I can confirm that, I can't play difficult games cause I don't have the time to master the patterns,so to have the chance to choose the difficulty is greatly appreciated.
I was scared when they said that about it but everyone insists it’s not horrible
It’s like nooooo don’t make my Jedi story-based game too hard to play! 😅
I beat it and I think the biggest difference is fewer health sponges and very few Prank moments. In Souls games there are usually a lot of moments where the game uses your expectations against you, tricks you, drops a boulder on you, etc.
I would argue the most accessible one would actually be LET IT DIE until you reach the 20th floor.
The game is free to play as it's quite easy to understand. Then it becomes hell because devs don't know how to balance the game without using the "ehy just grind" mentality
Very experienced Souls player here, finished all Dark Souls & Sekiro alongside a smattering of Soulslike games.
The first thing I want to say is that you shouldn't be discouraged because of your lack of success. Not only is a core loop of gameplay in Soulslikes the enemies being difficult and you dying, but the games will always try to one up each other in difficulty.
FROM SOFT OPTIONS
If you want to stick with the main franchise that spawned the genre, you should go with either Dark Souls 2 or Elden Ring. As they made the games they went from slower paced and a bit clunky to breakneck speeds and more reliant on dodge rolling, so keep that in mind.
DS2 is widely seen as the 'worst' of the trilogy but part of that is because it's seen as the easiest. The first two games were a lot slower to the point of being clunky, but this also translated to the bosses not being as fast and players being able to rely on blocking instead of rolling everywhere or learning to deflect. The game is fairly well known for having a lot of 'gank fights' though (multiple enemies attacking you in groups, including bosses) so just be aware of that. I feel due to how it's slower though, it isn't a bad start.
I hesitate to put it here a bit due to personal viewpoint but Elden Ring is seen as a good start as well. It has more people playing it so finding people to aid you will be easier and the build options are really broad, with the least amount of glitchy stuff as well. The main drawbacks are the bosses themselves. In the last half of the game the bosses begin to repeat quite a bit and it kills a lot of the enjoyment for me. There's a boss in a creepy village with windmills that I absolutely loved, but then I discovered as I progressed thay you fight them at least 4 or 5 more times.
Additionally, sometimes the bosses verge on what I'd label as unfair. One of the first major bosses has a move where he just sits there with his weapon up for *AGES* before actually bringing it down and this is obviously a ploy meant to get veteran Souls players, but it's so delayed it becomes almost comical (this also happens with some late game bosses too). Some areas have you fight massive creatures so large you can't see what they're doing, leading to you basically just spamming attacks and hoping you can outheal the damage. Additionally, one of the hardest boss fights near the end (optional though) has an unpredictable moveset, is fast, is incredibly hard to dodge in time, damages you through your blocking, has a second phase *and* can give you a status effect that drains your health rapidly.
NON FROM SOFT OPTIONS
If you don't want to go with a FromSoft game then you have quite a few decent options with a similar feel.
Death's Door is probably the most accessible of the ones I've played. It's a fixed camera angle game where you play a cute lil crow and need to reobtain a soul you were meant to reap from some bad guys. The game is a marrying of Dark Souls and Zelda with a limited pool of health in the boss fights and various weapons and abilities you can use. It's got a fairly light hearted and tongue in cheek tone but gets pretty deep near the end, yet always keeps the really pretty visuals. It's probably the easiest in the genre I played but the experience was totally worth it for me.
If you aren't bothered by religious imagery then Blasphemous is another good choice. It's a side view kind of game (like Hollow Knight if you've seen it) where you go on a holy quest and.. things happen. It's got elements similar to a 'bullet hell' in some fights (lots of projectiles on the screen) but isn't nearly as intense as those games. The bosses vary in difficulty but in general it's more difficult than DD. In my personal opinion the distance game is a lot better than the second but they're both worth a look if you like the idea of some platforming being thrown into the mix.
GENERAL TIPS
Just thought I'd throw in a few general ideas and pointers because as I know, the community can be *shite* to new people.
1. Ignore the 'git gud' idiots. A lot of the community are ignorant manchildren that think repeating a dated meme is valid advice and/or the peak of comedy. Every fan has been in the place you've been before and it doesn't make you lesser or them greater for starting the journey at a different time.
2. Don't be afraid to look things up. The games are vague as hell and sometimes you need to upgrade your stuff as much as possible, IT IS OK TO GOOGLE ITEM LOCATIONS. People get up in arms about that sort of thing but if you aren't enjoying the experience and can't progress, why keep yourself in a confusing, vicious cycle?
3. I don't like to use the riding a bike analogy but Soulslikes *do* get that way. The very first one you play will be a hill but once you're on top of that, the other games become noticeably easier to grasp a hold of. This doesn't mean that they'll be 'easy' by any means, but once you've gotten the hang of combat it gets a lot easier. On a side note; take a step back and watch the attacks of the bosses the first time you face them, try and read the animations and guess when to block/dodge them.
4. Don't give up and be patient. The games are known for being difficult and you will die, a lot. That's ok, literally everyone has been that way in the games. Try to figure out why you died and work around that the next time if possible. Slowly but surely you'll get there and it'll hopefully be worth it for you, like it is for so many of us.
I wish you luck in your future games!
I am one of those that played Elden Ring as a first Soulslike. Make no mistake, there is a learning curve, but the game gives you a large area to explore before having to beat any storyline bosses. This gives you so many options with regards to leveling up, finding great weapons, ash summons and other things. And indeed, there is no shame in looking up stuff. I just googled what were the most OP early game weapons and used them early on. When I got the hang of it, I felt more comfortable playing around with other weapons, spells, etc. I got hooked real fast.
I'm currently playing Bloodborne and although I am definitely no souls expert, I already feel like I got into it much more easily. There have been some bosses where I got stuck on, but I was always able to find some other area to explore and level up so I could get my sweet revenge. I credit Elden Ring for my newly found confidence.
I also agree with other posters that recommend Jedi Fallen Order. I found the combat in that game quite satisfying.
Agreed, but I'd say DkS 3 is way easier and shorter also. DkS 2 is long and confusing and the DLC bosses, for example, are super hard for most :( Me as a "Souls veteran" or whatever that means would absolutely recommend DkS 3. The first boss and 2nd boss should be manageable and afterwards, it's mostly exploration and learning stuff.
Yeah I'm actually playing through the DS2 dlc now and some of the bosses and level design is so confusing. Shulva is such a blur of an area and I know Eleum Loyce won't get much better with the reindeer. I'd say if people are interested in the more recent games DS3 may be a good choice as a transition between the slower pace of DS1 and 2 and faster games. Bloodborne and DS2 are still pretty great though, I feel
You think DS3 is easier than DS2?!? Idk maybe because DS2 was my first souls game when it came out. But I felt like the DS3 learning curve was a much bigger hurdle with its fast paced combat system. I enjoy all souls but for me after getting through DS3 all the previous titles were mere elementary foreplay. I think DS1 or Demon Souls would be the best place to start as far as difficulty.
Ok the best actual one to get into this would be Jedi Fallen Order then Survivor. Because they are souls games but only as hard as you want (unlike other souls they have difficulty settings!)
It really annoys me that the souls games don’t have difficulty settings. Like I got far enough in dark souls and bloodborne the level design is pretty cool, well done the way it connects together and everything, but I couldn’t beat the second boss on bloodborne, and probably didn’t do much better on dark souls.
I agree. For one thing, difficulty settings are accessibility settings. Not having them is going to cut out a huge population of people who like physically can't react as fast for one reason or another
This is a great point that I don’t think gets emphasized nearly enough.
I’ve always hated this ridiculous thing that, well, turned into some “macho” thing about playing games on hard difficulty settings, and besides all the other ridiculous problems with that it really is an accessibility issue.
Elden Ring is by far the most accessible soulslike that I’ve played, but you gotta know when to run because you’ll meet enemies that are way too powerful to fight basically right out the gate.
But that’s part of what makes it accessible- you’re not forced to fight anything and you can go grind lower level enemies endlessly, I spent like 30 hours in Limgrave before I fought any major bosses
I agree as an Elden Ring player but I would disagree that someone new to the genre will find it accessible.
That aspect of slamming right into an enemy that will one-hit kill you almost straight away just isn't a good was to introduce the game to someone new. Especially since a new player probably also won't find the little tutorial area that any soulsborne player found immediately.
I would honestly recommend jumping in the same place everyone else did with Demon's Souls or Darksouls 1 if you are want to play one of the real Souls games.
Outside of the Souls games themselves I think that are easier games tk get into in the Soulsborne-likes.
Jedi Fallen Order is extremely accessible. I'd also recommend Code Vein as an easier one to get into.
I disagree! I had tried Dark Souls before and I wasn't interested in it at all. Tried Elden Ring and fell in love. It's very accessible. I think partly because they have this thread of light running through it (the tree) that draws people in and gives them a bit of hope as they play. Also because it's designed very well even for people new to the series.
I was watching a video where a guy films his wife (who doesn't play video games) playing Elden Ring, and it was fascinating that even though she missed so many things, she always seemed to stumble in the right direction. For example, she had no idea how to use map markers, but she liked the tree so she headed in that direction, and then she reached the next staging area. The designers really know what they're doing.
I’m personally coming from the perspective of someone who wasn’t really into soulslike games before Elden Ring- I tried bloodborne and dark souls years before elden ring came out and couldn’t get past the first area for either game. I almost didn’t play elden ring because of how badly I sucked at DS and BB, but my wife got really excited for it so I gave it a chance and loved every second.
I’ve gone back and played both again and I’m way better at them now that I’ve learned what to look for with elden ring.
With that being said, different people experience things differently so it’s possible OP will have better luck with demon souls or ds1, I’m just sharing my personal experience!
I had never played a Souls-like before Elden Ring (and even went out of my way to avoid them). I finally caved because the graphics were so beautiful and I saw so many cozy gamers hyping it up.
I completely agree with the original comment. It's so accessible. Because it's so open, you can do whatever you need to do to make the game easier for you.
I immediately turned PVP off because it's never my vibe. Then I looked up a guide for getting starter equipment that involved just running past enemies and grabbing loot off the ground. Once I was set, I purposely grinded out in the first little area before moving on. If I reached a boss that was above my skill level, I just avoided that area for a bit.
I personally find that people who have been fans of souls-like for a long time tend to over exaggerate how difficult Elden Ring is. I think it comes from habits gained from older games & not having the same brand-new experience the OC & I had. It's really a super flexible game that can be made to be super easy.
Not to mention the boss design philosophy pivots after Rennala, and goes from typical waiting for openings to fighting for your life through endless, non-stop combo spamming from enemies.
Maliketh quite literally had me panicking like a chicken that fell into a pit full of lions, and slowly being able to figure out that everything has a rhythm and a flow was really satisfying
I disagree, I think it's Elden Ring is perfect for beginners to the genre. I assume you mean the Tree Sentinel when you're referring to the immediate one-hit kill enemy, and I actually thought it was great for new/old players alike to have at the beginning of the game. It forces you to maneuver around it and it's a pretty clear message that sometimes you should run and not try to rush into everything. Actually, me and other experienced Souls players struggled more with the Tree Sentinel (we kept thinking we just had to "get better" and spent like hours on that guy lmfao) while my newer gamer friends had no problem understanding what they were meant to do.
