Born from a mix of difficult combat and minimalist in-game storytelling, the Soulslike genre has become one of the industry's most prominent genres. It has humble beginnings in the Dark Souls franchise, as FromSoftware's fascinating blend of quiet world building and white-knuckle combat took gaming by storm, inspiring a host of AAA and indie developers to try their hand at it. But while the Soulslike genre is generally associated with 3D titles, the 2D side of this complex style of game is just as exciting and potentially even more compelling.