Games similar to Dark Souls

Looking to play some new games. Anyone have any good recommendations to games similar in gameplay to Dark or Demon's Souls?

You could try Dragon's Dogma. It's pretty different in a lot of respects, but it also has plenty of similarities as well and notes Demon's Souls as one of its influences. I had a lot of fun with it, and it has a pretty fun character progression system and some of the best character customisation I've ever seen.

Another option is Monster Hunter, one of Dark Souls' influences. Imagine if the whole game was essentially boss battles, but every boss battle arena was an entire area -- that's Monster Hunter. It's a tough series to games, too; notorious, in fact, for difficulty. We warned, though, that the game hinges on the slowness of its weapons, so it's like playing Dark Souls with only the strength weapons available to you.

Thank you for the recommendations! I've played a little of Dragon's Dogma and tried playing Monster Hunter on Wii but it was hard for me to get into on the Wii. Have you played MH on any other handheld systems? Are there any games with a similar online aspect like the summoning portion of dark souls?

I've only played Monster Hunter on the Wii, and I've found that it's pretty easy to play (but not to succeed!) when you're used to it. The Wii has odd controls that don't sit well with conventional games all the time, but I don't feel Monster Hunter gets hit too hard by it. It's mostly a matter of familiarisation.

Unfortunately, I haven't played any other Monster Hunter games on any other platform.

As for multiplayer? I'm pretty sure Dark Souls and Demon's Souls are almost entirely unique in how they use it. They're like an MMO, except each player phases in and out of instances of other players' games. So I really don't know, but I suspect we'll see some similar ways of doing things down the line in terms of game releases.

Legend of Grimrock reminded me of the Souls games in some ways, my impression was 'Dark Souls + Portal met in the 1980s and had a baby'.

Lots of exploration / puzzles, dark fantasy setting, etc. Rather enjoyed it on my first run through and would highly recommend it.

Nothing compare really apart from demons souls, dragons dogma is just button bashing which takes away from
It's good features

You could also try the witcher...
Or like other said, Dragons Dogma.

The Witcher games are really, really good, but a different beast entirely from the Souls games. I would recommend them on the basis of their quality, but don't go in expecting the same kind of combat, economy, storytelling or exploration.

Its really not much like it, but its a great action rpg that doesn't get much attention. Nier. Lots of people tend to not like it, but it has some of the best story/characters ive seen in an rpg in a long time. The combat can be a bit easy, but i like it. One of the main complaints is it doesn't really pick up until about 15hrs in, but i never felt like i was forcing myself through the early parts. I suggest anyone into action rpgs gives that game a chance.

X-government-agent wrote:Nothing compare really apart from demons souls, dragons dogma is just button bashing which takes away from
It's good features

I don't think it's accurate to call dragdog a button masher since there are so many special moves, though I guess you could just button mash it if you wanted, so maybe that's what you mean: it's so easy it could be a button masher. That's my only real complaint about it, but it's huge. I really loved the game, but after you hit level 25 or so the only challenges will be in the post game.

For looks and style though, dragdog is amazing. Two things I hope the next Souls game does like DD: allow you to piece together armor that way, and allow you to sheath your weapon. Standing there with a big old Bastard Sword strapped across your back is just so badass looking.

True. That'd be another thing I'd like Souls to adopt. Overall I think the Souls games have a more 'real' look to them, but you can really deck out the style in DD. Be nice to have those two things combined.

Well, one of the things in Souls games is that multiple layers are already shown or implied in armour designs. For instance, all plate armour would include the necessary padded underclothes as standard. That said, I'd like to see a chain set that isn't just plain chain armour, but has an included surcoat.

Monster Hunter!! if you think the souls series is hard you havent seen nothing yet, there's endless replayability, i have over a thousand hours in unite alone, the wii version was too easy though, i played it and it was a little disappointing.

I honestly didn't love the armor in Dragons Dogma armor design. I personally think the the armor in dark souls has way more effort put into the designs. All dark souls character design needs to be perfect is better facial hair options.

