Best Souls-like Games on Steam
Punishing action RPGs built around stamina, bosses, checkpoints, and deliberate combat.
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1Black Myth: Wukong
- Players say: As the Destined One, battle mythic foes with staff techniques, spells, and transformations while uncovering the truth behind Sun Wukong. Players like: Satisfying Staff Combat · Memorable Boss Fights · Mythic Visual Design
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Black Myth: Wukong is an action RPG rooted in Chinese mythology. You shall set out as the Destined One to venture into the challenges and marvels ahead, to uncover the obscured truth beneath the veil of a glorious legend from the past.
Aug 19, 2024
In this game, you can…
- turn into bosses you've defeated and use their forms in fights.
- play as Sun Wukong in the prologue.
- beat a chapter's main boss, then watch a stylized animated epilogue that turns your actions into a narrated painting.
- build energy by dodging and basic hits, then spend it on heavier attacks instead of blocking.
- chain perfect dodges to power up your next big hit.
- respec for free and switch your whole build at any rest point.
- stumble into secret zones, hidden bosses, and optional questlines by exploring and backtracking.
- fill a journal where every enemy kill can unlock a folklore story entry.
2ELDEN RING
- Players say: As a Tarnished in the Lands Between, explore a vast fantasy world, shape your fighter, and battle foes on the path to lordship. Players like: Rewarding World Exploration · Memorable Boss Battles · Flexible Character Builds
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THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED FANTASY ACTION RPG. Rise, Tarnished, and be guided by grace to brandish the power of the Elden Ring and become an Elden Lord in the Lands Between.
Feb 24, 2022
In this game, you can…
- discover a whole underground world layer with its own landscapes, secret bosses, and places you'd never guess existed.
- find bosses that only appear at night, turning a quiet road into a sudden unique fight with special loot.
- follow a side quest that escalates into meeting an entire eccentric family and ends with you marrying into it.
- walk away from a boss, roam somewhere else for gear and levels, then come back later and finally win.
- step out into a massive open world and immediately ride in any direction you can see.
- ride a spectral horse that can double-jump, then use mounted combat to fight huge enemies in the open field.
3Hollow Knight
- Players say: Explore a ruined insect kingdom as a small knight, opening new routes with abilities and facing demanding 2D battles. Players like: Hand-Drawn Art · Haunting Soundtrack · Rewarding Exploration
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Forge your own path in Hollow Knight! An epic action adventure through a vast ruined kingdom of insects and heroes. Explore twisting caverns, battle tainted creatures and befriend bizarre bugs, all in a classic, hand-drawn 2D style.
Feb 24, 2017
In this game, you can…
- jump into the minds of characters and enemies to hear their thoughts and dig up secrets that aren't told in normal dialogue
- learn boss fights with no health bar, reading their patterns until you can tell you're winning just from how they move
- take on a near-mythic platforming gauntlet of saws and spikes that can take hours, then reach a hidden payoff at the end
- get dropped into a kingdom with no map, then slowly piece together where to go by exploring, backtracking, and unlocking routes
- customize your build with charms that can completely change how you fight and move, then swap setups to make the same boss feel different
- chain movement upgrades into fluid traversal: wall jump, double jump, dash, then dash through danger and bounce off enemies to keep flying forward
- realize you've charted a massive interconnected world when the full map finally clicks into place and you can see how everything connects
4DARK SOULS™ III
- Players say: Play an Ashen One crossing a dying dark-fantasy kingdom, learning enemy patterns and battling formidable foes in action-RPG combat. Players like: Rewarding Challenge · Memorable Boss Fights · Haunting Atmosphere
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Dark Souls continues to push the boundaries with the latest, ambitious chapter in the critically-acclaimed and genre-defining series. Prepare yourself and Embrace The Darkness!
Apr 11, 2016
In this game, you can…
- unlock a door or elevator and realize the level loops back over itself to where you started.
- hit a chest that turns out to be a monster and fights back.
- get invaded by a hostile player in your world and fight them off mid-journey.
- find secret rooms by striking walls that look solid.
- use special weapon skills that change your moves and spend a magic-like meter.
- summon strangers to co-op, then beat the same bosses in both of your worlds together.
- do a full boss fight that's a puzzle, like breaking a giant's bracelets instead of dueling normally.
- gesture at the Fire Keeper and get a unique gesture response back.
5Hollow Knight: Silksong
- Players say: As Hornet, battle and platform through Pharloom, uncovering secrets and gaining abilities on a perilous climb to its citadel. Players like: Detailed World · Fluid Combat · Distinctive Soundtrack
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Discover a vast, haunted kingdom in Hollow Knight: Silksong! Explore, fight and survive as you ascend to the peak of a land ruled by silk and song.
Sep 4, 2025
In this game, you can…
- heal in midair during fights
- take an item that lets you hear every bug singing across the world, including the ones who sing badly
- hit what feels like the ending, then realize you only cleared about half the game and keep going into later acts and the true ending
- chain a grappling line into attacks and escapes mid-boss, turning movement into your defense and your damage at the same time
- slot offensive, defensive, and exploration tools separately, then swap loadouts so the exact same boss changes based on timing and tool choices
- fight bosses in arenas that actively mess with the rules, like swarms that stop healing or layouts with nowhere safe to stand
- play a flea-juggling mini-game on the side
6Sekiro™: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition
- Players say: As a one-armed shinobi in Sengoku Japan, rescue your young lord through stealth, grappling traversal, and timing-based sword duels. Players like: Satisfying Deflections · Rewarding Skill Growth · Memorable Boss Fights
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Game of the Year - The Game Awards 2019 Best Action Game of 2019 - IGN Carve your own clever path to vengeance in the award winning adventure from developer FromSoftware, creators of Bloodborne and the Dark Souls series. Take Revenge. Restore Your Honor. Kill Ingeniously.
