The third development team examined, after Atlus and Ubisoft, is FromSoftware: let's see which are the best of the toughest games
In case you thought you could get by with Atlus and Ubisoft, after a break from the challenge rate with the second ranking we return to the beating in the teeth of the first: specifically, let's see which games can be considered the best from FromSoftware. The development team has created some of the most beloved pulse-pounding action titles of the last two console generations, from the Dark Souls trilogy to the rattling company of Bloodborne and Sekiro. There's a lot of dark fantasy to talk about, so let's try to find our way into our ranking. As if you didn't already know who's at the top… but we'll get to that. Get ready to have the Estus Flask go sideways under the treacherous blows of the enemies: let's start from…
5) Dark Souls 2 | The best games from FromSoftware
The opening of the top 5 will not particularly please soulslike purists, but we have opted to open the ranking of FromSoftware's best games with one of the studio's black sheep. With a different game designer in the director's chair (which explains a lot), Dark Souls 2 boasts several differences compared to its predecessor and successor. For example, a more complex (and less consistent, we would add) map, for a more open and inviting level design for beginners. Or, for better or for worse, a more gentle step in fighting. The Scholar of the First Sin edition corrected many of the game's flaws, while also introducing one of the best bosses in the series.
4) Dark Souls 3 | The best games from FromSoftware
As soon as dad Hidetaka Miyazaki returns, we move up one position in the rankings: absurd, right? Yet it is so, and Dark Souls 3 it benefits from it as a “true” sequel to the original. Not only in terms of lore, but also from a technical point of view. By changing the setting from Lordran to Lothric, the game improves in almost every aspect. Faster, more ingenious, easier on the eyes and with more self-confidence, perhaps with a hint of Bloodborne's Lovecraftian streak. Merciless bosses and a worthy conclusion to the endless cycle in the two DLCs: Dark Souls 3 is this and much, much more.
3) Bloodborne | The best games from FromSoftware
But what if instead of just one Lovecraftian vein we had the entire circulatory system at our disposal? In this case we would find ourselves in the hands of, well, Bloodborne. In Dark Souls the souls of the fallen were the lifeblood of the world, but in Yharnam things don't work like that, no. Here the bull's head is cut off and it is the blood itself that acts as both local currency and experience points. Darker, yes, but also streamlined and snappy in gameplay, Bloodborne takes away shields and defensive gameplay in favor of firearms and related parries. A nightmare, this, which will keep you entangled for many, many hours of gameplay.
2) Dark Souls | The best games from FromSoftware
Okay, okay, listen to us before you express your dismay. In terms of pure influence on the gaming landscape, Dark Souls and they continually beat the predictable first place in the rankings. And, in 2011, the spiritual sequel to Demon's Souls changed the entire industry, going from unlikely success to the chair of video games, full of ruthless bosses, ambiguous narrative to be “completed” by turning over every stone of Lordran and, simply, charm on the part of the game world itself. With a competitive PvP scene still active thanks to the 2018 remaster and a DLC that hosts the saga's most iconic antagonists, it shouldn't be surprising that the title is still talked about today.
Honorable Mentions | The best games from FromSoftware
If you had a suspicion about the first place until now, let it be honorable mentions to remove all doubts. Who narrowly missed out on the top 5? Let's double the count by turning it into a top ten, what do you think? Once again we will limit ourselves to a simple count, but trust me: these are still titles to be recovered. The “other five”, including an infiltrator from the Atlus rankings, are…
- 10) Shadow Assault: Tenchu
- 9) Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors
- 8) Armored Core 2
- 7) Demon’s Souls
- 6) Axe: Shadows Die Twice
1) Elden Ring
Our review defines it as “a new standard” already in the title, let alone those that talk about how “Suffering has never been so fun”: try to pretend to be surprised, if you can, to see Elden Ring at the top of FromSoftware's list of best games. The development team's biggest, most ambitious and, if we may, weirdest experiment features the involvement of George RR Martin, author of the Game of Thrones literary saga. This game takes everything Miyazaki has learned since the first Demon's Souls in 2009, and then expands on it. The soulslike genre may have been born with Demon's Souls, but it was with Elden Ring that it received the finishing touches. Maybe we could see even better in the future. However, frankly, we are starting to doubt it.
Now it's up to you to tell us your opinion: how would you have drawn up the ranking? Let us know below, and as always don't forget to stay on techgameworld.com for all the most important news for gamers and beyond. For your purely gaming needs, you can instead find the best discounts in digital format on Instant Gaming.