Soulslike

A Soulslike (also spelled Souls-like) is a subgenre of action role-playing and 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 ''Demon's Souls'' and the ''Dark Souls'' series by FromSoftware, the themes and mechanics of which directly inspired several other games. Soulslike games developed by FromSoftware themselves have been specifically referred to as Soulsborne games, a portmanteau''. 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 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. Since the introduction of the bonfires in ''Dark Souls'', many games have adopted similar progression mechanics; serving either as a reset, leveling and traveling beacon in games. 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. 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. '' 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. Combat in Soulslike games may also be methodical, requiring the player to monitor stamina to avoid overexertion of their character, 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. Soulslike games developed by FromSoftware, with the exception of '' Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice'', include asynchronous multiplayer mechanics such as writing messages to be seen by other players, apparitions of what other players are doing in their own game, blood stains that can be interacted with to view another player's death, invading another player, and summoning another player to one's own world for assistance.

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. 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 sometimes feature elements of comic relief, such as unexpected interactions (e.g. petting a cat), humorous reactions from non-player characters, peculiar outfits and weapons, and unusual, often slapstick means of death, such as being eaten by a Mimic.

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), and ''Elden Ring'' (2022); these, along with ''Demon's Souls'' and the ''Dark Souls'' series are considered as part of a Soulsborne genre (a portmanteau

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