The best Soulslike games are mostly boss fights

Few genres manage to capture the attention and imagination of gamers around the world quite like a genre like Souls. Dark lore, high-stakes difficulty, and, for many titles, boss fights, are all staples of the genre that help tie some pretty disparate games into a coherent identity. Challenge is a word the soul likes. Gameplay is a challenge, understanding the story is a challenge, character building is a challenge.

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But good souls alone do not have high difficulties. For those who overcome the difficulty, there is a reward in it—something that makes every struggle worthwhile. And what's a bigger struggle than an almighty boss fight? What better reward than seeing some great enemy finally fall from your grasp? For players who want to stop wandering around the map and get right to the boss fights, these intimate titles focus on effective, difficult, capstone enemies.

7

mortal shell

A focused, wistful soullike experience

systems

Playstation-1 Xbox-1

issued

August 18, 2020

publisher(s)

playstack

Built around a tough, yet incredibly satisfying group of weapons, mortal shell One of the unique – and arguably the best – soul-like experiences. It's almost antiquated in its incredibly focused scope and overall small-world design in an industry that prides itself on a 'bigger is better' approach to content.

Part of this small scale means the game focuses primarily on one thing – boss fights. Each weapon is earned by defeating a boss, and the capstones for progression are tied to equally intense boss battles. There's only a handful of weapons – and such an emphasis on very detailed boss fights means that the animations and hitboxes in these fights often compete with much bigger and bigger budget games.

6

Black Myth: Wukong

A huge game with huge boss fights

systems

Playstation-1

One of the most ambitious and well-received souls to come out of software in recent years, The Black Myth Allowing players to truly integrate themselves and immerse themselves in the epic quest of this ancient and revered story. The main focus of this title, beyond the very well-designed weapons and animations, is the emphasis on spectacular, cinematic boss fights.

Players will find a very cathartic experience here, with layered and intense boss fights as the main draw to continue exploring the dangerous, mournful world of myth and legend. Any soul fans would do well to try this game.

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5

Elder spirits

Like a fast-paced and incredibly satisfying spirits

Action-adventure

like a soul

It's climactic, isometric soulslike inspired by many classics in the genre, but brings its own incredibly unique aesthetic to the fore. Elder spirits Tells a classic, high fantasy story of a man and his fantasy sword being the last hope of a dying world, but the gameplay is a truly unique wavelength.

Each fast-paced boss battle has its own set of rules to follow, and they comprise a large part of the game, like a soul that tests players' ability to adapt to raw damage output. For those who fell in love with the base game, even more bosses are available in the expansion released in 2022.

4

Titan spirits

Defeat a huge number of terrifying bosses

Like many of the titles on this list – but with a particularly catchy flair – Titan spirits A game where the story is built around its most valuable aspect – the boss fights. A lone hero is exploring an ancient world, and the guardians of this ancient, ruined world are the titular Titans.

Each Titan is an awe-inspiring display of power, and the hero's adventures take them to the furthest reaches of the vast, vast kingdom of myth. It's a great example of a soul-like that squarely focuses on bosses from both a gameplay and lore perspective.

3

Ander Lilly: A Quiet of Knights

An incredibly unique mechanic used in boss fights

issued

January 21, 2021

developer(s)

Direct wire, Adglobe

publisher(s)

Binary Mist Interactive

Like Souls and taking a completely different stance on the Metroidvania sub-genre, Ander Lilly is a title where players use the souls of powerful knights to help a more vulnerable hero complete his quest. Each knight has their own powerful abilities that can help players get through the many tough fights that make up the bulk of this game.

It's a great title for boss-heavy Soulslikes and those looking to try a different spin on Metroidvania, and beyond that it has a great, forbidding aesthetic and art style that perfectly matches the dark storyline.

2

Aquatic Adventures of the Last Man

An incredibly unique setting with fantastic boss fights

A more obscure title within the soul-like genre, but one that's worth checking out, Aquatic Adventures of the Last Man It has a truly unique design philosophy that emphasizes the beauty – and danger – of the deep sea.

The bosses match the game's aquatic style, with terrifying deep sea creatures all posing their own unique threats as the title's focal point. No game is quite like this seafaring, boss-focused Souls, and players who are veterans of the genre will do especially well here.

1

Sekiro: Shadows die twice

From Software Masterwork with an emphasis on difficult boss fights

systems

Playstation-1 Xbox-1

Like other modern titles from the software, the well-received, and very impressive, Sekiro: Shadows die twice is a game that takes a more focused, skill-based approach to the classic Soul-like formula. Players don't rely on powerful gear here as much as their timing and reflexes.

The biggest test of these reflexes comes in the form of boss battles that will constantly test players throughout the game. Some of these are the classic puzzle bosses found in almost every software title, while some are challenges against hulking monsters, or duels against deadly skilled fighters – each battle adds a new layer of character and lore to this great game.

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