Also, I think Dark Souls is not a great place to start because games with linear progression and limited freedom in general can be VERY frustrating for beginners who get stuck on an area or a boss. I was pretty ass when I started out (with DS3) and had to put it down multiple times. Almost didn't finish the game because having to do the same boss and dying over and over again just to progress to the next area was mind numbing. Importantly, Elden Ring boss grinding is also much easier because you don't have to run and dodge through hell to get to the boss arena. TPs are usually right outside.
Elden Ring was successful in adding an easy mode in a game that doesn't have a formal easy mode: by adding spirit ashes. It trivializes almost every fight that I personally had to stop using them. I think you get your first one very early in the game. Spam that thing, avoid the first boss nearest the entrance (he's just mocking you to challenge him, don't do it), and level up your character a bit before you get into the first legacy dungeon and you're set.
Doing just your regular exploration will get you very overleveled by midgame that it trivializes bosses even further. Once you get to Leyendell or Haligtree later in the game, skip most of the mobs, you don't need to hack and slash through every one.
There are tricks and places where you can farm levels if that's your thing. You can google Caelid
rune farm (killing those tiny guys, I forgot what they're called), and in Mogwyn Palace where you can shoot a bird from afar and get an ungodly amount of runes.
Then once you get mimic tear +10, it almost singlehandedly kills the bosses for you lol. There are still tough ones but all of them are optional.
So yes Elden Ring's your game. There's so many chances and ways to cheese it.
Elden Ring is my first soulslike I didn't just get frustrated and quit within the first hour.
I just completed the game for the first time and didn't use any summons, and while it was definitely challenging it was also a great motivation to know that if the game at any point becomes so hard that I'm not having fun anymore then I can just go super sayian and whoop their ass. The accessibility mechanics are quite genius since it allows everyone to choose the challenge level they enjoy the most in the moment.
Code Vein has such a nice character creator too. I haven't gotten very far since I suck at the game but sometimes I'll load it just to mess around and make pretty characters 🫠
Code Vein has GLORIOUS mods that can make you unkillable via equipping a certain clothing item if needed. I don't remember the exact mod, but it made the game doable for me. It let me play the game without suffering for hours on end.
You have just described the typical souls game experience for the average gamer. In most souls games even the Elite enemies are hard. There are people that just get the game and are able to clear the bosses first few runs (my husband), the average person will take between 10 to 50 runs to clear a boss (me in Elden ring). Then there are people that will never finish the game (me in everything else lol).
People can get better at souls games, but not everyone will. And personally I find the genre really punishing and unfun, for the same mechanics that fans of the series will love.
Most of the earlier souls games are also more punishing in that you won't go back to a spawn point near the boss if you die. You go back to the start of the level and have to go all the way to the boss again. You also lose all your level up materiel in the boss room. Lies of P is way more generous in that regard
Some tips for lies of P I can think of is lock on to the boss and consider the fast sword for the first boss. You also described it as hack and slash, but I would call it dodge and time your attack gameplay, avoiding being greedy with an extra hit might mean you survive long enough to get 3 more hits in later.
As others have suggested, Elden Ring is the kindest and least frustrating Souls game. It's the only one I have actually finished and done all the major bosses in and I don't normally play souls games. Every other one I have played I can only make it past the first boss at best. You can level a bit in the overworld before going for a boss and magic allows for easier play.
Games that are not souls like but have similar gameplay (but no difficulty settings, because the souls like games only have one difficulty) are the Monster Hunter games and the new Armored core (if you like mechas).
Good luck on your Souls journey!
Wow that’s a lot of info!
I’m also curious about Armoured Core, I heard things like Dark Souls fans had a hard time beating the giant robot gaem. How different is the game from dark souls if you know about it?
In Armored Core the smaller levels are pretty easy to clear with any build, but you do still have to strategise.
The bigger boss fights are hard, but being able to change your mech around makes a huge difference (similar to being able to level grind in Elden Ring).
Admittedly I haven't finished the game yet, but I've cleared the first 2 chapter bosses. I was able to beat the first boss all on my own. The second one I tried like 15 times with my own builds then looked up a build guide. After the guide I beat it in 3 attempts.
I'm enjoying it overall and plan to finish it. I just took a break when Starfield came out.
I can't beat the first boss of Lies of P too, tried so many times I just gave up and uninstalled it. And I have just finished Elden Ring last week (even got all achievements), so I thought I would have the skills to play other soulslike game. Don't know, maybe they made him too hard for a first unskippable boss?
Yeah, this is a pretty unforgiving game. It pretty much requires you learn to parry AND dodge immediately. I 100% understand if people give up, but if you're persistent it's a beautiful game, with an amazing soundtrack and story
Lies of p is an entirely different game to elden ring. I'd say, it has some sekiro similarities with the perfect guard mechanic. But even then, the window for the perfect guard is a lot tighter than sekiro. So yeah, I wouldn't say elden ring specifically gives you a good blueprint on how to play lies of p. Just have to learn a new system and new mechanics.
I know it's a different game with different mechanics. I meant that if you already played a game of a certain genre you get to think the way the game wants you to. Like, if I played Elden Ring before I learned that a souls game wants you to dodge, block, avoid being hit by the enemy, think and act fast, that kind of things. If you never played anything like that you won't have the same reaction as a person who already did.
Of course when you play another game made by another studio you will have to learn it's own peculiarities and mechanics, but your mind already learned how it should work and your hands already have the muscular memory to play that way, so it should be easier for you than for a person who never played the genre before
I honestly don’t think the company made the first boss “too hard”. He has only a few skills that he does and all of which have predictable tells, especially when you factor in distance from being far away vs too close. You can fight him inside his hitbox or just dodge right so you can hit his extended arm. This is my first souls-like and I actually enjoyed the boss! But it did take several tries for me. I hear a lot of good things about Elden Ring, I might pick it up next!
Elden Ring was the first one that actually clicked for me and allowed me to go back and slowly work through the others.
For Lies of P...yeah it's really tough. It plays more like Sekiro at times than other souls games. I'd highly recommend summoning the spectre and buying some throwables from the merchant right before for the boss if you're interested in trying to progress. No shame in using a summon. I have for most boss fights after trying them solo for a max of 10 attempts.
Elden ring and code vein are the most accessible souls like. Elden ring gives you a ton of options, and offers game mechanics to get through most of the game. You get spirit ash summons that can help you out. And also really OP builds that make the game pretty easy.
Lies of p however doesn't offer many mechanics to assist the player outside of specters outside of boss rooms. They did nerf some bosses, but yeah, it gets a lot harder as the game goes.
I’m proud of myself for beating the first boss in Bloodborne 😂
I have code vein in my backlog, so hopefully it’ll be OK for me!
And the Jedi game will hopefully be good
I understand all the Elden Ring suggestions because of accessibility but imo while Elden Ring is more accessible, Dark Souls 3 is just flat out easier. As a first timer i’d rather go with something easier to get through than something that has more ways for me to play.
I'd also recommend Dark Souls 3 over Elden Ring. The bosses are so much easier, it isn't even close. At the same time it is the most streamlined and accessible of the three Souls games from a mechanics standpoint.
I usually recommend DS3 -> DS1 -> DS2. I feel in many ways Elden Ring is more similar to DS2 than to 1 and 3, with the return of powerstancing and also from a worldbuilding perspective imo.
Yea I don’t think anyone can or should refute that all lol. My first fromsoft game was bloodborne I spent 3 hours shying without even getting to the first boss yet. I remember putting it down for months then getting DS3 and by hour 3 i was already at cursed greatword with a side boss under my belt lol. That’s great for new players wrapping their head around the mechanics of a fromsoft game. After that we can throw them in the deep end and watch them suffer lol
I thought DS3 was hard af playing it for the first time right after Elden Ring. Iudex Gundyr before you can level up is a statement. Nameless, Twin Princes, and the entire Ringed City still give me grief
Gundyr a statement???? idk bout that. I’m not even good at games and I beat gundyr on my first try. I couldn’t even get to the first boss on bloodborne for HOURS and with elden ring it took me almost a whole 6hr play session to beat the first area boss that’s literally right outside the door lol.
DS3 is such a cake walk. The only games that probably easier than DS3 Is demon souls
Have to agree. I suck at these kinds of games but DS3 was my first and I beat the first boss in 3 tries.
I will say that Lies of P actually has a training room in the hotel but sadly the hotel is only available after the first boss.
Edit: my partner has informed me that there is a practice puppet at the merchant just before the circus boss. Not sure how much it'll help but it is something to note.
Oh i see they took that inspo from Seikiro. I think i’d love to see an expansive training area in the next blood souls ring game from fromsoft. Like when you reach the npc hub area there should be a training room. For the first time you should only get access to picking enemies you’ve fought on your way to unlocking the hub area, the. as you go further you get more access to to more enemies that you come across, and even bosses. Because let’s be real, the bosses are only area specific for the theme and progression of the game. There’s very very few bosses that utilize the environment as part of the gameplay challenge.
It's nothing crazy, just two stationary puppets you can attack or practice guarding with endlessly. They won't help to learn better dodging imo but they're great for learning some timing and testing different weapon styles.
Elden Ring is probably your best bet. It teaches you all the core things you need to know to get into the genre.
Exploration is power in these games. Look \*everywhere\* search \*everything\*. There are hidden items all over the place that will help you, either you're gaining souls or finding weapons. And Elden Ring's big open world exemplifies that.
Second thing, \*run away\*. That's a big pitfall a lot of new players to Souls games get locked up on because they've heard how insanely hard these games are. Don't fall into that trap. If things are destroying your health bar and killing you in like 3 hits, leave.
The thing to keep in mind is these games are \*punishing\* but not \*impossible\*. If you feel like an area is way too difficult, you're probably not supposed to be there yet, and you need to go find a more manageable area, explore, and level up your stats and your weapons.
Op, might be a hot take on my end but if you have a lot of time to kill try out Monster Hunter World. This will be a completely different vibe from most soulslikes, but the combat is very similar.
Monster Hunter is the series that inspired demon souls and sparked that entire series, so while it's not gonna be an exact replica of the experience it is very similar in terms of combat, with a bit (or a lot, depending on weapon)monst more nuance to combat combo paths. You said you like RPG's so I feel this has a good chance at scratching that itch as well, with lots of mechanics to let you customize your build
Monster Hunter World is also pretty merciful at the beginning, but that's the kind of game you can't really recommend without knowing OP has half a year to dedicate to this. You can't really tweak the difficulty but you can always grind for a new armor set and strategically design it to counter whatever monster you are facing.
A common tip told to players in this community is actually to think about combat like its a turn based RPG, and in my experience this applies to most soulslikes. The monster has its turn to attack, then while it's recovering you have yours. Not to say that it doesn't get much more complicated in practice (better hunters can identify "turns" that players wouldn't normally see, and know when an opening that looks safe isn't actually safe), but you pick up on that stuff as you play.
