Which Order to Play Soulsborne Games After Elden Ring

So, you've become Elden Lord, traveled far and wide on Torrent, and have even survived your rematch with Consort Radahn. What's a weary Tarnished supposed to do now?

For many of you, the good news is that there is a wide collection of remaining Soulsborne games by FromSoftware to tackle if Elden Ring happened to be your first venture into the genre. And I know there are lots of you out there, as Elden Ring was the best-selling game from the developer by a margin, despite there being plenty of other options to jump into first.

So if you're one of the several million that started in The Lands Between and don't know where to go next to continue your Soulsborne obsession, feel free to follow my suggestions below!

1 Dark Souls: Remastered

Into the Abyss

Truth be told, the most natural Soulsborne title to jump into after Elden Ring is actually Dark Souls 3 in terms of mechanics, but I'd argue you don't want to rush straight there simply because it's the most similar to what you know. Instead, you should start with Dark Souls: Remastered in order to make the wait for DS3 worth it.

That's no shade on the OG Dark Souls, however. Despite its age and the fact that even the remaster looks retro at this point, DS1 is an absolute masterclass in tone and world design. The game itself is somber, almost haunting in many ways as you first approach Firelink Shrine and have the swelling theme music fill your ears and remain lodged in your brain for all eternity afterwards.

I'm not sure if there's ever been a better example of an interconnected map design in any game since, which gives Dark Souls such a wonderful sense of exploration and discovery alongside the boss battles that still mostly pull their weight in the modern era. There's some old school jank and gank to come to terms with here, but DS1 is a legendary video game for a reason, so start here to learn why.

2 Dark Souls 3

A World in Ruins

As much as I think playing Dark Souls 3 makes most sense mechanically to play right after Elden Ring, I think you'd be doing yourself a grave disservice by playing it before DS1. I know there's the belief that the story in Dark Souls doesn't really matter since it's fairly abstract and told via item descriptions mostly, but the people that lean hard into this sentiment also often overlook the series' incredible environmental storytelling.

Because of this, so many moments in multiple areas of DS3 would feel absolutely spoiled or fall flat entirely if you don't get their references from the original Dark Souls. DS3 has tons of callbacks to the original game, only now taking place in a world that's finally dying and crumbling into ruin. None of this will hit how it should if you haven't played DS1, and I think that would be a massive shame.

The wait will be worth it, however, as I personally believe Dark Souls 3 is the best game FromSoftware has ever produced, and this is coming from someone that absolutely adores DS1 and Elden Ring as well. DS3 has the best boss fights in the entire Soulsborne collection, so prepare to be amazed and also experience the incredible references to DS1 along the way.

3 Demon's Souls (2020)

Still a Spectacle

The Soulsborne that started it all, Demon's Souls (and specifically the 2020 PS5-exclusive remake) is what you should tackle next. Be warned that it is fundamentally different from Elden Ring and Dark Souls in many ways since it was the prototype for those others, but don't let that scare you off, either.

Demon's Souls is still amazing, and the remake boasts the best visuals and sound design in the FromSoftware stable despite predating Elden Ring by a few years. Pour one out for Bluepoint Games, who really did an incredible job with this one from stem to stern.

A lot of people think Demon's Souls is the hardest game on this list, but this really isn't true. Each boss has a gimmick that is fun to figure out, and also makes them simple to crack once you know what you're doing. This then makes the levels themselves the true challenge of the game, so just go in prepared to run areas over and over as you learn your route, and you'll find yourself having a blast by the end.

4 Bloodborne

A Hunter Gets Hunted While Hunting

Up next is Bloodborne, the Soulsborne title that many people consider to be their favorite. Honestly, I'd rank it below Elden Ring, DS1, DS3, and Demon's Souls alike, but it is a bit like picking a favorite child between all of those options. Whatever your rank ends up being, journeying to Yharnam and its surrounding areas is where you should head next.

Every game we've talked about previously share the most DNA, resulting in them making the most sense to play one after another. And while there are still obviously a ton of similarities in Bloodborne as well, it fundamentally shifts in many ways too, mainly with combat being much more fast-paced, far less reliant on things like shields, dependent on creating openings with firearms, and features a health regeneration system that rewards constantly applying pressure on offense.

Bloodborne absolutely has some of the most insane, grotesque, and incredible enemy and boss designs in gaming period, making this one a much more aggressive spectacle of a gore fest once you fully launch into it. Sadly, it does desperately need a remaster at this point to bring it to 60 frames per second, but you'll have to manage with 30 since it seems like we're never, ever going to get a modernized version of the game.

5 Dark Souls 2

For Those Who Still Crave More

A lot of people will tell you not to skip Dark Souls 2 or wait this long to play it. I respect that the game has its die-hard fans, but I'm just not buying what they're all selling, either. Dark Souls 2 is cool in many ways, but is also famously the black sheep of the family. It's the one Soulsborne that wasn't directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki, and I'd argue that it absolutely shows (and in negative ways).

Hit boxes are miserable, most weapons feel like hitting bosses with a wet, rolled-up newspaper, and there are simply far too many subpar fights in general that really start to tarnish the package as a whole by the end. There are also multiple locations in this game that are fairly unanimously agreed upon as being the worst in Soulsborne history, so prepare for those as well.

All of that said, and despite the game's different direction, it is still Dark Souls. There is a ton of cool lore housed within the game, and there are genuinely cool moments peppered into the package as a whole. If you want to explore absolutely everything within the Dark Souls franchise and are craving more, give DS2 a whirl. At the same time, there's no shame in trying it out and then just going back to replay DS3 for NG++++.

6 Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Transition Back to Other Games (Or Just Keep Playing From Titles Forever)

Last but absolutely not least, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is how you should round out your Soulsborne journey. This is quite literally not for any negative reasons whatsoever. In fact, the game is pretty much immaculate, and was well deserving of its Game of the Year victory back in 2019.

So why wait till the very end to actually jump into it? Well, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is quite easily the most different-feeling game on the list. It deals much more heavily with stealth, action, as well as a parry-based combat system that is mandatory for success, and thus raises the barrier of entry to the game for much of the early phases. Once it clicks, it's amazing, but it's going to take some time, too.

Sekiro is the game that actually lives up to the Dark Souls "Git Gud" meme tagline, so it takes a level of investment beyond anything else above. As more of an action game, it's also a smoother transition back to other non-FromSoftware titles if you'd like to come back to the real world now. Or, you can just play all of the above games on an endless loop from now on, because you're officially one of us.

Welcome, Tarnished, Chosen Undead, Ashen One, Slayer of Demons, Bearer of the Curse, Wolf, and Hunter.