Soulslikes are finding a new home on Nintendo Switch 2, and I’m ready for more pain

I love Soulslikes. Yes, I’m an absolute glutton for punishment, with Elden Ring and Bloodborne being among my favorite games of all time. If I had to rank my preferred genres, Soulslike is up there with RPG and horror in the top three, but I’ve not had much luck experiencing the best that the genre has to offer on Nintendo consoles. Fortunately, a couple of announcements during the recent Nintendo Direct show that the tide is changing.

Don’t get me wrong, knowing that Elden Ring is coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 gave me a bit of hope, but other notable releases in the Soulslike genre in recent years seemingly continued their trend of ignoring Nintendo hardware. On the previous console, while some of the best RPGs, like The Witcher 3 and Skyrim, made it onto the console, I had to make do with little more than Dark Souls to quench my thirst for notable Soulslikes. Yes, it’s obviously a good one, being the game that really propelled the genre into the spotlight, but where are the other two?

It’s a question I’m still asking; I’m thrilled Elden Ring is leaping to Switch 2, and I prefer it to Dark Souls 2 and 3 (especially DS2), but I’m baffled as to why they haven’t got the same treatment as their predecessor. Perhaps they’ll arrive on the Nintendo Switch 2 one day, given we now know that the likes of Lies of P and Lords of the Fallen 2 are heading to the platform. LOTF 2 is even hitting the NS2 at launch, representing a huge leap forward for the genre.

When Lies of P launched in 2023, I was bitterly disappointed not to be able to play it on the Switch – I sunk many hours into it on my PS5; I know Krat like the back of my hand. So you’d best believe I was practically squealing when it popped up straight after Lords of the Fallen 2 during the Direct.

I think Lies of P is one of the more interesting entries in the Soulslike genre in recent years, taking a classic character and giving it a dark twist – the way the game encompasses the story of Pinocchio but makes the narrative its own is quite impressive. Better still, the Overture expansion comes with the game on Switch 2, so you get the complete experience – assuming it doesn’t get a surprise bit of DLC ten years later like The Witcher 3.

While Mortal Shell is available on Nintendo Switch, it took more than two years post-launch to land on the console. We know that Mortal Shell 2 is on the way, with a 2026 release window, though the Nintendo Switch 2 is currently absent from the list of platforms it’s launching on. I’m hoping it’ll follow in the footsteps of Lords of the Fallen 2, and its developer will announce the NS2 as one of its platforms closer to launch.

It doesn’t make much sense to skip the platform at this point; beyond the original being on the Nintendo Switch, the impending arrival of Elden Ring shows that the NS2 is more than capable of running Mortal Shell 2. Looking beyond Soulslikes, Resident Evil Requiem is a perfect example of a brand-new 2026 game performing really well.

Of course, we also have The Duskbloods, a game whose trailer initially fooled people into thinking we were somehow getting Bloodborne, be it a remake or a sequel, but that’s not the case. Instead, The Duskbloods is a brand-new, exclusive game by FromSoftware. A Soulslike of any variety having exclusivity, particularly by the studio that grandfathered the genre, on Nintendo’s console is huge. The network test takes place later this Summer, though there’s no exact date yet; here’s hoping the full release isn’t too far away.

I don’t want to close out my thoughts without pointing out that there are some decent Soulslikes on the original Nintendo Switch, with Salt and Sanctuary and Salt and Sacrifice from Ska Studios being my favorite indie gems in the genre. However, Switch players did have to wait considerably longer for the sequel to arrive on the platform.

I’d also be remiss if I didn’t point out that Hollow Knight and Silksong are on both the original Switch and the NS2. Yes, they’re Metroidvanias first and foremost, but they also qualify as Soulslikes due to having features such as losing your currency upon death. Interestingly, my examples beyond Dark Souls are all indie. However, the increased power of Nintendo’s latest console is clearly enticing big triple-A studios.

As excited as I am to see some excellent Soulslikes make their way to the Switch 2, I have to point out that a whole console costs more than a controller, so make sure you’re not playing in handheld mode when you come across a particularly difficult boss – I’m looking at you, Malenia. Think happy thoughts. I look forward to invading you all on the fields of Caelid soon.