FromSoftware has made quite a name for itself in gaming. Starting as any other humble developer does back in 1986, they’ve become quite a juggernaut in the industry, making some of the most acclaimed games within the last decade alone.
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There’s no doubt what sprung them to this level is their notorious penchant for crafting challenging games that earn them respect from their player base. Many of them also earned them the respect of critics based on how high some of them rank on Metacritic. Not all of them have a Metascore in the 90s, though. FromSoftware's catalog is filled with games of different levels of quality. These are the best ones, according to Metacritic.
Updated May 31, 2023 By Ben Jessey: When people think of FromSoftware, they think of the work the company did throughout the 2010s and now into the 2020s. But the company has been around much longer than that. In fact, FromSoftware's first game was released in 1994, and they've made plenty of titles since.
So, it isn't all about the Souls games with these developers. They have a deep catalog. So much so that we thought we'd return to this list of the best FromSoftware games to add a few more deserving entries to it.
19 Deracine (PlayStation 4) – 68
FromSoftware games are mainly known for being difficult and including plenty of action. Therefore, the VR game known as Deracine is unique. It's a first-person adventure game that puts a heavy focus on storytelling. You play as a faerie who roams a boarding school, creating a bond with the students. It makes for an often emotional tale.
Yet, while the plot and atmosphere of the game received some praise from critics, most felt the VR aspect of the game was underutilized. Plus, some felt the pace was a bit too slow.
18 Silent Line: Armored Core (PlayStation 2) - 69
The Armored Core series boasts more than twenty titles, but aside from the first few, they're not really anything to write home about. Silent Line: Armored Core is perhaps the last good game with the AC name, although it too offers very little improvement on the titles that came before it.
Originally released on the PlayStation 2 and later ported to the PSP, the game once again puts players in control of a mech-piloting merc and continues the story of the series' third mainline entry. There are times when it is held back a little by its sloppy controls, but it is otherwise a perfectly serviceable mech game.
17 Enchanted Arms (Xbox 360) - 69
Enchanted Arms is a classic turn-based JRPG that utilizes a grid system in order to accommodate both ranged and close-quarter combat. Players are taken all over the world as the game's story unfolds and introduced to a charming cast of characters along the way.
FromSoftware had originally planned to have the game ready for the Xbox 360's Japanese launch but had to delay its release due to problems during development. It did end up being a launch title for the PS3 though, but only in PAL territories. Despite generating a fairly sizable fanbase and numerous requests, a sequel to the game never materialized.
16 Chromehounds (Xbox 360) - 71
There was a period of time when it felt like every other game released by FromSoftware featured mechs in some capacity and this was once again the case with the 2006 title, Chromehounds. Where the game differentiated itself from some of those earlier titles, however, was through its fantastic online multiplayer gameplay.
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Part of what made it so enjoyable were the wonderful customization options and the attention to detail paid when designing the mechs themselves. An unimaginative story and mediocre graphics didn't do the game any favors in the sales department though. Sadly, with Sega having shut down the game's servers more than a decade ago, the game now has very little to offer.
15 Lost Kingdoms (GameCube) - 72
Lost Kingdoms was an incredibly ambitious title that developed a huge fanbase on GameCube thanks to its unique approach to combat. Unlike most other RPGs of the era, battles play out in real-time and utilize a deck-based battle system similar to the ones found in many modern mobile titles. It may be commonplace now, but at the time it was still fresh and exciting.
The game features some impressive deck customization options too and the main story is incredibly well-written despite being a little on the short side. Its sequel, Lost Kingdoms 2, is arguably the better of the two games although is very much a case of more of the same rather than a brand-new experience.
14 Armored Core: Nexus (PlayStation 2) – 73
There is no shortage of Armored Core games, and Nexus is considered one of the better ones by critics. It tells the tale of a new organization that is angering the existing corporations because they're hoarding alien tech. This creates tension between the groups that may eventually lead to war.
