“It was a long time ago,” Ishizaki said. “I had this very vague image from this kind of game I wanted to make while in the company, and I think maybe even around the time of Dark Souls 3 development, I had these very fragmented ideas and concepts going.”

However, according to Ishizaki, seeing Elden Ring back when the game had entered full production is what ultimately made the fragmented concepts and ideas come together in his mind. The scope of the world of Elden Ring was an especially notable thing, he said, as well as the variety the game offers in weapons and enemies.

“Of course, it wasn’t until Elden Ring was in full production that these ideas cemented and things started to take shape in my mind,” Ishizaki continued, “seeing the scope of the world of Elden Ring, the enemy variety, the weapon variety, the build variety of the players, and this felt like a really good place to expand on and to develop these ideas with. So that’s kind of the timeline of the conception of this game.”

Ishizaki also spoke about how when work on Elden Ring: Nightreign first started, he didn’t really see himself in the director’s role. Rather, FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki – known for heading up other major projects for the studio like Dark Souls and Bloodborne – was the one to push for Ishizaki to take up the mantle. Working on Nightreign, according to Ishizaki, has given him the confidence to be a director on future projects as well.

“I’d love to try my hand at directing another title in future,” he says. “Of course, for Nightreign, Elden Ring was a big cornerstone for this project. So in the future, I’d love to try maybe a different approach going forward.”

Ishizaki has also spoken about feeling excitement for the impending launch of Elden Ring: Nightreign, saying that he was a little nervous, but still confident. He also spoke about how work on the game hadn’t really stopped despite the title’s upcoming release. Rather, the studio is now working on making sure that game balance is on point.

“We really try to tweak things until the last minute,” Ishizaki said. “We’re busy fine-tuning, getting the most out of any single session. We want players to feel happy and comfortable in each session, so we’re really trying to get that player comfort and that play feel just really fine-tuned until the very end.”

Elden Ring: Nightreign is coming to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on May 30. Check out our detailed overview of the playable characters in Elden Ring: Nightreign for more information.

The news isn’t too surprising, considering that the original Dark Souls received a remaster in 2018, courtesy of QLOC. Dark Souls 3 launched in 2016 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC and hasn’t received any current-gen upgrades. It can run at 60 FPS on PS5 while upscaling from 1080p to 4K and 900p/60 FPS and Xbox Series X.

If a remaster is coming, it would be a way to introduce native 4K and higher frame rates for the title on current-gen platforms. Take things with a grain of salt for now, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility.

As for whether Dark Souls 3 still holds up after all these years, check out our feature here (which also outlines some of the best mods to play).

The final entry in the acclaimed series, Dark Souls 3 feels like a culmination of the franchise and director Hidetaka Miyazaki’s experience with it (and Bloodborne). Released in March 2016 for Xbox One, PS4 and PC in Japan and in April worldwide, it would become Bandai Namco’s fastest-selling game to date, with three million copies shipped by May (a record only beaten by Elden Ring). As of May 2020, it sold over ten million copies. Considering how the franchise started, to see a niche genre that favored difficulty and repeated dying become so successful and influential was great.

In many ways, Dark Souls 3 could be considered unremarkable. Some have called it a celebration of the series, packing in familiar elements, places and enemies into one giant send-off (and that’s before getting to the DLC). Others felt it reused too many familiar elements from the series (“Poison swamps? Boo! Get better material!” went the memes). Regardless, there’s no denying its near-universal acclaim from critics, with an 89 Metascore for PC and PS4 and 87 on Xbox One. Even the user scores are at a solid 9, indicating Universal Acclaim.

Like its predecessors, the story begins with fire, this time in the Kingdom of Lothric. As the Age of Dark approaches, the Undead begin to rise, including the player character. Known as the Ashen One, the rest of the world is eager to rend you to pieces.

If you’ve experienced the narrative in one Souls game, you likely know the drill by now. You have multiple wordless cutscenes, environmental story-telling that hints at occurrences, flavor text on items that fill in the blanks, conversations with NPCs that shine more light on the world when they’re not being cryptic, and, of course, quests that are easily missed.

Nevertheless, exceptional stories abound throughout the Kingdom of Lothric. From Pontiff Sulyvahn’s rise to power and Farron’s Undead Legion, the Abyss Watchers, and their sacrifice to fight the Abyss to The Nameless King, the firstborn to Gwyn who betrayed his kingdom to ally with the dragons – there’s no shortage of intriguing stories.

