Soulslike worldlike

 The future is bleak

So it's official at this point; FromSoftware's next game is not going to be a Soulslike, and it's not going to be directly building upon what they've been feverishly making game after game ever since Demon Souls. Now of course I don't begrudge anyone for wanting to do something different after literally making the same sort of game for more than a decade, and given Elden Ring recently won game of the year and mass appeal all in the same fell swoop, it only suits it would be the game that the FromSoft team bow out from this race with. Of course there will be lessons learned that are carried into Armoured Core, but at it's heart that mech game is about mission based mech combat, nothing of what makes Souls games Souls games is going to be carried over in that transition.

Now that I'm done wishing the team farewell in their endeavours, allow me to make this all about me for a sec. What the heck am I going to play in the meanwhile? The strange Warlock pact I made with the FromSoft team means that I'm not going to actually be playing Elden Ring until they make their next Souls-like, so I'm really going to be taking their absence from the genre hard! These are my favourite action adventure style games of the modern age and without them all we've got is lukewarm remasters of decades old games and indie titles. Indie action adventure games just don't do it for me, I need that Souls-like edge! So who is going to step up to fill this painful void in my heart and make me whole once again? Who will hold the Souls-like torch aloft in the absence of it's father?

Well for my money, one of the best non-From Software Souls-likes, even if I question that label, is the 2D platformer Hollow Knight. Whilst not traditionally what one would equate to the same style of game as Dark Souls, Hollow Knight is a gorgeous bug-themed journey through twisted and broken lands, dripping with meaningful deep lore, peppered with delightfully enigmatic wandering NPCs and stacked with increadibly fun-to-duel boss fights. It's an incredible game and Team Cherry are already working on their Sequel to come any day in 2023. Of course, They've been working on this Hollow Knight: Silksong for just about ever now, and it honestly is starting to feel like Silksong isn't going to land before even Elden Ring is finished with it's post-launch content cycle, and then we'll be waiting even longer for Team Cherry's next followup then we'll have to wait for From Software to shake it's Armoured Core out of it's system and come back for their next Soulslike. I love 'em, but they aren't big enough to steal the crown and hold onto it.

If I were paying attention to the Game Awards showcase I would have been presented with the very outspoken answer to my little query straight-up. Because there it was, plain as day, waiting to stand up to the recently vacated podium: Lords of the Fallen. Wait- hang on that's not the title... oh- it's 'The Lords of the Fallen'. But I'm not overly excited about the proposition for one simple reason- I actually played the original 'Lords of the Fallen.' All of the uninformed criticism that Dark Souls gets from people who haven't played the game and just try to 'Eyeball it' is true for Lords of the Fallen. It controls sluggishly, it's environments spread out too far and meld together so you can get lost pretty easily, the story is weak and unimaginative. And this new title soft reboot is going to be 5 times bigger than the original? I feel like you should probably try nailing the gameplay loop before expanding your ambitions. I'm not holding my breath for that one.

There is a developer who has yet to prove themselves in the Souls-like Pantheon but might just be stepping up to be the Souls creators- Neowiz Games' Lies of P looks to be the Bloodborne style Souls game that FromSoft doesn't want to share with the rest of the world, (Bloodborne port when?) as well as a capoff to 2022's sudden inexplicable trend of Pinoccio adaptions. (I didn't know the original story was so well loved by people.) Lies of P looks gorgeous, promises much, and has many people genuinely excited for a newish take on Souls, even if I does kind of feel like Sekiro meets Bloodborne from some of the gameplay snippets we've seen so far. This is an indie studio handling it, so how satisfying the game is going to be is my only issue. It could end up being a really tight, but lean, 10 hour experience; which will make me smile, but not fill that rumbling in my stomach. I'm a growing man, I need my substantive 35-50 hour Souls games! 

On the AAA side of things there is actually a burgeoning game franchise that seems to have it's own designs on the Dark Souls formula. The Star Wars Jedi- series is technically Souls-Like for how it handles death, exploration and progression; even if they are lacking on the contextual explanation of 'Force Echoes'. I think the first game was sorely lacking when it came to truly incredible boss fights, with the game featuring only one show down I'd consider Dark Souls worthy; (The Ninth Sister fight) but the upcoming sequel is a chance to fix all ills! Chuck atop of that the fact that no self respecting Star Wars series would stop before they launch a whole trilogy and I think Fallen Order could present itself a decent successor in the Souls-like absence.

Of course, I'm just talking about the big mainstream examples of Souls games that I and many others can consume to fill the hunger. In truth, there are dozens upon hundreds of Souls-likes being worked on, each trying to pull for themselves a slither of that original flame which birthed this unique franchise variant upon the world. Like Hollows seizing at the first flame. The Youtuber Iron Pineapple has a whole series dedicated to exploring these endless Souls-like indie games on Steam, and honestly some of them are pretty interesting. A lot of them are stuck together by nothing but match-sticks and dreams, but potential bubbles in the cesspit too sometimes! So maybe the upcoming Souls breakup isn't going to be as lonely as we expect... although I'm still coming running back to FromSoft the second they show up in our lives again. I can't take it, I'm bad at rebound relationships!