9 Best Dark Souls Games That AREN'T Dark Souls - Commenter's Edition

1. Steelrising

Steelrising’s surprises don’t stop at the way it runs its title together into one word. It’s an RPG actioner set during the French Revolution which seems like it might be the first non-dark fantasy game I’ll feature on this list except that King Louis’ army is made up of robots. So there you go.

The city of Paris is going through a bit of a ‘totally on fire’ problem and it is filled with powerful, agile, and deadly mechanical soldiers who are all prepped to stomp you into dust. But before you say ‘sacre bleu’, I apologise for that, not to worry as you are also a deadly mechanical soldier–an automaton in fact, designed to protect the queen.

As you’d now expect, all the iconic facets of Souls games are here; super mobile, tight combat, a sprawling world with plenty of secrets that rewards exploration, and the flexibility to choose between a range of attack methods and fighting styles to play your way. The fleshed out historical setting, engaging core gameplay loop, and challenging encounters make this a game that’s to put down even when it’s let down by its rough edges and poor optimisation.

The combat is flashy and visceral, and the electric sound design makes everything feel extra weighty and tactile.Beyond that, the game has some stunning albeit wild enemy designs that would be right at home in a Souls title.

If you were waiting this whole entry to hear what dumb name I’d give this one then let’s go with French Souls? I know that was bad so give me your better suggestions in that comment box. I clearly need them.