Do You Think Dark Souls is a RogueLite game?

[Mister Vain]

So I've been kicking this idea around for a few days now. At first I thought it shared elements of a roguelike... brutally hard difficulty, dying as a means of progression, rpg mechanics... but it lacked core roguelike features like randomly generated levels and perma-death. So i thought it couldn't qualify as a roguelike by definition but what about a roguelite?

If Dead cells or Hades are classifeld as roguelites, why isn't DS?

Why I think DS is a Roguelite...

1. Brutally hard difficulty but get's easier with skill, time and familiarity with mechanics
2. Dying is part of the core gameplay experience. You get better after every death
3. No manual saving or reloading, choices are permanent, you can only go forward.
4. You build up (or add on too) your hub world (firelink shrine, majula, etc) by progressing and adding merchants/shops to your hub *not sure if this is an actual roguelite mechanic but it is common in almost all roguelites*
5. RPG character progression, you slowly get more powerful over time. Even in roguelites like Hades, you can spend points on permanent upgrades

What do you guys think? Could it be classified as a Roguelite?

[quacksouls]

You're describing Mega Man 2, Shovel Knight, Cuphead, and many other games that don't have that randomly generated element to them. Spelunky is a roguelike as is Bloodborne.

[☀️Beaxboy]

Dark Souls is a original masterpiece. You can see that because it isn't roguelike or anything, it is a "soulslike". Yes, this awesome game has created a new category.

[Cooperal]

Roguelites are still characterised by elements of randomisation and permadeath, but not necessarily the turn-based, tile-based gameplay of a roguelike. Random loot is not a major part of DS and death is anything but permanent.

Dark Souls is more like a 3D take on metroidvanias. Sprawling, multi-directional, full of secrets and very heavily curated.

Roguelites are more like Dead Cells or FTL: Faster Than Light. Roguelikes are games that are like the game Rogue.

[󠀡󠀡]

DS is rpg game

[The Icecream Snowman]

Dark Souls isn't a rougelike, it's a Soulslike. The clue is right there in the name.