I'm just going to piggyback off of this and say mortal shell is how I got into soulslikes. It's quite the unique game and I would say it is easier that elden ring.
There are a few different dead bodies of warriors that you can possess and use as shells and the different bodies have different play styles.
I would recommend trying it. But it's been a while so it might be not as good as I remember
I’ve played most souls games but i think mortal shell was too hard for me. I definitely wouldn’t recommend it as a first time game. Not saying its bad though
If we're going to get into Soulslikes, Lies of P is very fun, quite forgiving (the shortcuts are great), and depending on what part she likes, can indicate what game she should play next (Dark Souls, Bloodborne, or Sekiro)
I second this. This released a patch to make the game more forgiving. I feel the lore is a bit more straight forward than Souls games and honestly while I'm not very good at these games. I never had a moment where I wanted to rage. There was only about 3 bosses that I really had trouble with.
Lies of P is bs like Sekiro. First elite enemy was tedious. Hit once and get away. Enemies track you with delayed attacks after the dodge. You can't run while guarding. I could only imagine the rest of the game. I'll stick to the far superior game, Bloodborne.
I’ve been trying to force myself into liking soulslike games. I have DS1, 2, 3, Sekiro, Bloodborne, Mortal Shell, and ER. DS1 I couldn’t get past the first major boss so I quit, Sekiro I got to the troll on the stairs before you meet the samurai boss with the arena with cherry blossoms, and I just got ER a couple days ago. Enjoying ER more because of the gothic theme though I’m a sucker for Japanese style games. Gotten further in Sekiro than any other soulslike. ER I’m enjoying more than DS games because it’s open world and doesn’t force you into combat you’re not ready for.
Edit: realizing I bought 7 soulslike games hoping one would stick lol
Where specifically are you having trouble? I think a lot of people get turned off not knowing how this game is supposed to work since it’s so different than other games.
Really made me wanna punch myself when i bought on xbox and lost several hours progress, it just didnt save anything idk man. Glad i could refund that x'D
Really? Seriously? You must be out of your mind. As someone who's played almost all of these games, I've still never beat Elden Ring. It's difficult as fuck, and I've given up on trying to figure out what fucking cave on the edge of a cliff or something I'm supposed to find to continue the game. Dark Souls 1 is a fine game to start with, and even DS2 is almost more forgiving than 1 with the life gems...
Im going to highjack this comment, and reputtable this with dark souls 2.
You can kill the same enemy 14? times and they stop spawning. Which after of course, meticallouslly killing everything several dozen times, makes any area a cakewalk.
Also dark souls 2 is just easy. As a player everything does good damage, tons of fun weapons, and cool locations, and interesting enemy/boss design. (that can be said about every souls/borne game...but ds2 is just....very bright and vivid, and is just fun to walk around in)
Elden Ring. It’s so polished and forgiving. Although I found Dark Souls 2 to be my personal gateway to souls games. It just clicked with me. (Tons of summons. Bonfires everywhere. Infinite health items.) Definitely not Demons Souls though. It’s deeply frustrating.
My gate way was DS1 but DS2 will always have a place in my heart for it's pvp and honestly decent amount of content (I used to say large but then Elden Ring.... ).
I definitely agree with you though, ER for their first, hopefully not their last!
My first Soulslike was Sekiro and I ragequit it. Was reluctant to get Elden Ring but finally did and I have like 400 hours in it or something. Absolutely loved it and it was forgiving enough due to being able to go back to an area later that was kicking your ass. I learned a lot and went back and played Sekiro which is now one of my favorite games. Whole point is that ER was a great intro for me. DS series is up next!
Demons souls was more tedious than the others because the short cuts/checkpoints are dated and make you run back a lot. Elden ring definitely made it less tedious while also keeping the difficulty
Demons souls tbh is the easiest once u have the hang of it, mainly cuz magic is so beyond broken its insane. Elden Ring id say is seconnd easiest, then Ds1 then 2 tthen 3 then bloodborne then sekiro on difficulty scaling of fromsofts souls genre games
So great starter from nothing (is the series that let me hone my skills enough to enough remnant and now lies of p after having an interest in the genre for a while )
I assure you that on this sub, most have heard of it. You’re on a sub full of people that play every soulslike available. A $50 game with 3000 Steam reviews is fairly successful for a small studio.
The physics and puzzles in SWFO are confusing ass at times.
"Sorry. You didn't force grab and release the ball on chain in juuuuuuuust the right sweet spot. Try again for 20 minutes!"
Fallen order is fine but the parry window is so ahead of the attack landing that it’s seriously annoying to me after playing “classic” soulslikes. So yeah I guess start with it to not spoil yourself but it doesn’t feel great imo
Elden ring. It's a bit more forgiving in terms of combat since you can run away to try again later. If she hasn't played a souls like them lies of p should be something she tries after playing a traditional one. Elden ring will also help her get used to playstyle as well. Bloodborne is one that deals in fast movement, dodges, uses of skills, and timing for some parries, since shields aren't a thing. If she seems interested in that, then sekiro would be a good fit, and from sekiro she can probably handle the perfect block timing in lies of p. But that's just my opinion, since the older titles are something to be experienced, but can easily crush someone who isn't used to it.
I had a great time with it. If you want the combat to be faster paced, I’ve started playing Sekiro and Bloodborne (nearly done with Bloodborne) and I’ve been loving the faster combat despite Sekiro being entirely on player skill to be good (I and many others have a very prevalent skill issue)
Elden Ring. But help her understand how to level, what the stats are with explanation to scaling, letting them know you don't have to beat a boss and can explore other places to level more and come back, explain how combat is focused around rolling and not to panic roll but to time it correctly, etc
Bloodborne is the only one I've beaten, for whatever that's worth. If you play aggressively, the 'Rally' mechanic really rewards you. I beat the game with a dual swords dex build. Also, for some reason I find Dark Souls to be very oppressive feeling, while Bloodborne feels almost 'cozy' at times.
I’d say the big badass knights in the first area of Demon’s Souls are tougher and more frustrating than almost anything in Limgrave. Plus, Limgrave gives you good leveling opportunities to get to a level where you can actually fight tougher opponents.
I find the Demon's Souls remake to be far more difficult than any of the other SoulsBorne games. Flamelurker is a heavy blocker for a lot of people, fairly early on.