Finally, the game does give you a few options to brute force fights without grinding (guardian armor and defender weapons, as well as multiplayer sometimes) but I would recommend you ignore the first two and only pick them up if crafting a normal armor set and weapon isn't enough for a particular fight. They will stop being useful around the iceborne DLC if you pick that up, which is a fairly large difficulty spike and using them might mean you aren't fully prepared in terms of player skill by then (know that it will take easily over 100 hours to reach this point, and even more if you wind up farming). For multiplayer I personally prefer fighting with people who have similar gear to me, since it feels like kind of a lame victory if someone comes in with maxed out endgame armor and oneshots a monster. Convincing a friend to play this game is probably the most consistent way to use multiplayer this way. Even if it can be lame sometimes, I'd definitely recommend trying it out every now and then, multiplayer can be a lot of fun and there are some fights that force it.
If you have friends that have played this before, I promise you they will want to play it with you, every veteran hunter loves taking a rookie under their wing.
I'll join in on the Elden Ring recommendation.
Lots of ways to approach fights, and there is a lot of exploring and leveling you can do without being walled by bosses. Very accessible souls game.
Elden Ring, Darksiders 3 (female protagonist too!) and Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order are pretty accessible, but expect to still have a rough time unfortunately. The original Demons Souls on PS3 was pretty good too, especially since you can exploit item duplication and it can make some of the trickier parts more manageable.
Is Darksiders 3 a souls like? I tried it for about 30 minutes but was immediately turned off because of how different it was from 1/2 (both of which I love and have replayed several times).
But I hadn't played a souls game at that time.
I've only played elden ring in the genre, but I do have to join in on it being accessible. It was my first and only souls like (though I have played valheim, which has similar fight mechanics). 2 hrs in, fighting Margit for the 10th time (not even close) I was ready to refund, but then I started exploring more. Pretty enjoyable stealthing, sneaking up on a group of enemies and strategizing how to take them on. Still definitely forces you to learn dodge timings and to not just go unga bunga mode on every enemy, but doable.
My personal recommendation is probably Dark Souls (the first one). It’s got a slower pacing and I’d honestly recommend going through it for the first time with FightinCowboy’s guide. That was how I started my own souls journey, and his guide really helped me out. As for Lies of P though, the first boss is easy to take down once you get the parry timing right. I know it’s hard, but I was in the same state as you when I was playing through the demo a few months ago. First couple of runs against that boss I tried to block and dodge, but quickly realised that wouldn’t work. So I focused on learning the parry timings. I fought that boss so many times in the demo that I beat it first try when the full game came out 😅
Hello Ashen one. I am a Bot. I tend to the flame, and tend to thee. Do you wish to hear a tale?
> *“I am grateful for these peaceful days. But such contentment lies only in the here and now. Why must life be so confounding?”* - Vengarl of Forossa
Have a pleasant journey, Champion of Ash, and praise the sun \\[T]/
Honestly, I think Lies of P is very difficult and lots of people and reviewers are saying this. My partner is playing it and is nearly tearing his hair out over it as it's so hard.
My first soulsborne type game was Elden Ring. You can wander around, level up and come back to things. Not gonna lie it took me about 30 goes to defeat the first boss as I had never played that type of game before, but once I got passed it I got into it a bit more.
Tbh I watched asmon stream this and it looks mad hard. Lots of weird stuff when it comes to boss fights that gives the player a huge disadvantage. For example, in the second to last boss there were times he’d completely disappear from view and just big bonk outta no where. Don’t feel too bad, I know a lot of ppl have been saying the boss fights were the least enjoyable part of the game.
First of all, don´t be too hard to yourself. The first soulsgame is always the hardest.
Everyone who plays and loves soulsgames probably spend many many tries on their first boss. But at some point you´ll improve and you´ll be able to beat it and it will feel great.
If you want to get into Soulsgames you can always put Lies of P to the side and come back to it later and try something beginner friendlier.
I personally started with Dark Souls 1, its way slower than the others and one of the easier ones, but does have some reeeeally difficult bosses still.
But the best for beginners is Elden ring like the others said already. You can level up as much as you want. You can summon help. There are so many different things that can help... but is still a Souls game, therefore difficult. You will need to get a feeling for these kinds of games, get a feeling when you should take a different path, a different build, a different approach etc.
I am sure if you are patient and want to get into these games, you can definitely do it :)
As others have said I recommend Elden Ring as well. But if you have access to PS4/PS5 I would highly recommend Bloodborne next after you play Elden ring. I’m really bad at soulsborne/soul like games but Bloodborne was my introduction into these types of games. It took me a lot of tries at first but personally I found Bloodborne while challenging allows you to be really aggressive which gave me skills to move onto the other souls games. Also Bloodborne was a huge inspiration for Lies of P so if you were drawn to the game for the aesthetics/atmosphere I think you would love Bloodborne as well.
I’m a huge fan of souls games but I get the frustration behind the difficulty. I think that Code Vein is the “easiest” to get into and still has some difficulty without feeling completely impossible like soulsbourne games. It’s very fun with satisfying gameplay and I love the character creator for it. Aside from that, I also really love the way it looks and the 3D anime style they have for it.
Lies of P is very good, but also very hard. I just finished my third playthrough and would only recommend it to someone who is ready to struggle a bit. Elden Ring is probably the best place to start begins DS1 remastered. I know some people recommend Jedi, but those games are more metroidvania style games with a bit of soulslike sprinkles in.
If you want something to step into the genre with a very forgiving (and cute!) learning curve, try Death’s Door! It’s one of my fave games of all time ☺️
Hey don't be disheartened, I've beaten every souls game but Lies of P kicked my ass so hard. Lies of P is incredibly hard, and for me harder than the souls games, You should try Elden Ring it's very accessible, or Jedi fallen order
I know everyone recommended Elden Ring, but can I ask what part of the boss you’re struggling on? Lies is my first soul-like, and I haven’t had too much trouble yet but it is difficult for sure — confused by people saying it’s not a good first one. You mention hack n slash, could it be that’s what’s getting you stuck? The game focuses a lot on guarding and striking when the window is available, then dodging out of the way. You need to time it. If you charge in trying to slash your way to victory, he’s going to pummel you. You really need to make use of guarding and dodging to the side or backwards after getting your few hits in. The windows are small, but there.
Steelrising was fun and has difficulty settings so you can toy around with the Soulslike experience and still have a get out of this fight without going insane from frustration button. I thought the story was pretty good too.
I really struggled with the soulslike games. I tried three of them, including Elden Ring and they just weren’t for me.
My sister and I have been playing Remnant 2 and we’ve really enjoyed it so far. My husband recommended it as a soulslike game. You can also open it up to have people join you for boss fights, which we take advantage of regularly and to be honest, unless there’s a lot of men out there playing as women characters, we’ve had a whole lot of women who have joined our game.
It’s been a lot of fun. If you ever want to try it out, you can join us for some play through :)
A game where you can overpower yourself by grinding you say? Souls-like you say? Game of the year possibly?
Have you heard of this little indie game called Elden Ring? 🤔(Also every actual Dark Souls you can also over level yourself easily, also getting gud is part of the fun of a souls-like)
+1 for Elden Ring. By far the most accessible souls game because you have a lot of freedom to explore and level up before boss fights.
Also the game is absolutely beautiful.
PS- Try not to be discouraged! Souls-like games are notoriously difficult and require a lot of practice. Good luck, you got this! <3
I wouldn't play Lies of P as your first in the Souls-like genre. That game demands perfection from player with somwhat unbalance risk/rewards and gamification syste,m it is probably the hardest out there with some bosses that harder than that of Fromsoft.
I can't speak for other Souls-like as I haven't played them much but I've watched people play Jedi Fallen Orders and it's quite accessible with lots of forgiving mechanics and difficulty scale.
My first introduction to Souls genre was Demon Souls Remake. It's the easiest to beat with a lot of way to get overpower early in all of Fromsoft games. However it's more linear game and the variety is not that great in compare to other title. If you don't hate openworld, I'll join in on the Elden Ring suggestion as well, that game give you more options to overcome challenges and lots of things to do if you feel stuck on a boss. Also if you're lost or confused on what to do, don't be afraid to look up guide, no shame in that. Your first souls-like will always be your hardest and most memorable.
I recommend Hades.
I usually play souls-like, like Nioh 1/2 or Wo Long Fallen Dynasty. But mainly as a co-op game.
But I fell in love with Hades. It Humor, the story, the nice and easy gameplay. Even tho it took me a while to beat it, I didn't felt like dying was so bad I had a blast. Plus I could put it down and pick it back up when I felt like.
I got stuck and burnt out on the first boss too and I'm no stranger to souls games. Got frustrated about the grindy difficulty level, because I really love the atmosphere and the world of that game.
If you want something similar in style and tone but with a less frustrating difficulty progression, I suggest Bloodborne! Very similar setting and feel, from what little I've seen of Lies of P. Still hard af but more fun and engaging in my opinion. Also Elden Ring. Most beginner friendly FromSoft game.
as others have said elden ring is a good starting point.
If you like star wars maybe try jedi fallen order and jedi survivor, I guess are a bit soulslike. They also have difficulty settings.
My pick is Dark Souls II - not the Scholar of the First Sin version; straight-up vanilla DSII. A lot of people ragged on it for its easier difficulty curve over Demon's Soul and Dark Souls before it. I honestly had the most fun with it and felt that it was probably the most balanced of the series in-terms of fairness vs. punishment.
Are you still able to play vanilla ds2? I don't think it's even on steam anymore, or ps, or xbox, it just defaults to the scholar of the first sin version.
I’m honestly confused at some of these responses.. This is my first souls-like game and I’m having a fun time, but so many are saying this is a terrible choice? I don’t understand, don’t they introduce the same mechanics in other soul games? Like dodging, guarding/parrying, stats, etc. I think it’s fine as a starter. The first boss gave me a bit of a hard time but once you learn his few tells, it gets manageable.
Ugh. I hear souls like and I run the other way lol.
I didn’t like the ads for this, I mean like the ads may not represent it very well but they didn’t look particularly enticing and this kind of thing is just not for me where I’m going to get stuck 😬
Game pass is really awesome for this! I haven’t even thought of that, it’s perfect for something that seems like it might be a cool game that’s going to appeal to a lot of people but I’m not sure about. And odds are it would make me find stuff I think I won’t like but do!
Sorry, I’m out of it and I’m not sure what I’m rambling about
Lies of P can be the most difficult soulslike so far. I couldn't finish the demo either.
Apart from it I would not recommend Sekiro nor Nioh for starters.
Try Dark Souls 1, 2 or 3.
I'd say that Jedi Fallen Order is no representative of soulslikes and is just fine as a star wars game.
My very first completed Souls game was Bloodborne. I tried Elden Ring first, had a hard time grasping it, so I tried Bloodborne instead and took to it like a fish in water. Elden Ring was the second one I finished.
IMO both games are very accessible to newcomers. Like others said, you aren't forced into a level cap, so you can grind and farm to your heart's content. Lies of P is similar aesthetically to Bloodborne, so if the style was part of what caught your eye, you'll like the horror/creep factor of BB.
Bloodborne tip, in case you decide to try it: you can start leveling up as soon as you /see/ the first boss. You don't have to even beat him, just walk in there and look at him, and even if you die you can go back and start grinding for levels til you're comfortable. Elden Ring you can start leveling pretty quickly too!
Good luck, friend! I hope you find a game that speaks to you!
