Summary
There are many moving pieces that make a Soulslike game. A stamina system you must manage, precise hitboxes, strong level design, enticing enemy designs. And while often celebrated but less often mentioned is the multiplayer aspect of these games. While rarely operating in the traditional sense, it is just as important.
Sometimes though, you just want to be able to sit down and play a game with someone, nice and easy. No randomly searching and obscure limitations. These games give you a taste of that, offering up a more traditional co-op experience to help you survive the grueling combat.
Outward is the most lenient game in terms of Soulslike classification here, though it’s not exactly a science defining them. It does check many of the boxes though with a base combat system very reminiscent of FromSoftware’s own, though introduces many flourishes of its own.
Mixed with more standard Soulslikes system, Outwardintroduces many survival elementsinto its fantasy world. Thankfully, you don’t have to go it alone. You can take the entire journey with a friend, with the world and enemies seamlessly adapting to fit you. The vast wilderness doesn’t have to be lonely.
Ashen is a game that tries very keenly to be faithful to the foundations of the Soulslike combat formula. Slow and methodical actions, dark areas, and a carefully managed stamina system. Its multiplayer is somewhat akin to that seen in the Dark Souls series as well, with a degree of randomness.
In Dark Souls, you see the silhouettes of other players. In Ashen, these characters appear physically in your world with you both sharing the space. This means you can choose to to help each other, or be a hindrance. If you want a more specifically co-op experience though, you can still set a multiplayer code if you want to remove of the randomness.
Heralded by many as one of the few Soulslikes to really grasp at what the Dark Souls games achieved, Nioh feelsat times closer to a character-action game, much of the Ninja Gaiden legacy flowing through its systems. Being level-based though, rather than an interconnected world, makes its co-op system much simpler.
While you may still place down a sign and summon players into your world, you can choose your mission and invite others in advance, giving you a dedicated co-op experience without all the fuss.
There’s PvP too, if you’d rather fight your friends.
Sometimes, it can be better to temper your ambitions to make a solid, if somewhat unexceptional game. That’s what Hellpoint is. It is by no means ground-breaking, but it has a clarity of vision that is simple and works, and makes some of its sytem more enjoyable as a result.
Hellpoint is a very traditional Soulslikes experience, though has a unique aspect in its dynamic events that, in real-time, can alter enemy stats and locations. This can give some extreme difficulty jumps, so it’s a good thing the co-op is fully drop-in at the press of a button, both locally and online.
Salt and Sanctuary was one of the first 2D Soulslikes games that really reached wide renown, and with good reason. It’s a brutal game, mixed with some Metroidvania elements and a dark, unsettling atmosphere. The sequel, Salt and Sacrifice, builds upon most of this, the muliplayer aspects especially.
In Sanctuary, co-op existed though was a bit of a pain to get functioning. In Sacrifice, the system is dramatically fleshed-out. It is now more akin to the Covenants sytem, though still allowing your co-op partner to remain with you with much less limitations.
3The Last Oricru
The Last Oricru is by all means a bizarre game. It’s Soulslike elements are by all means present, if a tad underbaked. It’s everything else that makes it stand out so much, from the bizarre voice direction to the utterly absurd setting and morality posed by the game. It’s something you really must experience to understand.
To its credit though, the game is fully built around co-op. In fact, there are even abilities that can only be performed with a co-op partner that greatly open up your tactical options. It’s janky by all means, but there’s a heart of greta co-op fun in here.
With most Soulslike games, the combat tends to be centered around melee combat. That is the blueprint, and the easiest system to adapt for such a risk-reward focused system. Remnant forgoes that entirely, makingthe combat almost entirely rangedwith a massive variety of firearms.
Remnant 2 takes everything the original did to the extreme, though keeps co-op at the heart of the experience. And with a more looter-shooter gear system, you are enticed to engage in the combat as much as possible. So grab a friend and dive in.
A Soulslike Final Fantasy game. Really, who would have thought it would succeed? And yet Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins stands as the example that the FF job system is incredibly diverse and adapts quite well to the Soulslike formula. With Team Ninja’s combat expertise, it’s a visual feast with plenty of tact.
And what defines most Final Fantasy games? its companions, of course. While you have two with you on every mission, they can just as easily be replaced by real players online. You take on the role of Jack’s companions, though with all the same powers as you would in your own world. You can even use Phoenix Down to revive each other.
As Jack is the main character, it does mean certain actions, like Finishers, are exclusive to the host.
