Best Soulslike Games On Nintendo Switch

Key Takeaways

• The Nintendo Switch offers a library of tough, engaging Soulslike games for players craving a challenging experience.
• Pascal’s Wager
  brings Soulslike gameplay to consoles with a unique charm, despite mixed critical reception.
• Mortal Shell
  stands out with a mechanic that allows players to switch between different warrior builds on the fly.

Every now and then, a game comes around with gameplay mechanics so unique and engaging that it spawns an entire subgenre of gaming full of titles emulating that experience with degrees of variation. 2011’s Dark Souls birthed the Soulslike subgenre, known for punishing difficulty, stamina-based combat, and Metroidvania-style, non-linear exploration.

Although Nintendo Switch players can’t play the entire Dark Souls trilogy and its open-world successor, Elden Ring, on their devices, they do have access to a vast library of immersive, difficult games that are heavily inspired by FromSoftware’s Souls formula. It’s hard to believe that there are so many Soulslike Switch games, especially since these platforms were praised for promoting ingenuity and accessibility over everything else.

Updated October 25, 2024, by Hamza Haq: Owing to the massive success of games like Dark Souls, Elden Ring, and Bloodborne, the Soulslike genre has undergone a surge of popularity that has had a huge effect on the gaming industry. It seems like of the new games that have come out in the past few years, every third is a Soulslike, Soulslite, or an Action RPG that utilizes Souls elements in its gameplay. Fans of these types of games on PC and console have had the entire industry basically cater to their needs, but it’s not so rosy for owners of the Nintendo Switch. As a platform with undeniably weaker hardware, Soulslikes are rarely developed with the Switch in mind, with most developers opting to release their games on other platforms. Fortunately, that is not always the case, and for those willing to look hard enough, there are some gems hidden in the rough on the Nintendo eShop.

22 Pascal’s Wager: Definitive Edition

Console-Caliber Challenge With A Distinct Art style

• Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, PC
• Release Date: March 12, 2021
• Developer: TipsWorks

Despite its relatively low Metacritic score, players shouldn’t write off Pascal’s Wager. The game initially started off as a mobile title that aimed to emulate Soulslike gameplay with impressive results. Unfortunately, some of this charm has been lost in the definitive console releases.

Still, Pascal’s Wager features a unique art style and fun gameplay that make it worth checking out, although fans shouldn’t expect anything out of the ordinary. It’s a perfectly serviceable Soulslike game on the Switch in its own right that fans will have a great time with, even if it doesn’t butt heads with the best in the genre.

21 SINNER: Sacrifice for Redemption

Grow Weaker, Fight Harder

• Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, Xbox One, Mac
• Release Date: April 26, 2018
• Developer: DARK STAR

While there are many new Soulslike that come out claiming their new take on the genre is unique, few manage to truly deliver. SINNER: Sacrifice for Redemption that takes the promise of not being just another Soulslike very seriously and manages to achieve it by virtue of its level-down system. In SINNER, players do not level up but rather level down, becoming less powerful as the game goes on.

The premise is simple. There are eight bosses to defeat, and the main character starts out with maxed-out stats. Before each fight, the player is asked to sacrifice one of their main stats and become weaker in the process before being allowed to take on the boss. This ensures that the boss fights become harder and harder as the game progresses because the protagonist is losing pieces of himself and losing strength along the way. At the end of the journey, the player is basically a level 1 character tasked with taking down an end-game boss. SINNER is quite a short title and plays like a boss-rush game with Soulslike mechanics. Despite the first impression it might make, the art style is surprisingly cohesive and stylized, which works quite nicely for these sorts of games. The notorious Soulslike jank is there, though perhaps more due to a lack of polish than because of a deliberate decision on the developers’ part.

20 Hellpoint

Dark Souls In Space

Hellpoint is nearly identical to Dark Souls in its core gameplay mechanics and exploration. It checks all the boxes of a Soulslike to the tee. However, calling it a carbon copy wouldn’t be accurate. Hellpoint stands on its own thanks to a futuristic setting and a story that’s a little easier to follow than what FromSoftware fans are used to.

It is one of the more graphically advanced games on this list, and so the graphics in the Switch port of Hellpoint have been downscaled by quite a bit. Although there are some minor performance issues at times, it is still a worthy experience for gamers who can’t get enough of the Dark Souls formula.

19 Chronos: Before The Ashes

Age With Every Defeat

Initially released as a VR-only experience, Chronos: Before the Ashes does not try to hide the fact that it was inspired by FromSoftware’s award-winning formula. From the dark atmosphere and convoluted dungeons all the way to a dodge-heavy combat system, this is a Soulslike, through and through.

Chronos is not the most graphically advanced game, and it shows even on a console with limited hardware capabilities like the Nintendo Switch. What sets it apart from other Souslike titles is its inventive aging mechanic. With each defeat, the protagonist ages by one year, which affects their stats in different ways. For example, magic abilities are improved with time, whereas physical skills might deteriorate when the character turns a certain age.

