And I don’t just mean Demon’s Souls and King’s Field. I don’t think the genre itself is super unique, as much as it was (originally) a kind of return to form that simply hit at just the right moment. Plenty of games long before DS were similar in gameplay and sometimes even tone.
Like Soul Reaver, which is extremely similar with the combat, non-linear yet linear through metroidvania type tools level design, and even a respawn system where instead of loading a save, you come back with everything you did still done but now you’re somewhere else and forced to backtrack.
I’ve kinda exhausted all the new options and I still crave more so now I’m looking back to the past to see if there’s anything I missed out on when it was new. The only thing I could think of off the top of my head was the Soul Reaver series, tho.
Honestly, such an interesting question and all I can come up with are the two Soul Reavers and Defiance. Maybe Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask could work too? Since OoT introduced z-targeting which is basically how the targeting camera from soulslikes works
I’m wondering about the N64 Castlevania, despite having played it once back in the day (I rented it). Can’t remember if I gave up on it because it was hard or if it just wasn’t good. I am pretty sure it had similar combat, but it just wasn’t as tight.
I also just remembered Ninja Gaiden, the xbox one, was kinda similar. It at least was uncaringly hard. Hell, even back in the NES days, Ninja Gaiden was regarded as impossibly difficult and one of the few games of that era I was never able to beat.
This is maybe a silly and useless suggestion and not what you’re looking for, but the early Zelda games are coming to mind for me. Like, versions that were only on GameBoy, or the first 2 NES titles. Might be kinda painful to go back that far, but those games were hard. The story was sparse, and they didn’t tell you much about how to actually play the game lol. I never beat the early NES ones.
Try Lords of the Fallen if you haven’t done so yet. The game puts a cool spin on the formula by allowing you to explore an alternate ghost world, and the dodge is really powerful. Magic casting feels really satisfying to use, unlike the early Souls games, and it’s quite a polished game. I love the voice of the angelic lady that serves as the first boss of the game.
Have you played Lunacid? It’s recent but I feel like it’s slipped under the radar for a lot of people. DLC is coming soon, too.
Shinobi on PS2. I haven’t played it in decades but I remember enjoying it. People say it’s very difficult but I was able to beat it as a kid.
Haven’t played it but I have heard some about it and have it on my wishlist.
