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This is an editorial ranking, not a claim about player consensus. It weighs how well each game brings together combat, level or world design, bosses, freedom of approach, atmosphere, and replay value. FromSoftware describes the Dark Souls series as action RPGs built around tense exploration, fearsome enemies, discovery, and accomplishment—a useful lens, though these seven games pursue that appeal in notably different ways.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Elden Ring (PS5) (European Version) | $34.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
Elden Ring, 1 PS5-Blu-ray Disc | $74.03 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Elden Ring: Nightreign - Seekers Edition /PS5 | $43.95 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
Bandai Namco Entertainment Elden Ring (PS5) | $40.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
Elden Ring - PlayStation 5 | $39.99 | Buy on Amazon |
How the ranking works
The order favors a strong, coherent experience over sheer size or the number of options. A game can rank highly through an unmistakable combat rhythm or tightly connected world, even if it offers less build freedom than a larger RPG. Conversely, breadth alone does not guarantee that every area or encounter feels equally strong. The ranking considers how each game’s bosses test its combat, whether exploration rewards attention, and how much the game invites a different approach on another run.
FromSoftware has not published a definitive “Soulsborne” category or an official order. Community rankings vary: a public r/fromsoftware discussion includes commenters who put Sekiro or Bloodborne above Elden Ring, as well as players who favor Dark Souls or Elden Ring. That is evidence of differing tastes, not a representative poll.
#1 Best Overall
- Collaborating with George R.R. Martin to create the ELDEN RING mythos has been a genuinely delightful experience and a source of wonderful inspiration. The team is working hard to ensure that the world of ELDEN RING will be a fascinating place for players to explore, filled with peril and wonder from its furthest reaches to its lowest depths. This is a FromSoftware title through and through, rich in fantasy and RPG action. We sincerely hope you look forward to it.
- Building the world of ELDEN RING with Miyazaki-san and his team was a treat! The graphics, mythos, and action-RPG gameplay will deliver an unforgettable experience. I can’t wait for people to see what ELDEN RING has in store for them.” Said George R.R. Martin.
7. Dark Souls II
What makes it stand out
Dark Souls II takes the series’ deliberate action-RPG foundation into a broad journey across distinct locations. Its appeal lies in the variety of places to explore and the sense of setting out on a long, sometimes strange expedition. Its weapons and character-building options make it possible to shape a run around different styles rather than treating every encounter the same way.
Why it ranks here
That breadth does not always produce the strongest overall cohesion. Its areas and encounters can feel less tightly connected than the best-designed worlds in the series, and its unevenness makes the journey harder to recommend as a complete package. It remains a substantial, distinctive entry, but its high points do not hold together as consistently as those of the games above it.
6. Demon’s Souls
What makes it stand out
Demon’s Souls establishes the series’ defining tension in a compact form: cautiously explore, learn how a dangerous place works, and earn progress through persistence. Its distinct areas give the journey a clear sense of moving from one perilous destination to another. The PS5 remake brings a new presentation to the same core game; this ranking treats it as a version, not an additional entry.
Why it ranks here
Its foundational design and atmosphere remain compelling, but the game’s more segmented structure does not offer the same continuous-world pleasure as Dark Souls or Elden Ring. As the earliest entry here, it also feels less developed in some of the ways later games refine combat and progression. Its historical importance is real, but this list ranks the experience rather than influence alone.
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Rank #3
- Elden Ring: Nightreign - Seekers Edition /PS5
5. Dark Souls III
What makes it stand out
Dark Souls III offers a focused, brisker take on the series’ action combat, with demanding boss fights at the center of its appeal. Its encounters make strong use of timing and pattern-reading, while the world’s ruined grandeur gives exploration a consistent sense of decay and danger. The expansions add more content, but they are not counted as separate games here.
Why it ranks here
Its combat and bosses are among the series’ most immediately satisfying, yet its route through the world feels less intricately interconnected than Dark Souls at its best. It also builds on a formula rather than redefining its terms. The result is an excellent, concentrated action RPG, edged out by entries whose structure or combat identity feels more singular.