The setup is what really makes it worthwhile. This is a world about to end, much like the previous Souls games, but there’s a sense of finality to the series. In the midst of all, you’re not just a Chosen Undead, meandering about in a Hollow state (though the mechanic does arise at some point). You’re not a Tarnished, returning to fix things in a world ruined by other people while at least one white-masked jerk calls you maidenless.

Be it through Embers that imbue a portion of the same power or the raw skill of someone who faced countless battles, the Ashen One is more of a wild card best not underestimated. Yes, even if you die to Gundyr multiple times before reaching the Firelink Shrine.

What follows is a traipse through initial locations that aren’t all interconnected like the world of Dark Souls’ Lordran, or as unorthodox as Dark Souls 2. However, Dark Souls 3 is on par with Bloodborne in terms of presentation. The High Wall of Lothric, with its remnants of Undead humanity, be it the peasants cowering in fear and corrupted by the Abyss as soon as you get too close or the Lothric Knights, holding steadfast to their duty as the castle loomed in the background.

The Undead Settlement has given way to widespread torture and overflowing Undead. Even if the self-contained nature of the maps became more evident on repeat playthroughs, they’re still replete with secrets and hidden details to uncover.

For all the “tributes” and references packed into Dark Souls 3, no one could deny at the time that it offered the most polished combat in the trilogy. Even today, it achieves a solid balance between fast-paced hack-and-slash and methodical dodging. It felt faster, for sure, but not quite on the level of Bloodborne; bosses, meanwhile, still necessitated keeping an eye on your stamina.

We saw the debut of Weapon and Shield Arts – special abilities tied to each weapon or shield that consumed Focus Points for different effects. You could press L2/Left Trigger to gain Perseverance, perfect for stagger resistance when wielding heavy weapons, or hold it down to enter a stance and unleash an attack with R1/RB or R2/Right Trigger. It all depends on the weapons and shields used, with dozens of choices available. Even if many Weapon Arts felt weak, the system serves as a foundation for what we’d see in Elden Ring.

Finally, Dark Souls 3 offered some of the best boss fights we’d seen in the series. They were all unique – yes, even the Deacons of the Deep and Wolnir with their gimmicks. The Abyss Watchers and their clever inversion of the “ally” who helps out in battles. Pontiff Sulyvahn with his dual blades and shadow. The Dancer of the Boreal Valley with her graceful yet brutal attacks in an arena where her footsteps resonate the loudest. Everything about the Nameless King – a masterclass of end-game boss design. Each feels like a big deal and many were potent enough to school you on the first try (if not the tenth).

Dark Souls 3 is made even more brilliant with its DLC. Ashes of Ariandel wasn’t viewed as favorably at first, but it still offered some tough new enemies, some gorgeous aesthetics and Sister Friede, the new most challenging boss in the game till that point. Of course, all this was moot when The Ringed City launched. Feeling like a proper conclusion to the trilogy, it introduced the Dreg Heap, where all the doomed kingdoms ended up.

It’s gorgeous but visually unsettling, as you dive deeper and deeper into this location filled with brand-new foes (including flying enemies that rain down lasers). The titular city itself is another highlight, brimming with challenging adversaries. It all leads to a final encounter with Gael for, in the simplest terms, the Dark Soul, though it’s more to feed into a new beginning than anything else. With some of the roughest bosses in gaming, including Darkeater Midir, The Ringed City DLC was the perfect finale for the series.

However, it was far from the end. Some fans on PC weren’t content with multiple New Game Plus runs and went into modding. Others opted for complete overhauls, adding new weapons, bosses, features, quality-of-life changes and content. This isn’t a comprehensive list of all of them, but the two most popular ones are The Convergence and Cinders. There is a third to watch out for, especially if you like Demon’s Souls, but we’ll get to that.

The Convergence is usually cited for its extensive magic overhaul, with several new starting classes specializing in different schools. Unique weapons, catalysts, vendors and more come into play, and they’re distinct – the Necromancer will feel a lot different from the Sorcerer and the Druid. Furthermore, their scaling differs from the base game, but they can become very powerful as you get further in. To further accommodate the new magic focus, you can now target enemies from much farther off – the downside is that they have increased health.

That’s the most basic description of the mod, but it offers so much more. Each region is changed extensively with new items and enemy placements while featuring updated visuals (which aren’t the most performance-friendly if you don’t have very strong hardware). Several weapons have been reworked while new ones are added, including those that may remind you of non-Souls FromSoft games, animations and all.