18 Salt And Sacrifice

Survive a forsaken kingdom

Salt and Sanctuary is touted by many to be one of the first games to combine the Soulslike and Metroidvania genres in one neat package. It was a great game with a wonderful sense of exploration that was successful enough for the publisher to greenlight a sequel.

While Salt and Sacrifice dropped the ball in some places, it’s still a fun game for fans to check out once they look past some of its annoyances. The risks that the developer took in this game should be lauded, even if some of them didn’t pay off.

17 Vigil: The Longest Night

Soulslike In An Everlasting Night

• Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, PC
• Release Date: October 14, 2020
• Developer: Glass Heart Games

Despite having some bugs that can be frustrating to deal with, there’s no denying that Vigil: The Longest Night is one of the better Metroidvania Soulslikes on the Switch that players can enjoy. The story may not be its biggest selling point, but the excellent exploration and fun combat more than make up for it.

For a game inspired by Soulslike mechanics, some people may argue that Vigil: The Longest Night is a bit too easy, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Players who love dark, brooding atmospheres and aren’t sure if the difficulty of Soulslikes is something they’d be okay with can use Vigil as a starting point before getting into more hardcore titles if this game strikes their fancy.

16 Mortal Shell

Switch Between Playstyles

Cold Symmetry’s Mortal Shell hits the sweet spot between drawing as much inspiration from Dark Souls as possible, all while keeping things fresh enough to keep players wanting to uncover what it has to offer. Granted, a lot of the similarities to FromSoftware’s iconic series are a bit too on the nose, especially when it comes to the user interface and item descriptions that reveal important backstory elements.

There is a mechanic in Mortal Shell, however, that flips the formula on its head. In the game, players start out by controlling a humanoid creature that is extremely vulnerable to all sorts of damage. The story takes them across the game’s world to find four corpses of fallen warriors, which can be “worn” by the protagonist. Each one increases his resistance and grants a unique set of skills and abilities, essentially allowing players to switch between radically different builds on the fly.

15 Eldest Souls

A Brutal Boss Rush

The fact that this game literally has the word “souls” in its name is a pretty clear giveaway of what other titles it was inspired by. While Eldest Souls doesn’t hide its admiration for the Dark Souls trilogy, it does more than enough to set itself apart from other Soulslikes and even manages to conjure its own, unique personality.

Played from the isometric perspective, Eldest Souls has the same painfully hard, ebb-and-flow combat known from Dark Souls, but its art direction and pacing couldn’t be more different. There are no mobs in this game, and players progress by going from one boss battle to another as they traverse through gorgeous pixel art environments.

14 Blasphemous

A Grotesque Side-Scroller

Players who want to go through an atmospheric game with platforming elements will love what Blasphemous has to offer. The game has an incredible and striking art style that will stick with players long after they’re finished with this experience. The bosses are nightmarish, the platforming is a decent distraction from the core combat, and the game is captivating from start to end.

It’s easy to see why a sequel to this title is arriving sooner rather than later. The game can be pretty challenging, but players who come to grips with the game’s combat system and understand how enemies function in this title will be more than pleased with the experience they’re exposing themselves to. Of course, the spike traps are always a pain, but that’s a small price to pay in an otherwise great game.

13 Another Crab’s Treasure

An Upbeat Soulslike Under The Sea

Most people expected Another Crab’s Treasure to be a joke game that players could play to have a bit of a laugh. Instead, what players were treated to is a game with excellent combat, a unique parry mechanic, and an eye-opening story about the damage that pollutants have on marine life. All of these elements combine to make this title one of the better Soulslike games on the Switch.

Players will love changing shells on the fly and taking on the wealth of enemies who are strong yet fair. With enough practice, players will be able to take out tough-as-nails foes who have been driven mad by the Gunk. Parrying is especially fun, with players having to release the block button at the perfect time to deflect blows (as opposed to pressing it at the right time), which is a small yet fun way to spice up combat. This, coupled with small touches like using microplastics to level up, ensures that players will have a great time blasting through the levels of Another Crab’s Treasure.

12 Curse Of The Dead Gods

Curses, Traps, And Darkness

At a glance, most people will write off Curse of the Dead Gods as another formulaic roguelike that had the unfortunate honor of being compared both favorably and unfavorably to Hades. While that title became Supergiant Games’ biggest release, the same can’t be said for Curse of the Dead Gods.

Still, players who decide to give this title a shot will love the fun gameplay and surprisingly deep progression. The Soulslike inspiration can be seen in the tough-as-nails combat where dodging and picking the perfect time to strike back is important, but tight controls and tricky bosses become the game’s calling card, rather than just another homage.

11 Remnant: From The Ashes

A Post-Apocalyptic Soulslike Shooter

The idea of combining the Soulslike genre with third-person shooter elements sounds like a pretty risky idea, and fans were glad to see that Remnant: From the Ashes does a great job of executing this idea with great panache. To make things even better, this game was fully playable in co-op, giving friends the opportunity to experience this tough yet engaging title together.

Remnant: From the Ashesalso allows for heightened replayability as areas and bosses are structured in different orders for each playthrough. This is another great decision that makes fresh playthroughs all the more engaging, with players having to adopt different strategies for boss fights based on their strength and layout in each encounter.

