Games Like Bloodborne: The Best Soulslikes For Yharnam Refugees

Bloodborne has a problem: it's still trapped on PS4 and PS5 hardware. No PC port. No 60fps patch on PS5 (officially, the community has found workarounds). Ten years after release, the game that launched FromSoftware's aggressive-combat era of souls games is still held hostage by Sony.

But Bloodborne carved out a specific space in the soulslike genre. Aggressive, offensive-minded combat where dodging is often worse than pushing forward. Lovecraftian gothic horror aesthetic. Trick weapons that transform mid-combo. A world that descends deeper into cosmic terror the longer you play. Finding games like Bloodborne means finding titles that nail at least one of those pillars.

Which FromSoftware games are most like Bloodborne?

Elden Ring, Sekiro, Dark Souls III, and Demon's Souls each carry pieces of Bloodborne's DNA. Dark Souls III comes closest in gothic tone and faster combat pacing. Sekiro mirrors its offensive philosophy. Elden Ring brings that formula into an open world, and the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC leans heavily into Bloodborne territory.

Elden Ring is the obvious starting point if you want "FromSoftware but on PC." The combat isn't specifically Bloodborne's, it's closer to Dark Souls 3's rhythm, but there's a massive amount of Bloodborne DNA in the game. The Shadow of the Erdtree expansion specifically references Bloodborne heavily. The games like Elden Ring post covers its peer set.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice shares Bloodborne's offensive-minded combat philosophy. You deflect rather than dodge. You push forward rather than retreat. The skill ceiling is arguably higher than any other soulslike. The games like Sekiro post has more.

Dark Souls III is the most Bloodborne-adjacent Dark Souls entry. Faster combat, bonfires replace lamps, and many enemies and environments evoke Bloodborne's gothic aesthetic. The DLC (Ashes of Ariandel and The Ringed City) leans even harder in Bloodborne's direction.

Demon's Souls, the Bluepoint PS5 remake especially, is the genre's ancestor and, like Bloodborne, still a PlayStation exclusive. Slower combat, but the oppressive atmosphere (Tower of Latria above all) is the closest FromSoftware got to Bloodborne's dread before Bloodborne existed.

What are the best aggressive soulslikes like Bloodborne?

Lies of P is the single closest non-FromSoft soulslike to Bloodborne, pairing a gothic aesthetic with rally-style aggression and modular trick weapons. Thymesia directly echoes Bloodborne's rally system through plague-doctor claw attacks that steal health back. Mortal Shell and Code Vein round out the category with their own spins on offensive souls combat.

Lies of P is the closest non-FromSoft soulslike to Bloodborne we've ever gotten. Gothic aesthetic (Pinocchio-themed Belle Époque France). Aggressive combat with parry mechanics. Weapon system that lets you attach different blades to different handles to create custom setups. The perfect guard system owes a clear debt to Sekiro, but the rally-style aggression is pure Bloodborne, and the Overture DLC leans even harder into that territory.

Lords of the Fallen (the 2023 version) is a competent soulslike with dual-reality exploration mechanics. The Umbral plane you shift into for exploration adds a horror element that's Bloodborne-adjacent.

Code Vein is anime soulslike with vampires. The combat is more forgiving than FromSoft games but the character customization and class system add depth. Divisive but beloved by its audience.

Mortal Shell is indie soulslike with a unique hardening mechanic that lets you tank hits instead of dodging. Short campaign, sharp combat, genuinely interesting.

Thymesia is a compact soulslike built around disease-themed combat and a plague-doctor protagonist. Claw attacks that steal health back from enemies directly echo Bloodborne's rally system. Short, focused, and clearly made by people who love Bloodborne.

Which soulslikes capture Bloodborne's horror atmosphere?

Blasphemous nails religious horror in 2D with disturbing pixel art. Lunacid recreates Bloodborne's exact gothic, moon-worshipping aesthetic in a retro first-person format. Vampyr transplants Bloodborne's plague-city dread into Spanish flu-era London. These games prove that Bloodborne's cosmic and gothic horror is just as essential to its identity as the combat.

What Bloodborne does uniquely is merge soulslike combat with genuine horror. The second half of the game becomes cosmic horror body-terror. Games that capture that specific blend:

Blasphemous and Blasphemous 2 are 2D metroidvania-soulslikes with religious horror aesthetic. Gorgeous pixel art, genuinely disturbing imagery, tight combat.

Lunacid is a retro-style first-person soulslike with Bloodborne's exact aesthetic, gothic dungeons, moon worship, creeping dread. Built by one person. Punches well above its weight.

Vampyr from Dontnod isn't a soulslike, but the Spanish flu-era London setting is pure Bloodborne atmosphere, plague, gothic streets, moral rot. You play a vampire doctor deciding which citizens to feed on, and every kill has consequences for the city. The closest any game gets to Yharnam's "sickness as horror" texture.

