10 Best Soulslikes With Short Runtimes

As someone who has poured hundreds of hours into various different Souls games, I know what it’s like to lose myself in a truly immersive, punishing, and expansive world.

But equally, I know that it can be pretty hard to get yourself motivated enough to dive into another, especially if you’re straight off the back of beating the last Souls game’s final boss.

These games are often tests of skill and endurance, but the latter doesn’t always have to be the case. As there are a number of Souls games out there that have a much shorter runtime than the average Soulslike, allowing you to get your fix without needing to invest hundreds of hours to roll credits.

So, if time is short but your need for brutal combat is high, then these games are exactly what you’re looking for.

To help define what we consider short, we will only be including games that can be completed in 20hrs or less, and will be using HowLongToBeat as our measuring stick.

10 Kena: Bridge of Spirits

FromSoft By Way Of Pixar

We kick things off with a game that many of you might immediately roll your eyes at. But, don’t be fooled by the Pixar vibes and the cozy forest setting. This game is very much a soulslike. Or, at the very least, a Souls-lite.

Kena is a title that plays like an action platformer in many ways, having the player collect your little companions known as ‘The Rot’ and having you solve puzzles as you go. However, it’s when you enter combat that this game reveals itself to be a Souls title.

Combat is dynamic and tricky, especially when played on high-difficulty settings, and only someone who has a mastery of hack and slash, ranged, and magic mechanics will live long enough to roll credits on this compact title.

You definitely have more tools in your arsenal than in most Souls games, making it a more beginner-friendly option. But it’s a fun one nonetheless.

9 Remnant 2

I Like My Souls With Gunpowder

I always try to conjure up a better way to describe Remnant as a series, but in the end, I can never quite do it justice better than the phrase ‘It’s Dark Souls with guns.’

Obviously, there is a little more to the action than that, but that gives you a flavor of what Remnant 2 is all about. It’s over-the-shoulder third-person action, but with the added caveat of Souls difficulty.

Add in the fact that this game has wonderfully implemented procedural generation to add loads of replay value, and the game also features a surreal and intriguing world, and you have a recipe for something pretty special.

This is also one of the best co-op souls games on the market by some distance, and while co-op does trivialize a lot of the difficulty, it’s still worth taking a friend along for the ride.

8 Mortal Shell

A Rock Solid Soulslike

While Mortal Shell may dine out on a gimmick pretty hard, you have to say; it’s a pretty awesome gimmick that more than justifies its spot on this list.

Mortal Shell is a little lacking in the world design and lore department. But, what it does excellently is combat. You can no longer cower behind a shield because, in this game, you are the shield.

With your harden ability, you need to seamlessly flip from defense to attack, and make the most of the unique shells that you acquire throughout the adventure to prevail over your foes.

I will concede that as the game wears on, things start to feel a little repetitive. But thanks to a palpable atmosphere, great boss design, and short runtime, most of your experience will be a very enjoyable one, making this a great, quick Souls option.

7 Another Crab’s Treasure

A Shoals-Like Masterclass

If you thought Kena was going to be the sole kiddie portion of this list, then you were very wrong, my friend.

Another Crab’s Treasure is hands-down the best beginner Soulslike on the market today, offering a boiled-down format that teaches all the core Souls skills but without all the complex builds, obtuse world design, and dirty tricks.

It’s basically a mash-up between a traditional Souls game and an action platformer geared towards kids. Offering a comical storyline, vibrant visuals, and colorful characters.

But, you still get challenging bosses, and excellent combat gimmicks like Shells and Adaptions. Veteran Souls players will breeze through this one, but if you’re on the hunt for the easiest way to break into this genre, Another Crab’s Treasure is the best game for the job.

6 Thymesia

Pick Your Poison

Serving as the shortest game on this list at a mere seven hours, Thymesia is a Soulslike brought to you courtesy of Team 17 of all people.

It’s a game that, admittedly, is a little rough around the edges with lower-end visuals. But it’s clear that the focus was on making the gameplay stand out from the crowd, which it absolutely does.

