Dark Souls has become incredibly popular, inspiring many similar games that try to capture its unique atmosphere, challenging gameplay, and overall feel. The original game revitalized interest in dark fantasy and demanding combat, forcing players to carefully study enemies and master attack patterns in a harsh world that proved difficult for many to overcome.
Although popular, large-scale games dominate the action RPG genre, many excellent independent games capture the spirit of Dark Souls in unique ways. Some recreate the unsettling mood of the original, while others emphasize challenging exploration, placing players in harsh worlds where a single mistake can mean losing everything they’ve achieved.
Thymesia
Stylish Attacks In A Grim World
Thymesia is a game that strongly evokes the feeling of classic, early Soulslike titles. Players explore a dark, plague-ridden world while trying to recover lost memories. A key feature is the ability to steal weapons from enemies and bosses, then use them for powerful attacks and varied combos, creating a distinctive and fluid combat experience.
The game most closely resembles Dark Souls in its environments. Each location feels realistically worn and often echoes famous areas from the original Dark Souls – wooden structures like those in Blighttown, and stone brickwork reminiscent of the Undead Burg. It’s clearly a tribute to the game that started the ‘Souls-like’ genre, though the combat is a bit more visually dynamic.
Mortal Shell
Changes Bodies One By One
Mortal Shell is a popular indie game inspired by the Souls series, and it’s easy to see why. The game drops you into a foggy, enemy-filled forest where you must battle your way forward. You play by inhabiting different “Shells” – essentially unique classes with their own stats, attacks, and backstory. This Shell system is a clever feature, offering new combat options and a different approach to character progression, focusing on complete armor sets rather than individual weapon upgrades.
The game’s visuals are strongly reminiscent of Dark Souls, featuring knights battling terrifying creatures in a crumbling world. Players who enjoy the deliberate, strategic combat of Dark Souls will likely appreciate Mortal Shell. It emphasizes careful timing and blocking over quick reflexes, offering a slower, more methodical pace than many games released after Sekiro.
Ashen
The First True Open-World Soulslike
Ashen takes the challenging combat style known from games like Dark Souls and places it in a large, open world. Unlike those games, you’re free to explore everywhere. A key feature is the way it handles other players – you can meet them during your adventure and choose to help them, or fight them. This creates a unique, shared experience that’s different from most games in the genre.
As a huge fan of the Souls games, I immediately recognized what this game was going for. While it definitely has its own spin, the core combat feels incredibly familiar – it’s all about timing, managing your stamina, and really learning enemy patterns. And just like those games, you’re thrown into this massive world with absolutely no hand-holding. You’re completely on your own to figure things out, push through obstacles, or… well, face the consequences. It’s a tough-but-fair approach to exploration that I really appreciate.
Salt And Sanctuary
Metroidvania Exploration Meets Soulslike Brutality
Salt and Sanctuary delivers the challenging, dark, and often deadly gameplay of popular Soulslike games, but in a unique 2D style. The game features a large world to discover, filled with familiar dark fantasy locations like forests and castles.
It’s amazing how the world constantly connects back to itself, and that feeling is very similar to playing Dark Souls. The game makes you feel lost, but always leads you back to places you recognize. This connection continues throughout the entire game, always offering new routes and encouraging you to explore simply because you’re curious, not because you’re told where to go.
Eldest Souls
Interconnected Areas And Satisfying Exploration
Eldest Souls is a challenging, retro-style action game inspired by the Souls series. You’ll explore a ruined world devastated by ancient Gods, starting with just a sword. As you progress, you’ll unlock new abilities and grow stronger, because you’ll face a large number of tough bosses—each with distinct designs, attack patterns, and locations.
The game most closely resembles Dark Souls in its focus on creating a captivating world, rather than simply filling it with content. Since players spend a lot of time exploring and solving puzzles to progress, the environments need to be genuinely interesting to keep them engaged. Eldest Souls succeeds by making each area feel distinct and ensuring every boss fight presents a fresh and difficult challenge.
The Last Hero Of Nostalgaia
A Satirical Approach To An Otherwise Serious Genre
The Last Hero of Nostalgaia is a funny game that blends the challenging gameplay of Soulslike titles with humor and a knowing wink. The game’s world is literally falling apart into pixels, and you play as the hero trying to save it from total graphical breakdown. Along the way, you’ll battle lots of enemies, all while a sarcastic narrator tries to discourage you at every turn.
Despite its lighthearted style and quirky gameplay, this game closely resembles the classic Dark Souls experience. You play as a brave knight facing a challenging quest. While the journey is tough, skillful and courageous players can overcome any obstacle and defeat even the most powerful enemies, regardless of how difficult the environments are.
Bleak Faith: Forsaken
As Close As It Gets To The Original
Bleak Faith: Forsaken is a fantastic Soulslike game. Though it draws inspiration from other titles, it expertly combines these ideas into a challenging and remarkably polished experience, especially considering it’s made by a first-time developer. The game is set in a crumbling world where players must climb massive structures and explore the depths of the city to overcome an internal darkness.
Even though it’s an independent game, Bleak Faith feels as refined as major, big-budget Soulslike titles, and it shares many similarities with the original Dark Souls. Gameplay focuses on deliberate, gradual progress. Players will navigate expansive areas, open up new routes to places they couldn’t reach before, and experience a satisfying sense of growing stronger alongside their exploration.
Hollow Knight
Sharing The Same Feel While Breaking New Ground
Hollow Knight quickly became popular after its release, thanks to its unique art style and surprisingly polished gameplay – it felt like a much larger studio had made it. Players explore a vast, connected underground world filled with bugs and challenges, combining the exploration of Metroidvania-style games with the tough combat and difficulty found in Soulslike games.
I immediately noticed how similar this game felt to Dark Souls. Both games just pull you in and encourage you to explore without holding your hand – you’re left to discover things on your own, which makes everything feel like a real adventure. What’s really cool is that the story isn’t just told to you; it’s revealed bit by bit through small conversations and subtle details. You really have to listen and pay attention to everything people say to fully understand and appreciate the amazing world they’ve created.
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2025-11-10 06:05