There are even new bosses to challenge, like the Watchdog of Firelink, Archdruid Caimar and more. Some of the existing bosses also receive new moves and appearance changes. If you ever wanted to see Midir with desiccated wings or learn to fear Soul of Cinder with all his new attacks and abilities, this is the place.

Cinders is another overhaul and arguably my favorite. While it doesn’t alter the aesthetics like The Convergence, it provides an almost incomprehensible number of features. There are numerous classes to choose from, some going above and beyond to embrace the role-playing fantasy. The choice is yours, and each feels…interesting to play, to say the least.

Before even setting out, you can also choose the mode, influencing the type of playthrough and its “difficulty.” Embark on a Gauntlet to fight all the different bosses, one after the other, or opt for the Onslaught version, with each defeated boss providing a unique buff. You can also opt for more challenging versions of regular playthroughs and start anywhere to further test your skills. Enemies and bosses are also rebalanced in terms of damage and health, so dealing with that is also necessary.

Fortunately, the Weapon Arts have been rebalanced to feel more potent and useful. There are several new merchants and vendors, some with services like transmog so you can take on whatever desired appearance, aura, weapon effect, etc. The sheer number of added weapons, armor and items is absurd (including a frying pan that can knock enemies down when thrown). You also have quality-of-life features like leveling up at the Bonfire. There are also wave-based modes for tackling multiple enemies at once and farming Souls. Suffice it to say that there’s a lot, and that’s not even getting into all the New Game Plus features.

While The Convergence and Cinders are worth trying out for long-time players, they’re not perfect, whether it’s in the sheer number of items thrown at you or their balance changes. As such, they make for a compelling departure from the base game, changing things up significantly for those who want some variety or even quality of life.

This brings us to Archthrones. It’s less of an overhaul for the existing Dark Souls 3 experience and more of a “retelling of the Dark Souls universe” (as the team describes). The structure is more akin to Demon’s Souls, where you have different Archthrones to visit and travel through the Nexus. Some of these are similar to the base game, while others like the Carthus of the Sands are brand-new, posing new threats and some familiar ones, as seen with the sandworm.

Knowing which location to travel to first can be a doozy, especially given the difficulty, but that is part of the charm. The new bosses are something else, and you’ll spot more than a few animations and attacks from Elden Ring (alongside mechanics like guard counters). The fact that Archthrones is doing all this while adding brand-new armor and NPCs with unique side quests to go with all the weapons, spells and whatnot truly makes it worth checking out.

A demo is currently available, and for what’s essentially a free total conversion, Archthrones is pretty nuts. Time will tell how the final version turns out, but for now, it’s promising.

Despite its age and titles like Elden Ring being the new hotness, especially with Shadow of the Erdtree on the horizon, Dark Souls 3 is still a masterpiece. Maybe FromSoftware played it a bit too safe in some regards or didn’t do enough in others. Regardless, it serves as the finale that fans deserved, even if it wasn’t what they expected. Despite the developer moving on to bigger things, there’s always that promise of something new and different, thanks to the burgeoning mod scene.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Join us as we look at the top 30 best action RPGs as of 2023 and what makes them worth playing.

30. Fallout 3

Much like Skyrim, Fallout 3’s combat hasn’t exactly aged well. However, at the time, it was pretty revolutionary, representing the formerly overhead 2D RPG in a fully 3D world with third and first-person perspectives.

The shooting felt more immersive, and V.A.T.S. was more of a slow-mo targeting system for damaging specific limbs (or exploding heads in over-the-top fashion). Aside from that, the world is well-developed, channeling the isolation of a post-nuclear fallout, while your choices had a notable impact on quests to create memorable moments.

29. Dying Light 2 Stay Human

When going from Dying Light 1 to 2, several things were lost. Fortunately, Techland has been doing a good job restoring some of these, while adding some new features to expand on and improve the combat. Legendary weapons, new enemy types, more dangerous Infected, Legend Levels, dismemberment and much more have been added in post-launch updates, resulting in a more visceral and engaging experience.

28. Bastion

Supergiant Games’ first title, Bastion, mixed isometric combat with some light building mechanics to create a compelling adventure. The world is a mess, and it’s the player’s job to put things back together, with the different structures conferring unique upgrades and facilities. Combat is fairly solid and responsive throughout, with melee and ranged options available, but it’s the story and its mysteries that immerse you, thanks, especially to the Narrator who follows your journey.

