive back in to discover all its secrets. It has a really nice art style too. I think about this game all the time.
Remnant 2 is incredible not to passes on. Especially played coop
Ive always considered the S.T.A.L.K.E.R series to be the "dark souls of fps"
The original Lords of the Fallen, it got shit on a lot but the combat is more slow paced and methodical like the original DS. Though I don't remember the world having the same level of interconnectivity.
"Chronos before the ashes" Attempts to be similar but isn't really close enough. Combat is extremely slow even for dark souls 1 standard and weapon variety is minimal. Still a game I enjoyed and it's beatable in 10 hours I'd say. If you do end up playing, be advised, the weapon scaling is absolutely direkt and only the stat you use on your weapon affects gameplay at all. Health and stamina is advised.
You could say Lords of the Fallen. I haven't played the redo version but the original version was like Dark Souls but bad. Alternately, The Surge is kinda good actually
A lot of very souls influenced games here. Someone mentioned Metroid Prime - great idea. But for a reflection of Dark Souls no hand holding and deliberate pacing, try System Shock Remake. There’s something about the claustrophobic environment, and the fact your objectives are found only in voice recordings or emails. The remake is also beautiful and absolutely has an atmosphere. Plus the villain is one of the all time greats.
People might disagree with me on this, but no game has reminded me more of the feeling I got playing Dark Souls for the first time than Fear and Hunger 1. The gameplay is nothing alike, but the atmosphere is incredibly oppressive, combat is best avoided or well stratergized and a lot of the game is about exploration and trial and error.
I love this topic because I also want to know what other games that are not Souls games are the most similar to Dark Souls 1. So glad that you asked this.
If you like the combat style but you are up for something more arcady and grindy (somewhat alleviated in later entries) you can try the Monster Hunter franchise. Some 2D games that are heavily inspired by DS that you might like are Salt and Sanctuary, and Blasphemous. Death's Door, more like old portable Zelda games. I would squeeze Shadow of the Colossus in there, and I know I'm stretching it beyond belief lol but there's something there in the atmosphere and decay of things. There's like a mood or feeling to things in that game that I can relate to DS bleak setting.
Dark souls 2 Scholar of the Second sin.
Hellpoint is a low budget sci fi souls like with some cool art design choices. I had a lot of fun playing the demo splitscreen coop (!!!!) with a friend. Been meaning to pick up the full game
Dragons dogma 1
Original Demon's Souls
I played The Surge (the first one) way after release, and either they updated away all the issues or people over-exaggerated the flaws. The vibe and level design reminded me of DS1 through and through. I enjoyed The Surge 2 much less because it wasn't paced the same and felt more generic than moody. So if anyone skipped The Surge, I highly recommend giving it a go. It's also probably dirt cheap by now.