Not sure if what I’m looking for exists, but thought I’d ask.
I like the boss fights of games like sekiro and and dark souls but I always end up getting bored of them before getting particularly far for one reason or another
I’m not a huge fan of the grungey art style most souls likes seem to adopt, and I often find myself wandering around not really knowing where I’m going, what I’m doing, or why I’m doing it
Really loved the Nier series. The combat in that makes you feel like a badass, whereas souls likes tend to make your character look like a regular guy with a sword (which I get is the point but not what I tend to look for)
Also like the visual style of black desert, the combat feels pretty good and looks very cool though I’m not a fan of all the micro transactions and pay to win (more or less the same goes for Warframe, at least when I played it years ago)
Does anyone know of any games that might scratch that itch, don’t necessarily have to be souls likes as long as they look good and have challenging boss fights
The only soulslike that’s reasonably flashy yet simple enough that comes to mind is Code Vein
It’s slightly more cartoony than black desert, but has a high degree of character customization.
Story’s fine, but not required.
Combat was cool. I found it fine even on a bluetooth controller. Didn’t get massively frustrated with input lag.
Character builds can vary quite a lot, and are mostly viable. I played a glass cannon and my friend played a tank. They worked just fine alone or together. On that note, the coop is serviceable.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/678960/CODE_VEIN/
Probably wait for a discount.
You might like Remnant or Remnant 2, I think.
Not sure it fits as it’s souls with guns, so missing the spectacle fighter element, but it’s definitely worth a look. They are both excellent games. I love the core loop they’ve got, the shooting feels excellent.
Check out Furi.
It’s a flashy boss rush style game. A bit bullet hell a bit brawler. Might scratch that itch for you.
You could also try Sifu, it’s got really slick skill based combat and interesting bosses.
This was my first thought as well! Good call.
Furi looks like exactly my kind of game. I will have to to give it a go, thank you for the suggestion
Maybe Devil May Cry games, or Bayonetta?
I’ve tried devil may cry 5 and I think the first one, neither really got me. I should probably try 5 again because I’ve only played one of the characters though
Just didn’t get on with the whole disposable mechanical arm thing, didn’t like that my abilities kept changing up on me out of my control
5 is the only one I haven’t played yet so cannot really make a comment there, but you can check the older ones like HD collection. It has the first three games.
By the way I didn’t mention earlier but Ys series with nightmare difficulty could be a nice action for you. They have a boss-rush mode where you only fight the bosses.
On this sort of line maybe Metal Gear Rising Revengence could be worth a look.
you want nioh and nioh 2.
They look a lot like regular dark souls to me. The combat looks good but I think part of what I think of when I say flashy is abilities other than just hitting things with a weapon, movement abilities, magic that isn’t just standing back and pelting something, dodges that teleport you behind the enemy etc
Not sure exactly how much this fits the bill for you but Kena: Bridge of Spirits may be what you’re looking for. I personally describe it as a Pixar game with Souls-ish combat.
What about its combat is souls-ish?
I mean I love Kena, but it’s more a game comparable to other classical action-adventures such as the Zelda games, not Dark Souls as it places very little focus on accurate dodging and judging when not to dodge, plus it has no gameplay loop built around repeated death.
Might not fit exactly but check out Titan Souls
Not sure if it counts but Monster Hunter? That’s pretty much a boss rush game, especially Rise.
It might scratch the itch you’re talking about, and it’s also one of the greatest games of all time:
Tunic
Not out yet, but coming very soon, Another Crab’s Treasure (Check the release date trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEaLBYS6YMw ).
Of course, since it’s not out, we can’t say if it’ll be a good game or not, but it looks good, and is a colourful looking soulslike. (Which I am looking forward to myself)
Sorry, not a soulslike, but Returnal might work for you. Challenging roguelite third-person shooter with awesome boss fights.
