There have been quite a few incredible games released so far in 2025, and the soulslike genre in particular has had an exciting year. Recently,Elden Ring Nightreignprovided a compelling multiplayer twist on the FromSoft formula, andWuchang: Fallen Feathersbrought back the belovedDark Souls 1feel. Fans of the genre have plenty to keep themselves busy, following the previous year’s slate of soulslikes ranging fromBlack Myth: WukongtoElden Ring’sShadow of the ErdtreeDLC.
This year, the debate over what makes a great soulslike (or what qualifies as a soulslike at all) has grown even more complicated. Soulslikes such asThe First Berserker: Khazanare designed around boss-rush-style gameplay, whileElden Ring Nightreigncompletely challenges players' notions of what defines an essential FromSoftware Souls experience.
8Echoes Of Yi: Samsara - A “Janky” & Underrated Sekiro-Like
This One Slipped Under The Radar, But Shouldn’t Be Written Off Entirely
Echoes of Yi: Samsarawas developed by a small team at Runmeng and launched in April 2025. It probably flew under most players' radars, as it wasn’t a major AAA release and never built up any significant hype. It’s not a perfect soulslike experience, andit can feel like an underwhelmingSekiroknock-offin terms of gameplay and soulslike mechanics.
Echoes of Yi will definitely scratch a certainSekiroitch for diehard soulslike fans.
However, being aSekirocopycat doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t fun, andEchoes of Yiwill definitely scratch a certainSekiroitch for diehard soulslike fans.Echoes of Yi: Samsarawas described by Reddit userTryhard_lose_harderas"a janky but overlooked Sekiro-like game,“and I have to admit that’s the perfect description.
Casual soulslike players are likely not going to love this game, as manySteamreviews point to it being riddled with glitches and bugs, with a lackluster story to boot. All the same, I’d sayit’s a must-play for grind-obsessedSekirofanslooking for soulslikes with a similar feel.
7Mandragora: Whispers Of The Witch Tree - An Essential Metroidvania Soulslike
Recent Mandragora Updates Polished It Up & Made It Shine Even More
Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Treeis a metroidvania-style soulslikewith quite a few positive reviews on both Metacritic and Steam, at least since its most recent update in May that resolved a majority of its performance issues.Mandragorais described as"a story-driven 2.5D action RPG"set in the fantasy world of Faelduum,“a grim and vivid world full of unforgettable NPCs, unique enemies, and complex moral dilemmas.”
Mandragorahas received high praise since it was patched and updated, and it’s easily one of the best Metroidvania-style soulslikes to come out this year. While it isn’t your classic soulslike experience,various points in the journey will definitely pose a soulslike challenge.
Mandragorahasa dynamic yet easy-to-understand character class and progression systemthat allows for a range of playstyles and approaches to gameplay. you may play as a spellcaster, a classic sword-and-shield-wielding knight, and more. While Metroidvania-style games might not be everyone’s cup of tea, this is certainly a worthwhile game to try out if you’re a fan of the soulslike genre.
6Lords Of The Fallen 2.0: The Comeback Kid
From A Lackluster 2023 Release To One Of The Best Games Of 2025
While theLords of the Fallenreboot launched in 2023, I’m includingLords of the Fallen 2.0on this list due to how much the 2025 2.0 update reinvented the game. To bring everyone up to speed,Lords of the Fallenis a soulslike action RPG that launched in 2023 with countless performance issues that resulted inan avalanche of negative reviews.
Players also had plenty to say about various problematic gameplay mechanics that made the experience frustrating and not very fun overall. As a result,developers at CI Games SE went back to the drawing boardin an attempt to fine-tune the experience from top to bottom and make it more enjoyable for players.
Lords of the Fallen 2.0is an entirely new and improved game from the original 2023 version, and is well worth checking out.
Hence, theLords of the Fallen 2.0updatewas released in April this year and included a refined multiplayer experience in its Full Shared Progression Co-op feature, a Free Friend’s Pass that lets friends who don’t own the game play alongside you for free, among50-some-odd other updates that vastly improved the overall experience.Needless to say,Lords of the Fallen 2.0is an entirely new and improved game from the original 2023 version, and it’s well worth checking out.
5AI Limit: A Highly Challenging Anime Soulslike
AI Limit Suffered From An Unfortunate Release Date Conflict
If you’re a soulslike fan looking for a real challenge,AI Limitshould be next on your playlist.AI Limit was released at the same time as another huge 2025 soulslike on this list,The First Berserker: Khazan, and as such, a vast portion of its would-be audience either put it on the back burner or chose to skip it entirely. However, if you still haven’t had the chance to playAI Limit,you’re missing out on an epic soulslike experience.
Developer SenseGames did an incredible job with this anime-style soulslike action RPG, and whileAI Limitdoesn’t do anything truly innovative in terms of gameplay or soulslike mechanics,itincorporates classic soulslike elements very well.The boss designs are extremely well done overall, with a few noticeable difficulty spikes that some players will both love and loathe.
