Video Game Dictionary – What’s a Soulslike Game?

Soulslike

Definition

The term Soulslike is a compound of the word ‘souls’ and the suffix ‘like’ and refers to a style of games similar to the Dark Souls series. The games are characterized by challenging gameplay, ruthless boss fights, and mysterious locations. There’s also a focus on exploration and leveling up within the game.

In 2009 FromSoftware released Demon’s Souls with Dark Souls following in 2011. Both titles saw strong returns immediately after release, with other studios taking note. Many of these studios went on to develop similar games, with the first notable title being Lords of the Fallen in 2014. Further examples of Soulslike games include Bloodborne, Nioh, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Elden Ring, and more recently, Black Myth: Wukong.

The term began gaining traction in the mid-2010s within gaming communities and among critics who sought to define the criteria of the genre. A particular Reddit thread from 2013 explores what games would classify as Soulslike, validating the need and early use of the term.

In 2016, Urban Dictionary user ChineseHacker posted a definition for Soulslike: "a game that features elements similar to the game Dark Souls, e.g. skill-based, steep difficulty, focus on bosses, punishing deaths, rich environment”. Google Trends also reports that searches for the term have risen greatly from 2021 to 2024, reaching its peak in August 2024.

This growth over the past 15 years speaks to Soulslike becoming a staple term in the gaming community.

Example usage

"This new indie game I found is a Soulslike, but in space!"

"I didn’t think I’d enjoy Soulslikes, but Elden Ring completely changed my mind.”