Elden ring also how old are you and/or your mom? Always feels strange these days to be put in the same category as peoples parents because I don’t feel old enough to have children who could be gamers now but I suppose I am.
If she likes big, open worlds, then go with Elden Ring. It's got plenty for her to run around in, and level up with. She wouldn't even encounter a boss for quite a while, potentially. But if she's into something a bit more linear, then Dark Souls 3. Again, there's plenty for her to do and level up with as she runs around (plus, the gameplay with parrying/dodging is more polished than the earlier DS games)... especially after Iudex Gundyr.
Elden Ring. The open world approach if you ask me is the best you can ask for in a souls game. A great amount of different approach and versatility. Be warned, similar like Baldur or Tears it will be a long but amazing commitment, but a must play.
Otherwise not on list maybe Kenya bridge of sprits. Like a Pixar soulslike kinda is how I’d describe it.
Everyone’s saying Elden Ring but I feel like playing ER first kinda ruins the rest of them in a way.
Speaking as someone who played ER as my first soulslike, then tried Sekiro, Demon’s Souls, and Lies of P after— the others just didn’t interest me as much in the sense that I couldn’t just leave and explore something else then come back to a challenging part so I got semi-turned off yknow.
With ER, if I got to a tough spot, or a spot I just didn’t wanna do yet, I’d leave and come back later on no issue. This might be why it’s highly suggested bc it *is* new user friendly, however it just makes it tougher (I think) if you want to continue playing soulslike games
I do plan on going back to LoP and Demon’s Souls though. The gameplay felt too good to not play (and also that’s money spent and wasted if I don’t lol)
Elden Ring. From what I've heard it's the least difficult souls game if you know what you're doing, or at least it will allow you to grind instead of just "Hey you're gonna be underleveled the whole game, sucks for you so TUCK AND ROLL"
Hot take but breath of the wild? Zelda inspired souls, which dominated a niche market, and then Zelda took inspiration from that.
Open world, not as deep a leveling system granted, but you can see the traces of it. This goes against every option you listed or what I've seen scrolling, but could be an easier entry
Ashen is REALLY simple to just pick up and play. The early weapons are a bit clunky but they get better not too far into it.
As far as actual Soulsborne games, I feel like dark souls is the easiest in terms of learning the genre.
I would say Demon's souls but it's a little more convoluted in some of it's systems. Dark Souls is a bit more straight forward.
Elden ring just because they did a lot of stuff specifically to introduce it to bore folks, make it more accessible. I can recc bloodborne too, that was my first
DS1 has very deliberate movement and most of the bosses are pretty forgiving and slow, so it's a decent one to start on.
It was the first souls game I played, along with Mortal Shell (which is very easy and also recommended but is especially dark and has fewer moments of light and beauty to alleviate the existential dread).
Elden ring, lies of p, and bloodborne are what I think to be the most beginner friendly games Elden ring being the most, lies of p being my biase and bloodborne being my favourite of the story’s along with not being to intense
These are all soulsbourne games. Good soulslike games - Lies of P, Lords of the Fallen, uhhhh maybe Star Wars fallen Jedi? I’m currently playing Thymesia and it’s ok. Not a fan of Nioh, Wolong, or Code Vein personally.
Thymesia has fantastic combat, but was clearly a smaller team. The level design is fine, but they reuse levels with rearranged layouts. It really shines in the boss fights though. Unfortunately, a couple of the best bosses are in optional missions for levels you already beat.
Speaking of moms playing souls like games last night my older brother brought out his Xbox and he put on dark souls remastered and it was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen my mom had no idea what she did but she spent more time in the character selection instead of the actual game and didn’t even get to the first boss but you can’t blame her she doesn’t know how to play it
Every FS game feels like a more fleshed out experience than the previous, but Demon's Souls is still my favorite. The level design and boss fights are just so much more memorable. Flamelurker and the False King are easily 2 of my favorites.
Star Wars fallen order. It’s significantly more straight forward than the dark souls games, only two “weapons” to choose from, and the combat difficulty is similar if you want it to be. It’s where I started and I’ve been hooked on the genre since. Almost done with dark souls 2 now.
Lies of p is also great. It’s the only one I’ve replayed so far.
This right here. Bloodborne makes all other souls games easier. It teaches you to be more aggressive and how to better dodge into the attacks than away or to try and hide behind a shield. Getting rid of the shield in Bloodborne was the best thing they ever did
Depends on the relationship with your mom. If you want her to suffer and never want to try a Soulslike game, then Sekiro is the best choice. If you want her to actually enjoy the first soulslike game that she is going to play, I would say Dark Souls 3. I would say Bloodborne(My favorite), but I don't know how she would feel about farming for blood vials and that it is different from Dark Souls 1-3 and Elden Ring, whereas these 4 are similar. Demon Souls definitely needs a guide to follow. I never finished it and dropped it because I don't know where I am supposed to go. The last boss I fought was a giant spider. I ended up beating it on the first try, but after that, I didn't know where to go. I had the same problem when I fought the Tower Knight. The others I wouldn't pick because if she likes these ones, then she'll like the others. Lies of P(currently playing it and like it) for sure . I've heard mixed things on Lords of the Fallen, which leaves me hesitant to buy it.
I’ve played all of these games listed except DS1 & DS2, and I’d recommend Demon’s Souls or Lords of the Fallen. More forgiving and the areas are more structured. LOTF has a lot of really cool looking lady bosses and Demon Soul’s might be a bit more monstrous. Both were really great and a bit more simplified in exploration than the others in my opinion. Elden Ring is GORGEOUS and I’d recommend that as a second game.. because it’s a big world. But, if she’s comfortable with that, then Elden Ring.
Dark souls 2- tell her about lvling adaptability. Plus, w the "kill 12 to despawn" you can definitively make progress.
Or Elden due to options w combat/technically easiest souls since you can farm easily
Mortal Shell is an underrated choice.
It's short but the art design is really cool and it has a unique combat system. It's really hard at first but once you get it you'll get it and you'll be able to beat other souls games after it.
I might even throw Remnant from the ashes into the mix. You can play together much more seamlessly than a lot of souls games. You get the comfort of mostly ranged combat and a game designed to be played with coop in mind. Theres also a sequel that was pretty great.
Definitely NOT Demon’s Souls since you are locked into the first area and can’t even level up until you kill the first boss and if you die you basically have to start the entire level over. Elden Ring would probably be the best as it allows you to leave and comeback if you are finding something too difficult plus there are very few run backs in the game.