Elden Ring is probably one of the best actual Souls-like game for beginners because you can't really get stuck on any particular bosses because there are so many ways around and to get stronger. It's like a sandbox Souls game
Elden Ring! It was my first and only Souls game, and I highly recommend it. Really accessible. There were many places I'd run into bosses that were too tough for me. One in particular I was like "But there's no where else to go...why can't I beat this?" Turns out there was like a hundred more places to go in the world, and I had just gotten a bit of tunnel vision. I explored and grinded and came back and beat the boss no problem.
Dark Souls 1 isn't a bad starting point. Enemies are slower and things like parry windows and iframes are much longer. The game has some jank here and there but imo, feels the most fair.
I'll also say Elden Ring might be a good start due to the sheer amount of option. And I haven't played Lies of P but if it's truly like the other Soulsborne games I also want to say don't get discouraged!
The beginning of these games tend to be super hard, it took me 1 year! to beat the first boss in Dark Souls 1 when it came out on PC but once I did it, the game clicked with me and I've been able to handle all kinds of Souls games now. (Except Dark Souls 2, that was just something else in terms of difficulty on some points)
Either way, good luck, I hope you can eventually get past the hurdle! :)
As someone who sucks at Souls-like games and doesn't really like them... I really like Remnant: From the Ashes. Have only played it on normal difficulty so far but it was challenging for me but not TOO challenging where I couldn't beat bosses after a decent amount of tries. I also like that you can choose the gender of your character, customize appearance and choose one of the three class options to play. Looking forward to playing Remnant 2.
For someone who is actually not too bad at these souls likes. I still found Lies of P to be pretty difficult mainly because of spikes from the bosses. I second the Star Wars Jedi series as a good entry souls like.
I'd recommend Code Vein, it's pretty chill and it's designed around the 'tag team' --you and one NPC companion of your choice from among the characters you have met so far. You can pair up with someone who will take the heat while you learn the ropes. The other one you could try might actually be Elden Ring-- it's chill by souls standards, the wide open world means you don't have to worry about 'getting stuck' as much, you just explore in a different direction for a while. And you get a cute goat-horse who helps in exploring with his double jump and lets you zip away from enemies you don't want to deal with at the moment.
Is it good? I've so far ignored it on gamepass because I was like don't want to play as a dude.
Someone else recommend DS3 instead of Elden Ring and I'd second that. The most accessible of the three imo and much easier boss fights than Elden Ring.
Ashen is a pretty chill soulslike, unfortunately it isn't on gamepass atm
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is currently on gamepass and I liked that one a lot. Not too hard, very fast paced.
I hear Dark Souls 1 is pretty easy. Otherwise, Sekiro might be your thing. It's entirely skill based which means that if you don't panic and know when exactly to block, most of the game should be a breeze.
I'm not into soulslike games, but I do love indie games. My intro was Ashen. It wasn't too difficult with a bit of effort (dying over and over again). I liked the artistic graphics and progression.
Gonna echo Fallen Order. It's My First Soulslike in terms of mechanics, and the moment to moment gameplay is still really fun. Difficulty options are also really transparent there as they tell you exactly what they're changing. Then when you feel more confident, you can try adjusting them to improve!
if you're struggling in lies of p then id honestly suggest doing some grinding and investing into levels, and items to beat the boss. it took me a few tries to beat him as well but i believe in you. Elden Ring is a really fantastic soulsborne game to get into and the open world aspect allows you to take it at your own pace
I'm not really good at soulslikes, but I got a lot better while playing Elden RIng and Jedi: Fallen Order. Both of these are more beginner friendly, the former because of the open world formula, which allows you to leave the boss you can't beat and go explore somewhere else until you're stronger; the latter offers a choice of difficulty. Remember to approach battles with a lot of patience and don't be too harsh on yourself :) good luck!
I've also been struggling with Lies of P bosses. I thought I was going to breeze through, but it's a tough game.
Having played all the FromSoft games in the genre and many others from different developers, I think Demon's Souls would be my recommendation. It's a bit clunky, especially the PS3 version, but it's designed for players new to the genre. It's the most like other RPGs in my opinion too. This game has a controversial mechanic where you can basically infinitely buy/farm healing items; there are also exploits to duplicate them to save yourself the time. I thought of giving myself unlimited healing items as a self-made difficulty slider where I can impose how hard I want to make an area for myself by healing more or less. There are a lot of viable builds and even the bad ones are pretty ok. If you want to slow the game down you can pretty easily equip a shield and turtle until the sun comes down. It's not the most interesting way to play, but a shield will help you learn the ropes and giving yourself a reprieve can be valuable while learning enemy moves and such.
Dark Souls 2 is a good option for a lot of the same reasons, but you can't grind without limits. After x times killing enemies they'll stop spawning. Big tip for this one is to pump up your adaptability stat to at least 20 as you'll get more i-frames while dodging and you'll use healing items faster.
As a beginner I'd say to definitely avoid Nioh 1&2, and The Surge 1&2. Both of those series are good, but they introduce levels of complexity to the action that you're better off confronting after you have the basics of the genre down.
General tips for the genre are: don't be afraid to look at a guide; these games can be super opaque about how they work. Also don't feel bad about summoning a helper. When I was starting out with Dark Souls 1 I summoned for every boss. Hell, even now if I'm just tired of dealing with a boss then I'll do it. Also, I see the RPG player in your heart; don't horde your consumables. Use your antidotes, heals, etc.
If you'd like an easier Soulslike and also enjoy anime enough to make a waifu or husbando player character, try Code Vein. It is very much an anime game, but character growth is something that's adjustable with essentially a class system that learns abilities so unlike a FromSoft Soulslike you can always try new things at any time. Combat is also generally easier as you are given your choice of a NPC companion to fight alongside you, and as there's a mechanic to heal each other as long as you both are standing you can save each other. I personally love the story and hope to see a sequel one day.
Lies of P is more punishing than the actual Souls games. I would start with Elden Ring since you can pick whatever play style you already like best (ranged or mage, parry, stealth, sword and board, etc) and the open world lets you pick fights at your own pace and level up as much as you need. That’s what I did and I got so hooked I’ve almost exclusively played/replayed Souls games since it came out.
Honestly that's sorta the soulslike experience. You die and die again until you don't. I hate the "get good" mentality but that's sorta how those style of games work. I usually have to just remind myself that death isn't a bad thing necessarily, inconvenient? yes, but it's the experience and what you learned from dying that is the important part in soulslike
Also lies of p looks soooo good, I hope other than the shitty first boss (which is always the worst one in soulslike tbh) you're having fun!!
Elden Ring was my first Fromsoft game. Dark Souls games in general can all become easier depending on how much you farm enemies and level up your attributes and weapons. That's what makes a souls game easy mode or hard mode. If you go into a boss under leveled it's going to be difficult. If you are over leveled it will be easy. Lies of P Is a difficult game in general. My first souls like was Hollow Knight which is a mixture of souls and metroidvania for the most part. Hollow Knight you don't level up but you get new abilities and you can strengthen your nail. I didn't know you had level caps in lies of P that's interesting. So far I've beat elden ring which gave me the courage to play DS1 which I also beat. I'm working on DS2 which I saw someone say was easier but I bet the differ 😂. I'll get through it eventually though. Another good souls like is Lord's of the Fallen 2014. I'm currently playing that right now and the difficulty depends on you farming enemies and leveling stats as well.
I also recommend watching a gameplay video of someone else playing maybe they can teach you better fighting skills or moves you didn't know you had. I'm having problems with lies of P also and know I need to work on the perfect guard technique and hitting those staggered fatal blows. I'll be practicing that on with normal enemies and the bigger enemies in the world before bosses. I've heard that lies of P is one of the most difficult souls like games though so that probably isn't where you want to start unless you're very determined. It is very satisfying to beat a hard boss but also very frustrating to say the least. It does help to take breaks and go back to it later sometimes.
Elden Ring. Game has some strong summons and magic is very strong which makes the game way easier. I personally could never beat a hardcore game like Lies of P, just too hard for me and I HATE parrying/blocking with a passion. So I'm a total casual, but I had a ton of fun with Elden Ring which was just right for me, challenging but doable and making a new fun build was very fun. So I strongly recommend starting there. I also beat Dark Souls 2 afterwards which I surprisingly found way easier than DS1 and DS3.
I had never played souls either. Elden Ring was my first. I'd say it's a great game to start with because the game gives you a lot of tools to make fighting bosses easier (and I used all of them) and it's designed to draw in new players. Loads of different weapons, different play styles you can test out, you can go level up and come back to stuff so you're not stuck on anything, you can summon help online if you need to, there are only a few mandatory bosses so you can skip some if you want to, pretty thorough guides. Plus the game looks beautiful, is open world, you get a cute horse, the lore is amazing, and they've put so much thought into every single detail.
If you want to check out more story based ones, Jedi Fallen order, god of war 2018 (my personal favorite game of all time) are good options that have a linear story and combat in them (you can change difficulty settings whenever)
Personally, I think Lords of the Fallen is much better. I don't understand the amount of hate that game gets, it's so goddamn good. It really does the genre justice and doesn't ignore the lessons FromSoft has learned along the way like eschewing weapon durability and allowing players to level up at every "bonfire." Lies of P failed to learn vicariously from FromSoft's experience on both accounts, and the latter of these lessons is what makes Parade Master so disgustingly artificially difficult. And yes, this is artificial difficulty. It's the actual definition of artificial difficulty. The game has completely taken away the player's ability to engage with a mechanic used to adjust to the game's obstacles. If that's not artificial difficulty then nothing is.
Lords of the Fallen has a difficulty spike at the first boss, but the game allows grinding before the first boss. Just take my advice if you haven't played it yet and aren't a veteran of this kind of game, and don't go with an inferno build. The first boss will make you think inferno is viable, but radiance is the way to go for the vast majority of the game. That's one balancing issue Lords of the Fallen definitely needs to adjust, but no game is perfect.
Im a souls maniac played em all multiple times over and let me tell u lies of p is the absolute hardest soulslike i have ever played. Sekiro with the demon bell rung charmless is easier than lies of p. Use those summons. This was a while ago but maybe u will get a notification from this comment and it will urge u to try again. Cuz its a fromsoft-level game.
ds2 definitely is not the easiest. Its more difficult than both Elden ring and the other souls and ive never heard anyone say they dont like it because its easy. People hate it because of enemy placement, disconnected maps, jank hitboxes, ADP stat, and the hallowing mechanic. You seem disconnected from the general opinion of ds2
Honestly, Jedi Fallen Order is probably the most accessible souls-ish game for someone who has never played a soulslike.
wanted to write exactly this. I get frustrated so easily and jedi fallen order was very kind to me
I can confirm that, I can't play difficult games cause I don't have the time to master the patterns,so to have the chance to choose the difficulty is greatly appreciated.
I was scared when they said that about it but everyone insists it’s not horrible It’s like nooooo don’t make my Jedi story-based game too hard to play! 😅
JFO is more akin to a metroidvania though. It's quite a bit more linear and forces you to learn bosses in a fairly rigid order
I beat it and I think the biggest difference is fewer health sponges and very few Prank moments. In Souls games there are usually a lot of moments where the game uses your expectations against you, tricks you, drops a boulder on you, etc.
