Action RPGs Similar to Dark Souls

[Tom Bombadildo]

So if you couldn't tell, I'm fairly...obsessed with Dark Souls. I've put almost 200 hours so far into it, and I think I'm finally getting a tad...bored of it. I've gone and done just about every boss/area in the game with 7-8 different builds, so I'm fairly finished with it.

I decided to spend time beating Demon's Souls and I'm about 3 levels away from finishing it, so I'm looking into more Action RPG type games like it. Does anyone have any recommendations? I'm sort of looking for the same feel of Dark/Demon's Souls, the same combat and a similar fantasy setting would be ideal.

I'm generally looking for something for PS3/PC and something that's already released. (I have like 4 or 5 different games I'm looking at right now that are exactly what I want but won't be released for a few months/later this year >.<). Also looking to keep it singleplayer-ish as well, I don't want to be forced into multiplayer with an MMO or something of the sorts.

Dragon's Dogma is on my list, since I got it from PS+, but otherwise I can't think of too many that fit the bill. I've thought of some of the Monster Hunter games as well, but I dunno if they really fit the bill (I myself haven't played much of the series as a whole...).

Anyone else?

 

[GamerzHell9137]

From google

-Hexen & Heretic
-Rune
-Enclave
-Severance: Blade of Darkness
-Dark Messiah
-The Witcher 1 and 2
-Hunted: Demon's Forge

The only MH i played was the 3DS one (cause i got if for free) got into it for 60 hours but then stopped after i beat the main campaign.

You can try Monster Hunter 3rd on PC thou. You can apply the PS3 Textures to the PSP game and play it with PPSSPP on PC( be ready for the graphix cause they are gonna blow ur mind )

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

I'd prefer to stick to something not from < 2006, thanks.

Already played Witcher 1 and 2, and they aren't all that similar. Great games, but not what I'm looking for.

Not gonna bother with any PSP emulation or anything, couldn't care less for the PSP MH games.

Hunted: Demon's Forge is close, but your stuck with 2 characters and not a whole array of classes or anything.

 

[Hells Malice]

Monster Hunter definitely wont give you the same feel, unless archaic and poorly executed mechanics on top of a pretty bland and easy game are your thing.

Definitely no other games capture the action RPG feel of Dark/Demon's Souls...which is a total shame. But Dragon's Dogma is certainly pretty solid.
Aside from Kingdoms of Amalur, which is pretty meh and super super easy, I can't think of anything else for PS3 sadly.

Tis a neglected pair of genres that really needs more love.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

Monster Hunter definitely wont give you the same feel, unless archaic and poorly executed mechanics on top of a pretty bland and easy game are your thing.

Definitely no other games capture the action RPG feel of Dark/Demon's Souls...which is a total shame. But Dragon's Dogma is certainly pretty solid.
Aside from Kingdoms of Amalur, which is pretty meh and super super easy, I can't think of anything else for PS3 sadly.

Tis a neglected pair of genres that really needs more love.

I'd pretty much say this, KoA is kinda just God of War meets Elder Scrolls. I still found it pretty fun if you like meaty RPG experiences that are about quantity more than quality but it's not Dark Souls.

Dragon's Dogma is very good though and highly recommended. I'd just recommend against the PS3 version. It's not terrible but the Xbox 360 version runs a lot better.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Yeah, played KoA a little bit and was fairly impressed with the setting and everything, but kinda disappointed with how incredibly easy it was.

I would get Dragon's Dogma for 360, but my 360 actually died a couple days ago ._. Or at least, the DVD drive did. Don't think I'm gonna replace it, I'll just let it go and stick with my PS3.

Suppose I'm just left with messing around in Dragon's Dogma until Dark Souls 2 is release ._.

 

[FAST6191]

You can often twist certain games towards the Dark Souls side of the spectrum (which is to say bastard hard but not necessarily cheaply) but thinking back on it I have not really got anything that fits the bill outside of other things from From Software and if we are doing post 2006 then that does not count either. I am not entirely sure what you want from the game though, if you want more action game then the likes of Hunted: Demon's Forge appear as the low end of that list (I like it, though it got panned for reasons I am not entirely sure about) and goes right through the likes of Ninety Nine Nights to Ninja Gaiden, to Bayonetta. If you dismissed earlier suggestions for not allowing you to truly develop a character then that list shrinks considerably, though NIER probably features quite prominently out of what remains.
I want to suggest Resonance of Fate at this point, I understand entirely if you do no think it falls into the thing you would want but for me it really evokes the old Burnout feel of "you win not only by playing well but also by leaning into a system that will chew you up and spit you out if you let it". For me that is a pretty accurate description of what Dark Souls does to people, that said the whole game is not like that (you might overlevel too easily and as such that feeling is sometimes a bit few and far between) and I have heard something things about Monster Hunter and I have never liked that series (despite serious efforts to get into it).

If I come at it the other way and say something like Rogue Legacy on the PC. Look it up and you will probably see if you like it. It tends to come around the Humble Bundle Store every so often if you want.

It seems we seek a similar game (broadly outlined as "I want to fight monsters torn from the headlines book of mythology but with a big boy fighting game engine"), it is getting far better out there, Dark Souls being among the things leading the charge, but nobody has quite managed it yet.

 

[Celice]

Why not go play From Software's other great titles, like King's Field, Shadow Tower, Lost Kingdoms?

People like Dark Souls for different reasons. If purely for action, go play Brave Fencer Musashi or God of War. If purely for lore to play Deadly Premonition or Silent Hill. If purely for its gameplay, check out some great roguelikes.


The STALKER series is essentially the FPS tradeoff of Dark Souls. Quite efficient narrative and game design, tethered directly to the gameplay, with as much lore, enjoyment, and functionality derived as as the player's effort is put into it.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

I've actually gone through a majority of From Software's titles, only thing I haven't played is the last King's Field on PS2, but I recently snagged a copy so I'll be giving that a playthrough soon. Haven't played through Lost Kingdoms as well, but it doesn't really look too good to me. Not too big on card-based games.

I don't just like the "Souls" series for one reason or another though. I'm not just looking for a pure action/pure lore-based game (roguelike makes no sense here, since the Souls series isn't close to a roguelike), I'm looking for a good combination of Action, RPG, fantasy-styled worlds, etc. Unfortunately, as FAST pointed out, there just aren't very many games that fit that description.

 

[Celice]

The stalker series has exactly that. But as you seem to have narrowed a specific expectation of Dark Souls, you'll be hard pressed to find something living up to such expectations.

A more charitable move would be to try and discover a game like Dark Souls, instead of mandating what is and is not an experience such as the one Dark Souls often delivers.

 

[CrimzonEyed]

Although kinda old and in my opinion have aged really bad you could try "King's Field" whick demon's souls is a spiritual successor of.



Edit: lol nvm saw people already recommended if.


Edit 2: "shadows of the colussus" and "Ico" maybe?

Also "Nier" is a really good.

 

[Ace Overclocked]

The elder scrolls games on highest difficulty?

 

[rdurbin]

These games are a little older than 2005 but you may like Dark Cloud series on PS2. these have some similarities to Dark Souls, I think dark cloud came out in 2001 and dark cloud 2 maybe 2003-04.