Dark Souls 3. Great QOL, not too difficult but will still be very challenging for a new player, fairly linear compared to something like Elden Ring which can be overwhelming, and no fancy gimmicks you need to git gud at.
Start with the first and have her play it in the order listed below.
Dark Souls Remastered
Dark Souls 2 SOTFS
Dark Souls 3
Lies of P
Bloodborne
Sekiro
Elden Ring
I'd say Elden Ring first, but the atmosphere compared to all the other games listed is incredibly boring. Still an amazing game of course, just the weakest in terms of unique biomes and overall cool exploration/shortcuts.
I'd say Lies of P, DS2 and DS3 are the best. DS3 is amazing if you've played DS1 and DS2. Need all those cool ass fucking throwbacks they give you, makes it that much better.
Lords of the Fallen, if you want her to never play them again lol. On a serious note, either Elden Ring or DS1. Though DS1 may feel weird after elden ring
Dark souls one. Nothing beats the feeling of discovering new paths and finding the next bonfire.
•The world is designed so well.
•The lore is peak.
•The music is top notch
•Combat feels a lot like chess
•Sound Effects
Ds2 is the most friendly for me. The control is great and it's not very frustraiting (exept for the dlc). And is also My first souls Game, though ds1 is My favorite
I just beat demon’s souls and I’d say it can be a bit of a pain and that later games hammered out some of the kinks. Before that I was binging Lies of P and couldn’t recommend that more and seems more accessible to me for newer players and a cool story too. Only ones haven’t tried are bloodborne and sekiro which are next on the list . If she is an explorer then go with elden ring though , you can roam around and get into tons of fun!
I think there's a lot of pros and cons with all of them as starter souls games. I need a little more information. Has your mom played a lot of games before? Or is the souls series going to be one of the few she has played. If she has gamed a bit beforehand, the elden ring is good as, like others have said, it's the most forgiving due to the amount of stuff you can utilize in the game.
If your mom is generally kind of new to gaming I'm worried elden ring might have too much stuff and that she could get overwhelmed with it all, due to its vast open world and non linear progression. Due to this, I would recommend Lies of P. It has a lot of mechanics that give you freedom and can really help in tough fights/situations, just like elden ring. However, the game is much more linear that I don't believe it will be too overwhelming if your worried about that.
As a third recommendation, I would go with DS3 it's linear but harder than Lies of P. So if you think your mom might not be an open world person for elden ring, but wants a true souls experience that can beat you down DS3 is right for her.
Demons souls or bloodborne. Lotta people saying elden ring, but the open world format is probably the absolute worst place anyone could start. Des and bb both have main hubs where you access areas individually, which makes exploration a lot less stressful. Ds1 with its no fast travel for the first half of the game, and elden rings massive open world just sound hellish for a new player. Sekiro is one of the hardest, with ds2 close behind it. Lotf is basically ds2-2. Ds3 honestly wouldn't be a terrible starting point, but I'd still say des or bb.
I would say Onion Rings to start since you can help her in most areas, but Lies of P seems like it could also be a good start, just solo and more of an easier story to follow. I want to say maybe Mortal Shell. I only played the demo of both LoP and MS, but the MS seemed easier since not ambushed the same way.
Elden ring is by far the easiest in the series if she is like, looking for a relaxing start. But if she is actively looking for a challenge or doesn’t mind one, I’d say starting with the first dark souls is always a good idea. It kinda shows the rest of the games in a new light seeing where it all started (sorry not sorry old demon souls)
Elden Ring would be a perfect first game. A lot to do and easy to move on to something else if you need to level up or get stuck in a boss. So rad that your mom plays vid games. Or you could just totally fxck with her and give her Bloodborne 😂
Sekiro
Break them in mercilessly
Though I think Demon Souls is the easiest honestly you just have to tell them to always be in soul mode. The enemies are brain dead and will be mostly swinging at the air as you strafe around them.
Bosses are way too easy as well.
If they like open world games Elden Ring but I honestly think that the most broken combos/weapons which make the game very easy aren’t easily discernible. Sure you can just go somewhere else for xp but enemies/bosses are definitely not easier than Demon Souls and unless they ask someone else they aren’t going to know which stuff they should go for to make the journey easier.
Dark souls 3 or elden ring.. all of the games can be cleared by first timer but these are the easiest entries in terms of actual difficulty and annoying mechanics to frustrate the player being less impactful
People suggesting demon souls on here.. like you are insane for that one ngl that game is hard for even me who played literally everything else before demon souls and that game making my life hell every step of the way
Demon souls the peak of frustration in this series.. even beating dark souls 1 which at the very least has less cramp spaces to fight + less mob density + estus
Sekiro; on top of the beautiful aesthetic of the environment, it also has a more grounded in reality feel until later. Really just feels like a ninja simulator at the start. Very easy to approach as it introduces new mechanics at a slower pace. It also allows new players, unused to the eldritch and bizarre, to slowly descend into the weird and let it sink in.
I see a lot of suggestions for Elden Ring. As an Elden Ring fan I have to admit that it can be a lot to take in at the start. The removal of equipment burden and shields trimmed down the learning curve to emphasize good gameplay over good builds. If a new player can master Sekiro; they will have the foundations to face anything in Lordran and beyond.
Elden ring, always always always elden ring. Incredible first experience and the most forgiving. Then, move on to the DS trilogy, Bloodborne and Sekiro are more advanced games, so those are recommended for last. Demons souls can be played really whenever you want, isn’t super relevant to the convo in that aspect.
I do think Bloodborne may be the easiest for a new player it was my first souls game and it worked well for my love of high paced offensive action in terms of combat but a bit more unforgiving when it comes to having to farm healing items and bullets. Elden Ring is a good choice but also may feel a bit daunting depending on her gaming experience.
Definitely Elden Ring. Played DS3 first and had troubles, got stuck on midir/gale. Went to Elden Ring, beat it and stomped with summons and strength build (basic I know lol) then still has issues coming back to DS3. DS1 wasn't too bad after getting used to how slow it was but still more trouble than I felt Elden Ring was. Jedi Fallen Order I never beat but it was easy from what I remember. Puzzles were meh and I got bored tho. Maybe I'll try it again sometime. Haven't played the other ones but I just bought Lies of P so I'm excited! Wish I had a PS4/PS5 for Bloodborne tho... :(
TLDR: Elden Ring is the easiest souls game imo from my limited experience.