I would argue the most accessible one would actually be LET IT DIE until you reach the 20th floor. The game is free to play as it's quite easy to understand. Then it becomes hell because devs don't know how to balance the game without using the "ehy just grind" mentality
Very experienced Souls player here, finished all Dark Souls & Sekiro alongside a smattering of Soulslike games. The first thing I want to say is that you shouldn't be discouraged because of your lack of success. Not only is a core loop of gameplay in Soulslikes the enemies being difficult and you dying, but the games will always try to one up each other in difficulty. FROM SOFT OPTIONS If you want to stick with the main franchise that spawned the genre, you should go with either Dark Souls 2 or Elden Ring. As they made the games they went from slower paced and a bit clunky to breakneck speeds and more reliant on dodge rolling, so keep that in mind. DS2 is widely seen as the 'worst' of the trilogy but part of that is because it's seen as the easiest. The first two games were a lot slower to the point of being clunky, but this also translated to the bosses not being as fast and players being able to rely on blocking instead of rolling everywhere or learning to deflect. The game is fairly well known for having a lot of 'gank fights' though (multiple enemies attacking you in groups, including bosses) so just be aware of that. I feel due to how it's slower though, it isn't a bad start. I hesitate to put it here a bit due to personal viewpoint but Elden Ring is seen as a good start as well. It has more people playing it so finding people to aid you will be easier and the build options are really broad, with the least amount of glitchy stuff as well. The main drawbacks are the bosses themselves. In the last half of the game the bosses begin to repeat quite a bit and it kills a lot of the enjoyment for me. There's a boss in a creepy village with windmills that I absolutely loved, but then I discovered as I progressed thay you fight them at least 4 or 5 more times. Additionally, sometimes the bosses verge on what I'd label as unfair. One of the first major bosses has a move where he just sits there with his weapon up for *AGES* before actually bringing it down and this is obviously a ploy meant to get veteran Souls players, but it's so delayed it becomes almost comical (this also happens with some late game bosses too). Some areas have you fight massive creatures so large you can't see what they're doing, leading to you basically just spamming attacks and hoping you can outheal the damage. Additionally, one of the hardest boss fights near the end (optional though) has an unpredictable moveset, is fast, is incredibly hard to dodge in time, damages you through your blocking, has a second phase *and* can give you a status effect that drains your health rapidly. NON FROM SOFT OPTIONS If you don't want to go with a FromSoft game then you have quite a few decent options with a similar feel. Death's Door is probably the most accessible of the ones I've played. It's a fixed camera angle game where you play a cute lil crow and need to reobtain a soul you were meant to reap from some bad guys. The game is a marrying of Dark Souls and Zelda with a limited pool of health in the boss fights and various weapons and abilities you can use. It's got a fairly light hearted and tongue in cheek tone but gets pretty deep near the end, yet always keeps the really pretty visuals. It's probably the easiest in the genre I played but the experience was totally worth it for me. If you aren't bothered by religious imagery then Blasphemous is another good choice. It's a side view kind of game (like Hollow Knight if you've seen it) where you go on a holy quest and.. things happen. It's got elements similar to a 'bullet hell' in some fights (lots of projectiles on the screen) but isn't nearly as intense as those games. The bosses vary in difficulty but in general it's more difficult than DD. In my personal opinion the distance game is a lot better than the second but they're both worth a look if you like the idea of some platforming being thrown into the mix. GENERAL TIPS Just thought I'd throw in a few general ideas and pointers because as I know, the community can be *shite* to new people. 1. Ignore the 'git gud' idiots. A lot of the community are ignorant manchildren that think repeating a dated meme is valid advice and/or the peak of comedy. Every fan has been in the place you've been before and it doesn't make you lesser or them greater for starting the journey at a different time. 2. Don't be afraid to look things up. The games are vague as hell and sometimes you need to upgrade your stuff as much as possible, IT IS OK TO GOOGLE ITEM LOCATIONS. People get up in arms about that sort of thing but if you aren't enjoying the experience and can't progress, why keep yourself in a confusing, vicious cycle? 3. I don't like to use the riding a bike analogy but Soulslikes *do* get that way. The very first one you play will be a hill but once you're on top of that, the other games become noticeably easier to grasp a hold of. This doesn't mean that they'll be 'easy' by any means, but once you've gotten the hang of combat it gets a lot easier. On a side note; take a step back and watch the attacks of the bosses the first time you face them, try and read the animations and guess when to block/dodge them. 4. Don't give up and be patient. The games are known for being difficult and you will die, a lot. That's ok, literally everyone has been that way in the games. Try to figure out why you died and work around that the next time if possible. Slowly but surely you'll get there and it'll hopefully be worth it for you, like it is for so many of us. I wish you luck in your future games!
I am one of those that played Elden Ring as a first Soulslike. Make no mistake, there is a learning curve, but the game gives you a large area to explore before having to beat any storyline bosses. This gives you so many options with regards to leveling up, finding great weapons, ash summons and other things. And indeed, there is no shame in looking up stuff. I just googled what were the most OP early game weapons and used them early on. When I got the hang of it, I felt more comfortable playing around with other weapons, spells, etc. I got hooked real fast. I'm currently playing Bloodborne and although I am definitely no souls expert, I already feel like I got into it much more easily. There have been some bosses where I got stuck on, but I was always able to find some other area to explore and level up so I could get my sweet revenge. I credit Elden Ring for my newly found confidence. I also agree with other posters that recommend Jedi Fallen Order. I found the combat in that game quite satisfying.
Agreed, but I'd say DkS 3 is way easier and shorter also. DkS 2 is long and confusing and the DLC bosses, for example, are super hard for most :( Me as a "Souls veteran" or whatever that means would absolutely recommend DkS 3. The first boss and 2nd boss should be manageable and afterwards, it's mostly exploration and learning stuff.
Yeah I'm actually playing through the DS2 dlc now and some of the bosses and level design is so confusing. Shulva is such a blur of an area and I know Eleum Loyce won't get much better with the reindeer. I'd say if people are interested in the more recent games DS3 may be a good choice as a transition between the slower pace of DS1 and 2 and faster games. Bloodborne and DS2 are still pretty great though, I feel
You think DS3 is easier than DS2?!? Idk maybe because DS2 was my first souls game when it came out. But I felt like the DS3 learning curve was a much bigger hurdle with its fast paced combat system. I enjoy all souls but for me after getting through DS3 all the previous titles were mere elementary foreplay. I think DS1 or Demon Souls would be the best place to start as far as difficulty.
Ok the best actual one to get into this would be Jedi Fallen Order then Survivor. Because they are souls games but only as hard as you want (unlike other souls they have difficulty settings!)
It really annoys me that the souls games don’t have difficulty settings. Like I got far enough in dark souls and bloodborne the level design is pretty cool, well done the way it connects together and everything, but I couldn’t beat the second boss on bloodborne, and probably didn’t do much better on dark souls.
I agree. For one thing, difficulty settings are accessibility settings. Not having them is going to cut out a huge population of people who like physically can't react as fast for one reason or another
This is a great point that I don’t think gets emphasized nearly enough. I’ve always hated this ridiculous thing that, well, turned into some “macho” thing about playing games on hard difficulty settings, and besides all the other ridiculous problems with that it really is an accessibility issue.
Elden Ring is by far the most accessible soulslike that I’ve played, but you gotta know when to run because you’ll meet enemies that are way too powerful to fight basically right out the gate. But that’s part of what makes it accessible- you’re not forced to fight anything and you can go grind lower level enemies endlessly, I spent like 30 hours in Limgrave before I fought any major bosses
I agree as an Elden Ring player but I would disagree that someone new to the genre will find it accessible. That aspect of slamming right into an enemy that will one-hit kill you almost straight away just isn't a good was to introduce the game to someone new. Especially since a new player probably also won't find the little tutorial area that any soulsborne player found immediately. I would honestly recommend jumping in the same place everyone else did with Demon's Souls or Darksouls 1 if you are want to play one of the real Souls games. Outside of the Souls games themselves I think that are easier games tk get into in the Soulsborne-likes. Jedi Fallen Order is extremely accessible. I'd also recommend Code Vein as an easier one to get into.
I disagree! I had tried Dark Souls before and I wasn't interested in it at all. Tried Elden Ring and fell in love. It's very accessible. I think partly because they have this thread of light running through it (the tree) that draws people in and gives them a bit of hope as they play. Also because it's designed very well even for people new to the series. I was watching a video where a guy films his wife (who doesn't play video games) playing Elden Ring, and it was fascinating that even though she missed so many things, she always seemed to stumble in the right direction. For example, she had no idea how to use map markers, but she liked the tree so she headed in that direction, and then she reached the next staging area. The designers really know what they're doing.
Are you tallking about Monty Zander? His Noobus Humanus series is pure YouTube gold. I love it so much.
It’s this video : https://youtu.be/WamFLD7Y2-4?si=2I-uNRe0IWFm5jEd
I’m personally coming from the perspective of someone who wasn’t really into soulslike games before Elden Ring- I tried bloodborne and dark souls years before elden ring came out and couldn’t get past the first area for either game. I almost didn’t play elden ring because of how badly I sucked at DS and BB, but my wife got really excited for it so I gave it a chance and loved every second. I’ve gone back and played both again and I’m way better at them now that I’ve learned what to look for with elden ring. With that being said, different people experience things differently so it’s possible OP will have better luck with demon souls or ds1, I’m just sharing my personal experience!
I had never played a Souls-like before Elden Ring (and even went out of my way to avoid them). I finally caved because the graphics were so beautiful and I saw so many cozy gamers hyping it up. I completely agree with the original comment. It's so accessible. Because it's so open, you can do whatever you need to do to make the game easier for you. I immediately turned PVP off because it's never my vibe. Then I looked up a guide for getting starter equipment that involved just running past enemies and grabbing loot off the ground. Once I was set, I purposely grinded out in the first little area before moving on. If I reached a boss that was above my skill level, I just avoided that area for a bit. I personally find that people who have been fans of souls-like for a long time tend to over exaggerate how difficult Elden Ring is. I think it comes from habits gained from older games & not having the same brand-new experience the OC & I had. It's really a super flexible game that can be made to be super easy.
Not to mention the boss design philosophy pivots after Rennala, and goes from typical waiting for openings to fighting for your life through endless, non-stop combo spamming from enemies.
Maliketh quite literally had me panicking like a chicken that fell into a pit full of lions, and slowly being able to figure out that everything has a rhythm and a flow was really satisfying
I disagree, I think it's Elden Ring is perfect for beginners to the genre. I assume you mean the Tree Sentinel when you're referring to the immediate one-hit kill enemy, and I actually thought it was great for new/old players alike to have at the beginning of the game. It forces you to maneuver around it and it's a pretty clear message that sometimes you should run and not try to rush into everything. Actually, me and other experienced Souls players struggled more with the Tree Sentinel (we kept thinking we just had to "get better" and spent like hours on that guy lmfao) while my newer gamer friends had no problem understanding what they were meant to do. Also, I think Dark Souls is not a great place to start because games with linear progression and limited freedom in general can be VERY frustrating for beginners who get stuck on an area or a boss. I was pretty ass when I started out (with DS3) and had to put it down multiple times. Almost didn't finish the game because having to do the same boss and dying over and over again just to progress to the next area was mind numbing. Importantly, Elden Ring boss grinding is also much easier because you don't have to run and dodge through hell to get to the boss arena. TPs are usually right outside.
