Articles Salt and Sanctuary

The soulslike genre owes its existence to Demon's Souls, released by FromSoftware in 2009. A PlayStation exclusive, it first earned a cult following among hardcore players in its homeland of Japan. From its core mechanics, FromSoftware's lead designer Hidetaka Miyazaki built a new game — Dark Souls — which launched a series that became iconic the world over. Soon the "soulslikes" started arriving: games that copy the Dark Souls formula of success. An entire genre was born, built on the hallmarks of Dark Souls — punishing difficulty, "bonfires" (checkpoints for saving and leveling up), enemies that respawn on a location once you die, collecting experience ("souls"), stamina management in combat, fragmentary storytelling, and — most importantly — gruelling boss fights that force you to learn every move set.

Metroidvanias are one of those genres where world exploration matters just as much as combat. The best games in the spirit of Metroid and Castlevania gradually reveal the map, hide new abilities behind locked passages, and constantly push you to return to familiar locations to find secrets, bosses, and optional challenges. In this list, we have collected the best metroidvanias on PC, consoles, and handheld platforms — from acknowledged classics to modern indie hits.

If you are tired of overly forgiving games where it is almost impossible to fail, this article is for you. We have put together some of the hardest games across different genres — from soulslikes and hardcore action titles to punishing survival games, roguelikes, platformers, tactical strategies, and puzzle games that truly test your reflexes, patience, attentiveness, and ability to stay calm under pressure.

Some particularly successful virtual entertainment titles leave a lasting impression not only on gamers but also on developers. When an excellent game pushes an entire genre forward, it sometimes sets trends for the industry, inspires studios, and becomes a model for imitation. This article will focus on such projects — those that have influenced many modern games.