Elden Ring creator Hidetaka Miyazaki on originating the Soulslike genre

Hidetaka Miyazaki didn't envision originating an entire genre. Yet such is the popularity of the Dark Souls games — right up to the more recent Elden Ring — that they've become collectively known in the gaming community as Soulslikes. That's shorthand for games with calculating combat, high levels of challenge and repeated death, though this is of course reductive of the awe and grim majesty Miyazaki's games evoke.

Soulslikes are everywhere now. From indie games utilising specific mechanics, to larger projects specifically trying to out-do FromSoftware at its own game. That's testament to the influence of Miyazaki's work, though he remains humble when discussing his oeuvre with me ahead of announcing the release of Shadow of the Erdtree, Elden Ring's upcoming major expansion.

«We certainly didn't come up with the term Souslike and we didn't envision it as a new genre or a new term for the industry,» he tells me. «So of course when it first started cropping up… we were very surprised.

»We felt a little bit honoured, but also there was a lot of trepidation there. We thought 'is this really ok? Is this really what we are making? And is this really what we want to be known for?'"

ELDEN RING Shadow of the Erdtree | Official Gameplay Reveal Trailer Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree trailer.

It's certainly what Miyazaki has become known for, whether he anticipated it or not. Beyond the previous success of the Dark Souls games, Bloodborne, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Elden Ring sold over 20m copies in under 12 months and received countless Game of the Year awards. It inspired YouTube lore channels and modders and fan recreations; players controlling the game with everything from a harp to a banana. And it inspired others to copy his homework.

«The term Souslike is, as I'm sure you understand, very vague,» says Miyazaki. «And there are lots of ways that can be interpreted… and I don't think any of them are wrong.»

Perhaps, I suggest, the influx of Soulslike games