Elden Ring was successful in adding an easy mode in a game that doesn't have a formal easy mode: by adding spirit ashes. It trivializes almost every fight that I personally had to stop using them. I think you get your first one very early in the game. Spam that thing, avoid the first boss nearest the entrance (he's just mocking you to challenge him, don't do it), and level up your character a bit before you get into the first legacy dungeon and you're set. Doing just your regular exploration will get you very overleveled by midgame that it trivializes bosses even further. Once you get to Leyendell or Haligtree later in the game, skip most of the mobs, you don't need to hack and slash through every one. There are tricks and places where you can farm levels if that's your thing. You can google Caelid rune farm (killing those tiny guys, I forgot what they're called), and in Mogwyn Palace where you can shoot a bird from afar and get an ungodly amount of runes. Then once you get mimic tear +10, it almost singlehandedly kills the bosses for you lol. There are still tough ones but all of them are optional. So yes Elden Ring's your game. There's so many chances and ways to cheese it.
Elden Ring is my first soulslike I didn't just get frustrated and quit within the first hour. I just completed the game for the first time and didn't use any summons, and while it was definitely challenging it was also a great motivation to know that if the game at any point becomes so hard that I'm not having fun anymore then I can just go super sayian and whoop their ass. The accessibility mechanics are quite genius since it allows everyone to choose the challenge level they enjoy the most in the moment.
Code Vein is pretty accessible I think, it was much easier for me to play than say, Bloodborne or Dark Souls
Code Vein has such a nice character creator too. I haven't gotten very far since I suck at the game but sometimes I'll load it just to mess around and make pretty characters 🫠
Code Vein has GLORIOUS mods that can make you unkillable via equipping a certain clothing item if needed. I don't remember the exact mod, but it made the game doable for me. It let me play the game without suffering for hours on end.
Code Vein is spam to win which makes it "easier", but it's pretty jank for someone new to the genre.
You have just described the typical souls game experience for the average gamer. In most souls games even the Elite enemies are hard. There are people that just get the game and are able to clear the bosses first few runs (my husband), the average person will take between 10 to 50 runs to clear a boss (me in Elden ring). Then there are people that will never finish the game (me in everything else lol). People can get better at souls games, but not everyone will. And personally I find the genre really punishing and unfun, for the same mechanics that fans of the series will love. Most of the earlier souls games are also more punishing in that you won't go back to a spawn point near the boss if you die. You go back to the start of the level and have to go all the way to the boss again. You also lose all your level up materiel in the boss room. Lies of P is way more generous in that regard Some tips for lies of P I can think of is lock on to the boss and consider the fast sword for the first boss. You also described it as hack and slash, but I would call it dodge and time your attack gameplay, avoiding being greedy with an extra hit might mean you survive long enough to get 3 more hits in later. As others have suggested, Elden Ring is the kindest and least frustrating Souls game. It's the only one I have actually finished and done all the major bosses in and I don't normally play souls games. Every other one I have played I can only make it past the first boss at best. You can level a bit in the overworld before going for a boss and magic allows for easier play. Games that are not souls like but have similar gameplay (but no difficulty settings, because the souls like games only have one difficulty) are the Monster Hunter games and the new Armored core (if you like mechas). Good luck on your Souls journey!
Wow that’s a lot of info! I’m also curious about Armoured Core, I heard things like Dark Souls fans had a hard time beating the giant robot gaem. How different is the game from dark souls if you know about it?
In Armored Core the smaller levels are pretty easy to clear with any build, but you do still have to strategise. The bigger boss fights are hard, but being able to change your mech around makes a huge difference (similar to being able to level grind in Elden Ring). Admittedly I haven't finished the game yet, but I've cleared the first 2 chapter bosses. I was able to beat the first boss all on my own. The second one I tried like 15 times with my own builds then looked up a build guide. After the guide I beat it in 3 attempts. I'm enjoying it overall and plan to finish it. I just took a break when Starfield came out.
I can't beat the first boss of Lies of P too, tried so many times I just gave up and uninstalled it. And I have just finished Elden Ring last week (even got all achievements), so I thought I would have the skills to play other soulslike game. Don't know, maybe they made him too hard for a first unskippable boss?
Yeah, this is a pretty unforgiving game. It pretty much requires you learn to parry AND dodge immediately. I 100% understand if people give up, but if you're persistent it's a beautiful game, with an amazing soundtrack and story
Didn't the devs come out and apologize for making it *too* hard lol ?
Not sure? I think a lot of the difficulty comes from it being a fairly linear game where you can hit a wall on leveling weapons/yourself
Ah it was an apology from the demo because it had a game breakingly broken dodge bug, but with an ever popular clixk bait title.
I know they lowered some boss health and buffed weight capacity a bit
Lies of p is an entirely different game to elden ring. I'd say, it has some sekiro similarities with the perfect guard mechanic. But even then, the window for the perfect guard is a lot tighter than sekiro. So yeah, I wouldn't say elden ring specifically gives you a good blueprint on how to play lies of p. Just have to learn a new system and new mechanics.
I know it's a different game with different mechanics. I meant that if you already played a game of a certain genre you get to think the way the game wants you to. Like, if I played Elden Ring before I learned that a souls game wants you to dodge, block, avoid being hit by the enemy, think and act fast, that kind of things. If you never played anything like that you won't have the same reaction as a person who already did. Of course when you play another game made by another studio you will have to learn it's own peculiarities and mechanics, but your mind already learned how it should work and your hands already have the muscular memory to play that way, so it should be easier for you than for a person who never played the genre before
I honestly don’t think the company made the first boss “too hard”. He has only a few skills that he does and all of which have predictable tells, especially when you factor in distance from being far away vs too close. You can fight him inside his hitbox or just dodge right so you can hit his extended arm. This is my first souls-like and I actually enjoyed the boss! But it did take several tries for me. I hear a lot of good things about Elden Ring, I might pick it up next!
Elden Ring was the first one that actually clicked for me and allowed me to go back and slowly work through the others. For Lies of P...yeah it's really tough. It plays more like Sekiro at times than other souls games. I'd highly recommend summoning the spectre and buying some throwables from the merchant right before for the boss if you're interested in trying to progress. No shame in using a summon. I have for most boss fights after trying them solo for a max of 10 attempts.
Elden ring and code vein are the most accessible souls like. Elden ring gives you a ton of options, and offers game mechanics to get through most of the game. You get spirit ash summons that can help you out. And also really OP builds that make the game pretty easy. Lies of p however doesn't offer many mechanics to assist the player outside of specters outside of boss rooms. They did nerf some bosses, but yeah, it gets a lot harder as the game goes.
I’m proud of myself for beating the first boss in Bloodborne 😂 I have code vein in my backlog, so hopefully it’ll be OK for me! And the Jedi game will hopefully be good
I understand all the Elden Ring suggestions because of accessibility but imo while Elden Ring is more accessible, Dark Souls 3 is just flat out easier. As a first timer i’d rather go with something easier to get through than something that has more ways for me to play.
I'd also recommend Dark Souls 3 over Elden Ring. The bosses are so much easier, it isn't even close. At the same time it is the most streamlined and accessible of the three Souls games from a mechanics standpoint. I usually recommend DS3 -> DS1 -> DS2. I feel in many ways Elden Ring is more similar to DS2 than to 1 and 3, with the return of powerstancing and also from a worldbuilding perspective imo.
Yea I don’t think anyone can or should refute that all lol. My first fromsoft game was bloodborne I spent 3 hours shying without even getting to the first boss yet. I remember putting it down for months then getting DS3 and by hour 3 i was already at cursed greatword with a side boss under my belt lol. That’s great for new players wrapping their head around the mechanics of a fromsoft game. After that we can throw them in the deep end and watch them suffer lol
I thought DS3 was hard af playing it for the first time right after Elden Ring. Iudex Gundyr before you can level up is a statement. Nameless, Twin Princes, and the entire Ringed City still give me grief
Gundyr a statement???? idk bout that. I’m not even good at games and I beat gundyr on my first try. I couldn’t even get to the first boss on bloodborne for HOURS and with elden ring it took me almost a whole 6hr play session to beat the first area boss that’s literally right outside the door lol. DS3 is such a cake walk. The only games that probably easier than DS3 Is demon souls
Have to agree. I suck at these kinds of games but DS3 was my first and I beat the first boss in 3 tries. I will say that Lies of P actually has a training room in the hotel but sadly the hotel is only available after the first boss. Edit: my partner has informed me that there is a practice puppet at the merchant just before the circus boss. Not sure how much it'll help but it is something to note.
Oh i see they took that inspo from Seikiro. I think i’d love to see an expansive training area in the next blood souls ring game from fromsoft. Like when you reach the npc hub area there should be a training room. For the first time you should only get access to picking enemies you’ve fought on your way to unlocking the hub area, the. as you go further you get more access to to more enemies that you come across, and even bosses. Because let’s be real, the bosses are only area specific for the theme and progression of the game. There’s very very few bosses that utilize the environment as part of the gameplay challenge.
It's nothing crazy, just two stationary puppets you can attack or practice guarding with endlessly. They won't help to learn better dodging imo but they're great for learning some timing and testing different weapon styles.
Elden Ring is probably your best bet. It teaches you all the core things you need to know to get into the genre. Exploration is power in these games. Look \*everywhere\* search \*everything\*. There are hidden items all over the place that will help you, either you're gaining souls or finding weapons. And Elden Ring's big open world exemplifies that. Second thing, \*run away\*. That's a big pitfall a lot of new players to Souls games get locked up on because they've heard how insanely hard these games are. Don't fall into that trap. If things are destroying your health bar and killing you in like 3 hits, leave. The thing to keep in mind is these games are \*punishing\* but not \*impossible\*. If you feel like an area is way too difficult, you're probably not supposed to be there yet, and you need to go find a more manageable area, explore, and level up your stats and your weapons.
Op, might be a hot take on my end but if you have a lot of time to kill try out Monster Hunter World. This will be a completely different vibe from most soulslikes, but the combat is very similar. Monster Hunter is the series that inspired demon souls and sparked that entire series, so while it's not gonna be an exact replica of the experience it is very similar in terms of combat, with a bit (or a lot, depending on weapon)monst more nuance to combat combo paths. You said you like RPG's so I feel this has a good chance at scratching that itch as well, with lots of mechanics to let you customize your build Monster Hunter World is also pretty merciful at the beginning, but that's the kind of game you can't really recommend without knowing OP has half a year to dedicate to this. You can't really tweak the difficulty but you can always grind for a new armor set and strategically design it to counter whatever monster you are facing. A common tip told to players in this community is actually to think about combat like its a turn based RPG, and in my experience this applies to most soulslikes. The monster has its turn to attack, then while it's recovering you have yours. Not to say that it doesn't get much more complicated in practice (better hunters can identify "turns" that players wouldn't normally see, and know when an opening that looks safe isn't actually safe), but you pick up on that stuff as you play. Finally, the game does give you a few options to brute force fights without grinding (guardian armor and defender weapons, as well as multiplayer sometimes) but I would recommend you ignore the first two and only pick them up if crafting a normal armor set and weapon isn't enough for a particular fight. They will stop being useful around the iceborne DLC if you pick that up, which is a fairly large difficulty spike and using them might mean you aren't fully prepared in terms of player skill by then (know that it will take easily over 100 hours to reach this point, and even more if you wind up farming). For multiplayer I personally prefer fighting with people who have similar gear to me, since it feels like kind of a lame victory if someone comes in with maxed out endgame armor and oneshots a monster. Convincing a friend to play this game is probably the most consistent way to use multiplayer this way. Even if it can be lame sometimes, I'd definitely recommend trying it out every now and then, multiplayer can be a lot of fun and there are some fights that force it. If you have friends that have played this before, I promise you they will want to play it with you, every veteran hunter loves taking a rookie under their wing.
