10 Soulslikes You Should Skip

As a massive fan of FromSoftware's work, I've spent many years of my life searching for sensations similar to those the Japanese developer is capable of instilling, but my efforts have been mostly futile.

Are there exceptions to the rule? Evidently, though I've rarely seen a subgenre created from a single franchise fall so far short of adequately emulating the philosophies that inspire it.

This isn't to say the average quality is low (quite the opposite, I would say), but at the same time, it doesn't mean that the games live up to the precepts they pursue, leaving us with numerous experiences that fail to meet expectations.

Therefore, if you're looking for successors to the Soulsborne titles, I invite you to read this list to discover ten Soulslikes you should definitely avoid.

10 Lies of P

Too Perfect for its Own Good

Starting an article like this with Lies of P, the best Soulslike ever conceived by a landslide, feels almost insulting, but I have a very important reason for doing so.

Many people have the notion that FromSoftware games are inaccessible and overwhelming, so they decide to start with Soulslikes to ease their introduction to this subgenre of RPGs.

However, doing so is a mistake as you won't fully appreciate any of the titles because you don't understand their origins, and starting with Lies of P, in particular, is the biggest error possible.

First, because it's a practically perfect title that raises the bar for its genre to a level that nobody else has reached, and second, because you'll hardly appreciate its exceptional nature if you can't recognize how well it adapts the Soulsborne formula.

As a result, I maintain: Lies of P is a masterful creation, but it should never be a starting point. The best thing is for you to enjoy the original adventures and then come to this one, only to spend the rest of your days disappointed because you won't be playing anything like it. Don't avoid it forever; just start elsewhere.

9 Bleak Faith: Forsaken

Unique and Inaccessible

I'm a huge supporter of Bleak Faith: Forsaken's bold attempt to create something palpably fresh in today's crowded market, though it's undeniably made for a very, very specific type of user.

In terms of combat and technical capabilities, it's a highly frustrating experience that will more often than not make you want to pull your hair out, cursing the fact you bought it.

At first glance, the game fails to meet even the most basic requirements of a decent experience, because it's so hard to focus on its world's colossal size, its atmosphere's magnificence, and its combat's brutality when simply exploring or swinging a sword are an absolute ordeal.

Bleak Faith: Forsaken is anything but fun, so I'd generally advise people to skip it because the chances of enjoying it are astronomically small, as you have to be such a masochistic and experimental type of player for it to be worthwhile that it's best to avoid the attempt altogether.

8 Ashen

A Rapid Fall

For many years, especially given the lack of remarkable Soulslikes, Ashen was highly regarded, though I'm afraid time has revealed its flaws quite easily.

It has some great ideas and a genuine intention to communicate something unique, but the passage of time is detrimental to its gameplay, which never quite manages to blend its elements and doesn't live up to its distinctive aesthetic.

Had it been a title that didn't try to imitate the Soulsborne formula, I think it would have been a memorable experience, but only the cooperative mode manages to make the mechanical shortcomings more bearable in favor of a fun experience.

However, except for purely multiplayer games, depending on a companion to enjoy a game is a conformist compromise that doesn't convince me, so I find it hard to think of Ashen as anything more than a singular title that receives less criticism than it deserves.

7 Shattered: Tale of the Forgotten King

Beautiful and Frustrating

Shattered: Tale of the Forgotten King is a painful case because, unlike many Soulslikes, it boasts a distinctive and outstanding art style, yet it's impossible to recommend it solely for its visual appeal.

Once you stop being amazed by the environments and character models, you're faced with a frustratingly repetitive experience, as you're always fighting the same types of enemies and resorting to the same tactics, except when you're too lost on the map to even bother fighting.

FromSoftware's mastery often lies in how subtly they hint at where to go or what to do with the objects you discover, and Shattered: Tale of the Forgotten King fails so badly in this regard that it feels unpolished, as if they hadn't done enough testing of what's actively in the game.

Despite leaving Early Access, these feelings have persisted, so it's difficult to recommend it in its current state. With timely updates, I might be able to find reasons not to include it on a list like this, but I've been waiting for those reasons for so long that I'm tired of having expectations.

6 Salt and Sacrifice

A Sequel Without Height

A game you should avoid based on the fact that you liked its predecessor is Salt and Sacrifice, a sequel that unfortunately fails completely to capture the original's essence.

While the first is the finest adaptation of the formula to two dimensions, and easily among the most outstanding indie games in history, this second installment feels much more insubstantial and repetitive.

