#soulslike

#soulslike

It's been six long years since the release of , and while the vampiric anime Soulslike had some fresh ideas, the genre has changed significantly since then thanks to FromSoftware's . We've also seen games like, Final Fantasy Origin, and Remnant 2 bring something innovative to Soulslikes, but at the same time, the genre has experienced a flood of derivative titles, and fatigue is starting to set in.

Although one could argue that Demon's Souls was first, it was its multiplatform sequel that really introduced players to the genre's pillars that have persisted in the near two decades since. While this is sometimes reduced to just difficulty in some cases, what makes a Soulslike is far more than that, pulling in aspects of exploration, narrative structure, character progressions, and more to create a wholly distinct experience that can cater to a variety of different players depending on what parts are more heavily emphasized.

In a chat with game director and Team Ninja head Fumohiko Yasuda, he says he felt the evolution between Nioh 1 and 2 was "lacking", and wanted a third entry to take a bigger leap forward. "When we wanted to do Nioh 3, I think I really wanted to make sure that we had something that had a new kind of gameplay as well as a new kind of gameplay experience, in addition to just evolving the action as well," Yasuda says through a translator.

But while there are lots of great Soulslikes out there, it can get a bit tiring seeing the same style of punishing third-person action game again and again. That's what makes something like Valor Mortis one of the more intriguing Soulslikes on the horizon: It has all the familiar hallmarks of the genre, translated into a first-person perspective with plenty to set it apart.

Blighted stands out in the soulslike genre by blending unique gameplay mechanics with an engaging narrative, set in a world suffocated by a reality-altering plague known as Blight.

Empyreal challenges players with difficult combat, requiring strategy and reflexes, offering an average playtime of 15-20 hours for an engaging experience.