Overall,AI Limitis agreat soulslike adventure from a small indie developerthat deserves credit where it’s due. In terms of 2025 soulslikes, there are certainly better options out there, but that doesn’t mean you should writeAI Limitoff. If it’s sitting on your wishlist and you’ve been waiting to pull the trigger, I’d highly recommend givingAI Limita go.
4Lies Of P: Overture - A DLC Better Than Most Full Soulslike Releases
Overture Is The Best Soulslike DLC Of The Year Without Question
Lies of P: Overtureis the 2025 DLC expansion to the originalLies of P,which saw massive success with its 2023 release.Lies of Pis one of the best non-FromSoft soulslikes out there, and the DLC is an unmissable experience that frankly stands out even among full releases in 2025. If you haven’t had a chance to playthis essential soulslike yet, it will actually be included as a PlayStation Plusfree monthly game in August.
Lies of Pis set in the fictional city of Krat, wherepuppet robots have gone rogue and started killing humansas a result. You play the role of P and will set out on a mission to get to the bottom of what happened to these other puppets under the guidance of Gepetto.Lies of P: Overturepicks upbeforeall of this is set in motion.
TheLies of P: OvertureDLC acts as a prequel to the original game, and itgives players completely new areas, bosses, and moreto scratch that uniqueLies of Pitch. The DLC will provide about 15-20 hours of soulslike challenge, which is the perfect addition to the base game.
3The First Berserker: Khazan - Incredible Bosses In An Iconic Universe
Some Of The Best Boss Designs In The Genre
The First Berserker: Khazanis one of the year’s best and most popular soulslike releases, and it’s an absolute essential for players who enjoy boss-rush-style gameplay.Khazanis highly lauded for itsdynamic boss fights and intricate weapon and combo system, but this became a barrier to entry for many players. The game ended up being a bit harder than most players were willing to put up with, and its creators took notice of fan feedback.
Eventually, developers at Neople released anextensive update in Junethat overhauled its difficulty settings and provided a more comprehensive tutorial covering its various weapon combo systems. If you’re one of the players who bailed onKhazaninitially because of its incredibly difficult gameplay, you may want to pick it back up andtry out the new settings for a more enjoyable and slightly more laid-back experience.
The JuneKhazanupdate also introduced a gear and weapon preset setting that allows players to save loadouts, while also increasing maximum storage capacity and other quality of life fixes.
Despite these barriers to entry (which die-hard soulslike fans probably didn’t see as a problem at all),The First Berserker: Khazanis an incredible game that pushes soulslike combat mechanics to the limit.It’s a must-play for any fans of the genre that prefer an extreme challenge, but after the June update, it is also widely accessible to more casual players as well.
2Wuchang: Fallen Feathers - A Dark Souls 1-Inspired Masterpiece
Wuchang: Fallen Feathersis a brand-new soulslike RPG from Leenzee and 505 Games that is directly inspired by the designphilosophy ofDark Souls 1.This is about as close to a classic FromSoftware experience as you’ll get from a non-FromSoft studio, with gameplay that could be pulled straight out ofDark SoulsorSekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Wuchang faced a difficult launch due towidespread performance issues that were quickly patched.
The above issues aside,very few critics have negative things to sayaboutWuchang’soverall mechanics and quintessential soulslike gameplay. While sticking true to the genre’s roots, it incorporates innovative and unique elements, such as theMadness and Inner Demon mechanics, which allow players to “throttle” the difficulty to a certain extent.
Wuchanghas also been widely praised for itsexcellent level design and progression system,which allows players to utilize and experiment with multiple playstyles throughout their journey with no penalty for re-speccing.Wuchang’sboss designs present players with a formidable challenge, particularly earlybosses like Commander Honglan, who might make even the most experienced soulslike veteran break a sweat.
If you’re basing your decision to playWuchangon the negative Steam or Metacritic reviews it received in its first few days due to performance snafus, you’ll be doing yourself a disservice by writing this game off entirely. Whatever you’ve heard or read aboutWuchang, this is a soulslike that you absolutely need to try for yourself to appreciate its mix of classic soulslike elements and original new ideas.
1Elden Ring Nightreign - A Groundbreaking FromSoft Co-Op Experience
With Doubles Officially In Play, There’s No Question Nightreign Is 2025’s Top Soulslike (So Far)
Elden Ring Nightreignis FromSoftware’s revolutionary new soulslike action game that features cooperative multiplayer gameplay set in a procedurally generated map that will vary across each playthrough.Nightreigntakes the core mechanics ofElden Ringand reimagines them in a completely new experience. While many FromSoft classicists will argueNightreigndoesn’t hold up to the original, very few soulslike fans can deny that it’s incredibly fun.
Nightreignhas a solo mode that became much more viable after an early patch, but it’s largely designed for a cooperative multiplayer experience, whichnow includes duosand trios (as opposed to just three-player at launch).Nightreignhas sold over 5 million copies since launch, and soulslike fans are clearly sold on this new adaptation of the classic FromSoft formula.
All told, 2025 has been packed full of incredible soulslike releases, with some that flew completely under the radar and others that have completely revolutionized the genre. In particular,The First Berserker: Khazan,Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, andElden Ring Nightreignstand out as must-play games of the year that should absolutely be on your soulslike wishlist if you haven’t played them already.
