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Essays 27 October 2023, 05:16

author: Paul Musiolik

Souls-like Games Rated Easiest to Hardest

The Dark Souls series is famous for its hellishly high difficulty, which requires, above all, patience. Games inspired by Dark Souls are trying to emulate that, with various results. Here's our list rating souls-like games from easiest to hardest.

4. Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin

  1. Release date: April 2, 2015
  2. Platforms: PS3, X360, PS4, PC, XOne
  3. Developer: FromSoftware
  4. Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment

Dark Souls 2 is the most polarizing installment in the entire trilogy. I actually like this part of the series, but much of the criticism is not without merit. However, for the comparison, I didn't choose the original version but the complete edition, which was released on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Why? Well, someone decided that the difficulty level is best raised by adding in random spots much stronger opponents than normally. The dragon in the Heide Flame Tower became a monument of this foolhardy design decision. On the one hand, I understand the desire to surprise players, but that wasn't the way. Stronger enemies, combined with the increased trigger range, often forced the player to run away rather than face the challenge.

  1. More about Dark Souls 2

3. Nioh 2

  1. Release date: March 13, 2020
  2. Platforms: PS4, PC, PS5
  3. Developer: Team Ninja
  4. Publisher: Koei Tecmo

Perhaps not everyone will agree with my choice, but overall, I considerNioh 2 to be a slightly more difficult title than the first installment. The game expanded the combat system with the so-called Burst Counter, allowing you to counter normally unblockable attacks, but learning to use this mechanic efficiently is not as easy as it seems. Opponents were created with the idea of taking advantage of this move, so not mastering it automatically increases the challenge.

Team Ninja ensured that they removed several elements from the game that allowed for significant gameplay simplification in the first installment. The community was most nettled by the optional removal of leveling up our spiritual companion, which in the predecessor allowed you to become virtually immortal. In NiOh 2, we have to work a lot harder.

  1. More about Nioh 2

Paul Musiolik

Paul Musiolik

Started writing about games on the SquareZone website. Later, he wrote and managed the non-existent PSSite.com, and currently runs his own blog about games. He hasn't yet written a text that he would be 100% satisfied with. He started his adventure with games at the age of 3, when he managed to convince his father to buy a C64 computer. The love for electronic entertainment awakened by Flimbo's Quest blossomed during the first adventures with Heroes of Might & Magic, reaching its peak after purchasing the first PlayStation. As he grew older, he had more encounters with Nintendo portable consoles, and also returned to the PC as an additional gaming platform. He collects games and is a fan of emulation.

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Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Bloodborne

Bloodborne

Dark Souls III

Dark Souls III

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin

Dark Souls: Remastered

Dark Souls: Remastered

NiOh 2: The Complete Edition

NiOh 2: The Complete Edition

The Surge 2

The Surge 2

Lords of the Fallen (2017)

Lords of the Fallen (2017)

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