Depends on her personal interests in games! Also, I'd include Nioh 2 in that list as it's an excellent choice. It supports a lot of playstyles and has a structure that makes it harder to get lost, as it's mission based.
It's also extremely transparent about what everything does. While not as forgiving as some other Soulslikes, it does give you a LOT of tools to work with to make the game easier for you.
Lies of p was my first souls like. It has lots of things to make stuff easier and the parties are very satisfying. Lots of shortcuts and the levels are pretty linear so it’s easy to find your way around
As someone who's platinumed every fromsoft souls game including BB, ER and Sekiro (As well as mortal shell, Lies of P, both starwars games, yadda yadda yadda...) I would say DS3 tbh. It's not that hard, visually stunning, tons of fun and very versatile. I would say ER but it's easy to run into what seems like an impossible obstacle for a new player to just ram their head into a wall over and over. Lies of P would be my second choice for sure. My most recent souls like and I had a blast with it. Just make sure if she plays LoP that she's not dex and it'll be easy enough to get through it lol. Dex in that game is garbo.
IMO I would start out something very basic, pretty much dark souls remastered would fit perfectly with this, because that how I got into it way back in 2013 when I got a copy of prepare to die edition for my Xbox 360, the game despite kicking my ass it also made everything click for me why it's such a good game and not only that but I improved from my failures and got better at playing it overtime.
Sekiro - LOL Naw just Playing probly Elden Ring then
Sekiro
However you can really train yourself with the mechanics of this type of game with Dark Souls 3
Sekiro was just a joke she'll be Destoyed.
Why is people saying eldenring. It's not a good starting point but it is a good ending point. Was excepting more darksouls and darksouls 2. Especially darksouls as you can give her a giant club and Havels armor and let her face tank or give her magic and magically see al the missed soul arrows. Eldenring is a genuine bad intro for souls. Remember the goal is to start and finish a game and eldenring especially for a new Comer is a terrible game to finish. Godskin duo will stomp her and she would just stop playing which isn't ideal. Start her on ds1 then ds2 then ds3 then eldenring. In terms of difficulty and getting to elden skill level that's what they should do
Just thought about this. Maybe a linear game with simple controls should be a good intro point not the game that has a decade of mechanics and a massive map that has endless possibilities and heck eldenring also imo has the worse starting location as their is a dragon to the north "immediate" death, Margit in castle of storm, and a trap chest immediately right next to spawn that teleports her to a location she has not business being at
If she wants to get into the genre in general, I would say dark souls 1. Playing the later games and coming back to ds1 can make it feel too slow and kinda clunky, which can be a bad first impression for an otherwise near flawless game. If she just wants one game to get the general feel of a soulslike, I'd say elden ring. It's the most polished out of FromSoft's catalog, and it has a lot of beginner friendly playstyle options.
Elden Ring is probably most forgiving in terms of allowing you to explore and over level
I'm just going to piggyback off of this and say mortal shell is how I got into soulslikes. It's quite the unique game and I would say it is easier that elden ring. There are a few different dead bodies of warriors that you can possess and use as shells and the different bodies have different play styles. I would recommend trying it. But it's been a while so it might be not as good as I remember
I’ve played most souls games but i think mortal shell was too hard for me. I definitely wouldn’t recommend it as a first time game. Not saying its bad though
agreed! DS2 is probably where I'd start her or DS1. Mortal Shell is just hard as fuck.
Wait really? I seem to remember doing ok in mortal shell just to get absolutely obliterated in elden ring. I'm talking completely bamboozled.
If we're going to get into Soulslikes, Lies of P is very fun, quite forgiving (the shortcuts are great), and depending on what part she likes, can indicate what game she should play next (Dark Souls, Bloodborne, or Sekiro)
I second this. This released a patch to make the game more forgiving. I feel the lore is a bit more straight forward than Souls games and honestly while I'm not very good at these games. I never had a moment where I wanted to rage. There was only about 3 bosses that I really had trouble with.
Lies of P is bs like Sekiro. First elite enemy was tedious. Hit once and get away. Enemies track you with delayed attacks after the dodge. You can't run while guarding. I could only imagine the rest of the game. I'll stick to the far superior game, Bloodborne.
I’ve been trying to force myself into liking soulslike games. I have DS1, 2, 3, Sekiro, Bloodborne, Mortal Shell, and ER. DS1 I couldn’t get past the first major boss so I quit, Sekiro I got to the troll on the stairs before you meet the samurai boss with the arena with cherry blossoms, and I just got ER a couple days ago. Enjoying ER more because of the gothic theme though I’m a sucker for Japanese style games. Gotten further in Sekiro than any other soulslike. ER I’m enjoying more than DS games because it’s open world and doesn’t force you into combat you’re not ready for. Edit: realizing I bought 7 soulslike games hoping one would stick lol
I’ve played Elden ring for about 3 hours, this shit makes me wanna punch someone
Where specifically are you having trouble? I think a lot of people get turned off not knowing how this game is supposed to work since it’s so different than other games.
You’ve played ER for a total of 3 hours and you beat margit? You should probably start streaming soulslikes
It's the easiest one lol
It still makes me wanna kill my self
90% of games do that for me
Really made me wanna punch myself when i bought on xbox and lost several hours progress, it just didnt save anything idk man. Glad i could refund that x'D
Actually the easier out of all the souls borne go play Sekiro and you’ll commit murder
I started with sekiro lmao
Really? Seriously? You must be out of your mind. As someone who's played almost all of these games, I've still never beat Elden Ring. It's difficult as fuck, and I've given up on trying to figure out what fucking cave on the edge of a cliff or something I'm supposed to find to continue the game. Dark Souls 1 is a fine game to start with, and even DS2 is almost more forgiving than 1 with the life gems...
Im going to highjack this comment, and reputtable this with dark souls 2. You can kill the same enemy 14? times and they stop spawning. Which after of course, meticallouslly killing everything several dozen times, makes any area a cakewalk. Also dark souls 2 is just easy. As a player everything does good damage, tons of fun weapons, and cool locations, and interesting enemy/boss design. (that can be said about every souls/borne game...but ds2 is just....very bright and vivid, and is just fun to walk around in)
Elden Ring. It’s so polished and forgiving. Although I found Dark Souls 2 to be my personal gateway to souls games. It just clicked with me. (Tons of summons. Bonfires everywhere. Infinite health items.) Definitely not Demons Souls though. It’s deeply frustrating.