27. X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse

It’s a shame there haven’t been many action RPG titles in the vein of X-Men Legends, especially with how good Rise of Apocalypse turned out. The story was simple enough as Magneto’s Brotherhood of Mutants teamed with Xavier’s X-Men to defeat Apocalypse, which allowed for squads from an extensive roster.

Each character gained XP to upgrade their abilities and could even execute combos and Super Combos. With a central hub for viewing comic book covers and biographies, a Danger Room for additional missions and updated visuals over the original, X-Men Legends 2 was an upgrade in almost every way (except maybe the voice acting).

26. Weird West

An immersive sim from WolfEye Studios, Weird West is still an action RPG with open-ended objectives and fairly responsive combat. The various playable characters and unique abilities add some flavor to the supernatural adventure, and you can either go in guns-blazing or utilize stealth to take down foes. While some choices may not be that impactful, the combat is on point, the art style sharp, and the world brimming with things to do.

25. Transistor

Weird as it sounds, Supergiant Games’ Transistor qualifies as an action RPG, though it also has a sort of real-time with pause system. Protagonist Red wields the Transistor, a powerful sword, as the Cloudbank faces an attack at the hands of the Process.

During combat, players can go around whacking enemies or pause and plan actions as long as the Action Bar remains. After unpausing, those actions are immediately executed. With a surprising amount of depth to its encounters and Functions, Transistor is a different take on the genre, but one that presents an incredible art style and music to go with its emotional story.

24. Diablo 4

Despite a problematic launch for its first season, Diablo 4 has improved by leaps and bounds since then. Classes have received more items and Uniques to enable distinct builds and many more viable play styles.

The world has received several changes that make leveling up smoother and the end game more enjoyable (teleporting directly to a Nightmare Dungeon from its Sigil being one such change). Even the horse feels much better to control. Though things could always change, Diablo 4 is in a pretty good spot right now and worth checking out for fans of action RPG looters.

23. Ys 9: Monstrum Nox

Ys 8: Lacrimosa of Dana starts slow and often repels those who aren’t into its “stranded on a deserted island” plot or the basic survival tasks. Granted, it opens up and offers an incredible journey, but it takes some time. Ys 9: Monstrum Nox, on the other hand, is full throttle from the get-go.

The city of Balduq is seamless to explore and brimming with things to collect as players use Adol’s new traversal abilities in exciting ways. Each Monstrum’s story is interesting; the combat is as fluid as ever and the bosses fun to fight; and the new activities integrate seamlessly into the game. The Ys series may not be for everyone, but Ys 9 is simply phenomenal.

22. Borderlands 2

The pinnacle of the franchise, Borderlands 2 featured an unforgettable villain, some crazy loot and class synergies, and a decent story. Sure, the end-game devolved into utter chaos, especially in Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode, but with heaps of content and significant improvements over the original, it remains the definitive looter shooter. Yes, even over Borderlands 3.

21. System Shock 2

After the first game’s success, System Shock 2 leaned more into the action aspect while still emphasizing strategy over twitch aiming. Though there were different services of UNN to choose from, each specializing in different branches like weapons, hacking and psionics, the gameplay was still open-ended, encouraging experimentation. Of course, between all the different enemy types and weapons, it’s easy to forget that System Shock 2 is a horror game, with the insanity of SHODAN and the sound design still unmatched.

20. The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim

It may not have aged all that well, but one can’t discount the impact of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim’s combat on the genre. Being able to dual-wield and use different kinds of magic while having more agency on the development of your character was incredible, not to mention all of the different Dragon Shouts. The threats it offered, from dragons and giants, also felt fresh and challenging. Melee combat can be hit or miss, but Skyrim made up for it with the quality of its world and exploration.

19. Starfield

You could levy many criticisms against Starfield, but the combat has marked a step up from anything Bethesda has released thus far. The overall feel of shooting is crisp, and seeing the effects of certain weapons, like ballistic weapons pushing you around in Zero-G settings, is pretty cool. Throw in everything else, from compelling ship design and space combat to fun side missions, and Starfield does offer enough reason to lock and load.

18. Dead Island 2

No one expected anything from Dead Island 2 after it spent nearly a decade in limbo. So when it launched as a straightforward, zombie-killing hack-and-slash title with surprisingly deep combat, it was surprising.

