10 Best Souls-Like Games (2026)
Souls-like games are built with difficulty that never bends for you. Every boss fight demands pattern recognition, every death teaches you something specific, and stamina management turns basic combat into a constant risk calculation. FromSoftware built the template with the Dark Souls trilogy, but the genre has grown far beyond its original creator, spreading into sci-fi, samurai epics, and even isometric RPGs.
We picked these ten games because they represent what the genre is actually about. Combat that punishes mistakes. Progress you have to earn through skill, not one the game just hands you. Some stick close to the classic Souls formula. Others push the core ideas somewhere different.
In this article, we'll explore the ten best souls-like games worth your time, covering what makes each one stand out and who it's actually built for. Here's a quick look at all ten before we get into the details.
Rank | Game | Best For |
|---|---|---|
1 | A stylish action-Souls hybrid, with the sequel Blood Rain already confirmed | |
2 | A dark, Pinocchio-inspired story with deep weapon customization | |
3 | A 2D Metroidvania take on Soulslike punishment and religious horror | |
4 | A tighter, more focused Soulslike, with Mortal Shell 2 launching August 20, 2026 | |
5 | A mythology-rooted Soulslike with boss-rush pacing and shapeshifting combat mechanics |
1. Stellar Blade
Stellar Blade is an action-adventure game released on April 26, 2024 for PS5, developed by Shift Up and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. A PC version followed on June 11, 2025, bringing DLSS support, unlocked framerates, and full DualSense integration to Steam and the Epic Games Store. The game runs on Unreal Engine 4 and blends fast, parry-heavy combat with a linear, cinematic structure.
You play as Eve, a member of an elite squad sent to Earth to fight back against a monstrous alien threat called the Naytiba. Movement is precise, dodges and parries carry real weight, and enemy encounters are built around reading attack patterns rather than brute-forcing through damage.
Boss fights are the highlight, each one built around tight windows and punishing mistakes hard. The world itself is smaller and more guided than a typical Soulslike, trading open exploration for tightly paced set pieces and story beats that keep pulling you forward. Traversal sections between fights add platforming and light puzzle elements, giving the pacing room to breathe before the next confrontation.
Available on: PC (Steam, Epic Games Store), PS5, and Nintendo Switch 2
My Verdict: Best for players who want Soulslike combat without the open world sprawl. With Stellar Blade: Blood Rain already confirmed as a sequel, now is a good time to catch up before it arrives.
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2. Lies of P
Lies of P is an action role-playing game released on September 18, 2023, developed by Round8 Studio and Neowiz, and published by Neowiz. The game runs on Unreal Engine 4 and reimagines the story of Pinocchio as a dark, Belle Époque-set Soulslike, trading the fairy tale for a plague-ravaged city called Krat.
You play as P, a puppet built by Geppetto, searching the city for his creator while fighting through hostile automatons and disfigured citizens. The core "Lie" system ties into this directly, choices and answers you give throughout the story shift how human P becomes by the end.
Combat leans heavily into weapon customization. Blades and handles can be mixed and matched to build different movesets, and a parry-focused deflect system rewards precise timing over pure aggression. Boss design is dense and consistently difficult, closer to Bloodborne's pace than the slower rhythm of Dark Souls. An expansion, Overture, released in June 2025, and a sequel is already confirmed to be in development.
Available on: PC (Steam), PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One
My Verdict: Best for players who want tight, punishing combat wrapped in a genuinely dark reinterpretation of a familiar story. One of the strongest Soulslikes not made by FromSoftware.
3. Blasphemous
Blasphemous is a Metroidvania released on September 10, 2019, developed by Spanish studio The Game Kitchen and published by Team17. Built in Unity, the game pairs 2D pixel art with catholic-inspired imagery to build one of the most distinct atmospheres in the genre.
You play as The Penitent One, a member of the Congregation of the Silent Sorrow, wandering the corrupted land of Cvstodia armed with the sword Mea Culpa. The story unfolds through exploration rather than dialogue, with most of the lore hidden in item descriptions and environmental detail.
Combat is deliberate and grounded, closer to a hack and slash platformer, but the difficulty and punishing checkpoint system pull directly from the genre. Levels loop back on themselves constantly, rewarding backtracking with new gear and shortcuts. A sequel, Blasphemous 2, released in 2023 and expanded the formula with more fluid combat and multiple weapon types.
Available on: PC (Steam), PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
My Verdict: Best for players who want Soulslike difficulty in a 2D package, wrapped in some of the strongest pixel art and world-building the genre has produced.
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4. Mortal Shell
Mortal Shell is an action role-playing game released on August 18, 2020, developed by Cold Symmetry and published by Playstack. Built in Unreal Engine 4, the game was a debut project for the studio and drew direct inspiration from Dark Souls, aiming for the same weight and dread while carving out its own identity.
You play as a foundling wandering a decayed world, able to possess different Shells, each one a fallen warrior with a distinct stat spread and playstyle. Combat centers on a unique Harden ability that lets you freeze mid-swing to absorb an incoming hit, turning timing into the core defensive tool instead of a traditional dodge roll.
