It could be said that FromSoftware’s ever-expanding collection of punishing but rewarding role-playing games – lovingly referred to as the Soulsborne series – has been among the most influential of all time. In fact, the cultural impact of Soulsborne games has been so powerful that it’s led to an entirely new subgenre of role-playing games known as “Soulslikes.” But while many studios have tried to mimic the famed Japanese developer’s game design philosophy to varying results, few have come close to offering the same breathtaking experiences.
Granted, as the grandfather of Soulslikes, FromSoftware simply knows its way around the genre like no other. And by maintaining extremely similar gameplay mechanics, controls, and UI elements across each game, the studio ensures that its games, though not directly connected, remain familiar to fans who have played previous entries in the series. The most consistent thing of all, though, is the consistently challenging combat and exploration, which has defined the series since the beginning and is often the most-cited reason players flock to the games.
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However, Soulsborne fans are a diverse bunch with varying tastes, and no game in the series connects exactly the same to one person as it does to another. As such, everyone’s ranking for the Soulsborne collection is likely to differ based not solely on quality but also on the order they played the games, their headspace at the time, and how much value they place on specific elements that may differ between entries. While there’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to a selection of such stellar games, here’s where we stand on the matter.
Every FromSoftware Soulsborne game, ranked
7. Demon's Souls
86%
Platforms
PlayStation 5
Genre
Role-playing (RPG), Adventure
Developer
Bluepoint Games
Publisher
Sony Interactive Entertainment
Release
November 12, 2020
Though the Soulslike genre wouldn’t take the world by storm until the release of Dark Souls a few years later, 2009’s Demon’s Souls nevertheless laid the all-important groundwork for what would eventually go on to define an entire era of role-playing games. In this early outing, much of what fans would come to love hadn’t yet been smoothed over, with some frustrations like limited inventory capacity, awkward physics, and a controversial World Tendency system that adjusted the difficulty in the background based on cryptic in-game events. Bluepoint’s 2020 1:1 remake of the game has vastly improved upon some of its roughest spots, but even then, Demon’s Souls remains a fun but flawed experience that never quite meets the standards of its successors.
6. Bloodborne
92%
Platforms
PlayStation 4
Genre
Role-playing (RPG), Adventure
Developer
FromSoftware
Publisher
Sony Computer Entertainment
Release
March 24, 2015
Eschewing much of the medieval trappings of previous games, Bloodborne opted instead for a gothic world filled to the brim with Lovecraftian creatures and perpetual darkness. It pushed this macabre tone even further by embracing bloody, fast-paced combat based around regaining lost health via dealing damage, adding an entirely new flow for veteran players to adjust to. One could argue that it offered a little less in the way of weapons and armor than folks were used to from Dark Souls games, but the release of Bloodborne nevertheless proved FromSoftware had what it took to step outside of the shadow of the proper Souls franchise without sacrificing the most impactful parts of its DNA.
5. Dark Souls
88%
Platforms
PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Genre
Role-playing (RPG), Adventure
Developer
FromSoftware
Publisher
Bandai Namco Entertainment
Release
September 22, 2011
Despite Demon’s Souls being the first game in the Soulsborne franchise, it’s Dark Souls that truly brought the genre to life and captured the attention of role-playing fans across the world. To put it simply, this game defined the Soulslike genre with its foreboding interconnected world, enigmatic characters and quests, brutal environmental traps, thrilling yet calculated combat, and unwavering artistic vision. Though it hasn’t aged as well as some of FromSoftware’s offerings, it remains one of the most important games in the history of the medium and deserves to be experienced by any fan eager to examine the blueprints of a genre so beloved by millions.
4. Dark Souls III
87%
Platforms
PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Genre
Role-playing (RPG), Adventure
Developer
FromSoftware
Publisher
Bandai Namco Entertainment, FromSoftware
Release
March 24, 2016
For those who felt Dark Souls II was too much of a departure from the first game, Dark Souls III was intended to rectify that by returning to many of the core design pillars on which the original game was built. Despite this return to form, the final game in the trilogy was anything but a step backward and came packing plenty of quality-of-life improvements, including a less cumbersome upgrading system, an expanded suite of co-op and PVP features, and a more fluid movement and combat system that felt like a blend of Dark Souls and Bloodborne. Though it’s likely to be the last game to carry the Dark Souls name, it’s clear FromSoftware saw that it’s better to burn out than fade away.
3. Dark Souls II
79%
Platforms
PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Genre
Role-playing (RPG), Adventure
Developer
FromSoftware
Publisher
FromSoftware, Bandai Namco Entertainment
Release
March 11, 2014
Arguably FromSoftware’s most polarizing game, Dark Souls II managed to stick to much of the original game’s formula while still shocking many players with some unexpected mechanics and design choices. It’s undeniably true that it lacked its predecessor’s world interconnectivity and sported a questionable Soul Memory feature that occasionally made linking up with other players frustrating – but it made up for these hiccups tenfold by offering some of the series’ most compelling level and enemy design, its best armor and weapon combinations, and a well-tuned PVP system that deeply rewards build creativity. Due to some clever difficulty-managing mechanics and more frequent bonfires, it was also slightly more accessible than Dark Souls, making it a fantastic entry point for new players even to this day.
2. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
91%
Platforms
PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Google Stadia
Genre
Hack and slash/Beat 'em up, Adventure
Developer
FromSoftware
Publisher
Activision
Release
March 22, 2019
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was by far the biggest deviation from the standard Soulslike formula we’ve ever seen from FromSoftware, and the risks taken paid off exceptionally well. This singleplayer-only title wasn’t trying to be a traditional Soulslike at all, actually, opting instead to blend the concept together with a more traditional action game. As such, it traded the franchise’s usual customizability for considerably more intricate combat and navigation mechanics that completely changed how Soulslike fans had to approach the game. Fights that focused on deflecting and wearing down enemies mixed well with stealth-based exploration and a fun grappling hook that made moving about battlefields a breeze. It may not be what Souls fans initially expected when it was released, but it’s this dedication to creativity and evolution that keeps FromSoftware in a class of its own.
1. Elden Ring
95%
Platforms
PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Genre
Role-playing (RPG), Adventure
Developer
FromSoftware
Publisher
Bandai Namco Entertainment, FromSoftware
Release
February 25, 2022
It takes only minutes of playtime in Elden Ring to realize it’s something downright spectacular. In its most recent release, FromSoftware took all of the components it had already mastered in its previously linear (often claustrophobic) titles, applied them to an utterly massive and stunning open world, and then meticulously crafted new mechanics and concepts around this blending of design philosophies to create its magnum opus. This role-playing masterpiece is shockingly expansive without ever running out of steam, providing almost non-stop awe-inspiring moments from beginning to end that you’ll remember forever. Frankly, it packs more to explore and engage with than many developers’ entire library of games, and if you’ve got 150+ hours to spare, we’d recommend you see every bit of it.
