There have been a lot of genre-defining games released so far this decade, including Baldur's Gate 3, Astro Bot, and the Soulslike masterpiece Elden Ring. FromSoftware's magnum opus takes everything the developer learned from making the Dark Souls trilogy, Bloodborne, and Sekiro, and transports it into an absolutely massive open world that is loaded top to bottom with secrets to discover and lore to puzzle over.
8 Best Combat-Heavy Open-World Games Where Players Are Usually Outnumbered, Ranked
Players must take on countless enemies at once in these open-world games that often give players abilities or powerful items to fight with.
FromSoftware's combat system is basically a brand in and of itself at this point. Stamina meters, equipment loads, limited healing items, and predictable but challenging enemy attack patterns are so recognizable that they have come to define the Soulslike genre. While Elden Ring is arguably the pinnacle of that genre, that doesn't mean that it has the best Soulslike combat system. To be clear, these next five games are not better games than Elden Ring when taken as a whole. What they do have over FromSoftware's greatest work is a more refined, more precise, and/or more thrilling combat system.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
There's Nothing Like A Perfect Parry Sequence
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
- Released
- March 22, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Violence
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Elden Ring provides an almost countless number of weapons that players can adopt during their playthrough. From standard weapon types to unique weapons with their own movesets, boredom is consistently warded off by simply switching to a new weapon and taking it for a spin. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice takes the exact opposite approach. Players have just one weapon throughout the whole game, Wolf's katana, and their goal is to master it inside and out by the time the credits roll. Part of that mastery process involves coming to grips with Sekiro's robust deflection mechanic. Almost any enemy attack can be deflected with a properly timed button press. However, because this is also a FromSoftware game, those enemy attacks come fast and furious, and deflecting them requires pinpoint timing and a combination of patience and confidence.
When it all comes together, it's one of the most satisfying combat mechanics in gaming. Elden Ring offers this to an extent if players pick up the Deflecting Hardtear from the Scorched Ruins in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, but its effect only lasts for 5 minutes, and it's not quite as precise as Sekiro's system. Meanwhile, Sekiro also introduces Prosthetic Tools that do everything from spew flames to transform into a giant axe, and a grappling hook that players can use to either launch over their enemies or pull them off balance. Where Elden Ring offers unmatched variety, Sekrio delivers a refined combat system, with every moment of gameplay designed to take advantage of Wolf's unique combat abilities.
Nine Sols
A Perfect Blend Of Precise Platforming And Purposeful Combat
Nine Sols
- Released
- May 29, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Teen / Blood and Gore, Language, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Developer(s)
- RedCandleGames
- Genre(s)
- Action, Platformer, Metroidvania, Soulslike
Speaking of deflection mechanics, where Sekiro demands pattern recognition and confidence, Nine Sols demands that players master the art of timing. Deflections are only one aspect of combat, and while they're everything in Sekiro, here they're more of a means to an end. Tanking enemies isn't really a viable strategy, but it's not completely ineffective either. However, neglecting to learn how deflections work is a recipe for disaster because the bosses in Nine Sols are not messing around. On top of deflecting, players need to master dashes (both on the ground and in the air), a grapple ability, arrows with various effects, and Yi's signature Talismans. These are something like the Nine Sols equivalent of spells. Yi can place a talisman on an enemy after successfully deflecting an attack, and following a short delay, the Talisman will explode. They're the most effective method of dealing damage in the game, but they're tricky to get the hang of.
Best Metroidvania Games That Are Immediately Fun
Players don't have to wait long at all for these Metroidvania games to rev up. Here's which ones are fun from the get-go.
Nine Sols outduels Elden Ring by keeping things simple. The aforementioned mechanics are basically all players need to worry about, but if they don't work towards an almost instinctual understanding of those mechanics, finishing the game is a pipe dream. Elden Ring may have a massive variety of different combat abilities and weapon options, but players are never pushed to master any of them in the same way Nine Sols demands. The reward for achieving that mastery is an almost euphoric sense of fulfillment, as the ultimate test comes in the form of the game's final boss, and it's one of the hardest final boss fights in gaming history.
