Okay and how do you group games together that take the main ideas and design philosophies of Castlevania and Metroid? Sure, you don’t have to, but that’s how humans work. “The game is like Metroid/Castlevania” is a roundabout way of just saying “Metroidvania”.
Pretty sure before Dark Souls, games similar to a soulslike were “Action Adventure” games, which is way more generic. Honestly, the only thing I think Dark Souls really did different is making the mechanics of the game diagetic to the lore so it really didn’t need a new genre for them. However, many many soulslikes don’t just copy the gameplay style; they copy the themes and visual styles and things like that, too, so it does make it a bit more distinct than, say, Indiana Jones which is also Action Adventure.
It very much has the same bones, yeah. It was even widely suggested when I made a thread about “proto-soulslikes” specifically looking for older games that could be considered soulslikes today.
At least, the 3D ones. I would say the original is more Diablo-like with a bit of Ultima in there.
Personally, I preferred Soul Reaver… but Blood Omen was pretty fun. The remaster of Defiance is worth checking out, they polished it nicely.
Brave Fencer Musashi got me into Miyamoto Musashi which led me to purchase ‘The Book of Five Rings’. Another good “action-adventure/RPG” from days of old.
Chrono Trigger & Secret of Evermore were my jam back in the 90s. Late 90s, more like Suikoden and MTV music generator. Early 90$, monsters in my pocket, bucky o hare, Super Mario Bros a bit of doom & worms, Diablo, Wolfenstein etc. basic shit until I got really into pc gaming in the early- mid 00s. Then it was everything because I have had complete romsets ever since. It’d be easier to list what I haven’t played. Which are basically triple A grind games like dark souls and such.
Literally every genre name is dumb and non-descriptive. Is Muse Dash or Risk of Rain 1 in the same genre of “side scroller” as Metroid? Is Smash Bros or Street Fighter also there?
Soulslike has become to mean a specific subset of games, not all necessarily played exactly like Dark Souls, by consensus. Language is descriptive, not prescriptive.
👏🏻👏🏻 👏🏻 that’s the most important takeaway from this. It’s hard sometimes to deal with language being used in an unusual way or in a way you’re not used to it, but language is not a monolith: it’s ever-changing and adapting and it never stands still
That’s why you combine genres, dum dum.
Like how dark comedies can be in both horror and comedy genres.
Soulslikes need a few bloodstain, bonfire, estus or just dodge mechanics - which already sets a gameplay loop Souls fans would like - and then you slap a roguelike element, or sidescroller, or whatever you want.
Mina the Hollower could be called a topdown Soulslike Zeldalike, for instance. Sounds silly since Dark Souls was inspired by Zelda, but I know what I’m getting into.
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If you need labels, Metroid and Castlevania are “side-scrollers”.
Or, just call them Metroid and Castlevania. Because that’s what they were.
Okay and how do you group games together that take the main ideas and design philosophies of Castlevania and Metroid? Sure, you don’t have to, but that’s how humans work. “The game is like Metroid/Castlevania” is a roundabout way of just saying “Metroidvania”.
I understand, but I don’t have to like it. This is my opinion & it’s not a terrible one. Just come up with a better name, that’s all I’m tryina say ;)
Sure. Give me an example tho
Pretty sure before Dark Souls, games similar to a soulslike were “Action Adventure” games, which is way more generic. Honestly, the only thing I think Dark Souls really did different is making the mechanics of the game diagetic to the lore so it really didn’t need a new genre for them. However, many many soulslikes don’t just copy the gameplay style; they copy the themes and visual styles and things like that, too, so it does make it a bit more distinct than, say, Indiana Jones which is also Action Adventure.
So is Legacy of Kain soulslike?
It very much has the same bones, yeah. It was even widely suggested when I made a thread about “proto-soulslikes” specifically looking for older games that could be considered soulslikes today.
At least, the 3D ones. I would say the original is more Diablo-like with a bit of Ultima in there.
Personally, I preferred Soul Reaver… but Blood Omen was pretty fun. The remaster of Defiance is worth checking out, they polished it nicely.
Brave Fencer Musashi got me into Miyamoto Musashi which led me to purchase ‘The Book of Five Rings’. Another good “action-adventure/RPG” from days of old.
Haven’t really played them, but I can give you a few freebies based on what I’ve seen:
Grand Grindesque
Boss-a-thon
Slash & Dash
Your ideas sound like you barely play video games. Are
-JRPGs,
-Shadow of the Colossus or
-Devil May Cry
metroidvanias (or souls likes if that’s what you meant) to you?
Chrono Trigger & Secret of Evermore were my jam back in the 90s. Late 90s, more like Suikoden and MTV music generator. Early 90$, monsters in my pocket, bucky o hare, Super Mario Bros a bit of doom & worms, Diablo, Wolfenstein etc. basic shit until I got really into pc gaming in the early- mid 00s. Then it was everything because I have had complete romsets ever since. It’d be easier to list what I haven’t played. Which are basically triple A grind games like dark souls and such.
Literally every genre name is dumb and non-descriptive. Is Muse Dash or Risk of Rain 1 in the same genre of “side scroller” as Metroid? Is Smash Bros or Street Fighter also there?
Soulslike has become to mean a specific subset of games, not all necessarily played exactly like Dark Souls, by consensus. Language is descriptive, not prescriptive.
👏🏻👏🏻 👏🏻 that’s the most important takeaway from this. It’s hard sometimes to deal with language being used in an unusual way or in a way you’re not used to it, but language is not a monolith: it’s ever-changing and adapting and it never stands still
That’s why you combine genres, dum dum. Like how dark comedies can be in both horror and comedy genres.
Soulslikes need a few bloodstain, bonfire, estus or just dodge mechanics - which already sets a gameplay loop Souls fans would like - and then you slap a roguelike element, or sidescroller, or whatever you want.
Mina the Hollower could be called a topdown Soulslike Zeldalike, for instance. Sounds silly since Dark Souls was inspired by Zelda, but I know what I’m getting into.
Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦!!!
Inconsequential, some might even be as bold to say
But debating over such things isn’t
It’s the conversation which is the means to the end.
Community, or humanity
We are but the echoes of our questions and actions
Imagine if people called every RPG “Chronolike”…