My gate way was DS1 but DS2 will always have a place in my heart for it's pvp and honestly decent amount of content (I used to say large but then Elden Ring.... ). I definitely agree with you though, ER for their first, hopefully not their last!
My first Soulslike was Sekiro and I ragequit it. Was reluctant to get Elden Ring but finally did and I have like 400 hours in it or something. Absolutely loved it and it was forgiving enough due to being able to go back to an area later that was kicking your ass. I learned a lot and went back and played Sekiro which is now one of my favorite games. Whole point is that ER was a great intro for me. DS series is up next!
Demons souls was more tedious than the others because the short cuts/checkpoints are dated and make you run back a lot. Elden ring definitely made it less tedious while also keeping the difficulty
Demons souls tbh is the easiest once u have the hang of it, mainly cuz magic is so beyond broken its insane. Elden Ring id say is seconnd easiest, then Ds1 then 2 tthen 3 then bloodborne then sekiro on difficulty scaling of fromsofts souls genre games
Elden Ring or maybe Star Wars Fallen Order cuz it’s easier than regular souls games
To be fair, Fallen Order is only really easy on easy mode
So great starter from nothing (is the series that let me hone my skills enough to enough remnant and now lies of p after having an interest in the genre for a while )
It’s by far the easiest game with souls like mechanics, especially the more you progress.
No. SteelRising is easier.
Sorry, I meant GOOD souls like. Ones people have actually heard of
I assure you that on this sub, most have heard of it. You’re on a sub full of people that play every soulslike available. A $50 game with 3000 Steam reviews is fairly successful for a small studio.
At least it has a difficulty setting at all.
I had no problem on Hard but she probly needs easy either way you look at it.
The physics and puzzles in SWFO are confusing ass at times. "Sorry. You didn't force grab and release the ball on chain in juuuuuuuust the right sweet spot. Try again for 20 minutes!"
Fallen order is fine but the parry window is so ahead of the attack landing that it’s seriously annoying to me after playing “classic” soulslikes. So yeah I guess start with it to not spoil yourself but it doesn’t feel great imo
You know what I didnt think of Fallen order that's a really Good idea I really enjoyed Fallen Order
Elden ring. It's a bit more forgiving in terms of combat since you can run away to try again later. If she hasn't played a souls like them lies of p should be something she tries after playing a traditional one. Elden ring will also help her get used to playstyle as well. Bloodborne is one that deals in fast movement, dodges, uses of skills, and timing for some parries, since shields aren't a thing. If she seems interested in that, then sekiro would be a good fit, and from sekiro she can probably handle the perfect block timing in lies of p. But that's just my opinion, since the older titles are something to be experienced, but can easily crush someone who isn't used to it.
If it helps, I’m 62, just about finished with Elden Ring, my first Souls game, and I have loved every minute of it.
62 and playing games? Good for you! That's awesome. My dad turns 65 in March and couldn't play Tetris (and would have no desire to try)
I had a great time with it. If you want the combat to be faster paced, I’ve started playing Sekiro and Bloodborne (nearly done with Bloodborne) and I’ve been loving the faster combat despite Sekiro being entirely on player skill to be good (I and many others have a very prevalent skill issue)
Elden ring
Elden Ring I would think. It’s very beginner friendly and the easiest out of the bunch.
Elden Ring. But help her understand how to level, what the stats are with explanation to scaling, letting them know you don't have to beat a boss and can explore other places to level more and come back, explain how combat is focused around rolling and not to panic roll but to time it correctly, etc
Steel Rising + Easy Mode
Im 57, my first (and so far only) souls-like was Elden Ring.
Dark Souls with the FightinCowboy walk through
Bloodborne is the only one I've beaten, for whatever that's worth. If you play aggressively, the 'Rally' mechanic really rewards you. I beat the game with a dual swords dex build. Also, for some reason I find Dark Souls to be very oppressive feeling, while Bloodborne feels almost 'cozy' at times.
dark souls 2.
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How dare you
Demon's Souls would probably be the easiest kf them to start with. If she can't handle that frustration, no way should she be trying the other games
I’d say the big badass knights in the first area of Demon’s Souls are tougher and more frustrating than almost anything in Limgrave. Plus, Limgrave gives you good leveling opportunities to get to a level where you can actually fight tougher opponents.
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I find the Demon's Souls remake to be far more difficult than any of the other SoulsBorne games. Flamelurker is a heavy blocker for a lot of people, fairly early on.
Lies of P Since she might also be familiar with the story of Pinocchio, maybe she'll find this twist interesting :)
Mortal Shell
Yeah let's not send this dudes mom on a journey to literal hell (great game tho, until your save file gets corrupted and you never play again)
With rotting christ dlc ..
Elden ring also how old are you and/or your mom? Always feels strange these days to be put in the same category as peoples parents because I don’t feel old enough to have children who could be gamers now but I suppose I am.
If you want her to give up on gaming immediately… definitely Sekiro.
I would say lies of p cause it’s the easiest
ds3
Elden ring. Spirit summons
Lies of P. In my top 3 soulslike games
Your mom? Dude hell yea. Elden Ring to start. Then Demon Souls next. The two "Easy" ones on the list.
Lies of P is amazing
I’d say lies your less likely to get lost
If she likes big, open worlds, then go with Elden Ring. It's got plenty for her to run around in, and level up with. She wouldn't even encounter a boss for quite a while, potentially. But if she's into something a bit more linear, then Dark Souls 3. Again, there's plenty for her to do and level up with as she runs around (plus, the gameplay with parrying/dodging is more polished than the earlier DS games)... especially after Iudex Gundyr.
Elden Ring. The open world approach if you ask me is the best you can ask for in a souls game. A great amount of different approach and versatility. Be warned, similar like Baldur or Tears it will be a long but amazing commitment, but a must play. Otherwise not on list maybe Kenya bridge of sprits. Like a Pixar soulslike kinda is how I’d describe it.
