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For someone that loves Dark Souls, I’ve never seen Nintendo’s consoles as my go-to systems to play Soulslike games.
In recent years I’ve gravitated more towards either the Xbox Series S, when I still owned one, or my Steam Deck where I have a huge library of Soulslike games thanks to my brother’s Steam Library.
It’s filled to the brim with the best of the genre such as Elden Ring, all Dark Souls, Lies of P, and literally any other known game you can think of. However, things are starting to change, because the Nintendo Switch 2 is a much more powerful console, and with great power comes great Soulslikes for me and you to play.
And it’s not just new titles, even older ones run a bit better with slightly improved visuals and slightly better loading times.
It’s all these combined that make me think the future of these games is well secured on the system, and make me dream of a port of Dark Souls 2 and 3, and even a dedicated Switch 2 Edition for the first title, which is one of my favourite games of all time.
Today I’ll go over the best Soulslike games on Nintendo Switch 2 you can play today, and what you can expect in the future as well.
But before the list, I need to make one thing clear. I’ve kept this strict. There are a lot of 2D games that have a few mechanics that were popularised with Demon’s Souls or Dark Souls, but in the end they lean more into the Metroidvania realm. However, they are excellent and I’ll keep them confined to their own section.
What Actually Counts as a Soulslike?
The genre’s core elements are brutal difficulty where even the lowest of enemies can kill you if you’re distracted, large boss fights, a reclaimable currency you drop when you die, some degree of freedom in exploration, and bonfire-style safe zones that heal you and reset the area, making enemies spawn again.
So, with all of this said, here are the best Soulslikes on Nintendo Switch 2:
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1. Lies of P: Complete Edition
I think that Lies of P: Complete Edition is one of the best Nintendo Switch 2 games in the genre you can play and buy right now. I must admit that I’m tempted to double dip, since it runs much better on Switch 2, especially in docked mode when compared to the Steam Deck.
I played this one after I was done with Elden Ring, and it was refreshing to go back to a Soulslike that had interconnected areas, instead of a big open world. And the change to a more steampunk setting was also welcome, and the lore is top notch.
This is a brutally difficult game, but I loved going through it, and the way the parry works in this game is probably my favourite mechanic. I can’t quite say why, but nailing it just felt better than in other Soulslikes.
Lies of P is also one of the rare cases where the full game is on the cartridge, so if that interests you, I’ll place my affiliate link below to Amazon:
2. Another Crab’s Treasure
The best part of Another Crab’s Treasure is that you play as a crab called Kril, who loses his shell over unpaid taxes.
Visually and even conceptually, this game does not seem to fit the Soulslike genre at all, where darker visuals and a more grim narrative are usually the norm. But it works pretty well in its favour, and it’s a fantastic game to boot.
It is also one of the best entry points in the series for anyone that wants to dive into this world, since it comes with difficulty options, something you don’t see often in this genre. Lies of P has this option too, but I still find it more challenging than Another Crab’s Treasure.
But that doesn’t mean that Another Crab’s Treasure is easy — you will suffer in this game too and die to bosses multiple times until you learn their patterns.
So don’t let its colourful demeanour lower your guard, Crab Souls will crush you.
Another Crab’s Treasure – Affiliate Link
3. Dark Souls: Remastered
Dark Souls: Remastered was my introduction to this genre and I also played it on the Switch for the first time. It’s brutal, the narrative is fantastic, it has one of the best intros in gaming, the world is incredible and diverse, and it managed to keep me hooked on its lore for months.
It’s one of those games that you can truly break if you spend enough time with it and learn its mechanics, and believe me that I did.
The first thing I did after beating the game once was getting the Nitto Greatsword at the beginning of the game, and I was blown away that I could do it. And then it begged the question: what else can I do?
Well, too much, friend — so much so that you can play this game for more than 100 hours and still find something to do that you haven’t done before.
For me, Dark Souls is a 10/10 game. It’s not perfect by any means, since a lot of areas are unfair and it even has a bunch of exploitable bugs.
But without these, it wouldn’t be Dark Souls, so in a twisted way, it’s perfect with its imperfections.
4. Remnant: From the Ashes
I was sceptical about trying this game because, unlike other Soulslikes, it heavily focuses on gun combat, feeling like another shooter at times. But after trying it for myself I can say that it was super refreshing and satisfying to play through this game, and all the elements you’d expect from this genre are there.
From how the healing works, to the roll, the enemy auto-lock, and even how you use the trigger buttons to attack.
There is also melee combat, but it’s not that effective at controlling mobs… although I’d like to do a challenge in the future where I play through the entire game like this.
