What is a Soulslike: The Never-Ending Debate

Welcome to the internet’s favorite existential crisis: What is a Soulslike? With Silent Hill f’s combat preview making fandoms eat each other alive, it’s apparently the perfect time to realize nobody, and I mean nobody, actually knows the answer. If you think Soulslike is just a synonym for “hard game where you dodge stuff,” congrats—you’re wrong, but so is everyone else.

The Roots of the Soulslike Confusion

The term “Soulslike” sprouted from FromSoftware’s DNA—think Dark Souls, Demon’s Souls, and for the slightly fancier crowd, Bloodborne. These games have all the charm of a brick to the face: repeat deaths, punishing consequences, stamina bars that hate you, and enemies designed by the devil’s chiropractor. It’s a hard formula, but clear enough… until every third-person game with a dodge roll and a stamina meter allegedly became a Soulslike. Pile on the confusion.

Silent Hill f: Is This Really a Soulslike?

So why are Silent Hill fans currently swapping memes and insults over this question? Let’s break down what’s causing actual psychic damage to comment sections right now. Silent Hill f shows up with:

• A dodge mechanic (circle button, if you’re keeping score)
• Light and heavy attacks (welcome to gaming, I guess)
• Heavier attacks that stagger, if you time it right
• Parry/counterattack opportunities
• A focus system to slow time and get your anime parry on

That results in what feels like weighty, realistic melee combat—but anyone who’s actually finished a Souls game without rage-quitting will spot the difference. That difference: it’s not actually a Soulslike.

What is a Soulslike Really? 7 Signs You’re Not Playing One

• No death tax, no Soulslike. If dying doesn’t make you lose hours of progress/social life/a fictional currency, you’re out.
• No stamina management, no Soulslike. Button mashing is for Dynasty Warriors, not Souls games.
• No harsh checkpoints, no Soulslike. True Soulslikes spawn you two towns away from your corpse, just for fun.
• No enormous bosses with tragic backstories, no Soulslike. Bonus points if you have to Google the lore to understand what you just killed.
• No skill-based learning curve, no Soulslike. Memorizing attack patterns isn’t a new concept, but it’s not the whole concept.
• No risk-reward currency, no Soulslike. If it’s just XP that vanishes on death, it ain’t special.
• No minimal handholding, no Soulslike. If a tutorial is holding your hand, you’re not in Lordran anymore.

Add to this: clunky menus, cryptic lore, and the intense urge to throw your controller at the TV. If you can check most of those boxes, congrats, death is your reward.

Why This Debate Never Dies

Let’s be honest: What is a Soulslike? It’s a moving target, thanks to internet discourse and the low bar of “it’s hard and has a roll button.” The only thing fans agree on is that nobody else is right. One Redditor called people “second graders” for confusing their kitchen appliances—a.k.a. calling a toaster a blender when you mistake every dodge-heavy game for a Soulslike. (Honestly, that insult kind of slaps.)

Then there’s the classic “it has a lock-on and stamina bar, so…” argument. That logic, by the way, would make you call Breath of the Wild a Soulslike. If that’s true, I’m the King of Hyrule. (Spoiler: I’m not. I wish there was a Triforce for patience with this debate.)

What Does Silent Hill f Actually Do?

If you want a more nuanced take than “it’s a Soulslike or bust,” here’s the real answer: Silent Hill f offers more challenging, tactile combat that borrows a few Soulsy moves without fully embracing the doom-and-gloom grind. There is a lock-on system, countering, and some light stamina flavor—but it lacks the genre-defining desperation and death penalty. In short: it’s not a Soulslike, but it wants to borrow the vibe. It’s cosplay, not full transformation.

The Upside of Not Knowing What a Soulslike Is

The best part? Not having a fixed definition means we get wild debates, genre innovation, and the persistent hope that nobody will ever think Animal Crossing is the Dark Souls of adorable life sims. (Give it time. Seriously.)

But if you’re still hungry for more scathing genre deep-dives, check out our breakdown on the brutal truths behind AI agent protocols, because that rabbit hole might actually have an exit.

TL;DR: If all you need to call something a Soulslike is a dodge button and a tough enemy, you probably think every meal is potatoes if it contains starch. (No judgment, just sadness.) Until then: May your debates be spicy, your bosses unforgiving, and your definitions never agreed upon. See you at the next fandom meltdown.