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Apologies for the overtly negative title, but I'm getting a little frustrated over here. This year, I've played Khazan, which I've enjoyed a lot, the Elden Ring DLC, which I need to get back to at some point but enjoyed so far, and Lies of P (again) + its DLC, which I've loved. All of these have one thing in common: quality. This makes it really hard for me to give smaller soulslikes a fair chance.

A few months ago, I gave Thymesia a shot. I definitely see the potential and vision and liked some of its mechanics quite a bit, but it just doesn't hold up to the greater soulslikes I've played. I didn't even manage to kill the first boss out of impatience and because of a lack of enjoyment.

Just tried Lords of the Fallen too and, man, I feel like they didn't even try to make this second attempt any better than the first. I was taken aback by the wide range of classes to choose from, but the gameplay just feels so unnecessarily convoluted, floaty and weightless. All of these different mechanics are thrown into the mix that end up being next to meaningless because you end up going from point A to B with a minor detour because you're travelling through the Shadow Realm™. That first boss was also an absolute nothing-burger.

Like, what gives? Are games like Khazan and Lies of P that much of an anomaly? I woild have really liked to expand my repertoire of soulslikes to play, but I'm just getting disappointed left and right despite going into it with an open mind.

Have any of you guys experienced something like that? I really wanted to give both of these a try, but man. Maybe I just need a break from the genre...

Check it out: https://youtu.be/sJVXV14Vv3M

8: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

7: Blasphemous

6: Salt and Sanctuary

5: Code Vein

4: Tunic

3: Nioh 2

2: Remnant 2

1: Hollow Knight

Which of these have you played?

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3738600/Memoria_Wake_Demo/

Article Summary

• Try the free Memoria Wake demo on Steam and explore a surreal, isometric soulslike adventure.
• Play as Nilo, a tiny cat in a raincoat, battling nightmares with smart, parry-driven combat mechanics.
• Experience two distinct biomes: a world of living toys and a mysterious, rundown university setting.
• Face off against two challenging bosses, with over twenty planned for the full Memoria Wake release.

I first got to play Hell is Us at Gamescom last year and was immediately drawn into its blend of Stalker's wartorn, apocalyptic European aesthetics and Death Stranding style sci-fi.

While Elden Ring is unquestionably one of the best open-world games in recent years, Fromsoftware makes some concessions to help players along. Rogue Factor wants you to take the lead in Hell is Us, keeping hand holding to an absolute minimum and offering you just a simple record of how the information you've collected so far ties together. While the overworld is naturally more open-ended, however, its dungeons promise to offer more classic-style challenges, putting your skills with soulslikes and your ability to think to the test across weaving networks akin to those seen in Elden Ring's tombs or Bloodborne's chalices.

"We didn't design these dungeons as mere set pieces," creative director Jonathan Jacques-Belletête explains, "we built them like old-school videogame challenges: tight, crafted, deliberate. Every corner, every obstacle, every encounter is there for a reason."

"When it clicks, that's when you will feel it - that little rush," Jacques-Belletête whispers. "Not because the game told you what to do, but because you figured it out on your own. That's what we're after." Of course, you'll also have plenty of enemies to deal with. "Some of the fights you will face might stick with you; not because they are brutally hard, that's not the kind of game we're making, but because they hit differently. They happen at the right moment, at the right place, and they carry weight in your journey."

I was under the impression that Hell Is Us is not really a soulslike though, is it? Barely heard anything of the game tbh

I've pretty much dodged everything about the game - story, gameplay, art direction, trailers - so I know barely anything about the game. Some people seem to be praising it quite a bit for its more "classic" soulslike approach and have been comparing it to DS1 even.

How do you like it so far? Is the comparison to DS1 sound?

If you’re looking to power through Wuchang: Fallen Feathers’ campaign without stopping to smell too many roses, you can probably complete it in around 40-50 hours. The main story path is pretty substantial with quite a few lengthy, labyrinthine areas to chart a path through—not to mention lots of challenging bosses standing between you and exploring the next location.

Not only does it feature multiple endings to incentivize playing through it more than once, but it’s also sporting a hefty trophy and achievement list that expects you to really push yourself to the limits.

40-50h seems to be a pretty standard runtime for soulslikes these days. Obviously depends on your skill and how much time you leave yourself to explore the games, but both LoP as well as Khazan were around that time to complete for me, LoP maybe being a tad shorter.