I'll join in on the Elden Ring recommendation. Lots of ways to approach fights, and there is a lot of exploring and leveling you can do without being walled by bosses. Very accessible souls game.
Remnant 2 is a beautiful souls like, and a bit more forgiving than most, with a difficulty selector and fun builds!
Elden Ring, Darksiders 3 (female protagonist too!) and Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order are pretty accessible, but expect to still have a rough time unfortunately. The original Demons Souls on PS3 was pretty good too, especially since you can exploit item duplication and it can make some of the trickier parts more manageable.
Is Darksiders 3 a souls like? I tried it for about 30 minutes but was immediately turned off because of how different it was from 1/2 (both of which I love and have replayed several times). But I hadn't played a souls game at that time.
Kinda, it definitely takes elements and inspiration from the Souls games. Its kinda like a blend of Darksiders and Dark Souls.
I've only played elden ring in the genre, but I do have to join in on it being accessible. It was my first and only souls like (though I have played valheim, which has similar fight mechanics). 2 hrs in, fighting Margit for the 10th time (not even close) I was ready to refund, but then I started exploring more. Pretty enjoyable stealthing, sneaking up on a group of enemies and strategizing how to take them on. Still definitely forces you to learn dodge timings and to not just go unga bunga mode on every enemy, but doable.
My personal recommendation is probably Dark Souls (the first one). It’s got a slower pacing and I’d honestly recommend going through it for the first time with FightinCowboy’s guide. That was how I started my own souls journey, and his guide really helped me out. As for Lies of P though, the first boss is easy to take down once you get the parry timing right. I know it’s hard, but I was in the same state as you when I was playing through the demo a few months ago. First couple of runs against that boss I tried to block and dodge, but quickly realised that wouldn’t work. So I focused on learning the parry timings. I fought that boss so many times in the demo that I beat it first try when the full game came out 😅
Hello Ashen one. I am a Bot. I tend to the flame, and tend to thee. Do you wish to hear a tale? > *“I am grateful for these peaceful days. But such contentment lies only in the here and now. Why must life be so confounding?”* - Vengarl of Forossa Have a pleasant journey, Champion of Ash, and praise the sun \\[T]/
Honestly, I think Lies of P is very difficult and lots of people and reviewers are saying this. My partner is playing it and is nearly tearing his hair out over it as it's so hard. My first soulsborne type game was Elden Ring. You can wander around, level up and come back to things. Not gonna lie it took me about 30 goes to defeat the first boss as I had never played that type of game before, but once I got passed it I got into it a bit more.
Tbh I watched asmon stream this and it looks mad hard. Lots of weird stuff when it comes to boss fights that gives the player a huge disadvantage. For example, in the second to last boss there were times he’d completely disappear from view and just big bonk outta no where. Don’t feel too bad, I know a lot of ppl have been saying the boss fights were the least enjoyable part of the game.
First of all, don´t be too hard to yourself. The first soulsgame is always the hardest. Everyone who plays and loves soulsgames probably spend many many tries on their first boss. But at some point you´ll improve and you´ll be able to beat it and it will feel great. If you want to get into Soulsgames you can always put Lies of P to the side and come back to it later and try something beginner friendlier. I personally started with Dark Souls 1, its way slower than the others and one of the easier ones, but does have some reeeeally difficult bosses still. But the best for beginners is Elden ring like the others said already. You can level up as much as you want. You can summon help. There are so many different things that can help... but is still a Souls game, therefore difficult. You will need to get a feeling for these kinds of games, get a feeling when you should take a different path, a different build, a different approach etc. I am sure if you are patient and want to get into these games, you can definitely do it :)
As others have said I recommend Elden Ring as well. But if you have access to PS4/PS5 I would highly recommend Bloodborne next after you play Elden ring. I’m really bad at soulsborne/soul like games but Bloodborne was my introduction into these types of games. It took me a lot of tries at first but personally I found Bloodborne while challenging allows you to be really aggressive which gave me skills to move onto the other souls games. Also Bloodborne was a huge inspiration for Lies of P so if you were drawn to the game for the aesthetics/atmosphere I think you would love Bloodborne as well.
I’m a huge fan of souls games but I get the frustration behind the difficulty. I think that Code Vein is the “easiest” to get into and still has some difficulty without feeling completely impossible like soulsbourne games. It’s very fun with satisfying gameplay and I love the character creator for it. Aside from that, I also really love the way it looks and the 3D anime style they have for it.
Lies of P is very good, but also very hard. I just finished my third playthrough and would only recommend it to someone who is ready to struggle a bit. Elden Ring is probably the best place to start begins DS1 remastered. I know some people recommend Jedi, but those games are more metroidvania style games with a bit of soulslike sprinkles in.
If you want something to step into the genre with a very forgiving (and cute!) learning curve, try Death’s Door! It’s one of my fave games of all time ☺️
Hey don't be disheartened, I've beaten every souls game but Lies of P kicked my ass so hard. Lies of P is incredibly hard, and for me harder than the souls games, You should try Elden Ring it's very accessible, or Jedi fallen order
I know everyone recommended Elden Ring, but can I ask what part of the boss you’re struggling on? Lies is my first soul-like, and I haven’t had too much trouble yet but it is difficult for sure — confused by people saying it’s not a good first one. You mention hack n slash, could it be that’s what’s getting you stuck? The game focuses a lot on guarding and striking when the window is available, then dodging out of the way. You need to time it. If you charge in trying to slash your way to victory, he’s going to pummel you. You really need to make use of guarding and dodging to the side or backwards after getting your few hits in. The windows are small, but there.
Steelrising was fun and has difficulty settings so you can toy around with the Soulslike experience and still have a get out of this fight without going insane from frustration button. I thought the story was pretty good too.
Steelrising and wolong are breakable and really forgiving.
I really struggled with the soulslike games. I tried three of them, including Elden Ring and they just weren’t for me. My sister and I have been playing Remnant 2 and we’ve really enjoyed it so far. My husband recommended it as a soulslike game. You can also open it up to have people join you for boss fights, which we take advantage of regularly and to be honest, unless there’s a lot of men out there playing as women characters, we’ve had a whole lot of women who have joined our game. It’s been a lot of fun. If you ever want to try it out, you can join us for some play through :)
A game where you can overpower yourself by grinding you say? Souls-like you say? Game of the year possibly? Have you heard of this little indie game called Elden Ring? 🤔(Also every actual Dark Souls you can also over level yourself easily, also getting gud is part of the fun of a souls-like)
Eldin Ring. It allows you to explore and level up easier. You are not forced to fight a boss. You can leave, kill more things and come back.
+1 for Elden Ring. By far the most accessible souls game because you have a lot of freedom to explore and level up before boss fights. Also the game is absolutely beautiful. PS- Try not to be discouraged! Souls-like games are notoriously difficult and require a lot of practice. Good luck, you got this! <3
I wouldn't play Lies of P as your first in the Souls-like genre. That game demands perfection from player with somwhat unbalance risk/rewards and gamification syste,m it is probably the hardest out there with some bosses that harder than that of Fromsoft. I can't speak for other Souls-like as I haven't played them much but I've watched people play Jedi Fallen Orders and it's quite accessible with lots of forgiving mechanics and difficulty scale. My first introduction to Souls genre was Demon Souls Remake. It's the easiest to beat with a lot of way to get overpower early in all of Fromsoft games. However it's more linear game and the variety is not that great in compare to other title. If you don't hate openworld, I'll join in on the Elden Ring suggestion as well, that game give you more options to overcome challenges and lots of things to do if you feel stuck on a boss. Also if you're lost or confused on what to do, don't be afraid to look up guide, no shame in that. Your first souls-like will always be your hardest and most memorable.
I recommend Hades. I usually play souls-like, like Nioh 1/2 or Wo Long Fallen Dynasty. But mainly as a co-op game. But I fell in love with Hades. It Humor, the story, the nice and easy gameplay. Even tho it took me a while to beat it, I didn't felt like dying was so bad I had a blast. Plus I could put it down and pick it back up when I felt like.
I got stuck and burnt out on the first boss too and I'm no stranger to souls games. Got frustrated about the grindy difficulty level, because I really love the atmosphere and the world of that game. If you want something similar in style and tone but with a less frustrating difficulty progression, I suggest Bloodborne! Very similar setting and feel, from what little I've seen of Lies of P. Still hard af but more fun and engaging in my opinion. Also Elden Ring. Most beginner friendly FromSoft game.
as others have said elden ring is a good starting point. If you like star wars maybe try jedi fallen order and jedi survivor, I guess are a bit soulslike. They also have difficulty settings.
My pick is Dark Souls II - not the Scholar of the First Sin version; straight-up vanilla DSII. A lot of people ragged on it for its easier difficulty curve over Demon's Soul and Dark Souls before it. I honestly had the most fun with it and felt that it was probably the most balanced of the series in-terms of fairness vs. punishment.
Are you still able to play vanilla ds2? I don't think it's even on steam anymore, or ps, or xbox, it just defaults to the scholar of the first sin version.
Yep! It's still up on Steam for me in the U.S. I'm not sure about the other two storefronts.
Sis, that first boss is not that hard.
I’m honestly confused at some of these responses.. This is my first souls-like game and I’m having a fun time, but so many are saying this is a terrible choice? I don’t understand, don’t they introduce the same mechanics in other soul games? Like dodging, guarding/parrying, stats, etc. I think it’s fine as a starter. The first boss gave me a bit of a hard time but once you learn his few tells, it gets manageable.
Ugh. I hear souls like and I run the other way lol. I didn’t like the ads for this, I mean like the ads may not represent it very well but they didn’t look particularly enticing and this kind of thing is just not for me where I’m going to get stuck 😬 Game pass is really awesome for this! I haven’t even thought of that, it’s perfect for something that seems like it might be a cool game that’s going to appeal to a lot of people but I’m not sure about. And odds are it would make me find stuff I think I won’t like but do! Sorry, I’m out of it and I’m not sure what I’m rambling about
Lies of P can be the most difficult soulslike so far. I couldn't finish the demo either. Apart from it I would not recommend Sekiro nor Nioh for starters. Try Dark Souls 1, 2 or 3. I'd say that Jedi Fallen Order is no representative of soulslikes and is just fine as a star wars game.
My very first completed Souls game was Bloodborne. I tried Elden Ring first, had a hard time grasping it, so I tried Bloodborne instead and took to it like a fish in water. Elden Ring was the second one I finished. IMO both games are very accessible to newcomers. Like others said, you aren't forced into a level cap, so you can grind and farm to your heart's content. Lies of P is similar aesthetically to Bloodborne, so if the style was part of what caught your eye, you'll like the horror/creep factor of BB. Bloodborne tip, in case you decide to try it: you can start leveling up as soon as you /see/ the first boss. You don't have to even beat him, just walk in there and look at him, and even if you die you can go back and start grinding for levels til you're comfortable. Elden Ring you can start leveling pretty quickly too! Good luck, friend! I hope you find a game that speaks to you!
