Fans of From Software’s notoriously difficult series have been left hanging for the majority of 2020 as they wait for even more news on Elden Ring, let alone a release date. However, as players prepare for Sekiro‘s content updated coming in October, the indie scene has been hard at work filling the gap left by the lack of new Souls-like content from the series’ primary developer.
Recent games have reached for the top of the rankings for the best Souls-likes, like Mortal Shell, so fans of this specific sub-genre currently have a pretty massive list of games to occupy their time. Of course, that begs the question of exactly what a Souls-like actually is and how the sub-genre differentiates itself from other games that happen to be difficult but don’t belong in the same grouping.
Over the past few years, as the Souls series has grown in popularity, a new sub-genre has emerged that combines the winding open-world, brutal boss fights, and the soul economy to make games that feel similar to Dark Souls. However, there are a few things that go into the balance and game feel that defines a game as a part of the genre, with the two most important factors generally coming down to the economy and environmental storytelling. This is one aspect that makes Hollow Knight a Souls-like even though it lacks a number of the RPG and combat elements fans have grown familiar with, but makes Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order a slightly more questionable inclusion in the genre even though the combat is so similar.
One source of confusion on where each game stands as a Souls-like is the fact that the genre tends to cross over with Metroidvania titles more often than not. In fact, both Hollow Knight and Fallen Order fit really well in the Metroidvania genre, with platforming at center stage of level design and progress through areas unlocked by acquiring new abilities. Generally, the Souls-like formula does have a fairly linear way of progressing through the interconnected world, with mobility and platforming taking a back seat to combat.
Fortunately for Souls-like fans looking for a unique take on the genre, Cold Symmetry has released Mortal Shell to stellar reviews, reminding players that the indie field is still the best place for the niche sub-genre. While it’s rare to see AAA budgets go to games that don’t have as wide of a net as titles like Call of Duty or even The Elder Scrolls, smaller companies like Cold Symmetry can keep the genre alive with smaller titles ever once in a while. In a year like 2020, with less games even making it to launch and more titles being delayed repeatedly as a result of the changing work environments of developers, it seems likely that Mortal Shell will be the best we see of the genre for a long time.
On that note, Mortal Shell does bring a lot to the series, with new mechanics like the harden ability and the revolutionary item familiarity system, other developers in the genre might want to take a look at Cold Symmetry’s focus on innovation. Some players may need a few early tips for Mortal Shell, but a blind run of the game is every bit as exhilarating as any game made by From Software, and with enough new gameplay to discover that it never feels like it leans too hard on previous titles. All together, this just adds to the massive influx of games that fans received throughout 2019, as well as the few new titles that made an impression this year like Nioh 2.
It’s easy to say that 2019 was great for Souls-like fans, if not for the quality of games that released that year, the sheer quantity gave players enough to keep themselves occupied until From Software finally got around to releasing Elden Ring. However, with no news on the new game in sight, players still have a huge list of titles to rely on from the last year of releases like The Surge 2 and Remnant: From the Ashes. These games even cover tons of different genres, from Code Vein‘s anime heavy art style, to the familiar sci-fi settings of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
Not all of these are from the indie market, namely with Code Vein being produced by Dark Souls producer Bandai Namco and Fallen Order coming from Respawn Entertainment and funded by EA. Budgets for these sorts of titles range all over, but many of the stand-outs of the year did come from smaller development teams at a lower investment for producers than Bandai Namco tends to put forward onto each From Software release. Where the independent development teams tend to excel, however, is within a genre that crosses over in many of the aspects that define a Souls-like and have become some of the highest rated games in 2020.
Earlier, when defining what a Souls-like was, the topic of Metroidvanias cropped up as the two genres tend to share a number of primary components, deviating mostly when it comes to the specific way that exploration and economy work. Specifically on the economy side of things, a Souls-like is a game that allows a player to revive after death and gives one chance to find their previous currency (souls, blood echos, etc.) where they died and recover what was lost. This is often how games like Hollow Knight, and Salt and Sanctuary find themselves within the Souls-like category, even though they check off more Metroidvania boxes.
Without that one specific mechanic, however, some of these titles still fall between both categories for some of the shared tropes such as intricate traversal through an interconnected world, and challenging but rewarding boss fights. One recent title that hits the nail on the head here is Ori and the Will of the Wisps, which doesn’t exactly fit into the Souls-like genre perfectly, but is a Metroidvania that fans of Dark Souls can easily fall in love with. Between the tight platforming and the incredible boss encounters, games like Ori can fill the vacancy that 2020 has left with the severe lack of Elden Ring news and fresh new titles developed by From Software.
Elden Ring is in development for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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