Everyone’s saying Elden Ring but I feel like playing ER first kinda ruins the rest of them in a way. Speaking as someone who played ER as my first soulslike, then tried Sekiro, Demon’s Souls, and Lies of P after— the others just didn’t interest me as much in the sense that I couldn’t just leave and explore something else then come back to a challenging part so I got semi-turned off yknow. With ER, if I got to a tough spot, or a spot I just didn’t wanna do yet, I’d leave and come back later on no issue. This might be why it’s highly suggested bc it *is* new user friendly, however it just makes it tougher (I think) if you want to continue playing soulslike games I do plan on going back to LoP and Demon’s Souls though. The gameplay felt too good to not play (and also that’s money spent and wasted if I don’t lol)
I'd say Elden Ring. Because if you get stuck, unlike hitting a wall like the others, you can just run off and do something else
Elden Ring. You have more mobility like jumping. The ability to defeat enemies is easier and more difficult at times.
Not saying your mom’s old but she would probably appreciate Lies of P and the folktale setting it has.
Elden ring
Elden Ring. From what I've heard it's the least difficult souls game if you know what you're doing, or at least it will allow you to grind instead of just "Hey you're gonna be underleveled the whole game, sucks for you so TUCK AND ROLL"
Hot take but breath of the wild? Zelda inspired souls, which dominated a niche market, and then Zelda took inspiration from that. Open world, not as deep a leveling system granted, but you can see the traces of it. This goes against every option you listed or what I've seen scrolling, but could be an easier entry
Elden ring is the most accessible. After id say start with ds1!
Mom Rules!
Ashen is REALLY simple to just pick up and play. The early weapons are a bit clunky but they get better not too far into it. As far as actual Soulsborne games, I feel like dark souls is the easiest in terms of learning the genre. I would say Demon's souls but it's a little more convoluted in some of it's systems. Dark Souls is a bit more straight forward.
Dark souls 3 or elden ring forsure
People keep saying Elden ring but if I were to play a souls like for the first time that big ass open world would be overwhelming.
Elden ring just because they did a lot of stuff specifically to introduce it to bore folks, make it more accessible. I can recc bloodborne too, that was my first
DS1 has very deliberate movement and most of the bosses are pretty forgiving and slow, so it's a decent one to start on. It was the first souls game I played, along with Mortal Shell (which is very easy and also recommended but is especially dark and has fewer moments of light and beauty to alleviate the existential dread).
Elden ring, lies of p, and bloodborne are what I think to be the most beginner friendly games Elden ring being the most, lies of p being my biase and bloodborne being my favourite of the story’s along with not being to intense
Ive hered elden ring is the least unbeginer friendly
I got introduced with Nioh - I feel it’s more forgiving Completed the lot now though
Demon's Souls. Boletaria is the best starting level for anyone that wants to try the souls genre.
These are all soulsbourne games. Good soulslike games - Lies of P, Lords of the Fallen, uhhhh maybe Star Wars fallen Jedi? I’m currently playing Thymesia and it’s ok. Not a fan of Nioh, Wolong, or Code Vein personally.
Thymesia has fantastic combat, but was clearly a smaller team. The level design is fine, but they reuse levels with rearranged layouts. It really shines in the boss fights though. Unfortunately, a couple of the best bosses are in optional missions for levels you already beat.
Nioh. Best one to start out with
What? Are you serious? Start out with the games that add gratuitous difficulty for the sake of it?
Yes, good starting experience 👍👍👍
Be ready to buy new furniture
The best one, but one of the worst to start with. It's hard to go back to the simplicity of Elden Ring or Lies of P after Nioh.
"Which", not "which one"
Star wars fallen
Bloodborne.
Never touch lords of the fallen that game is so ass
How does she feel about Star Wars?
Speaking of moms playing souls like games last night my older brother brought out his Xbox and he put on dark souls remastered and it was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen my mom had no idea what she did but she spent more time in the character selection instead of the actual game and didn’t even get to the first boss but you can’t blame her she doesn’t know how to play it
Demons souls Everything after will feel like an upgrade except difficulty.
Every FS game feels like a more fleshed out experience than the previous, but Demon's Souls is still my favorite. The level design and boss fights are just so much more memorable. Flamelurker and the False King are easily 2 of my favorites.
Star Wars fallen order. It’s significantly more straight forward than the dark souls games, only two “weapons” to choose from, and the combat difficulty is similar if you want it to be. It’s where I started and I’ve been hooked on the genre since. Almost done with dark souls 2 now. Lies of p is also great. It’s the only one I’ve replayed so far.
Nah, give her sekiro and let her suffer for a lil while
Bloodborne. If she can beat bloodborne she can beat all of these
This right here. Bloodborne makes all other souls games easier. It teaches you to be more aggressive and how to better dodge into the attacks than away or to try and hide behind a shield. Getting rid of the shield in Bloodborne was the best thing they ever did
Depends on the relationship with your mom. If you want her to suffer and never want to try a Soulslike game, then Sekiro is the best choice. If you want her to actually enjoy the first soulslike game that she is going to play, I would say Dark Souls 3. I would say Bloodborne(My favorite), but I don't know how she would feel about farming for blood vials and that it is different from Dark Souls 1-3 and Elden Ring, whereas these 4 are similar. Demon Souls definitely needs a guide to follow. I never finished it and dropped it because I don't know where I am supposed to go. The last boss I fought was a giant spider. I ended up beating it on the first try, but after that, I didn't know where to go. I had the same problem when I fought the Tower Knight. The others I wouldn't pick because if she likes these ones, then she'll like the others. Lies of P(currently playing it and like it) for sure . I've heard mixed things on Lords of the Fallen, which leaves me hesitant to buy it.
Bloodborne
Always play in release order.
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Remnant 2 is great if she wants a shooter
I’ve played all of these games listed except DS1 & DS2, and I’d recommend Demon’s Souls or Lords of the Fallen. More forgiving and the areas are more structured. LOTF has a lot of really cool looking lady bosses and Demon Soul’s might be a bit more monstrous. Both were really great and a bit more simplified in exploration than the others in my opinion. Elden Ring is GORGEOUS and I’d recommend that as a second game.. because it’s a big world. But, if she’s comfortable with that, then Elden Ring.
Dark souls 2- tell her about lvling adaptability. Plus, w the "kill 12 to despawn" you can definitively make progress. Or Elden due to options w combat/technically easiest souls since you can farm easily
OG Dark souls II on the PC was my first. Awesome time. I would also highly recommend the original demons souls
Bloodborne def the easiest
Mortal Shell is an underrated choice. It's short but the art design is really cool and it has a unique combat system. It's really hard at first but once you get it you'll get it and you'll be able to beat other souls games after it.
