Souls games and Soulslikes have never been more popular. As a die-hard FromSoft fan, I couldn’t be happier, but most recent Soulslikes are missing an important piece of the puzzle—and it’s holding them back from reaching their true potential.

Over the last few years, we’ve been graced by some outstanding approximations of the FromSoftware formula. Think of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, Nioh 2, and the near-masterpiece, Lies of P. It’s clear developers other than FromSoftware can deliver exceptional Soulslikes, and it can only be a good thing for fans of the genre.