soulslike
/ˈsoʊlzˌlaɪk/
Very CommonA genre of games defined by punishing difficulty, stamina-based combat, cryptic lore, and losing progress on death, in the style of FromSoftware's Dark Souls series.
Also used loosely to describe any hard game, sometimes as a slight stretch. Soulslike fans will argue about what counts and what doesn't.
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | hollow knight is a soulslike in 2d. the lore delivery and the difficulty are unmistakable | Hollow Knight qualifies as a soulslike because it uses the same narrative and difficulty design philosophy. | reddit, 2023 |
| 02 | i've played every soulslike that dropped this year. send help | The person is deeply into the genre and there have been a lot of releases. | x, 2024 |
| 03 | the soulslike genre exploded after elden ring. every studio is making one now | Elden Ring's mainstream success caused a wave of soulslike releases from other developers. | youtube, 2023 |
| 04 | if you quit every soulslike at the first boss you are not built for the genre | The genre demands patience through early frustration, and quitting at the first hurdle means it's not for you. | x, 2024 |
Use it when
- Describing a game that follows the Dark Souls formula of punishing difficulty and stamina combat.
- Recommending a genre to someone who wants a challenge.
- Comparing a new game to FromSoftware's style.
Do not use it when
- You mean any hard game regardless of mechanics.Use “hard game” instead.
- You mean it has permadeath specifically.Use “roguelike” instead.
Variations and related forms
Soulslike vs roguelike
soulslike
Soulslike means punishing combat, stamina systems, cryptic lore, and learning through death.
roguelike
Roguelike means procedurally generated levels and full reset on death.
Origin and context
The term derives from Dark Souls, released by FromSoftware in 2011. As games began imitating its design philosophy, critics and players coined 'soulslike' to name the emerging genre. It entered mainstream gaming vocabulary around 2015-2017.
- First seen
- mid-2010s
- Confidence
- high
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/soulslike