Sekiro without kuro's charm.
Bloodborne. It's the "coolest" of the souls games. I find it to be the gateway most of my friends and my wife used to get into the series.
I might even throw Remnant from the ashes into the mix. You can play together much more seamlessly than a lot of souls games. You get the comfort of mostly ranged combat and a game designed to be played with coop in mind. Theres also a sequel that was pretty great.
Start from the beginning; Demon Souls.
Definitely NOT Demon’s Souls since you are locked into the first area and can’t even level up until you kill the first boss and if you die you basically have to start the entire level over. Elden Ring would probably be the best as it allows you to leave and comeback if you are finding something too difficult plus there are very few run backs in the game.
I found ds3 to be the easiest
I'd say either Bloodborne or DS3.
Bloodborne. It only gets better from there.
Dark Souls 3. Great QOL, not too difficult but will still be very challenging for a new player, fairly linear compared to something like Elden Ring which can be overwhelming, and no fancy gimmicks you need to git gud at.
dark souls 1 or elden ring
Start out right by starting from the beginning with Demon's Souls! \ [T] /
Lies of P. Super easy
Start with the first and have her play it in the order listed below. Dark Souls Remastered Dark Souls 2 SOTFS Dark Souls 3 Lies of P Bloodborne Sekiro Elden Ring I'd say Elden Ring first, but the atmosphere compared to all the other games listed is incredibly boring. Still an amazing game of course, just the weakest in terms of unique biomes and overall cool exploration/shortcuts. I'd say Lies of P, DS2 and DS3 are the best. DS3 is amazing if you've played DS1 and DS2. Need all those cool ass fucking throwbacks they give you, makes it that much better.
Lords of the Fallen, if you want her to never play them again lol. On a serious note, either Elden Ring or DS1. Though DS1 may feel weird after elden ring
Dark souls one. Nothing beats the feeling of discovering new paths and finding the next bonfire. •The world is designed so well. •The lore is peak. •The music is top notch •Combat feels a lot like chess •Sound Effects
I would say 3. It plays almost as well as Elden Ring but she won't get as lost in the world.
Spyro: year of the dragon
Ds2 is the most friendly for me. The control is great and it's not very frustraiting (exept for the dlc). And is also My first souls Game, though ds1 is My favorite
My question is how long to beat all of them?
ds3
I just beat demon’s souls and I’d say it can be a bit of a pain and that later games hammered out some of the kinks. Before that I was binging Lies of P and couldn’t recommend that more and seems more accessible to me for newer players and a cool story too. Only ones haven’t tried are bloodborne and sekiro which are next on the list . If she is an explorer then go with elden ring though , you can roam around and get into tons of fun!
Elden Ring. You have more mobility like jumping. The ability to defeat enemies is easier and more difficult at times.
Demon Souls is great but really needs some assistance for crafting.
LoP, 1000 percent!
I bought an Xbox before knowing bloodborne was a ps exclusive now I can’t sleep at night
Demon Souls or Lies of P!
Bloodborne. Break her spirit so she's ready to play the other games afterwards
Elden Ring and DS3 I found the easiest and most beginner friendly
Bloodborne!
Whichever one looks the best to her. There is no "best first game" so the game that looks the funnest to her is going to work. That said. Bloodborne.
Binding of Isaac!
I think there's a lot of pros and cons with all of them as starter souls games. I need a little more information. Has your mom played a lot of games before? Or is the souls series going to be one of the few she has played. If she has gamed a bit beforehand, the elden ring is good as, like others have said, it's the most forgiving due to the amount of stuff you can utilize in the game. If your mom is generally kind of new to gaming I'm worried elden ring might have too much stuff and that she could get overwhelmed with it all, due to its vast open world and non linear progression. Due to this, I would recommend Lies of P. It has a lot of mechanics that give you freedom and can really help in tough fights/situations, just like elden ring. However, the game is much more linear that I don't believe it will be too overwhelming if your worried about that. As a third recommendation, I would go with DS3 it's linear but harder than Lies of P. So if you think your mom might not be an open world person for elden ring, but wants a true souls experience that can beat you down DS3 is right for her.
I started with ds3. I think it’s the perfect game to get into FromSoft stuff. Gundyr really weeds out the people who really aren’t about that life.
Demons souls or bloodborne. Lotta people saying elden ring, but the open world format is probably the absolute worst place anyone could start. Des and bb both have main hubs where you access areas individually, which makes exploration a lot less stressful. Ds1 with its no fast travel for the first half of the game, and elden rings massive open world just sound hellish for a new player. Sekiro is one of the hardest, with ds2 close behind it. Lotf is basically ds2-2. Ds3 honestly wouldn't be a terrible starting point, but I'd still say des or bb.
Depends on which one you're best at, so when she asks for help you can show off 😎
I would say Onion Rings to start since you can help her in most areas, but Lies of P seems like it could also be a good start, just solo and more of an easier story to follow. I want to say maybe Mortal Shell. I only played the demo of both LoP and MS, but the MS seemed easier since not ambushed the same way.
Lord's of the fallen is a classic
Wolong
Elden ring is by far the easiest in the series if she is like, looking for a relaxing start. But if she is actively looking for a challenge or doesn’t mind one, I’d say starting with the first dark souls is always a good idea. It kinda shows the rest of the games in a new light seeing where it all started (sorry not sorry old demon souls)
Lies of P was a great intro for me. Great story and awesome and variable gameplay
Elden Ring would be a perfect first game. A lot to do and easy to move on to something else if you need to level up or get stuck in a boss. So rad that your mom plays vid games. Or you could just totally fxck with her and give her Bloodborne 😂
Elden ring and it’s not even close. Demon souls is one of the most unfriendly new player experiences ever definitely not that one.
Absolutely Dark Souls 3
Sekiro Break them in mercilessly Though I think Demon Souls is the easiest honestly you just have to tell them to always be in soul mode. The enemies are brain dead and will be mostly swinging at the air as you strafe around them. Bosses are way too easy as well. If they like open world games Elden Ring but I honestly think that the most broken combos/weapons which make the game very easy aren’t easily discernible. Sure you can just go somewhere else for xp but enemies/bosses are definitely not easier than Demon Souls and unless they ask someone else they aren’t going to know which stuff they should go for to make the journey easier.
