Best Soulslike games 2021 | Windows Central

If you want to get away from the medieval theme of Dark Souls, The Surge takes players to a futuristic dystopia and replaces sword and shield with advanced exoskeletons, mechs, and more. It’s slightly clunky, but the overall experience is excellent.

The Surge 2 improves upon the original’s level design and the combat experience is smoother and more exciting, but the story and atmosphere is a bit of a downgrade. Despite some of the backsteps, though, The Surge 2 is nevertheless a great Soulslike you shouldn’t miss — especially if you enjoyed the original.

Mortal Shell is a short and sweet Soulslike that introduces a unique mechanic: Hardening, which allows you to turn your body to stone to block an enemy attack and then “riposte” by attacking afterwards. You can even Harden mid-swing, which can lead to some interesting combos against enemies.

Ashen is a unique Soulslike that automatically pairs you up with another player and encourages you to work together to overcome the various challenges in its non-linear open world. The game also features a soft and minimalist art style that’s easy on the eyes.

Darksiders III isn’t a Soulslike because of its combat design, which is more arcadey in nature (there are some similarities, though). The resemblance mainly lies in the game’s world design, which is non-linear and loops back on itself much like Lordran of the original Dark Souls.

With its significant emphasis on parrying and wearing an opponent down over time, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is very similar to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. The story and visuals are great too, which is a nice bonus. It can feel a bit janky at times, but overall, it’s a great game.

Remnant: From the Ashes features lots of boss fights, non-linear levels with shortcuts and looping paths, and an emphasis on dodging. The thing that sets it apart from other Soulslike games, though, is its focus on firearms. In a genre dominated by melee combat, the gunplay of Remnant is a fun and interesting breath of fresh air.

Hellpoint features many of the mechanics and systems that make the Dark Souls games satisfying, including skillful melee combat, lots of build potential, and more. The game’s cosmic sci-fi setting is also a welcome departure from the usual Soulslike dark fantasy.

Hollow Knight may be a 2D platformer, but it shares tons of DNA with Dark Souls. Non-linear exploration, dodge-heavy melee combat, and engaging boss fights all come together in Hollow Knight to prove that the design of Dark Souls works in 2D as well as 3D.

Like Hollow Knight, Salt and Sanctuary is a 2D platformer that has tons of Dark Souls influence. The combat is a bit stiff at times, but the fact that there are countless different types of weapons, armors, spells, and more for the player to use makes up for it. Because of this variety, the game is a blast to play if you like experimenting with builds.

This boss rush Soulslike comes with an interesting twist: You and the boss both die in one hit, but you’ve got only one arrow and the boss can be damaged only when you shoot their weak point. Also, your only other ability besides shooting is to roll, so to succeed, you’ll need to learn the patterns of each boss and avoid their attacks and then hit their weak spot when it’s exposed.