Using the environment to damage zombies, unique weapons that all affected the undead in different ways, the Skill Deck for leaning into certain play styles, and the FLESH system, which took gore and dismemberment to a new level, all added to the experience. Even if the missions and story weren’t anything exceptional (the latter did have some fun revelations, though), Dead Island 2 gave you plenty of reason to run around and slay zombies in creative ways. And really, what more could you ask?

17. Remnant 2

The first Remnant is the very definition of a dark horse. With little hype, it cemented itself as a compelling, challenging game that blended third-person shooting with Souls-like mechanics. So to have Remnant 2, a bigger, bolder version with overhauled mechanics, more loot and customization is a dream come true.

From the bleak landscape of N’erud to the crazed streets of Losomn, the sequel offers a strong variety of enemies, fun boss fights and more complex procedural generation for entirely different questlines and challenges in each run. Even the build variety is significantly crazier since you can effectively mix skills from two classes together.

16. Pokémon Legends: Arceus

As perhaps the biggest shift to the Pokemon formula in a long time, Pokemon Legends: Arceus allowed the player to run around and capture Pokemon in real time. You can be attacked and knocked out during battles, which means deploying Pokemon to fight back. It was a big twist utilized in several unique ways throughout the story. Of course, on top of this, Arceus also featured a massive world to explore, tons of Pokemon to collect and an enthralling story that encouraged catching them all.

15. Lords of the Fallen

Like Dead Island 2, Lords of the Fallen is a long time coming, and it delivers on almost every single front. The dark fantasy setting, with the dual world motif playing a major role in the gameplay and story; the three magic schools, each with unique play styles; and the combat, which mimics Dark Souls in the best way possible – Hexworks delivered all this and more, along with some genuinely stunning visuals.

14. Tom Clancy’s The Division 2

Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 has seen so many changes since its launch that it’s hard to keep track. Nevertheless, it’s still one of the best looter shooters available, with new Exotics and Gear Sets leading to a diverse range of playstyles. Combat itself feels very good, with new Signature Weapons adding some exceptional wrinkles without feeling like bog-standard “Ultimates.” With how much The Division 2 has expanded in content, from The Summit to Countdown, it’s easy to get lost in the gear grind.

13. Monster Hunter World: Iceborne

Many appreciate Monster Hunter Rise and its mechanics and the new monsters it delivers, but there’s just something else to Monster Hunter World. Its combat is an altogether different kind of polish, and you’re not bound to Wirebugs to unleash some of the strongest attacks.

The sheer range of monsters, old and new, is fun to fight, while Iceborne ups the difficulty significantly while layering on new Skills, mechanics and match-ups. If the Siege activities aren’t your thing, then maybe you’d like to take on the vast range of optional quests, including collaboration with Resident Evil and The Witcher 3. While it could be frustrating in its own right, Monster Hunter World: Iceborne is a stunning achievement for the franchise.

12. Hogwarts Legacy

Between capturing the essence of the Wizarding World’s locations and atmosphere and creating a fun open world, Hogwarts Legacy had its work cut out for it. Thankfully, even with average loot, it has stellar combat. There’s nothing quite like unleashing a bevy of spells against opponents while dashing around and using Avada Kedavra to wipe them out.

11. Lies of P

If there’s any title that could come close to feeling Bloodborne-like, it’s Lies of P. The Belle Epoque era epic also tosses in aspects of Dark Souls and Sekiro as you look to break an opponent’s stance and follow up with devastating blows.

Along with extensive weapon customization and Puppet Arms for different abilities, there are also unique weapons with powerful skills, adding even more nuance to the combat. Its pacing and boss design may not be on par with FromSoftware’s best, but the fact that it invites such comparisons while delivering stunning environments and ample enemy variety is already an achievement in itself.

10. Demon’s Souls

The original Demon’s Souls is something special. It kick-started the Souls-like genre as we know it, with FromSoftware going on to create the Dark Souls series, Bloodborne and Elden Ring. While it’s impressive, Bluepoint Games took the essence of the action RPG and polished it to a stunning degree on PS5.

You could argue that the graphical upgrade alone shouldn’t make it worth considering, but so much work has gone into enhancing the atmosphere and revamping locations to create a new feeling without taking away from the difficulty.

9. Nioh 2

Team Ninja had a lot to live up to after Nioh. With Nioh 2, it delved even more into what made the series so great – unrelenting but fair difficulty, combined with new aggressive Burst mechanics to overcome enemies.

