Elden Ring is a hard game to follow, and not because of the difficulty. It is because it took everything FromSoftware had learned and blew it out to open-world scale, and once you have lived in the Lands Between, a lot of games feel small. The good news is that the soulslike well is deeper than it has ever been. Some of the best entries are FromSoftware's own earlier work, which Elden Ring newcomers often skipped. Others are challengers that spent years being politely called "soulslikes" before a few of them genuinely earned it.
Here are eight worth your next hundred deaths, grouped loosely by how close they sit to the Elden Ring experience.
1. Dark Souls III
Start here if you want more of the exact thing. Dark Souls III is the most direct ancestor of Elden Ring's combat and level design, minus the open world. It is tighter and more linear, a series of gorgeous, interlocking areas rather than a map to roam, and that focus is a feature. The bosses are a highlight reel of the genre, the pacing is relentless, and everything you learned in Elden Ring transfers almost one to one. If Elden Ring was your first FromSoftware game, this is the homework you will be glad you did.
How it differs: linear and concentrated, no horse, no open world. Pure, distilled soulslike.
2. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
The one that will make you unlearn your habits, and love it. Sekiro throws out the RPG stats, dodge-rolling, and build variety entirely and replaces them with a deflection-based sword duel where the goal is to break your opponent's posture rather than whittle their health. It is arguably FromSoftware's most demanding game, but also its most rhythmic and satisfying once it clicks. Do not come expecting to play it like Elden Ring. Come expecting to be reborn as a swordfighter.
How it differs: no builds, no leveling your way past a wall. All skill, all deflection.
3. Bloodborne
Still the cult favorite, and still one of the best. Bloodborne pushes you to be aggressive, replacing shields with a dodge-forward, heal-by-attacking "rally" system that punishes passivity. Its gothic, cosmic-horror world is unlike anything else FromSoftware has made, and the atmosphere alone earns a spot. The catch is the platform: it has historically lived on PlayStation, so check where and how you can play it before you get your hopes up.
How it differs: faster, more aggressive, horror-soaked. A shield is not coming to save you.
4. Lies of P
The challenger that finally earned it. Lies of P is a dark, Belle Epoque retelling of Pinocchio, and it is the non-FromSoftware soulslike people point to when they argue the genre has real rivals now. It blends Bloodborne's aggression with Sekiro's deflection into a combat system that stands on its own, wraps it in stunning art direction, and backs it with boss fights that go toe to toe with the genre's best. If you want something that feels new but familiar, this is the pick.
How it differs: a fresh setting and a hybrid combat style, with FromSoftware-tier polish.
5. Nioh 2
For players who want to go deeper down the mechanical rabbit hole. Nioh 2 is a loot-heavy, stance-switching action game that is faster and flashier than anything FromSoftware makes, with a combat ceiling so high that people are still finding new tech years later. It trades the moody exploration of Elden Ring for mission-based structure and a torrent of gear, which is either exactly what you want or exactly what you do not. If you love builds and theorycrafting, few games reward it more.
How it differs: mission-based, loot-driven, and mechanically deeper than almost anything on this list.
6. Lords of the Fallen
The one that reached for Elden Ring's scale. The 2023 Lords of the Fallen is a big, atmospheric soulslike whose standout idea is a pair of overlapping worlds, the living and the dead, that you shift between to solve paths and survive. It is the closest thing here to Elden Ring's sense of a large, connected world to get lost in, and while it is rougher around the edges than FromSoftware's work, its ambition and its dual-realm hook make it worth the trip.
How it differs: larger and more explorable than most challengers, with a clever two-worlds twist.
7. Remnant II
The left-field pick, and a brilliant co-op option. Remnant II is a third-person soulslike shooter, so it keeps the stamina-managed, boss-gated, punishing structure of the genre but hands you guns instead of swords. Its secret weapon is procedurally shifting worlds that make every campaign a little different, and it is built from the ground up for three-player co-op. If your Elden Ring memories are mostly of jolly cooperation, bring friends here.
How it differs: guns, procedural worlds, and genuine drop-in co-op.
8. Demon's Souls
Where the whole thing began. The Demon's Souls remake rebuilds FromSoftware's original soulslike with modern visuals, and playing it is a fascinating trip back to the blueprint every game on this list is descended from. The structure is old-school, hub-based rather than open, with a world tendency system that is stranger than anything in Elden Ring, but the bones are unmistakable and the remake makes them gorgeous. Like Bloodborne, mind the platform before you commit.
How it differs: the genre's origin point, hub-based and deliberately archaic, in a stunning new coat.
Where to go first
If you simply want more Elden Ring, play Dark Souls III. If you want to be challenged in a completely new way, play Sekiro. And if you want proof the genre has moved past its inventor, play Lies of P. You cannot really go wrong, because the whole point of this list is that the well runs deep.
Not quite done leveling up your fundamentals? Our Elden Ring starting class guide is worth a revisit for any new character, and once you are hungry for a real test, soulslike challenge-run culture shows just how far this community takes it. More roundups live in the guides hub.
