Top 10 Games Like Elden Ring? Our Best Recommendations

Elden Ring captivated millions with its vast, mysterious world, challenging combat, and the sheer thrill of discovery. It redefined what an open-world action RPG could be, leaving many of us craving more of that unique blend of exploration, intense boss battles, and deep lore. If you’ve spent countless hours traversing the Lands Between, battling formidable foes, and unraveling its secrets, you’re likely wondering what epic journey awaits next.

Finding games like Elden Ring that truly scratch that same itch can be a quest in itself. But fear not, Tarnished! We’ve delved deep into the gaming realm to unearth titles that offer similar thrills, whether it’s the punishing difficulty, expansive worlds, or intricate combat systems that you loved most. Get ready to discover your next obsession!

Quick Look: Top Games Like Elden Ring in 2026

If you’ve conquered the Lands Between and Shadow of the Erdtree and are hungry for that same sense of discovery and challenge, these are the best titles to play right now.

• Dark Souls III: The closest combat experience to Elden Ring, offering a faster, more linear challenge.
• Dragon’s Dogma 2: The best alternative for players who loved the “go anywhere, do anything” open-world freedom.
• Lies of P: widely considered the best non-FromSoftware “Soulslike,” featuring a dark, Victorian aesthetic.
• Black Myth: Wukong: Perfect for those wanting fluid, high-octane combat with high-end visuals.
• Remnant 2: Ideally described as “Elden Ring with guns,” focusing on co-op and procedural worlds.
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom: The ultimate choice if exploration and creative freedom were your favorite parts of Elden Ring.
• Wuchang: Fallen Feathers: A highly anticipated 2026 title set in late Ming Dynasty China with supernatural horror elements.
• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor: A more accessible “Soulslike” that blends difficult combat with a cinematic sci-fi story.

Comparison: Which Soulslike Should You Play?

What Defines a “Game Like Elden Ring”?

1. Unforgiving Combat: It’s not just about difficulty; it’s about fairness. Games like Lies of P and Sekiro demand you learn enemy patterns, just like Malenia or Radahn did.
2. Environmental Storytelling: Elden Ring doesn’t hand-hold you with cutscenes. Alternatives like Hollow Knight and Dark Souls also force you to piece together the lore by reading item descriptions and observing the world.
3. The “Sense of Scale”: Few games match the verticality of the Lands Between. Dragon’s Dogma 2 and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 are among the few that capture that feeling of seeing a distant mountain and actually being able to go there.

Common Questions About Games Like Elden Ring

Is there an easier game like Elden Ring?

Yes. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor allows you to adjust the difficulty while keeping the exploration and combat mechanics. Another Crab’s Treasure is also a fantastic “entry-level” Soulslike that is forgiving but fun.

Which game has the best open world like Elden Ring?

Dragon’s Dogma 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom are the top contenders. Both games refuse to hold your hand, rewarding curiosity and organic exploration over map markers.

Are there any co-op games like Elden Ring?

Remnant 2 and Lords of the Fallen (2023) are built with seamless co-op in mind, making them easier to play with friends than FromSoftware’s traditional summoning system.

What is the “Nightreign” game people are talking about?

Elden Ring: Nightreign is a rumored/upcoming co-op survival title set in the Elden Ring universe, expected to launch in 2026. It focuses more on survival mechanics than the base game.

1. Dark Souls Remastered: The Genesis of the Challenge

Alright, so you’ve conquered Elden Ring, and now you’re looking for that familiar blend of challenge and reward. Where better to turn than to the very series that laid much of the groundwork? For me, diving into Dark Souls Remastered feels like returning to a foundational text. This isn’t just another game; it’s where the “Souls-like” genre truly solidified its identity. What makes it stand out, even after all these years, is its masterfully interconnected world design.

Lordran, its setting, isn’t an open world in the same sprawling sense as Elden Ring, but its labyrinthine paths, hidden shortcuts, and verticality create an incredible sense of discovery and progression.

The combat here is deliberate and punishing, demanding precision, patience, and a keen understanding of enemy patterns – much like what you’ve grown to love. Every encounter, even with a seemingly minor foe, can be your undoing if you’re not careful. The lore, while often cryptic and delivered through item descriptions and environmental storytelling, is incredibly rich and invites deep speculation, drawing you further into its melancholic beauty.

If you’re searching for games like Elden Ring that offer a pure, unadulterated dose of that signature “FromSoftware difficulty” and a world that constantly surprises, Dark Souls Remastered is an essential pilgrimage. It’s a timeless classic that continues to challenge and reward in equal measure.

2. Dark Souls III: A Faster, More Aggressive Dance

After the deliberate pace of Dark Souls Remastered, stepping into Dark Souls III felt like a significant shift for me, pushing the series into a more aggressive, faster-paced combat style that, in many ways, foreshadowed the fluidity we’d later see in Elden Ring. If you loved the relentless boss fights and the satisfaction of mastering complex attack patterns, Dark Souls III delivers in spades.