Nexus is known as one of several entries in the series that isn't very innovative. The structure of the game and the mech combat is largely the same in this one as in previous titles, which is what several critics noted. Several still found it to deliver an enjoyable experience regardless.
13 Armored Core 3 (PlayStation 2) - 75
If you've played one Armored Core game then you have pretty much played them all. That was the general consensus from reviewers, at least, who criticized the third game's lack of innovation and improvement when compared to earlier entries in the series. It's by no means a bad game, but it had the potential to be so much more than it is.
Controls are needlessly complicated and many of the game's environments are dull and lifeless. The mech-on-mech action remains as enjoyable as ever though. There's a decent variety of mission objectives too and this helps to keep things fresh as players battle their way through the main story, although the narrative itself leaves quite a lot to be desired.
12 Armored Core 2 (PlayStation 2) - 78
A launch title for the PS2, Armored Core 2 is a third-person mecha shooter. It's a type of shooter that doesn’t get much attention in mainstream gaming with the constant pursuit of ‘realism’ in games these days. Its mission-based structure along with pre-mission briefings for some context paints a picture of how video game storytelling has evolved within the last two decades.
As a sequel to the first Armored Core, it’s interesting to note that a lot of the criticisms back around the time of its release were about the game’s funky controls, how difficult it can get and how it didn’t innovate enough from its predecessor. Given the current climate of gaming today, this would probably be picked apart just like From’s later titles.
11 The Adventures Of Cookie & Cream (PS2) - 78
Just the name alone should give you an idea of FromSoftware’s varied catalog of games. Yes, before the ‘git gud’ memes that ultimately caused a rift between gamers, FromSoftware actually made something that encouraged players to work together.
A party game in every sense of the phrase, this tasked players with guiding the titular Cookie & Cream to the end of a co-op obstacle course. The amount of silly, child-like charm in this title would probably make any hardcore Dark Souls fan either blush in embarrassment or laugh in disbelief of their favorite developer. You never know what a good developer’s history might entail. This game is proof of that.
10 Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors (Xbox) - 79
Otogi 2 is one of FromSoftware's earliest attempts at a third-person hack-and-slasher. This one has an ornate Japanese setting.
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Before From started to redefine what a hack-and-slash game is, this one is a lot more traditional in nature of it being more or less a button-masher with less complexity than your Sekiro’s or your DMC’s. However, it's not nearly on the level of casualness as a Dynasty Warriors title, as there are still some challenges to be had. It’s also insane how good the game looks for an ’04 Xbox title. Graphics come and go, but a good art style is timeless.
9 Otogi: Myth of Demons (Xbox) - 80
Even though the original Xbox wasn’t known for its catalog of Japanese games like the PlayStation 2, it makes gems like the Otogi series pretty special. For an early hack-and-slash game, it seems From, understandably, was still trying to carve out its niche in the genre with Otogi and its sequel. The RPG elements are there though not as deep as future entries, and the technical depth still wasn’t enough to keep the criticisms of the game’s repetitiveness at bay.
Even so, style over substance was what a lot of these games were all about back then and Otogi puts on quite a spectacle. It put the power of the Xbox to good use and you could tell From had a talent for the melee action genre.
8 Dark Souls Remastered (Xbox One) - 86
Seven years after the original, a remastered version of Dark Souls came out on newer platforms. It isn't a complete overhaul of the original. Instead, it intends to provide a graphical and performance upgrade in an attempt to make the remaster the definitive version of the game.
However, it doesn't actually score as high on Metacritic as the original. Yet, this is mostly down to the fact it naturally isn't as unique or innovative as the original. It's still a solid remaster and does the original Dark Souls justice.
7 Dark Souls (Xbox 360) - 89
The game that probably took FromSoftware from just a good developer to a household name that people swear by is Dark Souls. It truly needs no introduction and is easily one of the greatest and most influential video games ever made.