The world is smaller and denser than most Soulslikes, built for tight loops rather than sprawling exploration, and bosses hit hard enough that learning the Harden mechanic isn't optional. An Enhanced Edition brought the game to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2021, and a Complete Edition reached Switch in 2022.
Available on: PC (Steam), PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
My Verdict: Best for players who want a tighter, more focused Soulslike built around a genuinely different core mechanic. Mortal Shell II releases August 20, 2026, so now is the time to catch up.
Get Mortal Shell on GameBoost →
5. Black Myth: Wukong
Black Myth: Wukong is an action role-playing game released on August 20, 2024, developed and published by Game Science. Built in Unreal Engine 5, it's China's first true AAA production, and the scale shows in every environment the game throws at you.
You play as the Destined One, a staff-wielding monkey on a journey to recover six relics tied to Sun Wukong's senses, drawing directly from the classic novel Journey to the West. The story blends Chinese mythology with dark fantasy, and the game leans on transformation mechanics, letting you shapeshift into enemies you've defeated to access new movesets mid-fight.
Combat is demanding and boss-heavy, closer to the pace of Sekiro than the slower rhythm of Dark Souls, with a stance-switching staff system that rewards aggression when timed right. The game sold over 10 million copies within three days of release. An Xbox Series X/S version followed a year later on August 20, 2025.
Available on: PC (Steam, Epic Games Store), PS5, Xbox Series X/S
My Verdict: Best for players who want a visually stunning, boss-rush-heavy Soulslike rooted in a mythology most Western games never touch.
Get Black Myth: Wukong on GameBoost →
6. Hollow Knight & Hollow Knight: Silksong
Hollow Knight is a Metroidvania released on February 24, 2017, developed and published by Team Cherry, a small Australian indie team of three. Its sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong, released September 4, 2025, after seven years of development, and quickly became one of the biggest launches of the year, selling seven million copies within weeks.
Hollow Knight puts you in control of a small, silent knight exploring Hallownest, a ruined insect kingdom buried underground. Silksong follows Hornet, Hallownest's former princess-protector, after she's captured and taken to a new land called Pharloom on a pilgrimage toward its peak.
Both games pull directly from Soulslike design, punishing combat, a currency you drop and can recover on death, and a world built for backtracking once new abilities open up old paths. Hornet's moveset in Silksong is faster and more aggressive than the original knight's, giving the sequel a sharper, more offense-focused feel while keeping the same brutal boss design that made the first game a genre standout.
Available on: PC (Steam), PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, macOS, Linux
My Verdict: Best for players who want Soulslike difficulty in 2D form. Play the original first if you haven't, then jump into Silksong for one of the best sequels the genre has seen.
Get Hollow Knight on GameBoost →
Get Hollow Knight: Silksong on GameBoost →
7. Mina the Hollower
Mina the Hollower is an action-adventure game released on May 29, 2026, developed and published by Yacht Club Games, the studio behind Shovel Knight. Built to mimic the visual limits of a Game Boy Color title, no 3D assets, four colors per tile, the game leans hard into a retro aesthetic while pulling gameplay inspiration from top-down Zelda and Castlevania.
You play as Mina, a scientist turned "Hollower" who travels to a cursed island to help restore its lost power. Her main weapon is a whip called Nightstar, and additional weapons and sidearms unlock as you progress, each one with a distinct moveset that changes how encounters play out.
The game had been in development for four years and went through multiple delays before launch, giving Yacht Club time to build out a genuinely dense world packed with secrets, trinkets, and boss fights that lean into a darker Victorian horror tone than the studio's previous work. Combat rewards pattern recognition and precise spacing, closer to a classic Soulslike loop than a typical action-adventure game.
Available on: PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, macOS, Linux
My Verdict: Best for players who want a fresh, retro-styled take on Soulslike combat without sacrificing depth or difficulty.
Also Read: 10 Best Games Like Stardew Valley
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8. Remnant II
Remnant II is a third-person shooter and action role-playing game released on July 25, 2023, developed by Gunfire Games and published by Gearbox Publishing. Built in Unreal Engine 5, it's the sequel to Remnant: From the Ashes and expands on that game's mix of gunplay and Soulslike structure.
You play as one of the last survivors of humanity, fighting through procedurally shifting worlds against god-like bosses trying to destroy reality itself. Instead of a single melee weapon defining your build, you carry a main gun, a sidearm, and a melee weapon together, giving fights a rhythm closer to a cover shooter than a typical Soulslike.
The Soulslike DNA shows up everywhere else though, punishing enemy encounters, and boss fights that demand pattern recognition over raw firepower. Archetypes replace traditional character classes, and the game supports up to three-player co-op for the full campaign. Three DLC expansions released between late 2023 and late 2024, adding new areas, bosses, and archetypes.
Available on: PC (Steam), PS5, Xbox Series X/S
My Verdict: Best for players who want Soulslike difficulty with guns instead of swords. The co-op support makes it one of the easier entries on this list to jump into with friends.