From the change from memorable bosses to recurring encounters with the same figures and swarms of minions, to a much less interconnected and bland level design that serves as the backdrop for gameplay far more focused on grinding, it's a much less cohesive and satisfying experience.

I wouldn't go so far as to say it's a bad game, but the drop in quality compared to Salt and Sanctuary is so overwhelming that I'm sparing you from disappointment by not recommending it at all.

5 Code Vein

For Particular Tastes

When I say there are games you should definitely avoid, I'm partly basing this on the idea of ​​how likely the average player is to have an enjoyable experience, and I find that especially problematic with Code Vein.

Although its gameplay is entirely Soulslike, it's an experience whose tone, characters, art style, and atmosphere are directly inspired by JRPGs, so it tends to be melodramatic, full of fanservice, and even somewhat edgy.

From there, it's a recommendation for a particular niche audience, which is probably the only group capable of overlooking the fact that, in terms of level design, control responsiveness, and bosses, it's rather clunky.

Despite personally enjoying Code Vein to a certain extent, I still felt extremely conflicting emotions that made me understand it wasn't made for all players, and the passage of time has only reaffirmed my belief that its questionable quality and anime aesthetic aren't entirely palatable.

4 Hellpoint

A Failed Tribute

Taking inspiration from your favorite games can be a fascinating way to create something new, but unfortunately, this isn't the case with Hellpoint.

By trying to combine terrible platforming mechanics with the Soulsborne series' combat and level design, you get a combination that doesn't work on either level, preventing you from enjoying what little functionality the title has to offer.

Considering its profound technical shortcomings, which only serve to highlight the conceptual flaws, you're left with the indelible impression that you're playing a loosely integrated title that doesn't encourage you to continue when it gets cryptic, which happens frequently.

Aside from the atmosphere, which is quite well done, Hellpoint is unenjoyable in combat, movement, and exploration, essentially failing in everything that characterizes a good Soulslike.

3 Dolmen

The Definition of Clunky

Nevertheless, when it comes to using adjectives like “clunky”, Dolmen is among the most fitting examples, and it's tough to recommend it outright because it feels like an unfinished product.

The combat alone, which is insubstantial and uninspired thanks to its strange hitboxes, terrible animations, and inconsistent encounters, makes it a difficult title to digest, though the reality goes even further.

In reality, the performance is awful, the enemies feel immortal, there are bugs everywhere, much of the content is as generic as it can be, the interface is completely disastrous and out of place… Honestly, there's a lot to unpack, and nothing positive about it.

Even so, I'm not putting it first because the chances of having expectations for Dolmen, which is clearly a lackluster work, are rather slim, although it's always pertinent to reiterate that it's not worth investing your time or money on it under any circumstances.

2 Pascal’s Wager

It's Only Good on Mobile

After thoroughly enjoying Pascal's Wager on mobile, I decided to give the PC version a try to see how it fared in the new environment, and frankly, it was a disaster of biblical proportions.

It's painfully obvious this is a game designed for different hardware, as the control mapping, responsiveness, and accompanying animations are utterly underwhelming.

The game crashes constantly, the combat feels completely out of sync, the textures and models look incredibly cheap, the camera and audio only work intermittently… It's a terrible port of an amazing product, which is truly sad.

If it were the mobile version, I'd wholeheartedly recommend it because it's fantastic, but Pascal's Wager on PC is so far removed from its original counterpart that it's astonishing it was even released in that state.

1 Lords of the Fallen (2014)

An Insufferable Pioneer

Lords of the Fallen is a museum piece we should all cherish for starting one of the last decade's biggest video game movements, and that value cannot be taken away from it, not even by its disastrous proposal.

Unfortunately, the work of CI Games and Deck 13 in creating an adventure based on FromSoftware's works offers such a stark contrast to a practically perfect formula that it's almost painful to watch, even though it paved the way for others.

This game is a prime example of what we would continue to see more than ten years later: it was absurdly difficult to match the subgenre's progenitors, and it still is, since its low quality isn't far removed from other entries on the list.

Nevertheless, it's in the first place because curiosity is a considerable force, and I can understand why Soulslike fans want to study this pioneer, but believe me when I say it's generally not worth confirming what's obvious.

It's not a misunderstood title, nor a hidden gem, nor a product that critics unfairly panned, and it doesn't have to be. As bad and unrecommendable as it is (unless you have a morbid curiosity, which would be another topic), Lords of the Fallen is a modern landmark in the interactive entertainment industry, so it deserves respect even if it doesn't warrant a recommendation.