Thanks to the satisfying parry system, the health/poison balance that players need to consider in combat, a selection of challenging boss encounters, and a variety of viable playstyles, the game truly shines.

It’s over before you know it, and perhaps that’s for the better, as the story is pretty poor in truth, but for the short time you spend with this one, you really do get maximum value for time invested.

5 SteelRising

A Robust Robot Romp

If you liked the steampunk vibes found in Lies of P and crave more of the same, you simply can’t go wrong with Steel Rising.

This epic re-imagining of the French Revolution is a compelling one, and the stellar visuals bring this alternate world to life. But, let’s face it, you’re interested in the action, and who can blame you?

The combat is a beautiful blend of dynamism and labored, mechanical movement akin to what you would expect of a machine. Which, in turn, forces you to master your particular build and pick your moments with precision.

The only downside to this one is that, at least for me, the core bosses never really offered a true challenge. But the game as a whole is tough enough to make you sweat if you underestimate those tricky mob enemies.

Plus, it’s a Souls game with fun platforming, making it a novelty you simply have to check out for yourself.

4 The Last Faith

Basically 2D Bloodborne

If you like Castlevania, but also want the brutality of a Souls game, then The Last Faith has you covered.

In a nutshell, this game is effectively to Bloodborne what Salt and Sanctuary is to Dark Souls, offering a gritty, gothic Soulsvania that pulls no punches and takes no prisoners.

The story is pretty dreadful, in truth, but the game makes up for this with strong combat, varied build options, excellent level design, and rewarding backtracking to appease all the Metroidvania fans out there.

It perhaps tries a little too hard to emulate the next entry on this list, which can make it feel a little derivative, but considering the quality of what’s coming up next, it’s hardly bad to aim for more of the same.

3 Blasphemous

No Gods, No Masters

In case you hadn’t guessed already, next up, we have the Catholicism-fuelled romp that is Blasphemous, and I specifically chose the original as, while the sequel is objectively a better game, the first is undoubtedly a better Soulslike.

This is because it gives you far fewer tools in your arsenal to work with but still doubles down on crazy boss encounters, tough areas aplenty, and obtuse world and quest design.

Combine this with one of the most atmospheric settings in the genre, and deep lore for those who are willing to dig for meaning, and you have a Soulsvania worth its weight in gold.

But just a quick tip: if you have anyone in your home who’s a big fan of the J-man. Maybe play this one on the sly, as it really lives up to its name.

2 Nine Sols

Parry Or Die

Okay, so I’m technically breaking the self-imposed rules here as this one takes 21 hours to roll credits, but allow me this inclusion.

I will never stop talking about how Nine Sols never got its flowers in 2024, despite the fact that it was easily the best Soulslike to burst onto the scene.

This one is more in line with the parry-or-die vibe found in Sekiro, and forces players to become a human metronome to time blocks and execute devastating counters.

But not only that. The game also has an incredible Tao-inspired, hand-drawn world, an enthralling and disturbing story to tell, and some of the toughest bosses in the genre, provided you play on max difficulty.

In a world without Silksong, Nine Sols is the antidote that has kept me going, and I think you should check it out, too.

1 Salt and Sanctuary

A Love Letter To Dark Souls

If you’re looking for a Soulslike that isn’t all that long and emulates everything you love about traditional Souls games, you can’t do much better than the grandfather of 2D Souls games.

Salt and Sanctuary is as close to Dark Souls as you’ll get without actually playing a 3D Dark Souls game, offering a gritty, meticulously designed world, loads of character-build options, and a wealth of killer bosses.

The combat feels like the FromSoftware formula translated to the 2D plain perfectly; the world is interconnected just as the first Dark Souls game was, and there’s a satisfying sense of freedom and progression also.

In short, if you love Dark Souls, and want more Dark Souls, then this is a must-play. And most importantly, one that won’t keep you on the hook for hundreds of hours.