10 Best 2D Souls-Likes, Ranked

The Souls-Like genre is currently one of the biggest in the video game industry, with dozens of entries every year that remind us of the legacy of Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls.

There are many examples when talking about the best Souls-Likes games you can find on the market, and that includes their two-dimensional representatives, which often get overlooked due to the popularity of the 3D titles.

Therefore, if you are looking for adventures that follow the teachings of Hidetaka Miyazaki and FromSoftware but in a side-scrolling way, here are our ranked picks for the 10 best 2D Souls-Likes.

10 Moonscars

This One Will Scar You Mentally

Even though it is not that well known, Moonscars is one of those obscure indie gems that surprises you when you least expect it.

With its challenging gameplay, amazing visual and sound effects, and incredible mythology, it easily lures you into its world, making you sensibly feel everything surrounding the experience; from the visceral combat to the magnificent aesthetic, the immersion is more than remarkable.

It is as unforgiving as it gets, but it is worth a try if you want to feel the same things you felt when first playing the Souls series.

9 Vigil: The Longest Night

Bloodborne Minus A Dimension

Inspired by classics like Castlevania and the modern Salt and Sanctuary, Vigil: The Longest Night evokes a Bloodborne feeling through its eternal night and eldritch horrors, especially thanks to its atmosphere and soundtrack.

The game has a huge number of bosses, weapons, and areas, and its dark narrative perfectly adapts to the genre standard as it tells the story of Leila, a member of the Vigilant Order.

It is pretty confusing at the start, but that cryptic feeling makes you feel at home (if “home” means “FromSoftware game”). Whenever it clicks, it’s easy to understand why it would make it onto the list.

8 Grime

Horrifyingly Great

Screenshot of a multiarmed boss from GRIME

Grime is the most bizarre game on the list, given that its concept is based on anatomical horror instead of the usual tropes of dark fantasy settings.

Living weapons, enemies that look like they came out of a fever dream, a black hole protagonist with a body made of stone… When it comes to weirdness, there is no option like this one.

However, the game is also a solid Souls-Like for beginners and veterans, with great combat, progression, and animations, tremendous boss fights, and a map full of secrets that are quite enjoyable to explore and discover.

7 Death’s Gambit: Afterlife

A 2D Souls Pioneer

When the Souls-like sub-genre wasn’t as established as today, Death’s Gambit became one of the first Souls-Likes to gain public praise.

Despite the lack of references to its inspiration, the White Rabbit team hit the spot in capturing the essence of FromSoftware’s work, carving one of the purest games in that regard.

It has some of the best bosses in the genre, excellent worldbuilding, a huge amount of character personalization, and is overall tough to beat. An unalloyed and worthy heir of the Souls experience.

10 Best Soulslike Games, Ranked

There are several Soulslike games that recapture the same magic while also introducing some innovative gameplay elements.

6 Nine Sols

Sekiro, Eat Your Heart Out

Nine Sols is the most recent launch of the list, but its addition was to be expected, as it’s almost impossible to find a 2D Souls-Like with this level of polish.

Though it draws inspiration from Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, its perfect deflection-based mechanics, rich lore, and unique ‘taopunk’ setting make it an inevitable entry for every article about the best of FromSoftware’s heritage.

Also, it’s worth noting that Nine Sols has hand-drawn animations and cutscenes inspired by mangaand was developed by the authors of the award-winning psychological horror games Detention and Devotion.This is a cocktail for greatness and one of the reasons why 2024 could be a new peak for Souls-like games.

5 Blasphemous 2

No Gods, Mo Masters

Fighting through the Crown of Towers in Blasphemous 2

Blasphemous 2 is everything a sequel needs to be: a bigger, better, and more refined product built based on its predecessor’s foundation.

In this case, the word “predecessor” refers to one of the most iconic indies ever created, so that explains why Blasphemous II has what it has: memorable bosses, memorable areas, memorable lore, memorable characters, memorable level design, and so on.

In general, it’s an unforgettable experience that symbolizes why Souls-Likes are so beloved. It’s probably the easiest one on the list, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that it excels at everything it proposes to do, and that is one of the best in the genre.

4 Dead Cells

Roguelike Souls Action

Dead Cells mixes the metroidvania and roguelike formulas to create one of the best independent video games of all time.

Although it’s the least pure of the entries, as many genres and styles inspire it, the Souls games are an obvious reference for Motion Twin, especially regarding bosses and the harsh but fair difficulty.

However, in terms of ambiance, the importance of retrying, and the imperative use of dodge rolling for every encounter, Dead Cells not only feels like Dark Souls but also stands out like Dark Souls, and that’s, frankly, an impressive feat.

And it has the “Souls-Like” tag on Steam, so if there was any doubt, you can hang your hat on that.

3 Salt and Sanctuary

A Love Letter To FromSoft’s Magnum Opus

The true pioneer of 2D Souls-Likes. The first to do it right. The righteous origin of this list. Salt and Sanctuary is THE two-dimensional Dark Souls, and there’s no better way to describe it.

From the level design to the progression, from the combat archetypes to the bosses, from the currency to the checkpoints, from the secrets to the lore, every single element of the game is an undeniable ode to the journeys of Lordran, Drangleic, and Lothric.

Despite not being the best game on the list, no title has come close to feeling like Dark Souls. To this day, there are more polished options, but that’s the point: even in clunkiness, Salt and Sanctuary is Souls-like. The resemblance is almost unbelievable.

2 Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights

When It Rains, It Pours

Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights has achieved something that few games have in the past years: the dichotomous feelings related to the Souls experience— feelings that transcend what can be easily seen.

Hope and despair, beauty and crudeness, fear and will—the sensations that the Land’s End voyage generates are immaculate thanks to its sublime artistic direction, its soundtrack (probably one of the best of the last decade), and its lore, which is full of emotions and feelings that reach deep within the player.

If you add that audiovisual and narrative excellence to its singular mechanics, composed by spirits that you invoke to fight for you against brilliantly designed bosses and enemies, and its beautifully crafted and interconnected world, what you get is a masterpiece.

1 Hollow Knight

Silksong, When?

It’s impossible to end the list with anything but the only game that Souls fans love as much as the series itself: Hollow Knight.

That shared passion, of course, is no coincidence: Dark Souls and Hollow Knight represent the very same themes and intentions at their cores and are also the peak of their respective fronts.

The best bosses, the best map, the best world, the best controls, the best progression, the best systems, the best narrative, the best NPCs, and, overall, the best game: Hollow Knight is the apex of its kind in every single dimension you can think of, and the best 2D Souls-Like to exist.