Some really great armor came out as dlc recently for DD. But what I like most about it is the way you can stack it. Light armor with heavier armor over it + arm braces; leggings + greaves, that kind of thing would be awesome in DkS.

Monster Hunter all day!

Shadow of the Colossus is a good recommendation in any situation!

I just felt like a lot of the armor seemed way to similar, and it just had that corny fantasy feel. Just my opinion, i know some people enjoy that kind of art style a lot more then myself. I still need to give Dragons Dogma more of a chance, i just couldn't get into it. I was hyped for it and got it day 1 too.


@Garl_Vinland

If you like Shadow of the Colossus you should check out Nier. I wouldn't say it is as good, but it's also not the same type of game. Nier gave off similar vibes though, and has an amazing story in my opinion. IGN and Gamespot gave it pretty bad reviews, but i don't really understand why. It does take a bit to pick up story wise, but you can rush through just not doing any side quests. It has really fun gameplay, although it can feel a tad to easy at times. It seems like the combat is really limited at first, but you eventually get a bunch of options for weapons(spears,2hand swords/axes,1hand swords ext) I also think the magic in the game is really cool. It really is a gem that not many people seem to have played. It has become one of my favorite games from this gen. I honestly think all of you should give it a shot if you're even the least bit interested. This guy does a really good review, he praises it a lot but he does a much better job explaining it compared to IGN and Gamespot. Only thing i disagree with about the review is the negative remark about the music, cause the game has one of the best OSTs ever. One of the better Square Enix games from this gen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6OXbqTbtHs

Played a bit of Nier once, I liked the soundtrack.
I definitely should finish it.

The intro music in Dragons Dogama bugs me so much... I really need to give the game another try, just couldn't get into it - but I keep hearing generally good things about it.

Worst song I've heard in a game yet.

I completely understand how DkSers might not get into Dragon's Dogma. I was really surprised I took to it. For me that game is almost all about the visuals. Some of the special combat moves are fun too, and even some of the battles are fun (especially the dragons), but the visuals -- character, setting, and monsters -- are what I love most about it.

I agree about Dragons Dogma. It looks cool, but in the end its just a mindless loot collecting game. The boss fights are exciting at first because they take some time and are accompanied by good music and outstanding animations, but in the end they are empty due to the fact that the gameplay boils down to you stabbing a beast a thousand times before it dies. Strategy only determines how quick you kill it and no skill is really required (at least in comparison to DKS)

Nonetheless, its worth a few playthroughs and is a pleasant break from DKS. The most appealing aspect is the character creation. You can go from a nine foot bearded golden Hercules to a droopy faced 10 year old fat kid. One playthrough I made a character that looked almost exactly like the kid from the kids book "Where the Wild Things Are" and played solo. Now that was pretty unique to do in a game.


I think just about any DKS fan would really like an old pc game called Mount and Blade. Its an open world mideival simulation with no story, no quest, and fantastic combat. You are simply free to roam the land and do as you please. You can join armies, build up your own, become a lord a take over all the lands, or just roam the land looting, killing, and being a regular scourge. The combat is really tne standout here though, its an absolute delight to play for hours, and if you play without any of the difficulty modifiers engaged, its about as hard as real life. Slicing folks at full gallop on a horse is endlessly entertaining and horseback archery and javelin throwing is truly an art that could take hundreds of hours to master. I might go so far as to say the combat is better than DKS, but only on horseback. The dismounted fight lacks the solid movement of DKS but the blocking system is better. You must gauge the direction of the attack and block the right way. It can get get pretty intense in the larger battles and youll really feel like youre sword fighting.
Anyways, Ill digress from a full review but i recommend it. Its probably only a few bucks now.

Nier looks interesting, i think i'll try it out. And the question isn't "what games are like DkS" but "how soon will it be until the uniqueness of DkS is imitated and becomes a new subgenre of rpg"

Ghadis_God wrote:how soon will it be until the uniqueness of DkS is imitated and becomes a new subgenre of rpg

Can't come soon enough for me. Bring on the imitators, as long as they do it right.