Soulslike: Why Do So Many Games Try to Replicate the Genre?

Originating with 2009's Demon's Souls and popularized by 2011's Dark Souls, the Soulslike genre has become one of the most beloved by the contemporary gaming community, possessing an aesthetic and personality established by games created by FromSoftware and Hidetaka Miyazaki.

The genre's greatest milestone is undoubtedly the release of Elden Ring in 2022, a title that elevated the popularity of Soulslikes to another level, becoming one of the most awarded games in history and repeating this feat with the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.

Since then, several other games have attempted to replicate the gameplay and even the aesthetics established by FromSoftware.

Is difficulty everything?

A serious misinterpretation of the genre is believing that a Soulslike is defined by its difficulty, but this is merely a superficial view of what the philosophy truly represents.

The great characteristic of these games is Achievement as Reward. The player will face great challenges, whether through a complicated map or a challenging boss, but at the end of each stage of the game there will be a sense of accomplishment that, in most cases, surpasses the value of a special item or a new weapon.

It's not simply about being difficult, nor even about the character's level or attributes, but about the process, the learning. You spend hours memorizing the enemy's movements until you’re able to read each blow before it happens, so that you can master the combat and win. And it’s this victory that is worth all the effort and time dedicated to the game.

Many titles have tried to reproduce the formula focusing on the difficulty factor and have failed miserably. One example of this is Lords of the Fallen from 2014, an ambitious game with interesting visuals, but which fell short in combat, aiming for realism but ultimately receiving numerous negative reviews precisely for that reason.

A Unique Way of Telling the Story

What makes the Souls Trilogy, Bloodborne and Elden Ring so unforgettable and remarkable is the way these games tell their story subjectively, using the hostile environment as a narrative tool. The story unfolds as you fight a boss. The soundtrack, items, and scenery speak to the player.

The story is fragmented, like a puzzle you need to assemble and unravel, and this encourages exploration. In Elden Ring, this was very well used, but it's an element that was already present in Dark Souls, with the map interconnected in such an incredible way that exploration became a great adventure, even though the world was dark and hostile.

In a way, this can almost be seen as a flaw, since most of these games fail to tell their story in a direct way that makes sense to the player, but this is clearly intentional. They’re games made for the community, a very engaged community that loves to discuss interpretations and theories.

This formula opens up space for many speculations. Is Melina the Queen of Twilight Eyes? Is Bloodborne just a dream of the protagonist? Was Gwyn the villain or just another victim? These loose ends open up room for exploration that goes beyond the game and still generates debate among fans today, keeping these franchises alive.

The genre has become synonymous with success, and with success comes money. This is more than enough reason for other developers to seek to have their own Dark Souls, but following a ready-made formula can be a dangerous decision, as you run the risk of both comparison with the original and failure in execution.

Risks of the Genre

Besides Lords of the Fallen, several other titles with the same premise have emerged in recent years. Hellpoint, Nioh, Code Vein, and even mixes with other genres, such as the Hollow Knight franchise, which is a Metroidvania with several Soulslike elements.

However, few recent titles have managed to achieve success and enter the genre's hall of fame. Lies of P is an excellent example, which followed the established formula but managed to bring originality and a captivating story.

I believe the genre suffers from the same problem that plagues Western and cowboy games. Red Dead Redemption became so iconic that Rockstar became a benchmark, but it's practically impossible for another company to produce something as good and still avoid comparisons.

The same happens with Soulslike games and FromSoftware. The developer established a standard that only it is capable of reaching.

There's no doubt that Soulslike is a successful formula, but it's a difficult one to replicate. The genre returned responsibility for the player's own experience to them, but in the most intelligent way possible, giving them freedom and fueling their curiosity.

I conclude this article here. Leave your questions, suggestions, criticisms, and/or compliments in the comments. Thank you for reading and until next time.