What’s the difference between a Soulslike and a Soulslike-inspired action RPG? A Soulslike organizes much of its experience around the design approach associated with FromSoftware’s Souls games: deliberate combat, dangerous routes, checkpoints, learning through failure, and meaningful character or equipment choices. A Soulslike-inspired action RPG borrows some of those conventions, but another structure or design goal shapes more of the game. There is no official checklist that makes the label a pass-or-fail classification; the key is how the systems work together.
What makes a game a Soulslike?
“Soulslike” is an informal genre label that emerged through player discussion, rather than a formal category with an authoritative definition. A 2025 DiGRA analysis describes it as an emergent category built around a cohesive experience, not a fixed inventory of required mechanics. Haoning Li writes that “Soulslike emerged from player discourse to describe the shared experience of games developed by FromSoftware, beginning with Demon’s Souls (FromSoftware 2009).” Read the DiGRA analysis.
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That makes the most useful distinction one of emphasis: does the game’s central play loop depend on Souls-associated systems, or does it use a few of them inside a different kind of action RPG? A single dodge roll, parry, difficult boss, or stamina bar cannot settle the question on its own.
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Look at how the game connects its combat, failure, level design, and progression. These questions are more useful than counting familiar mechanics.
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- Explore a land of vast wonders - A world unseen, where new sights rise with every stride- Enter a fascinating realm filled with the wonders and discoveries of ancient Chinese mythology! Confront mighty foes, old and new - Heroic Monkey, might and fame, adversaries rise, to test his name. One of the major highlights of Journey to the West is its diverse cast of adversaries, each with unique strengths.
- Temper your mastery of varied spells - Spells unbound, knowledge's flight, infinite abilities take their height. Spells, transformations, and magic vessels in all manifestations, complementary yet adversarial, have long been iconic combat elements of Chinese mythology.
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Combat: are actions deliberate commitments?
In a Soulslike-style combat loop, attacks, dodges, blocks, parries, healing, and positioning tend to involve timing and risk. Players are expected to read opponents and choose when to commit, rather than rely primarily on uninterrupted attacks or reflexive button-mashing. Stamina pressure and dodge rolls with invincibility frames are among the mechanics identified in the DiGRA analysis, but neither is a genre requirement by itself.
Failure: what changes when you lose?
Consider whether defeat is part of a recovery loop: does the player need to return to a dangerous area, retrieve or risk a resource, and apply what they learned to reach the encounter again? The route back and the knowledge gained can make a failed attempt consequential even when the game does not punish every mistake in the same way.
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- Soulslike Video Game design.
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Checkpoints and routes: does space shape progression?
Checkpoints can serve as more than save points. In Soulslike structures, they may divide dangerous spaces, reset enemies, and make shortcuts, route planning, and spatial memory part of progress. The DiGRA analysis identifies checkpoint-as-progression nodes as a recurring element, while stressing that the genre comes from the orchestration of several elements rather than any one feature.
Progression: do builds change your approach?
Attributes, weapons, abilities, equipment, and consumables can give players different ways to meet the same challenge. Their importance varies from game to game. Ask whether choices meaningfully shape tactics and preparation, and whether they operate within the same combat-and-recovery loop—or whether broad buildcrafting is a more dominant organizing goal.
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Overall emphasis: what defines most of the experience?
A game can combine familiar Soulslike mechanics with a different action style, a quest-driven structure, or a stronger focus on exploration and character stories. If those other priorities shape most of what the player does, “Soulslike-inspired” may describe the influence more accurately than treating the entire game as a Soulslike.
Why difficulty alone does not define the genre
A hard action RPG is not automatically a Soulslike. Difficulty describes how demanding a game is; the genre comparison asks what the challenge requires players to learn and how combat, checkpoints, routes, failure, recovery, and progression fit together. A demanding game may have tough bosses but lack the connected checkpoint, route, and recovery structure commonly associated with Soulslikes.
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- Overhauled Character Creator – Create more lifelike characters with improved facial detail, body shapes, and visual fidelity
- Shared-Progression Cross-Play Cooperative Play – Both players now save all main story progress as long as they’re on the same “New Game” and have defeated a similar number of main bosses within one. Both players retains all loot, 100 percent vigor, and can revive each other in all online sessions.
- Free Friend’s Pass – Invite any friend to join your adventure in online co-op even if they don’t own the game. Friends keep loot and character progress, plus get full offline access to the tutorial and character creator
- Revamped Combat and Movement – V2.0 adds smoother animations, better weapon response, refined lock-on, improved evasions, and new grievous strike prompts
The reverse is also true: a Soulslike can make room for distinctive systems or ways to adjust the experience without losing its central design identity. Difficulty is one part of the experience, not a standalone test.
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Examples that show the difference
Lies of P: a developer-identified Soulslike with its own interpretation
Round8 Studio has called Lies of P its first Soulslike game, and discussed the importance of combat and player options. Its distinctive setting and weapon systems show how a game can belong to the genre while interpreting its influences rather than simply copying them. Read the developer interview.
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- The essence of battle: Wield and master various weapons with unique combinations of Fable Arts and Legion Arms to find out what fits your playstyle
- Variety of attraction: Enjoy the beautiful, yet dark atmosphere of the Belle Époque era and explore the once prosperous city of Krat
- Lie system: P is made of a puppet's heart, but he learns how to think and feel like a human by lying
- Legacy of the classics: The city of Krat, the characters, and even the smallest objects reflect our deepest admiration for the original tale of Pinocchio
Steelrising: an explicit homage with a distinct identity
Spiders’ gameplay manager Sébastien Di Ruzza described Steelrising as leaning into the Soulslike formula while retaining “the unique heart of a Spiders game.” The developer also discussed aiming for a distinct combat experience and including an assist mode. That framing illustrates how “Soulslike-inspired” can signal influence without claiming that every part of a game follows the same organizing loop. Read the PlayStation.Blog interview.
Sands of Aura: Soulslike combat alongside other priorities
An Xbox Wire feature describes Sands of Aura as a dark-fantasy action RPG with fast, reactive combat and buildcrafting. Its developer also discussed wanting the world and story to be more directly understandable. The example shows that a game can combine Soulslike combat conventions with other priorities, such as quests, characters, exploration, and flexible builds; no single feature determines its classification. Read the Xbox Wire feature.
Which label helps you choose a game?
Treat “Soulslike” and “Soulslike-inspired” as descriptions of an experience, not guarantees of specific mechanics or difficulty. Before choosing a game, check how it handles the systems you care about:
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems- Combat commitment: Do you want careful timing, stamina management, and opponent-reading?
- Failure and recovery: Is learning through repeated attempts appealing, and does the game make returning to a fight part of the challenge?
- Exploration: Do checkpoints, shortcuts, and remembering routes contribute to progress?
- Build expression: How much do weapons, attributes, abilities, and equipment change your options?
- Other priorities: Is the game mainly driven by Soulslike systems, or do quests, story, exploration, or another combat style take the lead?
Those answers will tell you more about whether a game suits you than a label alone. The term can evolve with player and industry usage, and the sources do not establish a single authoritative checklist.
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