Elden Ring is currently the bestselling Soulslike game of all time, immersing players in fantasy worlds with difficult combat, and there are plenty of similar titles for fans to check out if they’re looking for a new challenge.
Popularized by video games developed by FromSoftware, Soulslike games reward players for mastering the intricacies of their combat system, especially timing in parrying and dodging incoming attacks. Players genuinely love the intense test of their prowess with these games, and the genre has become enormously successful over the past few years. Often skewing toward dark medieval fantasy, Soulslike titles have branched into other genres, even crossing into established iconic licensed properties.
Here are the best games like Elden Ring for fans to give a try, each providing their own quirks and challenges that will have players at the edge of their seats.
Lies of P
Of all the classic fairy tales to get the Soulslike treatment, Pinocchio somehow fits seamlessly within the sensibilities of this gaming genre, albeit with a much darker tone. The game, 2023’s Lies of P, has Pinocchio explore a steampunk European city overrun by killer puppets and hideous monsters as he searches for his creator, Geppetto. In addition to his arsenal of medieval weapons, Pinocchio is fitted with a mechanical arm that can be upgraded with special abilities throughout the game.
Lies of P combines the steampunk horror aesthetics of Bloodborne with the gadget-laden prosthetic combat and navigation mechanics prevalent in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Lies of P offers a robust crafting system, with scores of weapon and item customization that make the overall experience feel deep and varied in how to best contend with the game’s formidable enemies. And true to the source material, Pinocchio’s penchant for lying offers branching storyline paths that lead to up to three potential endings that will blow Elden Ring lovers away.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Of all the fan-favorite properties to get a Soulslike game, Star Wars was probably not the first to come to mind for any, but it completely fits. Given the space opera franchise’s propensity for major characters to precisely wield lightsabers against hordes of enemies in a variety of environments, Star Wars seamlessly explored this genre with 2019’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. A huge success for publisher Electronic Arts, the game was followed up by a direct sequel in 2023, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, deepening the gameplay and story.
Set in the period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor follows the adventures of fugitive Jedi Knight Cal Kestis, hunted by the Galactic Empire during the Jedi Purge. As Cal battles hostile alien life, Sith Inquisitors, and Imperial troops, players must master the ways of the Jedi if they hope to survive. Sequels always try to go bigger and better than their predecessor, with Star Wars Jedi: Survivor actually succeeding in raising the bar.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
The Soulslike genre got its name from 2009’s Demon’s Souls for the PlayStation 3, and it’s kind of hard to believe it took the genre a full decade to delve into Japanese history and culture. 2019’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, is set during the Sengoku period, an era during feudal Japan marred by civil war and widespread violence through the 15th and 16th centuries. A young shinobi named Wolf loses his arm while taking on a warlord attempting to command a mythical immortal army, seeking revenge after being nursed back to health and fitted with an advanced prosthetic.
The combat mechanics in Sekiro rely more on parrying, posture, and balance than they do with the usual Soulslike staple of dodging and counter-attacking. Wolf can upgrade his prosthetic arm, with its grappling hook function becoming extremely important to the game’s navigation. Sekiro also offers more platforming than a standard Soulslike. Blending Japanese mythology and archetypal history, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is one of the most complex FormSoftware titles but also one of the most rewarding for Elden Ring fans.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Easily the most accessible and the game with the lowest difficulty level on this list, 2017’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the closest Nintendo has come to a first-party Soulslike game. Released for the Wii U and Nintendo Switch, Breath of the Wild takes The Legend of Zelda into a true open-world adventure experience, eschewing the linear progression that defined much of the franchise. This, coupled with more formidable enemies and a refined combat system, made Breath of the Wild a game that completely revolutionized what a Zelda title can be.
Like many Soulslike games, one of the major gameplay mechanics in Breath of the Wild is weapon durability, with Link constantly wearing down his gear in combat. Bigger enemies can take out Link in one to two hits if he’s not careful, making this a more punishing experience for more casual players. Breath of the Wild was followed by a direct sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, in 2023, but Breath of the Wild remains the superior experience of the two for fans of Elden Ring.
Bloodborne
Most of FromSoftware’s Soulslike games and many of its imitators flirt with the horror genre with their monstrous enemies and moody environments that really highlight a haunting atmosphere. No game from FromSoftware to date quite embraces the horror aesthetic better than 2015’s Bloodborne for the PlayStation 4, which evokes a Gothic atmosphere with its steampunk setting and Lovecraftian influences. The game follows a shadowy figure known simply as the Hunter, who enters a cursed city filled with bloodthirsty monsters as they search for the key to escaping their nightmare and ending a virulent plague.
Though not an easy game by any means, Bloodborne is perhaps the most accessible of the FromSoftware games, so far, being relatively more consistent in its difficulty. The developers really went the extra mile in rendering the highly detailed environments in the game, making Bloodborne especially gorgeous and immersively evocative. A modern masterpiece, Bloodborne is a must-have addition to the library of any Elden Ring fan.