10 Bleak Sword DX

Pixelated Peril

Bleak Sword DX is an often-overlooked Soulslike on the Switch with a unique take on the genre and polish that’s rare to see. One of the things that helps it stand out from the sea of similar games is its extremely unique art style. All characters in the game—including the protagonist and the enemies they face—appear 2D as if made out of paper, but the world they move in is a 2.5D (HD-2D) world similar to Octopath Traveler but with a distinctly somber vibe more suitable to traditional Soulslikes.

The game consists of 12 levels, each separated into 10 mini-stages that the player needs to clear in order to advance. Enemies are swift and brutal and can easily kill a fully-maxed-out player if they are not careful. Level-ups make the character stronger, but the bulk of the power comes from the equipment, all of which can only be obtained by enemy drops or chests. Getting killed is absolutely devastating because if the player character gets killed, they drop their equipment. If they fail to pick it up on the next attempt or die in the process, it’s gone forever. Bleak Sword DX’s retro aesthetic and unique take on the genre are a treat to experience. Best of all, owing to its low hardware requirements, it runs like butter on the Switch.

9 Ashen

A Polished, Stylish Soulslike

Featuring simple but stylish graphics and solid voice acting, Ashen is one of the very best Soulslikes available on Nintendo Switch. Its combat mechanics and progression system are nearly identical to that of Dark Souls, but the game has more than a few things going for it that make it stand on its own.

One of the most original aspects of Ashen is the game’s co-op system, which allows players to randomly run into each other in the game and complete quests together. There is also a hub area in Ashen, which players can turn from a run-down settlement into a vibrant village over time.

8 Blasphemous 2

A Deeper, Darker Pilgrimage

The first Blasphemous was a solid Metroidvania with gothic horror elements that made it such a great game to play through. Fans of detailed pixel art will definitely love this title and what it brings to the table, so it’s easy to see why this breakout indie hit received a sequel.

The Metroidvania elements in the second game are handled way better than the first title. The wonderful sense of exploration coupled with the tough yet satisfying combat makes Blasphemous 2 a worthy sequel that fans should check out for themselves.

7 Salt And Sanctuary

Pursue Dark Magic To Its Source

This indie game with a beautiful art style that resembles platformers like Limbo and Inside repackages the Dark Souls formula in a 2D format and does so masterfully. The gloomy, apocalyptic setting emulates the feeling of the kingdom of Drangleic, and Salt and Sanctuary‘s fluid, stamina-based combat is equally challenging and unforgiving.

Despite its rather simple graphics and easy-to-grasp mechanics, Salt and Sanctuary is actually a pretty complex game. There are rather in-depth RPG mechanics, about 600 useable items, and a number of different weapon types, each complete with special move sets, all of which allow players to shape their playstyles according to their preferences.

6 Tunic

Explore, Fight, And Decipher

The charming art style of Tunic is the first thing that players will notice when they boot up the game. Gameplay requires that players figure out a mysterious language and understand what it’s trying to convey by finding bits and pieces of text that help translate the obtuse symbols. This ingenious design helps elicit the feeling players enjoyed back in the day when they tried to understand how old-school games worked by browsing through the manuals that were provided along with them.

Of course, the biggest reason why players will want to check out Tunic is because of its combat, which feels like an isometric take on the combat that made Dark Souls such a huge hit. It’s one of the most endearing Soulslikes on the Switch that isn’t so hard that it’ll frustrate players, making it a great game that players can enjoy, channeling the nostalgia of gaming’s golden era.

5 Death’s Door

Fight And Reap Souls

Similarly to Eldest Souls, Death’s Door is played from an isometric perspective. In it, players take control of a crow, who works as one of the countless reapers in a world where the business of transporting souls to “the other side” has become heavily bureaucratized.

The game features snappy, stamina-based combat with simple yet satisfying attacks, is relatively difficult (although not quite Dark Souls level of difficult), and contains a lot of Zelda-inspired puzzles and exploration. All in all, Death’s Door is a short and fun title that performs like a charm on the Switch.

4 Ender Lilies: Quietus Of The Knights

Purify A Cursed Kingdom

Metroidvania and Soulslike gameplay go hand-in-hand, making for a winning combination in multiple different cases. One such title that made the rounds and enraptured fans with its fun gameplay is Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights.

Exploration is as fun as can be, and players need to be smart in combat if they wish to come out unscathed. While most people may not have heard of this game, the excellent execution of tried-and-tested concepts makes Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights a blast to play through.

3 Dead Cells

Fight, Die, Learn, Repeat

While the marketing for Dead Cells mainly involved IGN and heaps of plagiarism, fans are still glad that more eyes were brought toward this title. After all, at the end of the day, Dead Cells is a brilliant game that deserved all the attention it got, with the game being a great example of how Soulslike gameplay and roguelike progression can go hand in hand to make for something truly special.

Each run in Dead Cells is a learning experience where players slowly understand the systems of the game and the best way to tackle the many enemies that’ll come their way. With enough repetition, most people will come to grips with how the title works and beat its many tough bosses… with a fair bit of work, of course.