Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ll know that Elden Ring’s first and only DLC expansion came out a few days ago. Shadow of the Erdtree, a long-awaited expansion of the award-winning game has all the usual traits of FromSoft; epic bosses, plenty of lore, grisly new weapons, and of course, tremendous difficulty.
On that last point, it seems many players are getting stuck in the Land of Shadows and finding the bosses harder than ever. If you consider yourself in this camp or perhaps have looked at Elden Ring and thought, "No, thank you, that looks tricky, " we have some other games for you to play.
Remnant II
A mix of melee and gun-based combat, Remnant II mixes up the soulslike genre with a twist on the combat, making it a little more accessible to all. If you’re not so handy with a sword, you can fall back on the guns, or vice versa. Backing this up is the ability to play on a team of three, meaning if you’re struggling with a particular boss, or you just fancy playing the adventure with mates, you can send a text and have your buddies back you up.
You’re still going to get all the huge and hulking bosses you’d see in a FromSoft title, plus with plenty of looting, crafting, and exploring, you’ve got a similar experience just waiting for you. This is definitely the game that can introduce you to the genre and build up your confidence to go back or visit Elden Ring for the first time.
Hollow Knight
Taking the fight to the 2D plane, Hollow Knight is a tough experience, but its leagues of players wouldn’t rank it up there with Elden Ring unless you want to hunt down the optional bosses. Rather than an open-world RPG, what we’ve got here is a Metroidvania with lots of branching paths, places to explore, and special abilities to find which open up distant areas.
Set in a world of bugs and beetles, Hollow Knight has a wealth of charm and personality, but don’t let that lure you into a false sense of security. You’ll still need to practice many of the boss fights before finally besting them and learning their attack patterns to fight back, but the path through the story is more accessible than it may seem at first. Now, where the hell is the sequel?
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Okay, so this isn’t a soulslike, but to be honest it contains many elements that you would see in a FromSoft title but in a more accessible way unique to Nintendo. Link is once again in Hyrule and has the vast plains, mountains, and shores to explore. With a myriad of weapons thanks to the ability to combine usable objects you can fight in various styles as you journey through biomes of heat and cold on your way to defeat Ganondorf.
Tears of the Kingdom can still be tough in places as the enemies hit hard and if you haven’t sought out more heart containers, you’ll be relying on your skills of dodging. Thankfully, proper exploration will see you right and defeating the bosses is significantly easier on a full health bar. You could, of course, cook up some tasty meals for attack boosts too.
Blasphemous
We’re back to 2D, and Metroidvanias - apparently, this format suits the genre - and Blasphemous is a gorgeous pixel-based brawler through a world steeped in religious iconography and themes. There’s not a great deal to say about the combat here, it’s as you expect, crunching and bloody, often difficult but not insurmountable. What shines in Blasphemous is the design.
Whether it's the enemies or the world design, everything looks brilliant here. The arching cathedrals, the seraphim grunts, the epic bosses created from religious myth, and even the player character has incredible detail picked out in delicate pixels. Expect gruesome moments and standout boss fights you’ll remember for months to come.
Nioh 2
Nioh 2 takes us to Japan during the Sengoku period. It’s time to do battle with yokai, otherwise known as spirits. The opening hours of Nioh 2 can feel pretty tough at times, but as the game progresses you’ll begin to unlock plenty of abilities and new gear that help a bunch. Much more here than in any of the Dark Souls games, the enemies and bosses have predictable patterns of attack making them easier to tackle.
The game is gorgeous and takes in traditional Japan with a spooky side so you get a pleasing meeting of light and dark elements. You’ll still find lots of tropes from the soulsborne catalogue, like enemies respawning after resting and having to collect your XP upon death, but Nioh 2 does just enough to set itself apart, leaning more into being an action-adventure, than a hardcore dream.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
It was quite a change of pace when Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was released and it was seen to be a lighter take on the Souls format. There’s no doubting the inspiration given that it carries a great many features we’ve seen in the likes of Dark Souls and Bloodborne, but to have it accompany Star Wars was a delight. If you’re a fan of the galaxy far, far away, then this will likely be quite a different beast to what you’d expect.
It’s likely, if you’re choosing a Star Wars title from this list, that you want to extend your knowledge of the universe and the story here is top-notch. We follow Cal Kestis as he hides from the Empire after Order 66 was given and he finds himself tangled up with rebels while being pursued. There’s a strong focus on telling a proper Star Wars story, but the action and the bosses are still a force to be reckoned with. Thankfully you have a lightsaber and plenty of force powers to help you best some of the galaxy's beasties.
Tunic
Taking inspiration from The Legend of Zelda, Tunic is an adorable game that will test your skills. On the surface, it’s cute and cuddly, a delightful fox kitted out in an adventurer’s tunic, with a trusty sword and shield. Tunic perhaps takes most of its direction from many games, but there’s definitely some FromSoft in here, particularly in the world that gives you little direction and a bare bones story filled with little details found throughout.
Of course, as you adventure, you’ll unlock morsels that build out both, but Tunic forever keeps its cards close to its chest. Echoing the golden days of retro gaming in its simple, yet deep, combat, it poses a challenge often but not one that can’t be undone with a little practice. There’s never a point where you feel Tunic is being unfair.
Dark Souls 3
Okay, we couldn’t skip over the games that have built out this genre so brilliantly. Lastly, we come to Dark Souls 3. Why the third entry in the coveted series? Well, because it’s the simplest. Of course, it still has those big bad enemies that squash you, but it also features a robust collection of features that will make for an easier life. This third entry learns from its forebears and fine-tunes everything leaving it the most accessible of the lot.
You’ll still need to hone your character build and perhaps bring up a guide or two in order to find your way through the world, but you’ll never feel as overwhelmed as you can with other instalments of the series. Plus, if you really need the help, you can call in some co-op partners to take out some bosses, or just follow along with a gross magic build and sling some spells about the place. And once you’ve beaten this one, you can take a chance on Elden Ring once again and finally complete the DLC.
Topics: Elden Ring, Fromsoftware, Bandai Namco, The Legend Of Zelda, Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order, Dark Souls