Soulslike

English

Etymology

From Souls +‎ -like, referencing the Dark Souls video game series, after the pattern of roguelike (“any of a genre of computer role playing games influenced by Rogue”).

Noun

Soulslike (plural Soulslikes)

1. (video games) A subgenre of action role-playing video games influenced by the Dark Souls trilogy, characterized by high difficulty, trial-and-error progression, esoteric enemy movesets, environmental storytelling, and complex lore.

   Synonym: Soulsborne

   • 2018 April, “The Surge 2 gets tooled up”, in PlayStation Official Magazine, UK, page 11:

     Amid the tsunami of Soulslikes, Deck13's The Surge stands out as the one game to take the genre in a new direction.

   • 2020 April 28, James Hamilton, “Hollow Knight Video Game Review”, in TechNews, Illinois Institute of Technology, page 13:

     And that's what you ultimately want from a soulslike. Challenge, struggle, and ultimate triumph. And in that sense, "Hollow Knight" is a soulslike.

   • 2021 October, Chris Wallace, “When We Made...Tails of Iron”, in MCV Develop, page 64:

     Beyond its cuteness, what makes Tails of Iron stand out from other Soulslikes is how forgiving it can feel – relatively, anyway.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Soulslike.