In the early days of gaming, high difficulty was mostly used as a tool by developers to pad out the playtime of their decidedly short games. Dark Souls took this concept and turned it into its main attraction. Its vision of being a purposefully challenging title earned it and its subsequent games a dedicated following and a reputation that resonates throughout the current gaming climate today.
6 Demon’s Souls (PlayStation 3) - 89
Before there was Dark Souls, there was Demon’s Souls; the game that a lot of players possibly missed the boat on before returning to it after later titles. As the first in the series, Demon’s Souls features many things that the Souls series has incorporated into subsequent games such as an open fantasy world to explore and its death mechanics.
Demon’s Souls was quite the experimental piece of software for From, even when compared to later titles. Aside from the obvious difficulty, the lack of any real narrative to follow left everything up to the gameplay and the atmosphere of its world. Other games certainly expand on this cryptic atmosphere, but Demon’s Souls seems entirely built on the player-character being nothing but a vessel for the player with no real investment for the character themselves.
5 Dark Souls 3 (PC) - 89
There isn’t much to say about it when considering that the hardcore fans experienced a bit of franchise fatigue when Dark Souls 3 was released. The claims of many rehashed concepts and the game not trying anything new to shake up the Souls formula are well-known by this point.
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Not to say the rating is entirely unwarranted, but now differing opinions start to make headway into the game’s critique for most. PC releases can also sometimes muddy the rating waters with performance issues that you wouldn’t normally be subject to on consoles most of the time. FromSoftware isn't the best when it comes to ports.
4 Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (Xbox One) - 91
Overall user and critic scores on Sekiro differ by at least 10 points on each version. It’s hard to say whether this is because it is just not a Souls game, or because fans aren’t genuinely happy with how the game turned out compared to critics.
Sekiro does do away with a lot of the RPG elements that Souls games and even Bloodborne incorporated. The play style is a lot more focused comparatively as a result, bringing it closer to a character-action game with its higher freedom of movement, stealth mechanics, and overhauled combat.
3 Dark Souls 2 (Xbox 360) - 91
.jpg "The 16 Best FromSoftware Games, Ranked (According To Metacritic) (17)")
Critic and user scores differ by at least double digits for all versions of Dark Souls 2. This is no surprise considering it is often referred to as the worst entry in the Souls series by fans. Its unreasonable amounts of spam creating artificial difficulty, unbalanced healing mechanics, and nonsensical, immersion-breaking level design are just some issues players point to.
Recent FromSoftware games are huge and ambitious, to say the least. It’s probably an understatement to say that to properly critique one would take a long time to understand what’s happening under the hood. Dark Souls 2 is a perfect example of how our standards for games have been shifting over the last decade.
2 Bloodborne (PlayStation 4) - 92
It seems Bloodborne succeeded as a new IP to FromSoftware fans better than Sekiro. The title seems like a middle ground between the Souls series and Sekiro. It still has a fair amount of RPG mechanics to give players various options while also featuring faster, more aggressive combat, something Sekiro attempted to make more dynamic.
It’s hard to say whether recent From games are being judged on their own merits or by how much they live up to the Souls series. Sekiro, Bloodborne, and the Souls series are all different IPs. They all may share similar aspects, but they all attempt to accomplish respectively different things through how they execute them.
1 Elden Ring (PlayStation 5) - 96
Elden Ring is arguably one of their most hyped releases. The studio has finally decided to tinker around with the concept of an open world, which is perfect given FromSoftware's penchant for creating an amazing world with immaculate-level design. They weaved this expertise around an open world in brilliant fashion, leading to one of the best and most exciting open-world games of all time.
Of course, the brilliant open-world design is just one of the many reasons why Elden Ring is such a massive success. The extensive combat system, awe-inspiring bosses, enemy variety, and the sheer beauty of the world they've created has placed Elden Ring at the very top of FromSoftware's auspicious library. While its broken PC release might be the only detracting factor, it won't take too long for fixed to arrive and for this platform to experience the magic of FromSoftware's greatest game.
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