Best Soulslike Games to Play for Months

FromSoftware’s Dark Souls franchise has irrevocably changed the face of the gaming landscape forever. It is impossible to escape the influence of Dark Souls, and why would anyone want to? The games have been hugely successful since the first release in 2011, and have consistently put FromSoftware on the top of the action RPG market.

But, what should a player turn to once replaying the Dark Souls games has lost its charm? There is an entire genre of gaming intended to fill this gap, known as Souls-Like games, and this list looks at 8 of them that offer a serious time investment. If a gamer really wants to lose themselves for months at a time, then look no further than these great games.

8 Lords Of The Fallen (2023)

A Soulslike Remake That Finds It’s Own Identity

Lords of the Fallen was originally released in 2014 to mixed reviews. Many discounted it as yet another bland game chasing the Dark Souls success. Cut to 2023, and Lords of the Fallen has been rebooted, this time finding a much more successful landing. The game went from borrowing heavily from the Dark Souls franchise to forging its own identity that, while still flawed, is fun, unique, and broad in scale.

It is easy to find a lot to love in Lords of the Fallen, either in the narrative mode which can be completed solo or co-op, or in the PvP mode which offers further content for the avid fans. This game is well worth a try and is commendable in the way it brought a franchise back from the dead.

7 Elden Ring

Like Dark Souls? Try FromSoftware’s Other Games!

Most, if not all, Dark Souls fans will be at least aware of Elden Ring. It has taken all that FromSoftware spent years building in Dark Souls and placed it in a completely open world, with an immense amount of exploration. It may feel like cheating to recommend a game by the same developer, but truly Elden Ring is the perfect game for a fan of the Dark Souls games to spend months with.

The main story is around 60 hours long, with an additional 40-70 hours worth of content, without taking into account the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. With story and lore written by George R.R. Martin, and developed by FromSoftware themselves, it’s kind of impossible to name a game that fits the bill better than Elden Ring.

6 Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

The Soulslike Genre Blends With Rhythm

Yet another FromSoftware title, and the last on this list, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a Souls-Like experience like no other. Unlike Elden Ring, this game isn’t some expansive open-world spectacle, and yet a player can easily spend months with this game for one very specific reason. It is ridiculously difficult. Even by FromSoftware standards, Sekiro stands far above any of the Dark Souls games in terms of difficulty simply due to its new standing mechanics and reliance on rhythm and pattern.

To progress, a player must simply get good, master the lightning-fast combat system and parrying mechanics, or die trying. For that reason, the combat of Sekiro is wonderfully rewarding, offering the player the opportunity to feel like a true living legend as they grow and learn, and eventually take down the enemies that were previously impossible.

5 Black Myth: Wukong

Journey To The West Gets A Souls-Like Facelift

Black Myth: Wukong has been making waves across the online gaming community since its release. Inspired by the classical Chinese novel, Journey To The West, the game lets the player take control of an anthropomorphic monkey as he fights his way to six relics, in order to revive Sun Wukong. The game is a fun take on the soulslike formula, offering a stunning world, incredible boss fights, and deeply satisfying combat.

Similar to many of the other games on this list, this game is mostly linear, however does intersperse this with larger areas that offer the player some freedom. Much of the longevity of the game comes from getting to grips with its difficult combat, as is commonplace for souls-like, and the ability to replay the story in New Game Plus.

4 Remnant 2

Dark Souls, Now With Guns!

Dark Souls but with guns is far from a unique idea, however Remnant 2 is the most polished game to attempt this. Offering just shy of 100 hours of content, Remnant 2 is easy to get lost in for quite some time. The game offers procedurally generated environments, allowing each playthrough to be entirely unique, as well as multiple classes, tons of weapons, builds, areas to explore and so much more.

Remnant 2 is the perfect game to simply sink a few hours into here and there, with a narrative that is inoffensive but somewhat lacking, the gameplay keeps drawing players back time and time again. With satisfying gunplay, epic boss fights, and deeply expansive exploration, it’s well worth giving a go.

3 Hollow Knight

A 2D Souls-Like, Metroidvania, Masterpiece

Hollow Knight stands out among the games on this list for one very distinct reason; it’s 2D. This doesn’t stop it, however, from being a masterclass in making a souls-like game. From art direction, music, and atmosphere, to boss design and combat, Hollow Knight is brilliant. The world is a winding maze that doesn’t seem all that large on paper but becomes a labyrinth of nightmarishly difficult boss fights.

The player is simply told of their quest and told to explore, finding their own path through the world in which they will backtrack, fall through, climb back up, and discover secrets hidden in plain sight. There really isn’t anything like Hollow Knight, and if any player is looking for a challenging yet whimsically charming game, this is the one.

2 Nioh 2: Complete Edition

Arguably The Perfect Souls-Like

Team Ninja made both Nioh and Nioh 2 which are, to many, the perfect souls-like. Set in 1500s Japan, Nioh 2 functions as a prequel and a sequel to the previous game narratively, but is a strict upgrade from a mechanical perspective. The gameplay is crisp and satisfying, feeling similar to Dark Souls, yet arguably more difficult.

Nioh 2 is well worth the almost 150 hours it takes to fully explore the complete edition of the game. It has so much for gamers of all kinds if they are willing to break through the walls put up by the brutal difficulty. There are many references to traditional Japanese folklore that make for a fascinating world, reminiscent of Dark Souls only in its gameplay style.

1 Lies Of P

What If Pinocchio Was A Dark Souls Game?

The final game on this list is Lies of P, a beautiful exploration of the story of Pinocchio through the lens of a challenging souls-like game. Taking control of P, the player must explore the city of Krat, undergoing a puppet uprising, in a narrative loosely based on the original story of Pinocchio. With characters like Geppetto and Gemini (a reference to Jiminy Cricket) guiding P on his journey, he must fight his way through Krat to uncover the cause of the puppet frenzy and put a stop to it.

With a few distinct endings, Lies of P asks the player to find the line between lies and truth, choosing how their playthrough will progress with varying differences based on their choices at various points. Whether or not a player is interested in the fairytale narrative, the gameplay of Lies of P is more than enough to keep them coming back over and over. It is some of the most well-tuned souls-like combat on the market, and with many secrets to uncover in Krat, players will have no problem spending months with this game.