this post was submitted on 27 Feb 2026
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Soulslike - Discussion, News, Memes

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This is a community for discussion, news, and memes pertaining to the video game sub-genre "soulslike".

Given Lemmy's size, the definition of soulslike may be treated relatively loosely. While games like the numerous FromSoft titles, the recent Star Wars Jedi games, Lies of P, Nioh and similar games should be the focus, games that incorporate soulslike elements - like Hollow Knight and Blasphemous, for example - may also be discussed here.

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[BB] This enemy is so difficult!

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[DS1] Anyone struggling with the gargoyles?

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[Discussion] Which Soulslike will you be playing this weekend and Sword & Board or Dodge & Weave - which do you prefer? (lemmy.zip)
submitted 11 hours ago by v4ld1z@lemmy.zip to c/soulslike@lemmy.zip
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I'm deep in the trenches of learning Hunt Showdown, so no soulslikes for me right now but a very challenging game nonetheless. Imagine if Hunt had dodge rolls and parries!

I've never played with sword & board because the games I played first never allowed for it. Bloodborne explicitly mocks you with the few existing shields in the game, implying that using them "engenders passivity". Sekiro is also very fast-paced with its massive focus on parries - iT's LiKe A dAnCe. Lies of P and Khazan also focus on parrying and dodging.

Come to think of it, none of the newer soulslikes put such an onus on blocking attacks with a shield like the original souls games do. The only time I tried playing with a shield was in Demon's Souls and even there I usually went for a two-handed uchigatana for bosses. And as the Dark Souls series matured, the third entry made enemies a lot more aggressive and fast compared for the two entries before, so ducking behind a shield wasn't as viable as adapting your playstyle with a similarly more aggressive one.

What's your stance? Which do you prefer? Has any of the two shaped your taste in soulslikes/-lites/whatever?

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[–] Coelacanth@feddit.nu 2 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

I mean, it's kind of a Team Ninja classic to some extent. You get as much fun out of it as you put in. You can clear Ninja Gaiden 2 by spamming Ultimate Techniques and iframing through everything but once you get bored of that and start exploring the combat is when it gets much more fun.

I guess the same goes for most character action games.