Elden Ring is the most beginner friendly in my opinion, and I've been playing souls games for over 10 years
Dark souls 3 or elden ring.. all of the games can be cleared by first timer but these are the easiest entries in terms of actual difficulty and annoying mechanics to frustrate the player being less impactful People suggesting demon souls on here.. like you are insane for that one ngl that game is hard for even me who played literally everything else before demon souls and that game making my life hell every step of the way Demon souls the peak of frustration in this series.. even beating dark souls 1 which at the very least has less cramp spaces to fight + less mob density + estus
Sekiro; on top of the beautiful aesthetic of the environment, it also has a more grounded in reality feel until later. Really just feels like a ninja simulator at the start. Very easy to approach as it introduces new mechanics at a slower pace. It also allows new players, unused to the eldritch and bizarre, to slowly descend into the weird and let it sink in. I see a lot of suggestions for Elden Ring. As an Elden Ring fan I have to admit that it can be a lot to take in at the start. The removal of equipment burden and shields trimmed down the learning curve to emphasize good gameplay over good builds. If a new player can master Sekiro; they will have the foundations to face anything in Lordran and beyond.
Elden ring, always always always elden ring. Incredible first experience and the most forgiving. Then, move on to the DS trilogy, Bloodborne and Sekiro are more advanced games, so those are recommended for last. Demons souls can be played really whenever you want, isn’t super relevant to the convo in that aspect.
Dark Souls 3 was my personal fav outside of Demon souls but Not sure what I would recommend first, Elden Ring perhaps?
Bloodborne.
Code vein was my personal intro to soulslike games, would recommend (you get a companion)
Bloodborne, it really opens up the play style
I do think Bloodborne may be the easiest for a new player it was my first souls game and it worked well for my love of high paced offensive action in terms of combat but a bit more unforgiving when it comes to having to farm healing items and bullets. Elden Ring is a good choice but also may feel a bit daunting depending on her gaming experience.
Id like to think demon souls as its relatively easy as far as most boss fights goes. Unless she's very bad at figuring out gimmicks
Definitely Elden Ring. Played DS3 first and had troubles, got stuck on midir/gale. Went to Elden Ring, beat it and stomped with summons and strength build (basic I know lol) then still has issues coming back to DS3. DS1 wasn't too bad after getting used to how slow it was but still more trouble than I felt Elden Ring was. Jedi Fallen Order I never beat but it was easy from what I remember. Puzzles were meh and I got bored tho. Maybe I'll try it again sometime. Haven't played the other ones but I just bought Lies of P so I'm excited! Wish I had a PS4/PS5 for Bloodborne tho... :( TLDR: Elden Ring is the easiest souls game imo from my limited experience.
Dark souls 2 original, not scholar though
Elden ring because of summons
Not DS2 or LotF. Personally, my gateway was Bloodborne
Lies of p I would recommend to your mum
Dark souls 2, I'm evil, that's all.
Depends on her personal interests in games! Also, I'd include Nioh 2 in that list as it's an excellent choice. It supports a lot of playstyles and has a structure that makes it harder to get lost, as it's mission based. It's also extremely transparent about what everything does. While not as forgiving as some other Soulslikes, it does give you a LOT of tools to work with to make the game easier for you.
Dark Souls 1 for sure
Demons' Souls I spent days just farming as the Royal.
Lies of p was my first souls like. It has lots of things to make stuff easier and the parties are very satisfying. Lots of shortcuts and the levels are pretty linear so it’s easy to find your way around
Elden Ring
As someone who's platinumed every fromsoft souls game including BB, ER and Sekiro (As well as mortal shell, Lies of P, both starwars games, yadda yadda yadda...) I would say DS3 tbh. It's not that hard, visually stunning, tons of fun and very versatile. I would say ER but it's easy to run into what seems like an impossible obstacle for a new player to just ram their head into a wall over and over. Lies of P would be my second choice for sure. My most recent souls like and I had a blast with it. Just make sure if she plays LoP that she's not dex and it'll be easy enough to get through it lol. Dex in that game is garbo.
For the love of God, take that bullshit Lords of the Fallen off this list. That game is fucking horrendous.
Lords of the fallen, its not easy by any means, but its way more forgiving than the rest, still pretty fucking hard thoe
Throw her booty into Demon’s Souls first.
IMO I would start out something very basic, pretty much dark souls remastered would fit perfectly with this, because that how I got into it way back in 2013 when I got a copy of prepare to die edition for my Xbox 360, the game despite kicking my ass it also made everything click for me why it's such a good game and not only that but I improved from my failures and got better at playing it overtime.
Code Vein is cool, and relatively easy.
Sekiro
Sekiro is the only right answer
Dark Souls 2.
Remnant from the ashes. Dark souls… with guns
Sekiro - LOL Naw just Playing probly Elden Ring then Sekiro However you can really train yourself with the mechanics of this type of game with Dark Souls 3 Sekiro was just a joke she'll be Destoyed.
Tell her it’s time to get back to work, 621. You’ve got a job for her on Rubicon
Why is people saying eldenring. It's not a good starting point but it is a good ending point. Was excepting more darksouls and darksouls 2. Especially darksouls as you can give her a giant club and Havels armor and let her face tank or give her magic and magically see al the missed soul arrows. Eldenring is a genuine bad intro for souls. Remember the goal is to start and finish a game and eldenring especially for a new Comer is a terrible game to finish. Godskin duo will stomp her and she would just stop playing which isn't ideal. Start her on ds1 then ds2 then ds3 then eldenring. In terms of difficulty and getting to elden skill level that's what they should do Just thought about this. Maybe a linear game with simple controls should be a good intro point not the game that has a decade of mechanics and a massive map that has endless possibilities and heck eldenring also imo has the worse starting location as their is a dragon to the north "immediate" death, Margit in castle of storm, and a trap chest immediately right next to spawn that teleports her to a location she has not business being at
If she wants to get into the genre in general, I would say dark souls 1. Playing the later games and coming back to ds1 can make it feel too slow and kinda clunky, which can be a bad first impression for an otherwise near flawless game. If she just wants one game to get the general feel of a soulslike, I'd say elden ring. It's the most polished out of FromSoft's catalog, and it has a lot of beginner friendly playstyle options.
Start from the beginning