That’s on top of all the new skills, weapon types, and Yokai Skills, further deepening the combat, while new bosses and mission parameters – including the dreaded Dark Realm. With even more potential for broken builds and extensive end-game activities to test them, Nioh 2 is a meaty experience, even if its difficulty isn’t for everyone.

8. Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect 2 is when the series fully embraced the action RPG genre, becoming a third-person shooter where Shepard could issue commands to his teammates and combo effects together. It was seamless for such a massive leap in gameplay, delivering stellar gunplay while expanding on classes and weapons to offer more options. It’s backed by an amazing story, incredible companions, memorable side quests and one of the best final missions of any game, resulting in an unforgettable experience.

7. Cyberpunk 2077

When Cyberpunk 2077 first launched, its combat was good. Not spectacular, but good. Following numerous updates, it’s evolved into something truly spectacular. Between the bloody finishers, improved melee combat and solid gunplay is a toolset for more different builds.

Become a powerful hacker, spreading viruses and destroying opponents by driving cars into them. Leap around with Mantis Blades or toss bodies around. There are so many possibilities now, and it all feels good to control. Of course, the rest of the game being far better than before doesn’t hurt either.

6. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Widely considered one of the greatest games ever made, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has it all: A compelling story, excellent side quests, a vast world brimming with activities and secrets, and, of course, some strong combat. Refined over the years, especially with the Complete Edition adding quick casting for Signs, the combat has the right amount of feedback as you dance around and demolish enemies.

5. Dark Souls 3

Some may love the first game, while others choose the second game to be different, but Dark Souls 3 is arguably the series’ peak. It strikes a balance with Bloodborne’s fast pace and the classic dodge-rolling gameplay, offers some incredible levels with striking details and delivers an incredible range of boss fights. Combine this with a healthy selection of spells and weapons for replay value, and you have one of the best action RPGs. Even after all these years, few games can match the brilliance of Dark Souls 3.

4. Final Fantasy 16

Yes, the role-playing game mechanics – specifically the loot – are fairly light. Yes, the dungeons weren’t packed with crazy mechanics. However, when it comes to embodying everything that makes the series so worthwhile, Final Fantasy 16 is superb. The combat offers a different take on Break mechanics and constantly adds new abilities and combos to try out as you progress.

The story is an enthralling odyssey with betrayal, revelations and its fair share of grimness. The characters are all portrayed excellently, even if some could have used more time to shine. Above all, the presentation with its visuals and music, especially the Eikon fights, has to be seen first-hand. It may not be everyone’s favorite Final Fantasy, but Final Fantasy 16 is still an accomplished action RPG.

3. Horizon Forbidden West

Video game sequels are meant to improve on their predecessors, and Guerrilla Games took this to heart with Horizon Forbidden West. Every aspect, from the Skill Trees and upgrade system to Armor Skills and open-world activities, is better than the first game. With so many unique movement options like the Shieldwing and Pullcaster, Aloy would have even tougher Machines to deal with, including the Tremortusk, Slaughterspine and Tideripper. It made for an enthralling adventure, as the secrets of the Forbidden West were laid bare.

2. Elden Ring

FromSoftware’s magnum opus, its take on the open-world genre, is nothing short of masterful. The Lands Between is brimming with secrets and challenges, and even with some repeated content and cheap bosses, it’s an epic journey.

If seeing what’s around the next corner is a big motivator, then combat is perhaps the second biggest, mixing the best of Dark Souls with the most customization in a Souls-like title yet. Whether you’re a samurai specializing in Bleed builds, a Warrior jump-attacking everything with dual greatswords or slinging spells, there are so many ways to play, to say nothing of the wide variety of Spirit Ashes that serve as companions.

1. Bloodborne

It’s only fitting that one of the few games that can match FromSoftware’s best works is what many consider its best work to date. Bloodborne isn’t the most technically accomplished action RPG on this list due to being stuck on the PS4 for all these years.

Nevertheless, it delivers a gothic Victorian setting and a sense of all-encompassing dread. The combat is still enthralling, engaging and involving, introducing weapon transformations and firearms for new ways to topple enemies. Throw in some excellent bosses and engrossing lore, and Bloodborne still towers over its competitors.

Soon, however, FromSoftware will be going back to a series that predates that meteoric rise in fame. Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon is set to revive the niche, beloved mech franchise after many years of dormancy, and it should go without saying that it’s going to be a very different kind of experience from what FromSoftware has become known for over the last couple of console generations. Here, we’re going to discuss a few key ways that well set it apart from FromSoftware’s Soulsborne games.