The combat is undeniably quicker, encouraging more active dodging and parrying, and the enemy designs are some of the most visually striking and challenging in the entire series.

What really resonated with me here was the sheer epic scale of the boss encounters. From the towering Abyss Watchers to the terrifying Soul of Cinder, each boss feels like a grand, multi-stage spectacle that truly tests your mettle. While the world isn’t as interconnected as the original Dark Souls, its areas are beautifully designed and flow seamlessly, pulling you deeper into its dying world.

The lore continues to be a highlight, weaving a melancholic tale of fading flames and ancient lords. For those seeking games like Elden Ring that offer intense, fast-paced combat and unforgettable boss battles, Dark Souls III is a brilliant choice that refines the Souls formula into a more agile and visually stunning experience.

3. Bloodborne: A Gothic Horror Masterpiece

Shifting gears from the medieval fantasy of Dark Souls, Bloodborne plunges players into the nightmarish, gothic world of Yharnam, a city plagued by a mysterious illness that transforms its inhabitants into grotesque beasts. This title stands out with its distinct Victorian-era aesthetic and a combat system that heavily rewards aggression.

Unlike the defensive play often encouraged in Dark Souls, Bloodborne’s “Regain System” allows players to recover lost health by striking back quickly after taking damage, fostering a more offensive and high-stakes approach to encounters.

The game’s unique “Trick Weapons” offer dual forms, adding a layer of strategic depth to combat, allowing for swift transformations mid-combo to adapt to different enemy types. Its narrative unfolds through environmental storytelling and cryptic item descriptions, immersing players in a deeply unsettling yet captivating mystery.

The atmosphere is thick with dread, and the boss designs are truly horrifying and memorable, each demanding precise execution and a willingness to learn from defeat. Bloodborne offers a fresh take on the challenging action RPG formula, emphasizing speed and aggression within a uniquely terrifying setting.

4. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice: The Art of the Blade

Stepping into the shoes of the “One-Armed Wolf” in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was a revelation for me. While it shares FromSoftware’s DNA of challenging boss fights and intricate world design, Sekiro completely redefines the combat experience.

Gone are the traditional RPG stats and varied weapon types; instead, the game focuses intensely on a refined, rhythmic sword-clashing system centered around “Postural” combat. This means parrying, deflecting, and breaking an enemy’s stance becomes paramount, leading to incredibly satisfying and often nail-biting duels.

What truly makes Sekiro stand out is its relentless demand for mastery of its core mechanics. You can’t just dodge roll through everything; you must learn to deflect. This singular focus creates a unique flow state during combat that I found incredibly rewarding, much like the precise timing required in Elden Ring’s toughest encounters.

The grappling hook adds a fantastic vertical dimension to exploration and stealth, opening up new ways to approach enemies and navigate its stunning Sengoku Japan setting. If you’re looking for games like Elden Ring that push you to master a deep, focused combat system and offer a fresh narrative experience, Sekiro is an absolute must-play. It’s a dance of steel and death that will test your reflexes and patience in the best possible way.

5. Demon’s Souls (PS5 Remake): The Ancestor Reborn

For me, experiencing Demon’s Souls on the PlayStation 5 was like stepping into a beautifully reimagined piece of gaming history. This is the game that truly started it all for what we now know as the “Souls-like” genre, and the remake by Bluepoint Games is nothing short of a visual and auditory masterpiece.

While the core gameplay remains true to the original’s punishing difficulty and unique World Tendency system, the sheer graphical fidelity and seamless performance make it feel incredibly fresh.

What I found particularly captivating about Demon’s Souls is its distinct hub-and-spoke world design. Unlike the interconnectedness of later FromSoftware titles, here you return to the Nexus, a central hub, to access five distinct, self-contained worlds. Each world presents its own unique challenges, enemy types, and atmosphere, from the dark, oppressive Stonefang Tunnel to the eerie Tower of Latria.

The boss fights are often more puzzle-like than pure skill checks, requiring you to understand their mechanics to overcome them. It’s a slower, more methodical experience than Elden Ring, but its foundational elements of risk-reward combat, cryptic storytelling, and the immense satisfaction of overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds are all there, polished to a brilliant sheen.

6. Nioh 2: A Samurai’s Demonic Gauntlet

When I first jumped into Nioh 2, I knew it was going to be tough, but I wasn’t quite prepared for the sheer depth and intensity of its combat system. Team Ninja truly outdid themselves with this one, blending the challenging “Souls-like” formula with their signature action game flair.

What immediately grabbed me was the sheer variety in combat stances (High, Mid, Low) and the “Ki Pulse” mechanic, which allows you to quickly recover stamina by timing a button press after an attack. Mastering this system is absolutely crucial and makes every encounter a dynamic, high-stakes dance.