4. Dark Souls
What makes it stand out
Dark Souls is the strongest expression of exploration as a risk-and-reward loop in this ranking. Its interwoven locations make navigation itself part of the challenge: finding a route, recognizing a landmark, and discovering a shortcut can feel as meaningful as defeating an enemy. That structure supports the atmosphere of a world that is dangerous, old, and gradually revealing its shape.
Why it ranks here
The game’s uneven stretches keep it from taking the top spot. Its combat and exploration establish a remarkable foundation, but the overall journey does not maintain the same level of polish and momentum throughout. FromSoftware’s own description of the series emphasizes tense dungeon exploration, fearsome enemies, discovery, and accomplishment; Dark Souls makes that design ideal especially legible, even if later games execute particular parts of it more smoothly.
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What makes it stand out
Elden Ring translates the studio’s action-RPG approach into a vast open world without making discovery feel like a checklist. A landmark on the horizon can lead to a detour, a hidden route, or an optional fight, and the freedom to leave a difficult challenge and return later changes how pressure works. Its wide range of weapons, builds, and tools supports more approaches than the tighter, more specialized games on this list.
Why it ranks here
That scale brings inconsistency. The freedom and spectacle can be extraordinary, but the experience is less tightly authored than the best compact journeys here, and not every encounter benefits equally from the game’s breadth. Elden Ring ranks near the top for exploration and player choice; the two games above it win through a more concentrated identity.
2. Bloodborne
What makes it stand out
Bloodborne gives its combat a distinctive forward-driving rhythm. Rather than making cautious defense the safest answer in every exchange, it rewards players who read an opening and press their advantage. Its gothic horror setting strengthens that approach: the streets feel oppressive, the discoveries unsettling, and the threats inseparable from the world’s mood.
Why it ranks here
Its narrower combat and character-building range is a deliberate tradeoff. Compared with Elden Ring, it offers less freedom to reshape a run around different tools and builds; its strength is how precisely its atmosphere, exploration, and combat reinforce one another. It falls just short of first because the game above it makes its combat concept even more focused.
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Best Value
- ELDEN RING, developed by FromSoftware Inc. and produced by BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc., is a fantasy action-RPG and FromSoftware's largest game to date, set within a world full of mystery and peril
- Journey through the Lands Between, a new fantasy world created by Hidetaka Miyazaki, creator of the influential DARK SOULS video game series, and George R. R. Martin, author of The New York Times best-selling fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire
- Traverse the breathtaking world on foot or on horseback, alone or online with other players, and fully immerse yourself in the grassy plains, suffocating swamps, spiraling mountains, and foreboding castles
- Create your character in FromSoftware’s refi ned action-RPG and defi ne your playstyle by experimenting with a wide variety of weapons, magical abilities, and skills found throughout the world
- Charge into battle, pick off enemies one-by-one using stealth, or even call upon allies for aid - many options are at your disposal as you decide how to approach exploration and combat
1. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
What makes it stand out
Sekiro earns the top spot through the clearest combat identity in this group. Its fights ask for deliberate timing, close attention, and the confidence to meet danger directly. Rather than offering the broad build experimentation associated with the action RPGs here, it centers the experience on a focused set of skills and on mastering the demands of its encounters. Its bosses feel especially satisfying when the player understands the rhythm they have been asked to learn.
Why it ranks here
That focus is also its main limitation: players looking for extensive weapon and build customization will find less room to vary their approach. But the ranking rewards coherence over breadth. Sekiro makes its central combat challenge the organizing principle for its encounters and progression, and that tight fit gives it the strongest overall design in this particular comparison.
Release editions and platforms
These are release-era platform details, not a guarantee of current regional availability or stock. FromSoftware’s company history lists selected original release platforms, while Bandai Namco documents the Dark Souls Trilogy edition. Check current listings for the edition and platform you want.
| Game or edition | Documented release-platform detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Demon’s Souls remake | PS5 | FromSoftware company history |
| Bloodborne | PS4 | FromSoftware company history |
| Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice | PS4, Xbox One, Windows | FromSoftware company history |
| Elden Ring | PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Windows | FromSoftware company history |
| Dark Souls Trilogy edition | PS4 and Xbox One | Bandai Namco product page |
FromSoftware reported that Dark Souls III had shipped over 10 million units worldwide and the Dark Souls series over 27 million units worldwide as of May 2020. These are historical shipment totals, not current sales figures.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
