A Soulslike (or Souls-like) is a subgenre of action role-playing games (or action-adventure games) known for high levels of difficulty and emphasis on environmental storytelling (typically in a dark fantasy setting). It had its origin in the Dark Souls series by FromSoftware, the themes and mechanics of which directly inspired several other games. Soulslike games developed by FromSoftware themselves are more specifically referred to as Soulsborne games, a portmanteau of Souls and Bloodborne. Soulslikes have been adopted by a number of critics and developers. However, it has also received questions whether it is a true genre or a collection of shared mechanics.
Concepts
Gameplay
Soulslike games typically have a high level of difficulty where repeated player-character death is expected and incorporated as part of the gameplay, losing all progress if certain checkpoints have not been reached. Soulslike games also usually have means to permanently improve the player-character's abilities as to be able to progress further, often by a type of currency that can be earned and spent, but may be lost or abandoned between deaths if not appropriately managed, similar to the souls in the Souls series.[1][2][3] This mechanic provides a means to avoid an outright failure state, where the player must restart the game completely and lose all progress, while still providing a risk-and-reward system to make the game challenging to the player.[4] The need for repeated playthroughs can be viewed as a type of self-improvement for the player, either through gradual improvement of their character, or improving their own skills and strategies within the game.[5]Salt and Sanctuary developer James Silva said Soulslike games provided "deliberate and meaningful exploration" of the entire game, including the game world, character improvement, and combat, through learning by repeated failures.[6] Combat in Soulslike games may also be methodical, requiring the player to monitor stamina to avoid overexertion of their character,[2] and often is based on "animation priority" actions that prevent the player from cancelling movement until the animation has been played out, leaving them vulnerable to enemy attacks.[5]
Setting and plot
Soulslike games are commonly defined by their dark fantasy setting and lack of overt storytelling, as well as their deep worldbuilding, with a captivating world being cited as key to spark players' desire to explore.[7] Players are meant to discover bits and pieces of the game's lore over time via environmental storytelling, item descriptions and cryptic dialogue, piecing it together themselves to increase the game's sense of mystery. Despite their dark themes, the settings of Soulslikes also sometimes feature elements of comic relief, such as unexpected interactions (e.g. petting a cat), humorous reactions from NPCs, peculiar outfits and weapons, and unusual, often slapstick means of death, such as being eaten by a Mimic.[8]
History
The Soulslike genre had its genesis in Demon's Souls (2009), developed by FromSoftware and directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki. It introduced the core tenets that would be followed by the Dark Souls series, which began with the release of Dark Souls in 2011. Games considered to be Soulslikes include the FromSoftware games Bloodborne (2015), Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019),[9][10] and Elden Ring (2022);[11] these, along with Demon's Souls and the Dark Souls series are considered as part of a Soulsborne genre (a portmanteau of Dark Souls and Bloodborne) to describe Soulslike games specifically by FromSoftware.[12][13][14]
Interviews with developers of Soulslike games revealed that they all thought of being classified as part of the genre as a positive thing that functioned as a useful description for players. However, some believed that it could be misleading, causing players to expect certain things and be disappointed when a game does not have them. An example of this was players being disappointed that Remnant: From the Ashes was primarily a shooter, despite being characterized as a soulslike.[8]
Austin Wood of PC Gamer criticized the Soulslike label, saying that treating Souls games as a template "misleads" players into believing that various games classified as such are similar to Souls when they are really different. He called the Soulslike label, along with the Metroidvania and roguelike labels, "jargon" that "ignores what makes [the games] unique".[7] Mark Brown of Game Maker's Toolkit also decried the Soulslikes as overly restrictive, forcing games to fall into a certain template and preventing their design from advancing. In responding to this argument, Bruno Dias of Vice disagreed, saying that Brown's comparison of Soulslikes with roguelikes was not apt because roguelikes were a hobbyist pursuit for a long time. He also said that Soulslikes did not need to advance yet as they did not have a marketability problem.[37]
^ abKunzelman, Cameron (2020). "Chapter 10: How we deal with dark souls". In de Souza e Silva, Adriana; Glover-Rijkse, Ragan (eds.). Hybrid Play: Crossing Boundaries in Game Design, Players Identities and Play Spaces. Taylor & Francis. p. 58. ISBN9781000042351.
