Souls-Like Games Ranked: From Dark Souls to Lies of P

The Souls-like genre, born from Demon’s Souls in 2009, now encompasses dozens of games sharing core design principles: punishing but fair combat, interconnected world design, and currency lost on death but recoverable. Here is how the major entries stack up.

Ranking Methodology: We assessed entries based on extensive playtime, community consensus, and mechanical depth analysis. We weighted replayability, community health, gameplay depth. Rankings reflect aggregate scoring, not a single metric. Our recommendations are editorially independent and not influenced by advertising.

S-Tier

Elden Ring is the genre’s magnum opus. The open world solves the Souls difficulty problem: stuck on a boss? Explore somewhere else, level up, find better equipment, and return stronger. Torrent (your horse) transforms traversal. The legacy dungeons (Stormveil Castle, Raya Lucaria, Leyndell) are the best handcrafted levels FromSoftware has designed, combining the vertical interconnection of Dark Souls 1 with modern encounter design.

Bloodborne replaces shields with aggressive combat. The rally system recovers health by dealing damage within seconds of being hit, rewarding aggression over caution. The trick weapon system (each weapon has two forms activated by pressing L1) provides 26 unique weapon movesets. The Saw Cleaver in transformed mode staggers beasts. Ludwig’s Holy Blade in greatsword mode pancakes bosses. Chalice Dungeons provide procedurally generated content for endgame farming.

Dark Souls 1 defined the genre. The interconnected world design, where unlocking a shortcut from Blighttown back to Firelink Shrine creates an “aha” moment of spatial understanding, remains unmatched. Boss progression from the Taurus Demon through Ornstein and Smough to Gwyn teaches you the combat system through escalating challenges that each demand mastery of different skills.

A-Tier

Dark Souls 3 has the best boss roster in the franchise. Nameless King, Sister Friede, Slave Knight Gael, and Darkeater Midir are among the genre’s peak encounters. Combat is faster than DS1 and DS2, rewarding rolling and aggression. The linear world structure loses the exploration magic of DS1 but creates a more consistently intense experience.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice replaces stamina management with the posture system. Deflecting attacks (tapping block with precise timing) builds the enemy’s posture bar; when full, they stagger for a deathblow. The combat rhythm is parry-parry-attack-parry-parry-dodge-parry-deathblow. Hesitation is defeat. The learning curve is steeper than any other FromSoftware game because the combat system has no alternatives: you cannot outlevel or outgear the challenge.

Lies of P is the best non-FromSoftware Souls-like. The weapon assembly system lets you combine any blade with any handle, creating hybrid weapons. A greatsword blade on a rapier handle creates a weapon with heavy damage and fast attacks. The Pinocchio narrative (are you real? can puppets lie?) provides a story hook that motivates progression through Belle Epoque-era environments.

B-Tier

Nioh 2 pushes combat depth further than any Souls-like. Three stances (high for damage, mid for balance, low for speed) multiplied by weapon types (katana, dual swords, odachi, switchglaive, fists, and more) multiplied by yokai abilities creates a combat system with extraordinary mechanical depth. Ki pulse (regaining stamina by pressing R1 with timing after an attack) separates competent players from masters.

Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin has the most build variety and best PvP in the franchise. Powerstancing (dual-wielding two weapons and using them together) was introduced here. The DLC areas (Crown of the Sunken King, Iron King, and Ivory King) are the best content in the game. The base game’s controversial enemy placement and adaptability stat tarnish an otherwise solid entry.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor brings Souls-like combat to the Star Wars universe with five lightsaber stances: single blade, double-bladed, dual wield, crossguard (greatsword style), and blaster stance. Each stance has different timing windows for parries and different combo strings. Switching stances mid-combo creates fluid combat.

For more Souls-like content, see our Elden Ring Build Guide: Strength and Hardest RPG Bosses Ranked. For broader RPG recommendations, check Action RPG Combat Systems Compared.