I initially played this one on my Steam Deck where it ran super well, and after playing the Switch version I cannot recommend it on the original Switch. If you were to play Remnant: From the Ashes, please do it on a Nintendo Switch 2 where it runs at a steady 30 FPS, with less blurry visuals and faster loading times.
There is no dedicated Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, but I think it’s a great candidate for it.
Remnant: From the Ashes – Affiliate Link
5. Mortal Shell: Complete Edition
I’ll need to be honest with this one. I’ve tried playing it multiple times and couldn’t get into it, and I hate that I can’t.
When I booted up this game and started playing, it almost fooled me. It almost made me feel like I was actually playing a Dark Souls game with very similar sound effects and mechanics, a harsh difficulty, and a convoluted narrative.
It did stand out for its Hardening mechanic where you turn to stone to counter enemy attacks.
I loved all of these, but as soon as you leave the starting area you just walk around aimlessly without knowing what to do or where to go. The only way I made progress in this game was thanks to online guides.
Still, I can recommend it for a simple fact: when it goes on sale you can get it for $2, making it the cheapest Soulslike you can purchase on this entire list. There are better options in my opinion, but for this price it’s difficult not to add it to your collection.
6. Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition
Back when Dark Souls released on Switch, my brothers and I bought 3 copies in a Buy 3 Pay 2 sale, and this time around we did it again for Elden Ring.
And since I started playing it I already have over 20 hours, and I just can’t get enough of the Lands Between.
So far my journey has been filled with excitement, frustrations, happiness, and a lot of rage quits. Honestly, I had completely forgotten how difficult some of the bosses are.
Thankfully, I wrote a helpful guide on Elden Ring which I’m referring to, and it helped me a lot in the beginning of the game.
I never got to play Shadow of the Erdtree that’s bundled with the Tarnished Edition, so I’ve always wanted to give it a go, even though everyone says it has the most difficult bosses in the entire game.
The game is a bit pricey, so I recommend you get a good discount like I did. But rest assured that this game has content that you can explore for hundreds of hours.
Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition – Affiliate Link
Still to Come
The Duskbloods
The Duskbloods has been announced for the Nintendo Switch 2 for some time now, and your boy here managed to enter the Network Test and finally understand what this game is all about. For the Nintendo fans, this is essentially a Kirby Air Riders City Trial mode mixed with Mario Kart World’s Knockout Tour.
You and other players pick a character, then are thrown into a map you need to explore while completing objectives to move to the next phase. You can team up with other players or face others in a bloody match.
All of your actions have one goal, though: to get strong enough to face the other players in battle in a final free-for-all match.
This was a big surprise for me and I loved my time with it, although I could only play for about 2 hours since getting free time to play at the exact time of the Network Test was a big challenge…
Still, The Duskbloods became one of my most anticipated games of this year, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it.
Not Soulslikes, But You’ll Probably Love Them
While I tried to keep the main part of the list pure, this section is filled with quick mentions of other games that are mainly Metroidvanias or action-adventures, but borrow some elements present in Soulslike games:
- Hollow Knight and Hollow Knight: Silksong — probably the two best games mentioned anywhere in this post. Built around exploration, movement abilities, and map completion, with the Souls-style currency loss on death layered on top, and a brutal difficulty.
- Nine Sols — it’s a beautiful 2D Metroidvania filled with tough bosses and tight platforming.
- Blasphemous — a Metroidvania that reeks of Soulslike. It’s fun, brutal, and the art direction is phenomenal.
- Mina the Hollower — a 2D top-down Zelda-like with a Souls-style currency loop and adjustable difficulty.
- Wild Hearts — this is essentially a Monster Hunter-like game, but it’s a great recommendation for anyone who loves tough boss fights.
- Onimusha: Way of the Sword — action-adventure but with elements similar to a Soulslike, especially the difficult boss fights.
- Salt and Sanctuary — a 2D Soulslike through and through with all the mechanics you’d expect.
Where to Start
On Switch 2, right now, the best Soulslike to play is, without a doubt, Elden Ring. Some might say that it’s too difficult for a beginner, but honestly the game has a ton of mechanics you can exploit to make things easier.
However, if you want something that’s more beginner friendly then Another Crab’s Treasure or even Lies of P, since they both have difficulty options you can adjust.
The Best Soulslikes on Nintendo Switch 2?
I tried to order these as best I could and also give you some other options outside the Soulslike genre. I’ll keep updating this list as more of these games come out, all to determine what the best Soulslike game on Switch is.
Do you think Elden Ring will ever be topped?
Thanks for reading, and I’ll be seeing you again next time with brand-new content.
