Speaking to the Chinese newspaper Gōuhuǒ yíngdì, Hidetaka Miyazaki – head of FromSoftware – revealed that he is a great player and soulslike enthusiast. It might seem like an obvious thing, given that it created the genre in a way, but it’s not actually obvious.
Miyazaki explained that he plays a good amount of these games and that is very happy that there are so many soulslikes on the market. As a gamer, he appreciates having access to so many titles.
Furthermore, as a developer, it is one for him great learning opportunity, as he can learn new things for his games too. Miyazaki says that when FromSoftware created Demon Souls he was just following a current trend and looking at what players wanted. He goes on to say that developers should learn from each other to create better experiences for gamers.
In the same interview Miyazaki gave some details on the difficulty and progression system of Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree.
The most recent soulslikes
Thinking back to last year, two positively received soulslikes arrived on the market: Lies of P and Lords of the Fallen. Both, although with their own uniqueness, reflect the style that characterizes FromSoftware’s titles, such as the level system, the management of checkpoints, the use of maps with shortcuts and the way in which the “lore” of the game is presented. Individually the various elements were obviously not invented by Miyazaki & Co., but combined together (also with other factors) they generate this genre (or subgenre, depending on how everyone wants to categorize soulslikes).
Speaking of a more recent and different release, Another Crab’s Treasure is a colorful, comedic, maritime-themed soulslike with more accessibility options, but still a soulslike.
