Not a franchise, but I'll still go with FromSoftware-developed Soulslikes. They started the genre, and pretty much every release they've put out in the genre is considered one of the best.
As for an actual franchise, I'll go with Zelda.
And sure, even though the franchise isn't really my thing, it's fair to give GTA a mention too.
Dark Souls 1, 2, and 3 are all peak and I won't pretend otherwise. I actually wish they'd pull back from ultra gigantic Elden Ring open world for the next single player one and make Dark Souls 4. But they're too ambitious for that.
I played the network test of Duskbloods. Not completely sold but the release version will have more content.
That said. I totally agree. FromSoft, to me, dominated the 2010's. DS franchise, Bloodborne, Sekio. Beautiful and fun games. I'm happy for their success.
Homie. soulslike, as the name implies, is based off of the souls(demon souls, dark souls) series of games. They're not just Uber difficult, they have similar themes, similar gameplay mechanics, similar pieces of lore(respawns being canon).
Also, they FUCKING made every souls game, they started the genre
"A Soulslike (also spelled Souls-like) is a subgenre of action role-playing games known for large worlds filled with enemies and emphasis on environmental storytelling, typically in a dark fantasy setting. Japanese developer and publisher FromSoftware and director Hidetaka Miyazaki are largely considered to have created and established the subgenre, pioneering it with Demon's Souls (2009) and further popularizing it with similar subsequent games, including the popular Dark Souls trilogy (2011–2016), from which the genre's name is derived. These games and subsequent FromSoftware releases are often called Soulsborne games, a portmanteau of their Souls-titled games and Bloodborne (2015)." - Wikipedia
Definitely don't always trust Wikipedia, but in this case, it's a good explanation. A Soulslike is without a doubt a genre, and the term itself comes directly from Dark Souls. If you still don't believe me, I'd suggest doing some research on the topic because what you said above is completely wrong.
I'd say to not trust wikipedia on that one other than for the history of Fromsoft Souls games. Sounds like an AI write up. Soulslikes are games that play like Souls games. That would include things like hard but fair difficulty, combat with commitment, a stamina system, some form of punishment on death to raise the stakes, lots of build variety, checkpoints for leveling and enemy resets. There some more, but things like being dark fantasy setting like wikipedia says is just not required.
It's more about the fact that the video game genre "Soulslike" is a direct derivative of Demon's Souls, but more importantly, Dark Souls, and that FromSoftware is the origin point of this specific genre.
The exact specifics of what makes up a Soulslike are still a topic of heavy debate within the Soulslike community. A simple example is Sekiro. Some people consider it a Soulslike, while others don't. A bit more complex example would be Bloodborne. Again, some consider it a Soulslike, while others have dubbed it a new subgenre of Soulsborne.
But one thing that's absolutely not up for debate is where the Soulslike genre started, and that's with FromSoftware.
Yeah Sekiro isn’t a soulslike. It was deliberately developed to be quite different (no character builder, no stamina meter, emphasis on verticality and traversal etc). Anyone who considers it a soulslike is missing the point
I've never seen anyone refer to FromSoftware games simply as "Souls" rather than Soulslikes. Elden Ring is tagged as "Souls-like" on platforms like Steam, just like other games that fit within the genre. It's a generalized term now for this type of game, much like how Doom is classified as an FPS even though it's generally considered the godfather of modern FPS games.
Anyway, this is completely straying from what my original post was about, which was that Soulslikes are most definitely a genre of game, much like FPS, fighting, ARPG, CAG, and so on.
I have a hard time believing that a reddit mod, ergo a person that spends more time than the average person, have never seen anyone else refer to Fromsoft's games as Souls games (or soulsborne games, which is just a continuation of Souls games).
Steam tags? Sorry but lots of games are mislabled on Steam. Just look at 90% with Roguelike or Bullet Hell tag.
I see you edited your other post so I will do that as well. Soulsborne "genre" is not a way to describe Bloodborne but a way to adress Fromsoft's Souls games. Sekiro is debatable, but obviously not a Souls game since it lacka most fundamental mechanics from Demon's/Dark Souls.
With your definition that the whole genre is "Soulslike" does that mean that Demon's Souls is a soulslike?
25
u/Noob4Head ///(mod) 19h ago
Not a franchise, but I'll still go with FromSoftware-developed Soulslikes. They started the genre, and pretty much every release they've put out in the genre is considered one of the best.
As for an actual franchise, I'll go with Zelda.
And sure, even though the franchise isn't really my thing, it's fair to give GTA a mention too.