Aggro Crab Lead: Labeling Games as Soulslikes Traps Developers in a Dark Souls Rehash Cycle

FromSoftware unintentionally birthed a whole subgenre with its grim dark fantasy classic, Demon Souls, which gained significant acclaim with the similarly styled Dark Souls. However, the creative director of the action-RPG Another Crab’s Treasure believes that the term “Soulslike” has trapped many developers in a cycle of trying to replicate what was already masterfully achieved in the original Dark Souls.

In a discussion about the subgenre, Aggro Crab’s Caelan Pollock remarked, “I think calling games ‘Soulslikes’ has kept a lot of devs stuck in a loop of recreating Dark Souls. And in my opinion, the best Dark Souls game has been made already, and it’s called Dark Souls.”

The debate over what defines a Soulslike has resurfaced repeatedly over the years. Is it stamina-based combat, heavy movement, punishing enemies, pattern recognition in boss encounters, or a combination of these elements? There’s no definitive answer, other than the general consensus that a Soulslike is a game akin to Dark Souls.

“It’s a deeply imperfect game, and that’s why people like it and why it’s resonated so deeply with players and throughout the industry,” Pollock added. “I think when you try to mimic every aspect of that experience, you’re really not ending up with something worth paying attention to.”

Pollock shared that the decision to explore the Soulslike genre with Another Crab’s Treasure stemmed from “a deep belief that the genre can be more.” In this game, you play as a crab navigating a polluted kingdom, using recycled plastic as armor, highlighting themes of climate change. “We made a gamble on the community being ready for that.”