The best next Soulslike depends on which part of the challenge you want to repeat. Choose Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice or Nine Sols for parry-focused play, Nioh 2 for faster and more action-heavy combat, Lies of P for a focused 3D Soulslike, or Salt and Sanctuary for a 2D interpretation of the formula. Elden Ring and Dark Souls III remain useful baseline choices if you want the established 3D template rather than a major change in pace or presentation.
Steam’s Souls-like tag is a discovery tool, not a guarantee that every tagged game feels alike. The practical way to choose is to match combat rhythm, parry demands, pace, checkpoint and progression expectations, and 2D or 3D presentation to the kind of challenge you actually enjoy.
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What makes a Soulslike feel similar?
“Soulslike” describes a family of design ideas rather than one fixed ruleset. Steam’s tag and search results group together games such as Elden Ring, Lies of P, Dark Souls III, Sekiro, and Nine Sols, but the label does not mean they share identical combat or progression. A game can belong in the same discovery category while asking you to solve encounters in a very different way.
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One useful similarity marker is the recovery-and-progression loop associated with bonfires and related checkpoint systems. You may return to a checkpoint to recover, make progress, and prepare for another attempt. Another marker is defensive timing, especially parrying. These ideas appear in different combinations: one game may make parries central, while another emphasizes movement, attacks, or broader action options.
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Use the following questions before choosing:
- Do you want to learn strict parry timing, or would you rather have a wider action toolkit?
- Should fights feel deliberate, or do you prefer a faster, more action-heavy rhythm?
- Do you want a 3D game, or would a 2D interpretation deliver the challenge you are seeking?
- Are you looking for a familiar FromSoftware-style baseline or a game that changes the formula?
- Do you need a current Steam listing in a particular country or edition?
Those answers are more useful than an “easiest to hardest” list. The games are distinguished by design emphasis, not by a controlled difficulty test, so no title below is presented as objectively hardest.
Quick comparison
| Game | Best fit | Combat emphasis | Format | How to think about it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice | Players who want a parry-centered challenge | Defensive timing and parry-focused encounters | 3D | A distinctive parry branch of the Soulslike family; do not assume it reproduces every Souls convention. |
| Nine Sols | Players who want a 2D game influenced by Sekiro | Parry-oriented action | 2D | A two-dimensional route into the same timing-focused appeal. |
| Nioh 2 | Players who want speed and constant action | Faster, action-heavy combat | 3D | Choose it when deliberate Souls pacing feels too slow. |
| Lies of P | Players seeking a focused 3D Soulslike | Soulslike combat and progression expectations | 3D | A common comparison point on Steam and in community discussions. |
| Salt and Sanctuary | Players who want a 2D Dark Souls-style experience | Side-scrolling action built around Soulslike ideas | 2D | GameSpot characterizes it as close to “Dark Souls, but 2D”; that is an outlet description, not a formal genre ruling. |
| Elden Ring | Players who want the broadest familiar baseline | Souls-style challenge in a large 3D setting | 3D | A prominent Steam-listed reference point for the genre. |
| Dark Souls III | Players who want a classic 3D reference point | Traditional Souls-style encounters | 3D | Useful when you want the established template rather than a spin on it. |
Steam prices, sale status, regional availability, and activity figures change. Treat the table as a design guide, then open the live Steam listing for your country before buying.
Choose Sekiro for a parry-first 3D challenge
Sekiro is the clearest choice when the part of a Soulslike you want to sharpen is defensive timing. The relevant comparison is not simply “another difficult action RPG”; it is a game whose identity is strongly tied to parry-centered combat. Your decision-making revolves around reading an attack, responding at the correct moment, and maintaining control of the exchange.
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Pick Sekiro when
- You enjoy learning attack timing through repeated attempts.
- You want a 3D presentation and a combat system organized around parries.
- You would rather master a narrow, demanding defensive skill than rely on a large set of loosely related options.
Look elsewhere when
- You want a 2D game with similar timing demands; Nine Sols is the closer fit.