The game’s setting in Sengoku-era Japan, infused with Yokai folklore, is incredibly rich and visually stunning. As a half-human, half-Yokai protagonist, you also get access to powerful demonic abilities, adding another layer of strategic depth to battles. The sheer number of weapon types, each with its own unique skill trees, means there’s an incredible amount of build variety and customization, which I found really satisfying.

If you’re looking for games like Elden Ring that offer a deep, challenging combat system, a compelling historical fantasy setting, and a relentless stream of formidable bosses, Nioh 2 delivers an unforgettable experience that demands both skill and tactical thinking. It’s a true test of patience and mastery.

7. Lords of the Fallen: A Dual-Realm Gauntlet

Diving into Lords of the Fallen felt like a fresh take on the challenging action RPG genre, and it immediately drew me in with its unique dual-realm mechanic. What truly sets this game apart is the ability to seamlessly shift between Axiom, the realm of the living, and Umbral, a haunting, parallel dimension of the dead. This isn’t just a visual gimmick; it’s deeply integrated into exploration and combat.

When I died in Axiom, I’d get a second chance in Umbral, but at a greater risk, as the enemies become even more relentless. This constant tension of managing two realities kept me on my toes and added a fantastic layer of strategy to every encounter.

The combat itself is weighty and deliberate, reminiscent of classic Souls-likes, but with its own distinct feel. I found myself carefully timing parries and dodges, and the variety of weapons and magic allowed for some interesting build experimentation.

The world design, while not open-world, features intricately connected areas that reveal shortcuts and secrets as you progress, rewarding thorough exploration. The visual design of both realms is stunning, creating a grim and atmospheric journey. For anyone who appreciates a challenging experience with a unique twist on world traversal and combat, Lords of the Fallen offers a compelling and often brutal adventure.

8. Mortal Shell: A Hardened Approach to Combat

Stepping into the desolate world of Mortal Shell was an intriguing experience for me, offering a unique twist on the “Souls-like” formula that felt both familiar and fresh. What immediately stands out is its core mechanic: instead of traditional classes, you inhabit various “shells” – the bodies of fallen warriors, each with its own distinct playstyle and abilities.

This system encourages experimentation and adapting your strategy on the fly, which I found incredibly engaging. You can even eject from your shell to avoid a fatal blow, giving you a brief, vulnerable second chance.

The combat is weighty and deliberate, emphasizing precise parries and a unique “Harden” ability that allows you to temporarily turn into an invulnerable stone statue, deflecting incoming attacks. Mastering the timing of Harden is crucial and adds a fantastic defensive layer to the otherwise aggressive encounters. The world is compact but densely packed with secrets, unsettling lore, and formidable foes, all wrapped in a bleak, atmospheric aesthetic.

Suppose you’re looking for games like Elden Ring that offer a focused, challenging experience with a clever twist on character progression and combat mechanics. In that case, Mortal Shell is a solid choice that carves out its own niche in the genre.

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9. Code Vein: Anime Action in a Post-Apocalyptic World

Diving into Code Vein felt like stepping into a vibrant, anime-inspired take on the challenging action RPG genre. What immediately struck me was its distinct art style and character customization, allowing me to craft a protagonist that truly felt like my own.

The game throws you into a post-apocalyptic world overrun by the Lost, monstrous beings born from a mysterious cataclysm. As a Revenant, a vampire-like super-soldier, I found the combat to be a fast-paced and stylish affair.

The core of Code Vein’s gameplay revolves around “Blood Codes,” which function like classes, allowing you to instantly switch between different playstyles, abilities, and stat distributions. This flexibility is a huge strength, letting me adapt my strategy on the fly against various enemies and bosses. The “Gift” system, essentially the game’s magic and special abilities, adds another layer of depth, offering a wide array of offensive and defensive options.

While the level design can be a bit more linear than some other titles in this vein, the compelling narrative, the ability to bring an AI companion, and the satisfying combat loop kept me hooked. It’s a visually striking and engaging experience that offers a unique flavor of challenging action.

10. Salt and Sanctuary: A 2D Souls-like Masterpiece

Stepping into the world of Salt and Sanctuary was a delightful surprise for me, proving that the challenging “Souls-like” formula translates beautifully into a 2D side-scrolling action RPG. What immediately grabbed my attention was its grim, hand-drawn art style, which creates an incredibly atmospheric and unsettling world.

Despite being a 2D game, it perfectly captures the sense of isolation, exploration, and brutal difficulty that fans of the genre crave.

The combat is precise and weighty, demanding careful timing for attacks, blocks, rolls, and parries. You’ll find a vast array of weapons, armor, and spells, allowing for deep character customization and build variety, much like the extensive options in Elden Ring. The world itself is a sprawling, interconnected labyrinth, filled with hidden paths, secrets, and formidable bosses that will test your patience and skill.

The “Sanctuaries” act as your bonfires, offering a moment of respite and a place to level up. If you’re looking for games like Elden Ring but prefer a unique 2D perspective that still delivers on challenging combat, rich lore, and rewarding exploration, Salt and Sanctuary is an absolute gem that shouldn’t be overlooked.

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