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00:00Welcome to Mojo Plays, and we can't be the only ones longing for the days when every
00:08game wasn't infused with some kind of Souls-like DNA.
00:13As always, we're not saying these games are bad in any way, and if you love a good
00:17Souls-like, more power to you.
00:19We just miss the good old days of action games simply being action games.
00:24You will die here, and I will live forever!
00:31Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified
00:35about our latest videos.
00:39Stray Blade
00:40I traveled alone, as I always did.
00:44Stop us if you've heard this one.
00:46A barren land in which a warrior is mysteriously resurrected and must battle their way through
00:51hordes of enemies to save the dying world.
00:54Pretty standard Souls-like fare.
00:56However, Stray Blade is at least bright and colorful rather than the usual drab color
01:01palette, but that's about all the game has going for it.
01:05Beyond the formulaic setup, the inclusion of Souls-like combat only further drags down
01:10an already mediocre experience.
01:13Enemies are uninteresting to fight, the typically strategic Souls combat is extremely simplified,
01:19further hindered by an abysmal lock-on system that makes exploring the unusually bright
01:23environments the only bright spot, literally.
01:26Had the developers adopted a combat system more akin to The Legend of Zelda, or even
01:31God of War, Stray Blade could have been a decent action game rather than a forgettable
01:36Souls-like.
01:37Why should I believe you, a talking wolf monster?
01:41Tales of Iron
01:42The fate of the land rests on you, and you alone, young prince.
01:50Souls-likes aren't only in the 3D space.
01:53And while there have been some 2D games that utilized the formula brilliantly, while also
01:57putting their own spin on it, Tales of Iron doesn't do quite enough to make the use of
02:02the Souls genre worthwhile.
02:04The weight of attacks can make them painfully slow, and the 2D plane makes boss fights and
02:09enemy encounters mundane, as the perspective doesn't allow for a ton of variety in their
02:14attack patterns.
02:15It's this lack of variety in encounters that makes combat feel tedious, alongside your
02:20little rodent's lackluster jump making platforming more of a chore than a core element of gameplay.
02:26The fact that a large chunk of the game revolves around combat makes these fights and hunts
02:31even more laborious, and despite the engaging story, not even Geralt's dulcet tones may
02:37end up being enough for players to make it to the end.
02:40Heavy is the head that wears the crown.
02:46Lords of the Fallen
02:47Burn their very souls to ashes.
02:54This one might seem like a strange pick, since the original Lords of the Fallen was one of
02:59the very first Souls-like clones.
03:02But after almost a decade since that game, and the formula being widely adopted by nearly
03:07the entire industry, this sequel could have done with a different direction.
03:12With a stunningly detailed and dying world, two of them in fact, exploring Lords of the
03:16Fallen and uncovering its mysteries is arguably more fun than the game's combat.
03:22Although solid enough, if at times wildly unbalanced, the Souls-like combat actually
03:27hinders the experience here, and the game could have benefited from something more akin
03:31to The Legend of Zelda, rather than retreading old ground for a series that already didn't
03:36have a rabid fanbase waiting for the franchise to return in the first place.
03:47The Surge Series
03:58Deck 13 has made quite the name for themselves as one of the OG studios to go all in on the
04:03Souls-like formula.
04:05But after Lords of the Fallen failed to find an audience, their follow-up series The Surge
04:09would have greatly benefited from taking a different approach to the game's combat.
04:14Everything about The Surge Series is well-designed, from its lore to level design and the implementation
04:19of gear and upgrades.
04:21The game offers players a lot of freedom in crafting their character to suit their playstyle.
04:25While certainly an upgrade from their previous game, combat, given everyone is basically
04:30a walking cyborg, would have been much more impactful with a more action-focused approach.
04:35With the main character and enemies all basically being superhumans with numerous upgrades,
04:41combat should reflect this strength and speed, and most likely would have had a broader appeal
04:45rather than the niche Souls audience.
04:53Steel Rising
05:01Shortly before Lies of Pea would take the Souls world by storm, another puppet failed
05:05to ignite the same firestorm.
05:07Despite an intriguing premise as well as location and world-building, the game's combat felt
05:12janky, as if the Souls style was added late in development to try to appeal to the FromSoft
05:18fans.
05:19There's still a lot to enjoy about Steel Rising.
05:21The aforementioned world and lore are very well detailed, and the inclusion of real-world
05:26historical figures helps the narrative stand out from what easily could have been another
05:30generic steampunk style adventure.
05:32The inclusion of an assist mode at least lowers the bar of difficulty for newcomers, but even
05:37with this advantage, the game's combat severely hampers the experience.
