It’s been 16 years since FromSoftware graced gamers with Demon’s Souls, a risky video game that, unknown to most at the time, would launch an entirely new subgenre of action RPGs. It was released during a period in gaming history when challenge and difficulty didn’t have much of a place in gaming. Most players just wanted to jump into a game and have fun without much friction.
Now, years later, challenge has been embraced, and Soulslikes make up a significant portion of the industry. Demon’s Souls may have kicked things off, but the Dark Souls trilogy is what truly got the hype train rolling, and FromSoftware delivered some of the most iconic worldbuilding and terrifying creature designs in the genre. Once that style of gameplay took off, developers everywhere wanted to create their own Soulslike, and some players are beginning to feel fatigue from the saturation.
Everyone Is Jumping On the Soulslike Trend
There are so many Soulslikes releasing these days that it can be incredibly hard to keep track of them all, and many pass by almost completely unnoticed. Unfortunately, that was the case with the latest big Soulslike, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers.
Like so many others, this action role-playing game follows a protagonist navigating a land plagued by a supernatural disease. While it tells an interesting story and features some fun, intense gameplay, it doesn’t do enough to set itself apart from the rest of the genre. If the developers of Wuchang: Fallen Feathers had stepped away from the formula and focused more on unique elements, they might have had a better shot at standing out.
Breaking out in the Soulslike space is tough. There needs to be a hook, like a compelling world or a captivating story, but too many developers focus solely on gameplay. Combat is central to all Soulslikes, but players also love that FromSoftware games have hidden stories.
If a new Soulslike feels the same as every other game and doesn’t offer anything new, it can be a real letdown. At a certain point, these games start to blend together and just come across delivering the same basic experience with a different skin.
Not Every Game Can Be the Next Elden Ring
When Elden Ring was released in 2022, it completely took over the gaming world. Players who had never touched a Soulslike before couldn’t help but sink their teeth into FromSoftware’s masterpiece. It featured the most refined combat the studio had ever created and told a heartfelt, engaging story set in one of its most realized and enthralling worlds to date. Elden Ring was a collaboration between the developers and Game of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin, and the partnership that seriously paid off.
With Elden Ring‘s massive success, developers everywhere have been trying to recreate that magic, but none have managed to capture it, not even FromSoftware itself. A spinoff, Nightreign, was released earlier this year, but it didn’t have the same impact as the original game.
Nightreign is a roguelike action RPG where players work their way through a procedurally generated, alternate Limgrave, which is now known as Limveld. Designed for teams of three, players cooperate over three in-game days to prepare for a final boss. Like battle royale games, Nightreign features a shrinking map that resets at the end of each day after defeating a minor boss. Even though it’s a unique spin on the genre and was developed by FromSoftware, it seems to have gotten lost in the never-ending sea of Soulslikes that follow in its wake.
The Soulslike Genre Needs to Innovate If It Wants to Survive
There are a lot of great Soulslike games out there, but most of the best still come directly from FromSoftware, the studio that pioneered the genre. Other developers see the love these games receive and try to replicate that success, often without the years of practice and refinement it takes to truly master the formula.
Games like Lies of P and the Nioh series have earned attention, but they still struggle to reach the same heights. Even older FromSoftware titles like Bloodborne are often regarded as superior to many modern Soulslikes.
That said, it’s clear that the genre itself isn’t going anywhere, and that’s a good thing, because players around the world continue to cherish it. The concern is that too many studios are chasing the trend, forcing games into the Soulslike mold whether they fit or not.
Innovation often gets ignored in favor of trying to capture FromSoftware’s magic. The result is an overcrowded genre where true standouts have become increasingly rare, which is unfortunate for both developers and fans alike. It’s clear that it’s time for a change. If developers want to make Soulslikes, they need to bring something new to the genre or stop trying to force their way into a gaming trend.