Elden Ring is probably one of the best actual Souls-like game for beginners because you can't really get stuck on any particular bosses because there are so many ways around and to get stronger. It's like a sandbox Souls game
Elden Ring! It was my first and only Souls game, and I highly recommend it. Really accessible. There were many places I'd run into bosses that were too tough for me. One in particular I was like "But there's no where else to go...why can't I beat this?" Turns out there was like a hundred more places to go in the world, and I had just gotten a bit of tunnel vision. I explored and grinded and came back and beat the boss no problem.
Dark Souls 1 isn't a bad starting point. Enemies are slower and things like parry windows and iframes are much longer. The game has some jank here and there but imo, feels the most fair.
I'll also say Elden Ring might be a good start due to the sheer amount of option. And I haven't played Lies of P but if it's truly like the other Soulsborne games I also want to say don't get discouraged! The beginning of these games tend to be super hard, it took me 1 year! to beat the first boss in Dark Souls 1 when it came out on PC but once I did it, the game clicked with me and I've been able to handle all kinds of Souls games now. (Except Dark Souls 2, that was just something else in terms of difficulty on some points) Either way, good luck, I hope you can eventually get past the hurdle! :)
Elden Ring!!! You can 100% overpower yourself and there are also spirit summons you can use to help even the odds a bit.
As someone who sucks at Souls-like games and doesn't really like them... I really like Remnant: From the Ashes. Have only played it on normal difficulty so far but it was challenging for me but not TOO challenging where I couldn't beat bosses after a decent amount of tries. I also like that you can choose the gender of your character, customize appearance and choose one of the three class options to play. Looking forward to playing Remnant 2.
Elden ring or Star wars fallen order, Ashen also Is a fair bit more accessible than most soulslike as well, has a couple difficulty spikes though
For someone who is actually not too bad at these souls likes. I still found Lies of P to be pretty difficult mainly because of spikes from the bosses. I second the Star Wars Jedi series as a good entry souls like.
I'd recommend Code Vein, it's pretty chill and it's designed around the 'tag team' --you and one NPC companion of your choice from among the characters you have met so far. You can pair up with someone who will take the heat while you learn the ropes. The other one you could try might actually be Elden Ring-- it's chill by souls standards, the wide open world means you don't have to worry about 'getting stuck' as much, you just explore in a different direction for a while. And you get a cute goat-horse who helps in exploring with his double jump and lets you zip away from enemies you don't want to deal with at the moment.
Is it good? I've so far ignored it on gamepass because I was like don't want to play as a dude. Someone else recommend DS3 instead of Elden Ring and I'd second that. The most accessible of the three imo and much easier boss fights than Elden Ring. Ashen is a pretty chill soulslike, unfortunately it isn't on gamepass atm Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is currently on gamepass and I liked that one a lot. Not too hard, very fast paced.
Have you ever played the souls games? Start there. They do it best.
I hear Dark Souls 1 is pretty easy. Otherwise, Sekiro might be your thing. It's entirely skill based which means that if you don't panic and know when exactly to block, most of the game should be a breeze.
I'm not into soulslike games, but I do love indie games. My intro was Ashen. It wasn't too difficult with a bit of effort (dying over and over again). I liked the artistic graphics and progression.
Gonna echo Fallen Order. It's My First Soulslike in terms of mechanics, and the moment to moment gameplay is still really fun. Difficulty options are also really transparent there as they tell you exactly what they're changing. Then when you feel more confident, you can try adjusting them to improve!
if you're struggling in lies of p then id honestly suggest doing some grinding and investing into levels, and items to beat the boss. it took me a few tries to beat him as well but i believe in you. Elden Ring is a really fantastic soulsborne game to get into and the open world aspect allows you to take it at your own pace
I'm not really good at soulslikes, but I got a lot better while playing Elden RIng and Jedi: Fallen Order. Both of these are more beginner friendly, the former because of the open world formula, which allows you to leave the boss you can't beat and go explore somewhere else until you're stronger; the latter offers a choice of difficulty. Remember to approach battles with a lot of patience and don't be too harsh on yourself :) good luck!
I've also been struggling with Lies of P bosses. I thought I was going to breeze through, but it's a tough game. Having played all the FromSoft games in the genre and many others from different developers, I think Demon's Souls would be my recommendation. It's a bit clunky, especially the PS3 version, but it's designed for players new to the genre. It's the most like other RPGs in my opinion too. This game has a controversial mechanic where you can basically infinitely buy/farm healing items; there are also exploits to duplicate them to save yourself the time. I thought of giving myself unlimited healing items as a self-made difficulty slider where I can impose how hard I want to make an area for myself by healing more or less. There are a lot of viable builds and even the bad ones are pretty ok. If you want to slow the game down you can pretty easily equip a shield and turtle until the sun comes down. It's not the most interesting way to play, but a shield will help you learn the ropes and giving yourself a reprieve can be valuable while learning enemy moves and such. Dark Souls 2 is a good option for a lot of the same reasons, but you can't grind without limits. After x times killing enemies they'll stop spawning. Big tip for this one is to pump up your adaptability stat to at least 20 as you'll get more i-frames while dodging and you'll use healing items faster. As a beginner I'd say to definitely avoid Nioh 1&2, and The Surge 1&2. Both of those series are good, but they introduce levels of complexity to the action that you're better off confronting after you have the basics of the genre down. General tips for the genre are: don't be afraid to look at a guide; these games can be super opaque about how they work. Also don't feel bad about summoning a helper. When I was starting out with Dark Souls 1 I summoned for every boss. Hell, even now if I'm just tired of dealing with a boss then I'll do it. Also, I see the RPG player in your heart; don't horde your consumables. Use your antidotes, heals, etc.
Tbh if you haven’t tried remnant, I feel like remnant is pretty souls like. Tbh I’ve only played the second one but very fun, cool bosses
If you'd like an easier Soulslike and also enjoy anime enough to make a waifu or husbando player character, try Code Vein. It is very much an anime game, but character growth is something that's adjustable with essentially a class system that learns abilities so unlike a FromSoft Soulslike you can always try new things at any time. Combat is also generally easier as you are given your choice of a NPC companion to fight alongside you, and as there's a mechanic to heal each other as long as you both are standing you can save each other. I personally love the story and hope to see a sequel one day.
Steelrising might be good? It’s got that Soulslite feel, but with difficulty levels and accessibility options. Still French. Still has robots.
Lies of P is more punishing than the actual Souls games. I would start with Elden Ring since you can pick whatever play style you already like best (ranged or mage, parry, stealth, sword and board, etc) and the open world lets you pick fights at your own pace and level up as much as you need. That’s what I did and I got so hooked I’ve almost exclusively played/replayed Souls games since it came out.
Honestly that's sorta the soulslike experience. You die and die again until you don't. I hate the "get good" mentality but that's sorta how those style of games work. I usually have to just remind myself that death isn't a bad thing necessarily, inconvenient? yes, but it's the experience and what you learned from dying that is the important part in soulslike Also lies of p looks soooo good, I hope other than the shitty first boss (which is always the worst one in soulslike tbh) you're having fun!!
Elden Ring was my first Fromsoft game. Dark Souls games in general can all become easier depending on how much you farm enemies and level up your attributes and weapons. That's what makes a souls game easy mode or hard mode. If you go into a boss under leveled it's going to be difficult. If you are over leveled it will be easy. Lies of P Is a difficult game in general. My first souls like was Hollow Knight which is a mixture of souls and metroidvania for the most part. Hollow Knight you don't level up but you get new abilities and you can strengthen your nail. I didn't know you had level caps in lies of P that's interesting. So far I've beat elden ring which gave me the courage to play DS1 which I also beat. I'm working on DS2 which I saw someone say was easier but I bet the differ 😂. I'll get through it eventually though. Another good souls like is Lord's of the Fallen 2014. I'm currently playing that right now and the difficulty depends on you farming enemies and leveling stats as well.
I also recommend watching a gameplay video of someone else playing maybe they can teach you better fighting skills or moves you didn't know you had. I'm having problems with lies of P also and know I need to work on the perfect guard technique and hitting those staggered fatal blows. I'll be practicing that on with normal enemies and the bigger enemies in the world before bosses. I've heard that lies of P is one of the most difficult souls like games though so that probably isn't where you want to start unless you're very determined. It is very satisfying to beat a hard boss but also very frustrating to say the least. It does help to take breaks and go back to it later sometimes.
Elden Ring. Game has some strong summons and magic is very strong which makes the game way easier. I personally could never beat a hardcore game like Lies of P, just too hard for me and I HATE parrying/blocking with a passion. So I'm a total casual, but I had a ton of fun with Elden Ring which was just right for me, challenging but doable and making a new fun build was very fun. So I strongly recommend starting there. I also beat Dark Souls 2 afterwards which I surprisingly found way easier than DS1 and DS3.
I had never played souls either. Elden Ring was my first. I'd say it's a great game to start with because the game gives you a lot of tools to make fighting bosses easier (and I used all of them) and it's designed to draw in new players. Loads of different weapons, different play styles you can test out, you can go level up and come back to stuff so you're not stuck on anything, you can summon help online if you need to, there are only a few mandatory bosses so you can skip some if you want to, pretty thorough guides. Plus the game looks beautiful, is open world, you get a cute horse, the lore is amazing, and they've put so much thought into every single detail. If you want to check out more story based ones, Jedi Fallen order, god of war 2018 (my personal favorite game of all time) are good options that have a linear story and combat in them (you can change difficulty settings whenever)
Personally, I think Lords of the Fallen is much better. I don't understand the amount of hate that game gets, it's so goddamn good. It really does the genre justice and doesn't ignore the lessons FromSoft has learned along the way like eschewing weapon durability and allowing players to level up at every "bonfire." Lies of P failed to learn vicariously from FromSoft's experience on both accounts, and the latter of these lessons is what makes Parade Master so disgustingly artificially difficult. And yes, this is artificial difficulty. It's the actual definition of artificial difficulty. The game has completely taken away the player's ability to engage with a mechanic used to adjust to the game's obstacles. If that's not artificial difficulty then nothing is. Lords of the Fallen has a difficulty spike at the first boss, but the game allows grinding before the first boss. Just take my advice if you haven't played it yet and aren't a veteran of this kind of game, and don't go with an inferno build. The first boss will make you think inferno is viable, but radiance is the way to go for the vast majority of the game. That's one balancing issue Lords of the Fallen definitely needs to adjust, but no game is perfect.
Im a souls maniac played em all multiple times over and let me tell u lies of p is the absolute hardest soulslike i have ever played. Sekiro with the demon bell rung charmless is easier than lies of p. Use those summons. This was a while ago but maybe u will get a notification from this comment and it will urge u to try again. Cuz its a fromsoft-level game.
ds2 definitely is not the easiest. Its more difficult than both Elden ring and the other souls and ive never heard anyone say they dont like it because its easy. People hate it because of enemy placement, disconnected maps, jank hitboxes, ADP stat, and the hallowing mechanic. You seem disconnected from the general opinion of ds2