05:42With its gorgeous environments and alternate history aesthetic, Steel Rising probably would
05:46have found a bigger audience had they just stuck to delivering a solid action experience
05:51rather than a mediocre Souls one.
05:57Remnant Series
06:06The Remnant series has a lot of potential if not for the difficulty barrier holding
06:11it back from reaching a broader audience.
06:13The adaptation of the Souls formula into a third-person shooter is an ambitious one,
06:18and it's honestly surprising no one had done it before.
06:21In practice, however, there's no way for the speed necessary to avoid incoming attacks
06:25and projectiles to be adapted to this particular style of third-person combat.
06:30Souls-like combat is generally full of deliberate dodging and parrying, whereas the shooter
06:35mechanics at work here cannot accommodate this level of precision and instead feels
06:40like Marcus Fenix from the Gears series was dropped into a Souls game.
06:44It just doesn't gel well.
06:46The sequel did make significant improvements in this department, but as a whole, probably
06:50could have reached more players by focusing on being a solid multiplayer experience rather
06:54than a Souls game.
07:04Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin
07:11People have come to expect certain things from any game that carries the Final Fantasy
07:16moniker.
07:17Specifically, a rich story, likable characters, and fun, rewarding combat, whether it be traditional
07:22turn-based or the modern, action-heavy style.
07:25At least Stranger of Paradise got a couple of these right.
07:28What they don't expect, however, is to be inundated with near-endless loot and gear,
07:33as well as combat lifted straight from Team Ninja's Nioh series.
07:37While obviously nowhere near as difficult as those games, Stranger of Paradise did suffer
07:42from balancing issues as some enemies could crush the player's health bar as quickly as
07:47looking at them.
07:48And with so much gear and new weapons, the goal of finding new equipment becomes meaningless
07:53as you're drowning in options.
07:55There's still some fun to be had, even with its nonsensical story and cardboard characters,
07:59but the experience is Final Fantasy in name only.
08:09Darksiders III
08:21The Darksiders series has always taken inspiration from other franchises, specifically the Legend
08:26of Zelda games.
08:28But for Darksiders III, they instead decided to follow the trend of the time and turn the
08:32third entry into a Souls-like.
08:35This decision created a massive roadblock for long-time fans who, after becoming accustomed
08:40to the series' combat, were suddenly struggling to get past what should be the tutorial.
08:46Everything else about the game was spot-on.
08:48The characters, the lore, the world and puzzle design were all there for those who could
08:52survive the combat.
08:54After waiting so long for a continuation of the series, with its future being so uncertain,
08:59it's a shame the developers so drastically changed the formula of the original two games
09:03that was such a hit with fans just to chase the current thing sweeping the industry, which
09:08alienated long-time fans and did nothing to entice newcomers to the franchise.
09:17Stellar Blade
09:31The inspiration for this list?
09:33When Stellar Blade was first shown off, it seemed to be reminiscent of Devil May Cry
09:37or Bayonetta, with flashy combat, over-the-top encounters and moves, and easily would have
09:42filled the void while we continued to wait for the next DMC game.
09:46The truth, however, was that Stellar Blade was in fact a combination of DMC and Dark
09:51Souls.
09:52With all the hallmarks of a Souls-like, minus the dreary decaying world, Stellar Blade lured
09:57a lot of unsuspecting players in with its attractive protagonist and what initially
10:01appeared to be DMC-inspired combat.
10:04While the game is still solid and the Souls elements, especially the combat, are well
10:08implemented, we would have loved Stellar Blade to lean more into action-heavy combat, only
10:13without the Souls-like difficulty which is oftentimes unfairly balanced and can lead
10:19to quite a lot of frustration.
10:29Star Wars Jedi Series
10:40We'll admit, this one will be a bit contentious.
10:43Even though we're big fans of the series, and the direction Respawn has taken, Kal's
10:47journey is better than anything Disney is doing with the license these days narratively,
10:51the Souls-like elements just don't work.
10:54Adapting the Souls-style combat to a Star Wars game is a surprisingly solid fit, with
10:59Kal's numerous lightsabers and different stances each carrying their own weight and
11:04strategy.
11:05However, it does kind of break the immersion of being a Jedi and getting absolutely bodied
11:10by a basic stormtrooper.
11:12The save points also don't fit into the Star Wars universe.
11:16While we love customizing Kal and his abilities, having the enemies simply respawn upon saving
11:21doesn't work within the lore of Star Wars, and could have easily been replaced with players
11:26watching a dropship fly off upon exiting a save point, rather than every enemy just magically
11:32reappearing.
11:39Which game do you wish hadn't ended up as a Souls-like?
11:41Let us know down in the comments.
11:44Did you enjoy this video?
11:46Check out these other clips for Mojo Plays, and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell
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