Best Soulslike From Every Console Generation

Given how vast and expansive the Soulslike genre feels now, the foundation is truly remarkable to think about, since it didn't technically take flight until the later console generations.

One could even say the roots didn't feature 'Soulslike' elements at all, but even putting that namesake aside for the genre, you still had loose elements that helped lay the foundation here. Of those, some are as old as a couple of decades, while others reinvented the wheel in modern times.

And that's exactly why I've put together this list today: to discuss each console generation's best soulslikes, based on their critical acclaim and influence on the genre as a whole.

5 King's Field

5th Generation

Since I figured we'd be running it back from the start, mentioning King's Field is a must here. It is widely regarded as the game that laid the philosophical and mechanical foundation on which the genre still stands.

It is FromSoft CEO Hidetaka Miyazaki's favorite game from his humble beginnings, so it's painfully obvious at that point where the seeds would end up sprouting for these guys to go on and create Demon Souls as well as the entire Dark Souls trilogy.

The game itself is the prime definition of a merciless classic—no hand-holding, no quest markers, just you and your trek through an array of oppressive dungeons combined with their eerie haunting silence. The whole ruthless first-person dungeon-crawler concept here was essentially the blueprint for the 'trust-your-intuition' RPG design that Soulslikes later built their identity around.

4 Shadow Tower Abyss

6th Generation

Moving up to the era when the PS2 was on the rise of becoming an all-time video game console, you had another relatively obscure FromSoft game here called Shadow Tower Abyss. And if this is your first time hearing about it, I won't blame you.

Think of it as a spiritual sibling to King's Field, with a more fleshed-out atmosphere and a coherent setting featuring actual NPCs and monsters, rather than traversing a singular hollow dungeon. Unlike other PS2 action RPGs at the time, Shadow Tower Abyss felt intentionally uncomfortable, isolating, and harsh—exactly the grueling tone the Soulsborne titles later adopted to some extent.

Most importantly, even beyond the usual stuff King's Field had long represented, this game featured a riveting detail that would later become synonymous with Dead Space: enemy body dismemberment. It was a key aspect that'd incentivize you to pick apart enemies strategically and carefully, else they'd just get back up, beheaded, or more hostile than before.

Also, putting aside the power-bar's charge-up mechanic from King's Field, this was technically the game that produced the blueprint for the stamina-based combat you'd see in most Soulslikes. That, and you had to carefully pick your offense from the four different attack animation options. Oh, and just a bit of a fun throwaway here; you could use a pistol and shotgun in this game, wild times.

3 Dark Souls

7th Generation

Before you charge and chew at me in the comments for not giving Demon's Souls the flowers it deserves as the parent game, this was a tough choice for me, too, since I love both of them. Still, if we're mainly talking about impact and critical success, the original Dark Souls is the clear winner, at least to me.

It is hard to argue against a game that had the most profound level of interconnectivity and mechanical depth, especially for that time. Most RPGs at that time embraced player agency and open-world settings, such as Skyrim and Dragon's Dogma. In contrast, Dark Souls embraces adversity and difficulty as the signature element.

The combat rewards you for mastering a boss's moveset after several trial-and-error runbacks, and with a replayability incentive to make you chase after other endings and undiscovered/unfinished NPC questlines.

Kudos to Demon's Souls for being the pillar on which it stands, but Dark Souls itself is really the game that launched a cultural shift in not just the industry, but the whole gaming landscape. It was frequently referenced across various media, and the game's overall design philosophy became a focal point for an entire genre.

2 Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

8th Generation

No disrespect to the Bloodborne fanbase, but I value a game that's had near-perfection written all over it more here. And that's precisely what Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was, and dare I say, almost felt like the magnum opus of FromSoftware. Some might agree, some won't, and that's also fine.

Most 8th-gen Soulslikes at that time still relied heavily on stamina bars, dodging, and gradual spacing. But in Sekiro, it all led to a posture-breaking design that pushed players to the limit as they learned a steep rhythmic combat system. A couple of fights were gimmicky, sure, but the other majority still required you to balance relentless offense with defensive retaliation adequately.

I couldn't begin tell you the number of times I had to do dozens of individual runbacks to Owl, Lady Butterfly, Genichiro, and Isshin, only to die frustratingly. But it all led to my unapologetic adoration for the game, as well as loudly applauding when it won GOTY accolades later in its release year.

1 Lies of P

9th Generation

Without giving all the credit to FromSoft, my personal pick for the best 9th-gen Soulslike has to go to Lies of P. Even besides the inclusivity's sake reason, the game speaks for itself with it's rich quality, something rare to find with most in the genre.

A narrative that feels complete and emotionally engaging while quietly interweaving one of the most enchanting gothic atmospheres in recent memory. The haunting world of Krat is intricately designed with verticality and more melancholic puppets than the last at every corner of the way.

However, where Lies of P shines the most is in the combat department—a tight, deliberate system inspired by Bloodborne and Sekiro, but with its own mechanical identity. There isn't a single moment where it gets repetitive solely because of how the Weapon Assembly aspect allows you to customize the armament's Handle and Blade.

Furthermore, Pinocchio's Legion Arm adds another layer of versatility to the gameplay side of things, providing special effects depending on which arm you're using, which is extremely beneficial for some key boss fights.

And with the Overture DLC having everyone I know singing praises about it, it's about time I did my playthrough of that, and so did you, as Lies of P is currently my pick for the best current-gen Soulslike on the market.