2023 has been a good year for Soulslike games, which is impressive given that it’s not a year with a FromSoftware soulslike release, and no, Armored Core 6 is not a Soulslike. Regardless, we’ve had a lot of cool games to enjoy. Here are the best Soulslike games of 2023.
While there are plenty of wonderful indie games, we’ve listed the five that have stood out the most for us. We implore you to check out these games if you haven’t already, as they rank among the best the genre has to offer. The holidays are also coming up, so you may as well jump into something as stressful as dinner with the family.
Remnant 2
Remnant 2 is so good that it makes it hard to talk about without sounding like an incoherent fanatic. Remnant 2 puts you in a post-post-post apocalypse where Earth is slowly recovering from an invasion of beings called The Root, who corrupted the world and tried to kill everyone. However, you don’t stay on Earth in this game.
Instead, you end up trying to track down specific beings to get special fragments from them to try and save not just the universe but seemingly the multiverse. You do this by shooting at things and using amazing archetype abilities and cool melee weapons. It’s just so much fun, and the final boss is perhaps the coolest thing we’ve ever seen.
Lies of P
Lies of P finally answers some very important questions, questions like “What if Pinocchio awakened something in you?” and “What if Bloodborne was sort of about puppets?” In a surprising twist, Lies of P is also very good. Not only does it look the part, but it’s also a very competent and fast-paced action game with difficulty at its core.
You take control of Pinochhio in a world where puppets have started causing all sorts of problems. Aside from a very cool weapon-crafting system, you also have a metal arm that can use different gadgets, plenty of parry opportunities, and some incredibly monstrous bosses to battle as well.
Related: No, There Aren’t Too Many Soulslike Games
The Last Faith
A good 2D Soulslike usually has to branch into another genre to feel really good, and The Last Faith mixes things up with a Metroidvania. What that means is that not only do you get to enjoy all of the boss battles and horrendous fights of a Soulslike, but also some really good exploration.
The Last Faith has you going through dark gothic scenes to try and find out who you are and stop the deterioration of your own mind. There are plenty of cool abilities to find, some fun builds to enjoy, and boss battles that’ll have you shouting with joy when you overcome them.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
At launch, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was an absolute travesty for a lot of people. We understand that, but we’re also no longer at launch, which means that people picking the game up now get to enjoy a game that actually works and also one that lets you be a badass Jedi who looks a lot like The Joker from the Gotham TV series.
Jedi: Survivor does a great job of being a sequel and builds on not just the story of the first game but also the mechanical satisfaction that it offers. There’s still an element of oddity to not just cutting down enemies in one hit when using a lightsaber, but it’s easy to overlook once you’re in the thick of it and just flipping about all over the place like an overzealous toddler on a trampoline.
Lunacid
Strictly speaking, Lunacid isn’t a Soulslike; it’s a King’s Field-like game. However, given that FromSoftware made King’s Field, and they took a lot from the series and implanted it into the Souls games, we’re counting it. Lunacid has been in Early Access for some time but finally fully launched this year, and it’s sublime.
Lunacid has you delving into a deeply unsettling well to try and figure out what’s going on with this strange world. You’ve been thrown in as a criminal, and the only chance of escape within your grasp is past countless horrors in this dungeon-crawling game. Play it, play it again, and then play it some more. You’ll thank us later.
For more of our Best of lists for 2023, check out the following:
Best Action-Adventure Games of 2023
Best Nintendo Switch Games of 2023
Best Apple Arcade Games for 2023
Best Xbox Series X/S Games of 2023
Published: Dec 24, 2023 04:29 pm