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Choose a Soulslike by the kind of challenge you enjoy and what you can do when you get stuck—not by a universal easiest-to-hardest ranking. If you want room to explore, try different weapons or magic, and change your approach, Elden Ring is a strong first pick. If stealth, traversal, tools, and focused sword combat appeal more, consider Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. For a single-player adventure built around weapon combinations and mechanical arms, consider Lies of P.

How to judge whether a Soulslike will suit you

The available official descriptions compare mechanics and settings, not controlled difficulty, completion rates, or the skill needed to finish each game. A game may feel more manageable because its combat matches your instincts or because it gives you room to try another approach. Those are useful fit questions, but they do not establish that one title is objectively easier.

FromSoftware director Hidetaka Miyazaki described the intended challenge this way: “We want players to use their cunning, study the game, memorize what’s happening, and learn from their mistakes.” Miyazaki said this in a PlayStation Blog interview about the design approach to Elden Ring and FromSoftware games. If learning encounters through repeated attempts sounds satisfying, that outlook may suit you; it is not a promise that every player will find the games equally difficult.

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Compare the kinds of challenge that matter to you

Recovery options when you get stuck

Ask whether you want to leave a difficult encounter and explore elsewhere, or would rather stay on a more focused path. Elden Ring is an open-world game whose official PlayStation description emphasizes freedom to explore and multiple ways to approach exploration and combat. That gives you more room to change what you do next; it does not remove the challenge.

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Combat you want to learn

Think about what you would enjoy practicing. Elden Ring offers varied weapons, magical abilities, and skills. Sekiro emphasizes stealth, vertical traversal, prosthetic tools, ninja abilities, and direct combat. Lies of P highlights weapon combinations and Legion Arms. These are differences in play style, not evidence of a difficulty order.

How much you want to vary your approach

If experimenting with weapons, magic, and skills is important, Elden Ring explicitly supports defining your own play style. That variety can help you try another tactic when your current one is not working. If you would rather focus on a more particular combat identity, Sekiro’s shinobi tools and direct encounters or Lies of P’s weapon combinations and Legion Arms may be a closer match.

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Setting and structure

Setting can be as important as mechanics when a game asks you to keep learning and retrying. Elden Ring takes place in an expansive fantasy world. Sekiro is set in late-1500s Sengoku Japan. Lies of P reimagines Pinocchio in a Belle Époque-inspired world.

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Which Soulslike should you play first?

Game Consider it if you want… What the official descriptions emphasize
Elden Ring A broad fantasy world, freedom to explore, and options for changing your combat approach. Open-world exploration; varied weapons, magic, and skills; multiple ways to approach exploration and combat. PlayStation’s Editorial Team calls it “perhaps the most accessible ‘Soulslike’ for newcomers to the genre in years”—an editorial characterization, not an objective difficulty finding. PlayStation’s game page
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice A shinobi story with stealth, vertical movement, tools, and focused direct combat. Stealth, vertical traversal, prosthetic tools, ninja abilities, and head-to-head combat in Sengoku Japan. Its official feature description does not establish a comparative difficulty level. Official Sekiro site
Lies of P A single-player Soulslike with a Pinocchio reimagining and a Belle Époque-inspired setting. Weapon combinations and Legion Arms. Its official FAQ lists PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, Mac, Steam, and Epic Games Store; check the current listing for your region and edition. Official Lies of P FAQ
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Choosing and buying Elden Ring

If its flexibility makes it your best fit, confirm that the current listing matches your platform and console. The US PlayStation page lists a PS4/PS5 Standard Edition, says PS4 purchasers can upgrade to PS5, and notes that a physical disc cannot be used on a PS5 Digital Edition without a disc drive. Edition, price, and compatibility details can change or differ by region, so check the listing for your location and the format of your console before buying: PlayStation’s US Elden Ring page.

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ChefsCloset You Dried Towel Set – 2 Pack Gamer Hand Towels Inspired by Elden Ring, Dark Souls & Bloodborne – Cotton Bathroom & Kitchen Towels, 16x27
  • 2-Pack Gamer Towels: Includes two matching hand towels with the phrase “You Dried,” styled after the iconic “You Died” screen from Soulslike games
  • Perfect Size: Each towel measures 16 x 27 inches, making them ideal as hand towels, guest towels, or kitchen towels.
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In an announcement dated 28 August 2026, Bandai Namco Europe reported that the original Elden Ring had sold more than 30 million units. The publisher said the game is available on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, Xbox One, PS4, and PC; it also announced the Tarnished Edition for Nintendo Switch 2 and Tarnished Pack content for other platforms. Check the current regional product listing for availability and edition details: Bandai Namco Europe’s announcement.

Quick Recap

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Lords of the Fallen Standard Edition - PlayStation 5
  • Overhauled Character Creator – Create more lifelike characters with improved facial detail, body shapes, and visual fidelity
  • Shared-Progression Cross-Play Cooperative Play – Both players now save all main story progress as long as they’re on the same “New Game” and have defeated a similar number of main bosses within one. Both players retains all loot, 100 percent vigor, and can revive each other in all online sessions.
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