Get Remnant II | Ultimate Edition on GameBoost →
9. Lords of the Fallen
Lords of the Fallen is an action role-playing game released on October 13, 2023, developed by Hexworks and published by CI Games. Built in Unreal Engine 5, it's a full reboot of the 2014 game of the same name, and it skipped last-gen consoles entirely to focus on next-gen hardware.
You play as a Dark Crusader traveling across Mournstead in a quest to overthrow Adyr, the demon god. The game's defining mechanic is the dual-realm system, at any point you can shift between the living world of Axiom and the parallel realm of Umbral, revealing hidden paths, enemies, and shortcuts that only exist in one plane or the other.
Combat is fast and heavy, closer to Elden Ring's pacing than the slower rhythm of the original Dark Souls, and the Umbral Lamp mechanic adds a genuine risk-reward layer, staying too long in Umbral draws stronger enemies. The game has received over 50 post-launch updates since release, and a sequel is already in development at Hexworks.
Available on: PC (Steam), PS5, Xbox Series X/S
My Verdict: Best for players who want dozens of bosses and a genuinely distinct dual-world mechanic layered over familiar Soulslike combat.
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10. Another Crab's Treasure
Another Crab's Treasure is a Soulslike released on April 25, 2024, developed and published by Aggro Crab. Built in Unity, it takes the genre's usual weight and difficulty and wraps it in a colorful, cartoonish underwater world plagued by pollution and a mysterious curse.
You play as Kril, a hermit crab stripped of his shell over unpaid taxes, forced to scavenge trash from the ocean floor and wear it as makeshift armor. Kril fights with the same weapon, a discarded fork, for the entire game, so progression comes almost entirely from the shells you find and equip rather than weapon upgrades.
The difficulty is set to Hard by default but can be changed at any time, making it one of the more approachable entries in the genre without losing the core Soulslike loop, punishing bosses, methodical combat, and a currency system tied to death. The tone stays light and funny throughout, even as the underlying structure sticks closely to the genre's hardest conventions.
Available on: PC (Steam), PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
My Verdict: Best for players who want the same Soulslike bones with a lighter, funnier coat of paint. A great entry point if the genre's usual grimdark tone has kept you away.
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Best Souls-Like Games on Each Platform
Best Souls-Like Games on PC
PC players get every game on this list without exception, and the full catalogue of PC game keys on GameBoost covers all of them. Lies of P and Black Myth: Wukong are the standout picks for pure combat depth, while Mortal Shell and Lords of the Fallen round out the harder-hitting side of the genre.
Best Souls-Like Games on PS5
Stellar Blade remains one of the strongest picks among PlayStation game keys on GameBoost, and Black Myth: Wukong runs particularly well on the console too. Remnant II and Another Crab's Treasure both hold up well here as well, giving PS5 owners a solid spread across the genre.
Best Souls-Like Games on Xbox
Xbox got a later start with some of these titles, but Black Myth: Wukong finally landed in 2025 alongside Lords of the Fallen and Remnant II, both of which run well on Series X/S and are part of the Xbox game keys lineup on GameBoost. Mina the Hollower rounds things out with a lighter, more approachable pick for the platform.
FAQs About Souls-Like Games
Q: What is the best Souls-like game right now?
A: Black Myth: Wukong is the strongest overall pick right now, combining stunning visuals with dense, boss-heavy combat rooted in Chinese mythology. Lies of P and Stellar Blade are close behind depending on whether you want deep weapon customization or fast, stylish action.
Q: What are the best Souls-like games on PC?
A: PC has the widest selection by far, every game on this list is available on Steam. Lies of P, Black Myth: Wukong, and Lords of the Fallen stand out as the strongest picks for players who want the deepest combat systems and the most content.
Q: What Souls-like games are coming out in 2026?
A: No Rest for the Wicked leaves early access for its full 1.0 release in October 2026, adding around 60 hours of new content. Mortal Shell II launched on August 20, 2026, and Stellar Blade: Blood Rain has been revealed but doesn't have a confirmed release date yet.
Q: Are Souls-like games hard to get into as a beginner?
A: Yes, most of them are built around punishing difficulty as a core feature rather than an option. Another Crab's Treasure and Blasphemous are the easiest entry points on this list, with adjustable difficulty and a more forgiving structure than the rest.
Q: Where can I get the best deals on Souls-like game keys?
A: GameBoost offers competitive prices on every game in this list year-round, with no need to wait for seasonal sales. Every purchase includes instant delivery, 3% cashback in GB Coins, and 24/7 live chat support.
Final Words
Souls-like games reward patience over reflexes, and few genres make failure feel this satisfying to learn from. Stellar Blade delivers a stylish action hybrid, Black Myth: Wukong brings a mythology-rich epic, and Another Crab's Treasure offers something more forgiving for newcomers, so there's an entry point here regardless of how much punishment you're looking for. The genre keeps growing well beyond FromSoftware's original formula, and this year alone has brought a strong mix of newcomers and long-awaited sequels to the table.
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