Rank the Soulslikes You've Played

[Runa216]

Machina said:

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Thus began a long journey of my getting into and coming to like and, in some cases love these AA-AAA (not the 2D indie pixel releases; pixel graphics do less than nothing for me) Soulslikes. Next was Bloodborne, then Lords of the Fallen, then I finally gave Dark Souls 2 a second chance and, armed with my experience of Soulslikes, I came to enjoy it and finally complete it. After that I went on to Dark Souls 3, which I thought was outstanding. Now I'm almost finished with The Surge 2. Next up I plan on playing Sekiro and probably then Code Vein (I'll skip Dark Souls Remastered because it looks so dated to me after having played Dark Souls 3). I have a self-imposed restriction that I won't start a new one until I've completed the one I've started. I also don't allow myself to use player summons.

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When it comes to Sekiro, I highly recommend not treating it like a Soulslike. I know it shares a lot of its genetics with Dark Souls, Demon's Souls, and Bloodborne, but it's maybe 50% souls, 50% its own thing. You can't build or edit your own character, you can't control what weapon you use, you can't do Fashion Souls (Apparently this is a big deal online?), there is no online/co-op, and the game's focus is more on character-driven progression than RPG-based character design. 

It's an absolutely great game, but one of the truest and most poignant quotes about it is that if you go into it expecting a Soulslike game or try to apply your skill in prior games like Bloodborne, you're gonna have a BAD time. It is clearly spiritually related to Souls, but it is not Souls. 

Also, Dodge-Rolling is NOT the answer in this game. FAR fewer i-Frames, and each boss's tactics require you to know what method of evasion to use. Sometimes it's a jump, sometimes it's just moving your character, sometimes it's dodge-rolling, sometimes it's blocking, sometimes it's deflecting. There are so many counters and they're all circumstantial  and that's what' makes it feel so good! 

Also, Isshin the Sword Saint (the final boss) was BY FAR the hardest boss in this entire genre for me. Easily.