#1 Bloodborne
Platforms: PS4
Alright, we cheated here. Bloodborne may not be a Souls game in name, but it comes exactly from the same pedigree, having been developed by series developers FromSoftware and even directed by the man behind Dark Souls and Dark Souls III – Hidetaka Miyazaki. Bloodborne takes the classic Souls formula and brings it to Yharnam, a gothic, Victorian-inspired city plagued by a horrific blood-borne disease. You play as The Hunter, and your job is to find something called the “Paleblood”.
There’s so much Bloodborne shares with Dark Souls that many fans consider the game an extension of the Souls series. You have your stamina-based circle-strafing, brutally difficult boss battles, and combat that is a dance between attacking and dodging attacks. Souls are replaced with Blood Echoes and Blood Vials are your Estus flasks. Messages can be left for other players to read, and rated as well. There’s even summoning and invasions!
Bonfires are replaced with the more modern Lanterns, and the game features firearms, which would decidedly not have fit into the medieval world of Dark Souls. Another interesting change to the formula is the Hunter’s ability to replenish lost health by quickly attacking the enemy and absorbing their blood.
Bloodborne is really the ultimate game you need to go to if you haven’t already played it as a fan of the Dark Souls series. If no other game ‘does it’ for you, Bloodborne almost certainly will.