Soulslike en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /ˈsoʊlzlaɪk/ (General-American)
Etymology
From Souls + -like, referencing the Demon's Souls and Dark Souls video game series, after the pattern of roguelike (“any of a genre of computer role playing games influenced by Rogue”).
Meanings
-
A subgenre of action role-playing video games influenced by the Dark Souls trilogy, characterized by high difficulty, trial-and-error progression, esoteric enemy movesets, environmental storytelling, and complex lore.
And that's what you ultimately want from a soulslike. Challenge, struggle, and ultimate triumph. And in that sense, "Hollow Knight" is a soulslike.
2020 April 28, James Hamilton, “Hollow Knight Video Game Review”, in TechNews, Illinois Institute of Technology, page 13:Beyond its cuteness, what makes Tails of Iron stand out from other Soulslikes is how forgiving it can feel – relatively, anyway.
2021 October, Chris Wallace, “When We Made...Tails of Iron”, in MCV Develop, page 64:Amid the tsunami of Soulslikes, Deck13's The Surge stands out as the one game to take the genre in a new direction.
2018 April, “The Surge 2 gets tooled up”, in PlayStation Official Magazine, UK, page 11:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soulslikes | Number=Plur | lexicographic |