The Soulslike Video Game Boom has reached a tipping point, but that's a good thing

It is not an exaggeration to say that the mechanics were pioneers Dark souls developer FromSoftware has been the most influential in the last decade. Its impact can of course be felt within the ever-growing Soulslike genre space, but also in other games such as The Witcher 3 and the 2018s God of warwhose developers both cite FromSoftware's work as a key combat inspiration.

Soulslike conventions are many, but the genre's most central mechanics include a bonfire-like checkpoint and respawn system, engagement-heavy melee combat, minimal tutorial, and brutal difficulty. Some Soulslike-adjacent games may borrow elements from one or two of these design pillars, but “real” Soulslikes such as Lies by P or Lords of the Fallen adopt most or all. This has led to mixed results across the industry. FromSoftware's approach to design is undeniably compelling and popular, and while similar Demon's Souls and Dark souls certainly offers a lot of mechanical wisdom for developers to learn from, it feels like the industry is going a little overboard. Just like the ubiquitous cover-shooter or DOWNFALL-Shooter subgenres before them, Soulslikes reach a point where volume starts to outstrip quality.

FromSoftware-inspired Soulslike Games have been inescapable for years

The Soulslike genre is a spectrum. For example, a game can have a checkpoint system inspired by FromSoftware's bonfire mechanic without being considered a Soulslike. It is for this reason that I, unlike many others, do not consider anything similar Hollow Knight to be a true Soulslike as it has much more in common with metroidvanias and 2D action platformers, only borrowing from FromSoft in regards to certain mechanics. In any case, several IPs are apparently trying to be full-fledged Soulslikes, with some of the main ones including:

Remains: From the ashes
Lords of the Fallen
Thymesia
The Surge
Enotria: The Last Song
Nioh
Mortal Shell
Lies by P
Another crab's treasure
Steel Rising
Code Vein
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
The First Berserker: Khazan
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers

This is to say nothing of the countless low-budget and indie Soulslikes that flood Steam every year. Several of the previously mentioned titles, i.a Remains: From the ashes and Code Veinhas also spawned sequels, with more likely to come in the future.

Soulslike trend chasing has led to stagnation and oversaturation

There's a lot to like in the genre right now. Games like Lies by P and Nioh have been hailed as some of the best melee action games ever, with some fans claiming they're on par with FromSoftware's own work. At the same time, however, there have been releases such as Enotria: The Last Song and Lords of the Fallenwhich was met with lukewarm to negative receptions due to its lack of polish or innovation. It's these tepid projects that could have a more damaging impact on Soulslike's market space in the long run.

Every genre has bad games, but a series of bland or uninspired games indicates that developers may be leaning a little too heavily on an assumed title or format, limiting themselves to a set development plan or concept. In the case of so many Soulslike games, this can result in experiences that feel like shallow imitations of their forebears, the FromSoftware Souls game. In other words, the Soulslike space has many titles that, while not without their merits, feel underwhelming and interchangeable. These smaller games are treading water while FromSoftware continues to swim forward.

For each Lies by Pthere is at least one Lords of the Fallen or Mortal Shell. I don't want to bash these games too much, but when I play them, I often feel like it's better to replay Dark souls or Blood borne again instead. They try to add their own twists to combat, progression, or character customization, and while these can be valuable, they aren't enough to make them truly exceptional or cutting edge. This category of Soulslike is defined by being “good enough” and offering more content for fans of the genre. But the best Soulslike games aren't just good enough – they're revelatory and inspired. And as the soulslike frenzy begins to wane due to oversaturation, these titles will continue to see their cultural and commercial impact diminish.

What does the future look like for Soulslikes?

Developers will undoubtedly continue to be influenced by FromSoftware Soulslikes when making melee-focused action games: FromSoft's Souls gameplay is as fundamental to the modern ARPG as Call of Duty have been on the modern FPS or Super Mario to 2D platform games. But the difference between the Soulslikes that will excel and those that won't is innovation.

For example, Lies by P is clearly FromSoft-inspired, but it's also remarkably creative and inspired. Ingenious mechanics such as weapon crafting and scaling, breaking enemy weapons through parry, and deeper progression via quartz-activated abilities, make Lies by P meaningfully iterative, expanding and recontextualizing soul-like design pillars while respecting them. Lies by P pushing the soulslike genre forward, rather than just following FromSoft's lead and hoping to be “good enough” to attract wanderlust Souls fans.

As new gaming trends rise and fall, we'll probably see a smaller number of mediocre or just serviceable Soulslikes. Audiences at large are already more than familiar with basic Soulslike conventions – many players would likely argue that they're actually getting sick of them – so publishers and developers who make little or no effort to move past these basic genre conventions are sure to see diminishing returns over time, leading to a decrease in funding and support for such projects. In this scenario, we'll get fewer Soulslike games overall, but the ones we do get will be more likely Lies by P: truly exceptional and original games that aren't content to just play second fiddle to FromSoftware.