Dark Deity [series] and similar indie soulslikes increasingly recognize that Bloodborne's horror atmosphere is part of its appeal.

What recent games play like Bloodborne?

Black Myth: Wukong, Stellar Blade, Enotria: The Last Song, and No Rest for the Wicked are newer titles carrying soulslike DNA. Black Myth: Wukong stands out for its fast pacing and spectacular boss design. Stellar Blade channels Bloodborne's aggressive rhythm, while No Rest for the Wicked brings that combat tension to an isometric ARPG format.

Black Myth: Wukong is a Chinese-mythology action game with soulslike DNA. Faster paced than most FromSoft titles, spectacular visuals, excellent boss design.

Stellar Blade finally came to PC. The combat has Bloodborne's aggressive rhythm even though it's not strictly a soulslike. Worth checking.

Enotria: The Last Song is Italian-folklore-inspired soulslike. Different aesthetic, familiar gameplay.

No Rest for the Wicked is an isometric ARPG with Bloodborne-adjacent combat tension. Still in early access but promising.

What are the best 2D games like Bloodborne?

Hollow Knight and Blasphemous are the top 2D picks for Bloodborne fans. Salt and Sanctuary plays like 2D Dark Souls with deep character building, while Nine Sols pairs taopunk hand-drawn art with excellent combat. Dark Devotion and Bleak Sword DX offer harsher, more compact takes on 2D soulslike punishment for players who want a focused challenge.

Hollow Knight and its long-awaited sequel Silksong are 2D metroidvania soulslikes. Different genre entirely but the careful exploration, atmospheric world, and skill-based combat share DNA. The games like Hollow Knight post covers this space.

Salt and Sanctuary is 2D Dark Souls. Punishing combat, deep character building. Not beautiful but effective. Its follow-up Salt and Sacrifice restructures the formula around mage hunts, boss-focused gameplay with exploration between fights.

Dark Devotion is a 2D soulslike drenched in religious horror, with harsher permadeath mechanics than most of the genre. The oppressive templar-dungeon atmosphere sits comfortably next to Blasphemous.

Bleak Sword DX distills soulslike combat into minimalist diorama arenas. Tiny, brutal, and perfect for handheld play.

Nine Sols is taopunk 2D soulslike from the Rabbit and Steel developers. Gorgeous hand-drawn animation, excellent combat, strong story.

What action games have Bloodborne's aggressive combat style?

Nioh 2, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, The Surge 2, and Hellpoint all reward forward pressure and aggression. Wo Long is the closest to Bloodborne's philosophy: you deflect and counterattack constantly rather than retreating. Nioh 2 adds stance-switching depth on top of brutal difficulty, while The Surge 2 offers a unique limb-targeting dismemberment system.

Nioh 2 runs a souls formula with even more depth. Stance-switching, weapon variety, genuinely brutal difficulty. Not Bloodborne atmospherically but the combat feel is adjacent.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is Team Ninja's parry-focused Three Kingdoms soulslike. Faster and more aggressive than Nioh, you deflect and counterattack constantly, which is the closest a Team Ninja game gets to Bloodborne's forward-pressure philosophy.

The Surge 2 is sci-fi soulslike with a targeted dismemberment mechanic. Specific body parts can be severed for their gear. Unique and underappreciated.

Hellpoint is sci-fi soulslike on a derelict space station. Quality is uneven but at its best, it captures that specific dread-and-combat loop.

Can you still play Bloodborne on PS5?

Yes. Bloodborne is available digitally on PS5 and plays at its original PS4 framerate. A community patch exists that enables 60fps on modded PS5 consoles. There is still no official PS5 enhancement or PC port, but the game is accessible enough on PS5 that you should not skip it if you have the hardware.

Let's be honest. If you haven't played Bloodborne yet and you own or can borrow a PS5, do it. The game is available digitally and plays fine on PS5 at PS4 framerate. There's a community patch (Bloodborne PS5 60fps) that works for modded PS5s. The game is still held hostage by Sony but it's accessible enough that you shouldn't dismiss it.

What we make at Choost

We don't make soulslikes, the design depth and content volume required is beyond our current scope. But we love the soulslike philosophy of "fair but punishing." Granny's Rampage takes a different approach (power fantasy bullet heaven) but the idea that player skill should matter carries through. For other soulslike recommendations, the best soulslike games and games like Dark Souls posts have more.

What is the single best game like Bloodborne?

It depends on which piece of Bloodborne you want most. Lies of P is the closest overall package for non-FromSoft soulslike fans. Sekiro matches the aggressive combat philosophy. Elden Ring delivers the biggest world. Blasphemous captures the feel in 2D, and Lunacid nails the indie gothic horror angle.

Bloodborne remains unique. Nothing else specifically captures the Victorian gothic horror meets aggressive trick-weapon combat blend. But the pieces of it live in enough games that you can build a reasonable substitute while you wait (hope? pray?) for the PC port that may never come.