Best FromSoftware Souls Games, Ranked

Following the release of Demon’s Souls, FromSoftware gradually shifted away from work on other publisher’s pre-existing IPs and more towards perfecting and maintaining its own, immediately successful niche: Souls games. Not counting remakes and re-releases, there have been seven distinct Souls games directly developed by FromSoftware – and dozens, if not hundreds, of other Soulslikes that were influenced by the studio’s work.

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Ranking these titles is no easy task, as it should be noted up front that even the ‘worst’ of the titles on this list are still widely considered to be some of the best games ever made – which is a roundabout way of saying ‘please don’t get mad at us if your favorites are in the bottom spots’.

Updated December 9, 2024, by Zackary Wiggs: With Armored Core 6 and Elden Ring’s DLC Shadow of the Erdtree gracing the roster of FromSoftware games, it’s only fair that they get their lasers and flaming swords added to this list. Whether you want games with extreme difficulty to give you a challenge, or you want RPGs with some amazing plots, plus some heavy fantasy and sci-fi elements thrown in for good mix, no one makes games quite like the minds at FromSoftware. But, some do stand out from the others.

8

Dark Souls 2

Dark Souls 2 has always been the odd one out when it comes to FromSoftware’s Souls series, but it’s more than fair to say that some of the hate it gets is a little too harsh. A lot of the criticisms people have of the game are relatively superficial, like, for instance, how some of its shortcomings are blamed on Hidetaka Miyazaki’s supposed lack of involvement in crafting its world and lore.

Some of the criticism is more than justified, however, such as the janky hitboxes, the eight-directional movement system (compared to both DS1 and DS3’s 360-degree movement system), a higher focus on mobs of enemies ganging up on the player, and the unforgivable sin of tying the iframes in your dodge roll to a specific stat. That being said, it really speaks volumes to the quality of FromSoft’s work that this is the lowest entry on this list, especially considering it has an overwhelmingly positive critical reception.

7

Demon’s Souls

Systems

Released

November 12, 2020

Developer(s)

Bluepoint Games

When Demon’s Souls first launched back in 2009, Miyazaki and the team at FromSoftware were terrified that it was going to be a commercial bomb and produced a limited run. Even though sales were slow immediately following its launch, the critical reception of the game and word of mouth caused it to sell out when sales numbers swiftly began to increase.

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Of course, the rest is history: Demon’s Souls’ critical acclaim at launch led to the game being a runaway hit, and as a result of its popularity, an entire new genre of game was born. While it could be argued it deserves a higher spot on this list for that feat alone, some of Demon’s Souls’ mechanics do seem a little dated compared to its successors.

6

Dark Souls

Whilst Demon’s Souls is considered the first, true Souls game, Dark Souls is considered to be the perfected blueprint that truly solidified the genre in the gaming zeitgeist. As stated by Miyazaki himself, the development of Demon’s Souls was extremely troubled during its early stages, and as a result several ideas were scrapped and a lot of development time was wasted. When it came to developing Dark Souls, FromSoftware was more organized, and the team felt galvanized by the surprise success of its predecessor.

Dark Souls went on to sell more than twice as many copies as the original Demon’s Souls, bringing the Souls genre into the mainstream. It’s hard not to see Dark Souls as an improvement over Demon’s Souls in almost every single way, due in no small part to its streamlined development process. More obvious improvements to its graphics and sound design were paired with welcome updates to the Souls genre’s system mechanics, like improved range of movement and an increased variety in potential character builds.

5

Dark Souls 3

If the changes made to the series’ formula in Dark Souls 2 are considered to be too risky and polarizing, then Dark Souls 3 is arguably its complete opposite – a game that seeks to improve upon everything the original Dark Souls did right, whilst changing very little in regard to its system mechanics in the process.

The original Dark Souls was lauded for making necessary updates and changes to the groundwork that Demon’s Souls had laid, so FromSoftware decided to take what it learned from the initial player reception to Dark Souls 2 and simply improve upon its winning formula. Surprising absolutely no-one, this led to stellar reviews and ridiculously high sales numbers.

4

Armored Core 6

A fun twist on the usual fantasy elements that the Soulsborne games focus on, Armored Core takes you to a sci-fi future with some difficult mech-on-mech fights that are quite impressive in a few distinct ways. The visuals are everything you’d expect from FromSoft, with lasers and rockets lancing across the screen in vivid detail.

In addition, there are some boss fights that are absolutely massive, and while they’re just as hard as ever, they’re great for making you feel like a champion. There’s some fun customization that you can tweak your mech with on the fly to help you beat baddies, but it does fall off in comparison to some of the other plots and themes that other FromSoft games bring to the table.

3

Bloodborne

It’s rare that a game, or any piece of media for that matter, is somehow so popular and revered yet simultaneously gets to enjoy being labeled as a ‘cult classic’. In Bloodborne’s case, that label does fit, as it’s difficult to think of a fanbase more passionate and as outspoken as Bloodborne’s. It’s not hard to see why, as very few games can compare to it both mechanically and stylistically.

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The striking, grimdark world that Bloodborne is set in distinguishes it from all of FromSoftware’s other Souls titles – which is impressive considering the Souls titles aren’t exactly known for being upbeat and cheery. In addition, while using the Dark Souls’ formula of checkpoints and an interconnected semi-open world, Bloodborne creates its own action system based on high-agressivity instead of careful play.

2

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Compared to every other entry on this list, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is the least Souls-like Souls game by quite a considerable margin. While the Soulsborne series is acnhored on a action RPG gameplay, Sekiro completely drops the RPG elements in favor of the best action system ever created. For that reason, some people might not even count it as part of the Soulsborne series. However, the use of checkpoints, the punishment for death, and most importantly the deep exploration of a interconnected world are still there, bringing it closer to the Dark Souls formula.

While the absence of character customization might prevent you from replaying the game in a whole different fashion, by knowing the equipment every player will have, FromSoftware was able to create the best boss battles ever. Each boss is fine-tuned to the precise dance of swords of Sekiro, something that wouldn’t be possible if you completely change your build. So, even if Sekiro doesn’t hold the same replay value as other Soulsborne titles, it arguably offers the most thrilling boss battles in the series.

1

Elden Ring

Elden Ring is everything people have come to love about the Souls genre, perfectly applied to an open world. Thanks to universally positive review scores, the game has won basically every video game award known to man and had stellar sales, surpassing every other title in the series. Furthermore, the game is huge and takes hundreds of hours to fully explore.

A staggering amount of content paired with an incredible focus on its detail and lore has made Elden Ring infinitely replayable. The most impressive thing about Elden Ring is that even though the public’s expectations for the title were unfathomably massive leading up to its launch, somehow FromSoftware managed to exceed said anticipations and deliver a title many, justifiably, already consider one of the greatest games ever made.

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