- You want faster, more action-heavy flow; Nioh 2 better matches that description.
- You want a conventional Soulslike baseline instead of a parry-specialist design.
Choose Nine Sols for Sekiro-like timing in 2D
Nine Sols is the recommendation for players who like the idea of Sekiro’s parry emphasis but want a two-dimensional action game. GameSpot describes Nine Sols as drawing on Sekiro, making it a useful bridge between parry-focused 3D combat and the 2D presentation some players prefer.
The important distinction is format, not a claim that the games are interchangeable. A 2D game changes how you read space, approach movement, and interpret enemy attacks. If you are choosing by feel, Nine Sols belongs in the “timing first, 2D presentation” category rather than the “same game in another camera angle” category.
Pick Nine Sols when
- You want parry-oriented play without committing to a 3D game.
- You enjoy the challenge of learning defensive timing but prefer side-view action.
- You are specifically searching for a game commonly compared with Sekiro.
Set expectations
The Sekiro comparison identifies an influence and a combat direction; it does not establish identical systems, progression, story structure, or difficulty. Use the comparison to decide whether the central timing idea appeals to you, then check the current Steam description for the edition available in your region.
Choose Nioh 2 for faster, action-heavy combat
Nioh 2 fits a different mood. GamesRadar’s recommendation description presents it as faster-paced and action-heavy, which makes it the strongest option here for players who find slower, more deliberate encounters less satisfying.
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That recommendation is about rhythm, not an objective difficulty ranking. Faster combat can feel more demanding because decisions arrive quickly, or more comfortable because you have more active ways to respond. Your own reaction speed and preference for constant action matter more than a universal label.
Pick Nioh 2 when
- You want fights to move quickly rather than settle into a measured exchange.
- You enjoy an action-forward interpretation of Soulslike challenge.
- You are choosing by tempo first and do not need the game to mirror Dark Souls’ pacing.
Do not choose it solely for a difficulty promise
Nioh 2 is described as “faster” and “action-heavy,” not as easier or harder than the other games in this guide. Difficulty depends on how well your preferred play style matches its pace.
Choose Lies of P for a focused 3D Soulslike
Lies of P appears in Steam’s Souls-like discovery results and is a common comparison point in community questions about what to play next. That makes it a practical choice for someone who wants a recognizable 3D Soulslike rather than a deliberately different 2D format or a game defined primarily by parries.
“Focused” is the useful decision word here: choose it when you want to stay within the familiar 3D Soulslike space and are not specifically shopping for the broadest world, the fastest combat, or a parry-only identity. No detailed map-by-map comparison with Elden Ring or precise mechanical equivalence to any other title is established here, so avoid treating the games as interchangeable.
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Pick Lies of P when
- You want a 3D Soulslike that is already visible in Steam’s genre discovery results.
- You are coming from the standard Soulslike template and want another focused game in that space.
- You want a middle-ground starting point before deciding whether to move toward parry specialization, faster action, or 2D design.
Choose Salt and Sanctuary for a 2D Dark Souls-style route
Salt and Sanctuary is the clearest choice for players who want the Soulslike idea translated into two dimensions. GameSpot presents it as close to “Dark Souls, but 2D.” That phrase is a useful shorthand for its format and inspiration, not a promise that every Dark Souls system appears unchanged.
The 2D presentation is the decision point. If you want the visual and spatial language of a side-scrolling action RPG, Salt and Sanctuary is more relevant than another 3D recommendation. If your priority is precise parrying specifically, Nine Sols is the more direct comparison in this shortlist because the cited description connects it with Sekiro’s parry-oriented influence.
Pick Salt and Sanctuary when
- You want a 2D action RPG built around a Dark Souls-style challenge.
- You are more interested in format and overall Souls inspiration than in a specific Sekiro-like parry focus.
- You want a different spatial presentation from the 3D games in the genre search results.
