Summary
The originalDark Soulstrilogy presented anominous dark fantasy worldrich with secrets and menace. As more and more developers have taken inspiration from these iconic games, players have had more grim, monster-infested worlds to explore.
While soulslikes are mostly known for their imposing boss fights, their worlds and settings have much to offer as well. These games often have excellent environmental storytelling, as well as secret dungeons and bosses that reward an inquisitive traveller. Here are ten of the best exploration experiences a player can have in the soulslike genre.
Lords of the Fallen, like its predecessor, isa very committed soulslike that takes heavy inspirationfrom the originalDark Soulstrilogy. The 2023 title has a unique twist, however, in that it takes place in two worlds simultaneously. In order to defeat the dark god Adyr, the protagonist must travel between the realms of the living and the dead.
Accessing alternate worlds during one’s journey opens up some new avenues for exploration. Like any good soulslike,Lords of the Fallentakes advantage of this with several optional areas and bosses. While crossing between worlds, it pays to be observant.
The bizarre premise ofLies of Phas given way toa surprisingly excellent soulslikewith a rich setting and lore. The fallen city of Krat has many surprises in store for the intrepid puppet.
The game’sBloodborneinfluence is readily apparent to anyone familiar with From Software’s iconic gothic adventure. Much of the player’s time will be spent in the dark, ruined streets of Krat. In true soulslike fashion, Pinocchio will be able to find plenty of secrets and twists by carefully patrolling the robot-infested roads and buildings of this decaying city.
TheDark Soulstrilogy has always had a strange relationship with space and time. Even in the first game, time was falling apart, bringing warriors who lived hundreds of years apart together.Dark Souls 2takes this a step further with the surreal kingdom of Drangleic.
The locations inDark Souls 2don’t make logical sense. The player can take an elevator up from the top of a tower and arrive at the ground floor of a castle surrounded by lava, for instance. This makes exploration a much more unpredictable endeavor. Players can never be fully sure what they’ll find around any given corner, lending a strange, dreamlike quality to the world and a thoroughly surprising nature to the player’s adventures.
Blasphemous 2takes a distinctive approach to the metroidvania formula by tying most of themain traversal systems to the player’s arsenalof weapons. Unlocking a new sword not only opens up opportunities in combat but allows the Penitent One to access new areas and unlock secrets.
And the world ofBlasphemous 2is certainly full of secrets. Diligent exploration will yield hidden cherubs, secret nun-like creatures, and powerful new spells and altarpieces to enhance the Penitent One’s combat abilities. If players hope to unlock the game’s true ending, they’ll have to look closely at the world around them.
Even by the standards of the series, the world ofDark Souls 3is bleak. This entry covers the absolute dissolution of the Age of Fire, and the collapse of the eternal cycle that has kept the trilogy together all these years. Ruins and palaces from across the trilogy are colliding and shattering in a grand and tragic display.
The dying world ofDark Souls 3is full of secrets and sorrows for the player to uncover. If fans take their time to explore every nook and cranny they can find some truly shocking things, like the ancient demon ruins from the first game, now buried and choked with burnt out demon corpses.Dark Souls 3is the perfect sendoff to this iconic series, and it’s rich with references and treasures.
Hollow Knightis famous for blending the tropes of the soulslike genre with the metroidvania formula. Fittingly enough for such a combination, much of the game’s lore revolves around exploration. The game takes place in a world of insects, where a mysterious and mystical set of ruins lies buried under a small town, attracting explorers and excavators looking for ancient treasures.
While the player character has their own reasons for visiting the ruins of Hallownest, exploration is still a major part of the game.Secret upgrades and collectiblesare hidden behind false walls and tricky platforming challenges throughoutHollow Knight. Considering the extreme difficulty of the game’s bosses, players will need to dig for every advantage they can get.
The bloodsoaked streets of Yharnam serve as an appropriately gothic backdrop forBloodborne, From Software’s iconic cosmic horror soulslike. Like in many other soulslike games, Yharnam is deeply interconnected, with tricks and shortcuts linking areas back to the heart of the city. Clever navigation will ensure players are never lost.
As the night progresses, the situation in Yharnam gets worse and worse, and the onus is entirely on the player to discover the source of this madness. Diligent exploration will help the good hunter uncover the truth behind Yharnam’s destruction and arm themselves toconfront the unknown.
The iconicDark Soulsbrought players to the kingdom of Lordran, a once proud kingdom slowly being consumed by the undead curse.Dark Soulsbecame an instant classic for a number of reasons, but one of the things that impressed players the most was the map design. Lordran is a fully interconnected world that players can completely map from one end to the other.
Exploring each region in the game will discover shortcuts and alternate paths that can give players full access to the world and its map. Players don’t unlock the ability to fast travel until about halfway through the game, and they can only warp to specific bonfires, so intimate knowledge of the game’s interconncted world is necessary in figuring out where to go.
Ashenis an unconventional soulslike. It presents a simplified cel-shaded art style, in contrast to the grand, detail-rich palaces and temples of the originalDark Soulstrilogy. This makes the game no less fun to explore, however.Ashen’s rich open world is still full of secrets and discoveries that the player must uncover in their search for a home.
The world’s passive multiplayer system means that any expedition could bring players face to face with each other, triggering new emergent encounters based entirely on mutual player choice. This dynamic multiplayer system bolsters a world already rich with dungeons and caves begging for adventure.
When it comes to sheer quantity of things to discover, few games can matchElden Ring. The Lands Between is a massive realm and there are things to find across the map. The game is famous forits immense Legacy Dungeons, but caves, catacombs, and ruined settlements throughout the realm offer just as much adventure and just as many secret treasures.
The vast scope of the Lands Between is just one part ofElden Ring’s immense size. An expansive network of underground cities is lurking deep below ground with even more secrets waiting to be brought to light. And, of course, the recent DLC introduced another massive region for players to explore. One could sink hundreds of hours into this massive soulslike and still not see everything there is to see.