Mar 21, 2019
In this game, you can…
- come back to life mid-fight and keep swinging.
- stomp a spear thrust by stepping on the attacker's weapon.
- get ambushed by a giant ape that grabs its own poop and throws it at you.
- grapple across rooftops, trees, and cliffs to hit enemies from above.
- erase a mini-boss's first health bar by opening with a stealth backstab.
- turn boss fights into a posture-breaking duel where constant pressure leads to a single finishing blow.
- throw firecrackers and other tools to stun enemies and create openings instead of trading hits.
- replay major bosses in dedicated challenge modes after finishing the story.
7Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Players say: Lead a doomed expedition to stop a Paintress who erases people by age, using turn-based tactics and timed dodges and parries. Players like: Story and Characters · Painterly World Design · Memorable Soundtrack
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Lead the members of Expedition 33 on their quest to destroy the Paintress so that she can never paint death again. Explore a world of wonders inspired by Belle Époque France and battle unique enemies in this turn-based RPG with real-time mechanics.
Apr 24, 2025
In this game, you can…
- dodge or counter basically anything enemies throw at you, including spells, projectiles, cosmic rays, and even buildings.
- spend action points to free-aim in third person and shoot an enemy's weak spot to end a fight early.
- watch the story's yearly death countdown tick toward "33," then head out on a final mission to stop it.
- dodge, parry, and counter enemy attacks in real time during turn-based fights.
- jump over low attacks mid-fight, then land right back into the dodge-and-parry rhythm.
- swap builds to answer a specific encounter, then stack party synergies into a setup that can delete bosses in one turn.
- wander a huge world map packed with secret areas, hidden encounters, and travel methods that unlock with companions.
- walk into higher-level areas and still win if your timing is good enough on dodges, parries, and jumps.
8Cuphead
- Players say: As Cuphead or Mugman, run, shoot, parry, and learn boss patterns across strange worlds to repay a debt to the Devil. Players like: Hand-Drawn Animation · Rewarding Boss Battles · Jazz Soundtrack
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Cuphead is a classic run and gun action game heavily focused on boss battles. Inspired by cartoons of the 1930s, the visuals and audio are painstakingly created with the same techniques of the era, i.e. traditional hand drawn cel animation, watercolor backgrounds, and original jazz recordings.
Sep 29, 2017
In this game, you can…
- watch a boss go from two battletoads into a slot machine, then keep warping into stranger cartoon forms as you keep landing hits.
- bounce off pink bullets in midair to charge your super meter, then cash it in for weapon specials or a full super.
- run local co-op where one player can parry to revive the other mid-fight, turning near-deaths into sudden comebacks.
- fight bosses that transform mid-battle into new forms, sometimes with no health bar, until the next phase suddenly takes over.
- equip two weapons and swap instantly, changing your plan for a boss—or even a single phase—on the fly.
- thread through tiny safe zones while two or three attacks overlap, with timings that shift enough that you have to react in the moment.
- play brief run-and-gun levels that end fast and restart instantly, turning retries into a rapid-fire loop of experimenting and improving.
9God of War
- Players say: Guide Kratos and his son through Norse lands, combining close-up axe combat, exploration, puzzles, and companion attacks. Players like: Father-Son Story · Weighty Axe Combat · Norse World Atmosphere
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His vengeance against the Gods of Olympus years behind him, Kratos now lives as a man in the realm of Norse Gods and monsters. It is in this harsh, unforgiving world that he must fight to survive… and teach his son to do the same.
Jan 14, 2022
In this game, you can…
- throw an axe across a fight, watch it carve through enemies, then recall it to snap back into your hand.
- fight with your kid as a real partner, calling on his arrows to stagger enemies and open them up for your hits.
- fight a full-on dragon as a giant set-piece boss encounter, not just a background monster.
- row a boat across a huge lake and trigger long myth stories and character backstory while you travel.
- go from a quiet hunting trip to carrying your wife's ashes on a journey that keeps expanding into new realms and threats.
- parry a hit with your shield, counterattack, chain into rune attacks, and swap between throws and melee without breaking momentum.
- hunt down optional valkyrie bosses that hit harder than the main story's big fights and demand real mastery.
10Dead Cells
- Players say: Possess fallen bodies and fight through a shifting island, combining fast 2D combat with branching routes and permanent unlocks. Players like: Fluid Combat · Weapon Variety · Replayable Runs
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Dead Cells is a roguelite, metroidvania inspired, action-platformer. You'll explore a sprawling, ever-changing castle... assuming you’re able to fight your way past its keepers in 2D souls-lite combat. No checkpoints. Kill, die, learn, repeat.
Aug 6, 2018
In this game, you can…
- start as a headless corpse piloted by a green blob, die, then hop into a fresh body and grow yourself back before the next run.
- unlock permanent movement powers like wall-running, teleporting, and growing vines, then use them to open areas that were impossible before.
- grab one random drop mid-run and suddenly rebuild your whole combat style around poison, bleed, traps, backstabs, or a totally different weapon.
- take a different route every run as the castle rearranges exits, secrets, enemies, and rewards across the island.
- freeze an enemy with a parry, then swap weapons and crush them with a heavy hit while you keep moving.
- take a cursed chest for better rewards, then have to get a streak of kills where one hit ends the run.
- chain double jumps, aerial hits, rolls, weapon swaps, and skills into one continuous combo that carries you through a whole room.