FOCUS ON RANGED COMBAT

Let’s start with the obvious stuff- more specifically, the combat and its moment-to-moment flow. Armored Core has always been a third person shooter at heart, and that will continue to be the case with Fires of Rubicon, to no one’s surprise. The Soulsborne games have always focused heavily on melee combat, and even when you have builds that focus on ranged attacks and magic, that’s a very different beast from piloting a mech and shooting at your enemies with massive guns and missiles. While we don’t obviously expect Armored Core 6 to be an out-and-out run-and-gun game, it’s clearly going to be much less deliberately paced in its moment-to-moment combat than something like Dark Souls.

FOCUS ON CUSTOMIZATION

When it comes to customization, it’s not that Armored Core 6 is going to have necessarily have more customization than the Soulsborne games- just that it’s going to be a very different kind of emphasis on that aspect. As RPGs, the Soulsborne games have always put a great deal of focus on build variety, and allowing players to customize the strengths and weaknesses of their characters to suit whatever play style they prefer (though that was much more toned down in Bloodborne).

Armored Core, meanwhile, has always placed a ton of emphasis on the customizability of mechs, allowing players to swap out a wide range of components, with a vast range of options always available to affect a variety of stats and attributes. Armored Core 6 is going to be doubling down on that, based on what FromSoftware has said about the game so far, which means From fans can expect a different flavour of customization mechanics than what the Souls games have always featured.

MISSION-BASED STRUCTURE

This is going to be a major differentiating factor for Armored Core 6, especially when compared to FromSoftware’s most recent Soulslike outing. Elden Ring was a massive open world game with what felt like limitless real estate for exploration, but even before that, the Soulsborne games have featured a very particular brand of level design that relies heavily on Metroidvania levels like connecting areas, shortcuts, backtracking, and what have you. Armored Core 6 is going for something rather different. FromSoftware has confirmed that it’s going to have a mission-based structure, which means every main mission will be set in its own, dedicated area that you’ll be moving through in linear fashion. That, of course, means exploration is going to be less of a focus as well- speaking of which…

NO SOULSLIKE EXPLORATION

Exploring environments and finding hidden areas has always been a crucial part of the experience in FromSoftware’s Soulsborne games, but Armored Core 6 isn’t going to lean that heavily in that direction (which is evident from its mission-based structure). With the game emphasizing its mech assembly and customization elements so heavily, FromSoftware has decided to pivot away from the exploration elements by a great degree. While that might feel a little jarring to FromSoftware fans who’ve never played Armored Core before, it is worth pointing out that that is what the series traditionally been like in the past. Whether that means there will be little to no exploration remains to be seen, but there’s no doubt that there’s definitely going to be much less of it.

DEATH PENALTIES

Death penalties and corpse runs are the heart and soul of Soulsborne games (and even Sekiro, which isn’t necessarily a Soulsborne title). Every time you die, you are teleported back to the last bonfire you interacted with and lose all of your Souls- that gameplay loop won’t be added into Armored Core 6, which is following in its predecessors’ footsteps in that regard. When you die in Armored Core 6, the game won’t penalize you by taking away all of your currency. Corpse runs are definitely out for the first time in a major FromSoftware release in a long, long time.

MISSION CHECKPOINTS

Another key area where Armored Core 6 is going to differ from FromSoftware’s Soulslike offerings- the checkpointing. Rather than being designed around punishing checkpoints that players have to seek out and activate, Armored Core 6 will adopt a much more traditional structure and instead place automatic checkpoints between its missions, where players will be able to tinker with their build and customize their mech (the latter bit is obviously not that different from Souls). While we can probably safely assume that te game will put up a tough challenge with its combat and its boss fights, outside of that, there are plenty of key areas where it’s taking a different approach to difficulty.

FASTER MOVEMENT

This is another obvious one- you play as a mech in Armored Core, after all. Movement in the Soulsborne games is, by design, slower-paced and more deliberate, and that colours everything from the combat to the exploration to the traversal in significant ways (though Elden Ring did add horseback riding). Armored Core 6, on the other hand, will see you piloting a mech, which obviously means you can expect major differences in the way you move across the maps, and the speed at which you do it. There’s also the fact that different assembly decisions made by the player can lead to the mechs behaving differently even where movement is concerned, which is another interesting wrinkle that will change things up on that front.

