I will use what I view as public consensus along with my subjective judgement to decide if a game is "Souls-like".
You can see a pretty good definition on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soulslike, but I will not necessarily stricly adhere to it. For example, "typically in a dark fantasy setting" does not mean that the game has to have a "dark fantasy" setting for this to resolve YES.
If FromSoftware only states that "a new game" is in development but do not e.g. reveal a trailer or any details about the gameplay, this would still resolve NO: even though it's possible that that will later be Souls-like, there would have been insufficient evidence as of the close date.
The game only has to be announced, not actually released.
Current list of games considered Souls-like:
- Elden Ring
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
- Dark Souls III
- Bloodborne
- Dark Souls II
- Dark Souls
- Demon's Souls
Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon is not considered Souls-like.
A remaster, DLC expansion, etc. of an existing game would not count as YES. So, Dark Souls: Remastered, Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin, and Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree would not resolve YES.
Feel free to ask any clarifying questions if something seems particularly ambiguous.
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3.00Does it count as souls-like? 😄
@RobertTyphi Hmm, I'd lean towards "no"; to me it seems roughly equivalent to the chalice dungeons in Bloodborne, which act more like a DLC than a standalone game. I thought that a consistent world that your character grows through and explores over time were important aspects of the Souls-like genre.
But I'm open for debate and for hearing further third-party opinions if YES buyers think it should count.
@12c498e The cleanest thing might be to wait until (closer to) release as more information and gameplay becomes available.
It’ll be hard to debate it without complete knowledge, since even in the best of times it’s hard to agree on some game definitions. 😄