10 Awesome Video Games That Owe Their Success To Dark Souls

The description “Dark Souls with mice” isn’t completely unfounded. That said, DarkMaus has a lot to offer, including a genuinely engaging combat system, moody visuals and a surprising amount of depth. The game utilises stamina as a central mechanic, requiring the player to carefully plan their movements and execute their attacks in short bursts, remaining aware at all times for sudden attacks, booby-traps and ambushes.

The emphasis on survival is especially reminiscent of Dark Souls, punishing carelessness without mercy and rewarding patience and planning. As a result, the game avoids becoming too frustrating, gratifying the player by trusting them to figure things out by themselves, providing only a handful of clues to aid them in their exploration.

There’s also a decent amount of background storytelling – which is a central component in the Souls series – and the game literally uses bonfires as checkpoints, so there’s that too.