NO CO-OP

Though the Soulsborne games aren’t exactly co-op focused experiences, co-op has traditionally been an important element that a great many players have gotten a lot of joy out of. That’s not something you can expect to see in Armored Core 6, however. FromSoftware has made it abundantly clear that the mech shooter is going to focus on delivering a single player experience, which means there will be no summoning other players who can fight alongside you. There will be PvP though, but details are a bit light on that front as well.

Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain 

Kojima Productions delivered an excellent game with Metal Gear Solid 5, which stands tall as one of the most dynamic sandboxes of recent memory. It’s chock full of varied content that can keep you busy for dozens of hours, but there’s nothing wrong with trying to veer away from the intended experience with a few fun mods. Developed by MXMSTR, the Metal Gear Solid 5 first-person mod turns this third person stealth game into a first person adventure which is a completely fresh experience. Sure, it has a few rough edges thanks to clipping issues, but it makes for a fun time regardless. It’s available on NexusMods, and needs the Snakebite mod manager.

“At this time, there is a confirmed issue with DARK SOULS III online play via the Steam platform,” says the tweet on the official Dark Souls Twitter account. “We are investigating the source of the problemm and will inform you as soon as more details become available.”

At the time of publishing, Dark Souls 3‘s multiplayer servers on PC are still disabled, and FromSoftware has yet to make any statements to follow up its original acknowledgement of the problem.

Dark Souls 3‘s servers were taken down earlier this year following reports of issues with the server infrastructure. Dark Souls 3‘s multiplayer had a vulnerability that allowed for the execution of malicious code through the game on the computers of unwitting players.

At this time, there is a confirmed issue with DARK SOULS III online play via the Steam platform.

We are investigating the source of the problem and will inform you as soon as more details become available.

Thank you for your patience. #DarkSouls

— Dark Souls (@DarkSoulsGame) September 21, 2022

With the servers back online, players can once again partake in the game’s complicated multiplayer modes, including co-op, as well as pvp.

The servers were taken down earlier this year following reports of issues with the server infrastructure. While the issues lied with Dark Souls 3‘s multiplayer allowing for malicious code to be remotely executed on unwitting players’ computers, servers for Dark Souls 1 and 2 were taken down as well.

Details about the exploit were released two months after the servers were taken down thanks to a Github repository containing documentation about the exploit.

Interestingly, the vulnerability is also present in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, but since that game lacks multiplayer features, it is impossible to trigger it.

Developer FromSoftware’s most recent release, Elden Ring, has been thankfully free of any such known exploits surrounding its multiplayer.

Online features for the PC version of Dark Souls III have been reactivated.

We are working to restore these features for all other #DarkSouls titles and will inform you when they are back in service.

Thank you once more for your patience and support. pic.twitter.com/XHiCZDEANC

— Dark Souls (@DarkSoulsGame) August 25, 2022

Dark Souls 3

Dark Souls 3 might as well be the sendoff for this genre-defining series, and it’s a depressing send-off for sure. The flame that breathes life into the once glorious kingdom of Lothric has faded away into ashes, sending the entire world into a spiraling descent to madness and turning them into lifeless Undead. The champions of the land like the Abyss Watchers and Aldrich have also turned into a shadow of their former glory, and the player embarks on a destined quest to once again link the flame and save what little is left of this kingdom. You literally start off in the cemetery, waking up from your own grave – which is made all the more depressing thanks to the game’s muted color palette and melancholic orchestral soundtrack.

Two months later, with the server for the game still down, one of the people who discovered the exploit has publicly disclosed more information on how the RCE (remote code execution) works, after Bandai Namco released a statement claiming they would fix it. The disclosure, which has been shared via Github, contains documentation detailing the exploit, and according to the description, the vulnerability is available in all the released versions of Dark Souls games on PC.

Allegedly, the vulnerability is available on Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, but there is no way to trigger it. Speaking to VGC, they said that LukeYui – the developer of the fan-made Dark Souls anti-cheat software Blue Sentinels – sent the documentation detailing multiple exploits in the Dark Souls games to FromSoftware, and they actually fixed every single one of them in Elden Ring- however, they also point out that the Easy Anti Cheat implementation in the game is flawed and can be bypassed in various ways.

They said: “Even if the simple bypasses are patched, it would require a full rework to make proper use of all EAC features, which is necessary for it to be effective.”

As of writing this piece, the servers for the Dark Souls games on PC are still down, so hopefully, FromSoftware and Bandai Namco figure out a way to fix those issues soon.