Use Elden Ring and Dark Souls III as baseline choices
Elden Ring and Dark Souls III are prominent Steam-listed comparison anchors. They are useful when you want to define the familiar 3D Soulslike baseline before choosing a variation. Their presence in Steam’s search and tag results establishes them as discovery references, not proof that one is universally better or harder.
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You want the broadest, most recognizable modern reference point for 3D Soulslike challenge. No detailed world-layout comparison is established for this article, so the safe conclusion is narrower: Elden Ring belongs on the shortlist when you want the established 3D genre anchor rather than a 2D game or a specialized parry branch.
Choose Dark Souls III as your baseline when
You want a classic reference point for the Souls formula. It is particularly useful for clarifying what you mean by “similar”: if you want another game that stays close to the familiar 3D tradition, start here; if you want a meaningful change in combat rhythm or format, use the specialized recommendations above.
Which Soulslike should you play next?
Use this decision path instead of a universal ranking:
- Start with format. Select 2D if you want side-view action. Your main candidates are Nine Sols and Salt and Sanctuary. Select 3D for Sekiro, Nioh 2, Lies of P, Elden Ring, or Dark Souls III.
- Choose your combat rhythm. For parry-centered play, choose Sekiro; for a 2D Sekiro-influenced direction, choose Nine Sols; for faster, action-heavy combat, choose Nioh 2.
- Choose how closely to stay to the baseline. Pick Lies of P for a focused 3D Soulslike, Dark Souls III for a classic reference point, or Elden Ring for a prominent modern baseline.
- Confirm the listing. Open Steam’s page for the exact title, edition, and country where you will play. Check that the game is currently listed for your platform and note whether the displayed price is a sale price or the regular regional price.
- Ignore unsupported hardest-game claims. The cited descriptions distinguish design goals, not controlled difficulty results. Select the game whose demands match your preferred skills.
How to verify Steam availability before buying
Steam store data is volatile. Prices, discounts, regional listings, editions, release information, and review or activity displays can change after an article is published. Steam search results can be weeks old by the time you view them, so they should not be treated as a live price check.
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- Search the exact game title in Steam rather than relying only on a tag page.
- Set or confirm the country and currency associated with your Steam account.
- Check the product page’s current edition, operating-system requirements, and purchase status.
- Read the date and conditions attached to any discount before treating it as the normal cost.
- If player activity matters to your decision, treat SteamDB’s chart as a time-specific signal. It is not a permanent player-count statistic; record the date and identify SteamDB when citing a snapshot.
This check is especially important for readers outside the region where a search result was first indexed. A title can remain a valid recommendation while its price, package, or availability changes.
Quick Recap
What not to infer from a Soulslike list
- A tag is not a verdict. Steam’s Souls-like metadata is broad discovery information, so tagged games can differ substantially in combat, pace, and presentation.
- A comparison is not an identity claim. Saying that Nine Sols draws on Sekiro or that Salt and Sanctuary resembles Dark Souls identifies a useful direction, not identical mechanics.
- Faster is not automatically easier. Nioh 2’s action-heavy pace describes tempo, not a controlled ranking against the other games.
- Popularity is not a quality score. A SteamDB chart records activity at a particular time and should not be turned into an evergreen ranking.
- Community wording is anecdotal. Questions such as “What Souls game should I play next?” or “What is similar to Lies of P?” show how players talk about the choice, but they are not survey results.
Final picks by player preference
| If your priority is… | Start with… | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Parry timing in 3D | Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice | Its cited identity is built around parry-focused combat. |
| Parry influence in 2D | Nine Sols | GameSpot connects it with Sekiro while presenting it as a 2D option. |
| Fast action | Nioh 2 | GamesRadar describes it as faster-paced and action-heavy. |
| A focused 3D Soulslike | Lies of P | It is a Steam-listed Soulslike and a frequent comparison point. |
| 2D Dark Souls-style play | Salt and Sanctuary | GameSpot characterizes it as close to Dark Souls in 2D. |
| A familiar 3D baseline | Elden Ring or Dark Souls III | Both are established Steam-listed reference points for the genre. |
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