Lies Of P
Pinocchio Souls
Lies of P
- Released
- September 19, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Round8 Studio, Neowiz
- Genre(s)
- Soulslike
Elden Ring thrives on player expression. The aforementioned weapon variety is one aspect, but there's also the game's extensive library of Sorceries and Incantations for players to explore. Then there are Ashes of War, weapon skills, and Physick flasks that can all contribute to how players craft their ideal build. However, there's so much to choose from, and a constant flow of new options to consider, that it can all feel a bit directionless, with players never quite coming to grips with the perfect tools for their build until a second or third playthrough. Lies of P offers a similar degree of player expression, but it focuses that creativity by allowing them to experiment with new weapons while still hanging on to the things they liked about their previous weapon choice.
It does this by allowing players to mix and match parts from two different weapons, namely, the Blade and the Handle. Both these weapon parts come with associated skills called Fable Arts. Blades typically possess offensive Fable Arts, while Handles carry defensive ones. That description may seem simplistic, but this system opens the door for players to create some truly wild weapon combinations. The best part is, those creations are entirely the player's own. It's not simply a result of being handed a new weapon via exploration; it's a way for players to put their personal stamp on the weapon they'll wield throughout the game, and it's immensely satisfying to put one together and have it succeed against a tough enemy. Lies of P also offers something of a blocking/deflecting mechanic (there's a trend here), and while it's not nearly as comprehensive as what's seen in Sekiro or Nine Sols, it still outdoes Elden Ring's Deflection Hardtear.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
The Tarnished Can't Compete With The Force
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- Released
- April 28, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Mild Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Respawn Entertainment
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure, Soulslike, Sci-Fi
Force powers are just the coolest. There are a lot of enviable super-abilities in pop culture, but right alongside Wolverine's claws, Spider-Man's web swinging, and Superman's... Everything, the powers of a Jedi Knight are the kind of thing most people would love to fool around with, even just for a day. That's exactly what the Star Wars Jedi series offers, and between the two entries released to date, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is the more complete game in nearly every way, from its story to its world, and of course, its combat.
How Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's Sequel Could Expand On Lightsaber Stances
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's evolution on lightsaber combat brought improvements and depth to Cal's fighting skills, but Respawn could go further.
Multiple lightsaber styles (or "Stances") are a major standout here. There's a dual-bladed option like Darth Maul, a twin sabers Stance like Ahsoka, and a greatsword-like lightsaber with a hilt akin to Kylo Ren's, to name a few. Then there are the Force powers. There's nothing that reinvents the Star Wars franchise here, but from Force Pull and Push to Force Lift and Slam, grabbing a Stormtrooper and tossing them off a cliff (or into one of their buddies) never gets old, and it's a feeling that Elden Ring just can't match. The one exception here is in the boss battles. For all the joy that Jedi: Survivor's combat delivers, its boss battles aren't bad exactly, but they aren't really satisfying either; certainly not to the level of Elden Ring. It just doesn't feel right to wail on a boss with a lightsaber and watch it tank each hit while its health bar ticks down. It certainly fits the Soulslike formula, but it doesn't really fit the Star Wars formula.
Black Myth: Wukong
More Combat Mechanics That You Could Ever Use
Black Myth: Wukong
- Released
- August 20, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Game Science
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Pretty much right up to its release, it wasn't exactly clear what kind of game Black Myth: Wukong was. It clearly had stunning visuals, and it was based on the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, but beyond that, the actual gameplay style was pretty ambiguous. It turns out that was because there are so many gameplay options crammed into this game that it would be impossible to advertise even a fraction of them. However, it is a Soulslike, albeit one that doesn't quite adhere religiously to the genre formula. It sometimes even feels like a boss rush game, but so can all Soulslikes, to be fair.
Player progression, and specifically ability progression, is perfectly refined in Black Myth: Wukong. Players are constantly unlocking new abilities, transformations, Spirit attacks, Stances, Spells, and weapon skills as they play, and each one can be woven seamlessly into combat. It may seem like a lot — and it is — but very few of these unlocks are mandatory or essential to progression. Instead, players can often stick to the methods that are working for them and succeed, or try out some new Spells and transformations to freshen things up. The reason it outdoes Elden Ring is that combat variety is constantly at the player's fingertips. There's no need to upgrade a newly-acquired weapon or respec stats just to try using it. Players will have to equip their chosen Skills and Spells, but that's about as much effort as Black Myth: Wukong requires from them to change things up. All that variety is meant to be a suggestion, but unlike in Elden Ring, that suggestion can be accepted without needing to run errands first.
Elden Ring
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 95 /100 Critics Rec: 98%
- Released
- February 25, 2022
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Publisher(s)
- Bandai Namco Entertainment, From Software
