While many anime series have received video game adaptations, most of them tend to be traditional RPGs or fighting games. Yet some anime could be adapted into wonderful Soulslike games due to the similarities that they share with Dark Souls, Elden Ring, and other popular games in the genre.
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Attack On Titan
Based on Hajime Isayama’s manga series, the Attack on Titan anime began in 2013 and is ending later this year. Adapted by Wit Studio and MAPPA, this fantasy series is about soldiers fighting against the titans, predators for humanity, and learning about where they came from. The main character, Eren, discovers that he has the power of turning into a titan early on in the series, causing a lot of people to believe that he, along with his comrades, can take back the world from this threat.
Attack on Titan would make for a great Soulslike video game as the titans, especially abnormal ones, could serve as challenging boss enemies. The combat system of the game would allow players to use Attack on Titan’s ODM gear, making it unique compared to games that FromSoftware popularized by making a lot more use of movement mechanics. Many characters are killed by titan shifters, those who can transform into titans, so bosses based on these antagonists would be fun and provide decent challenges to overcome.
Deltora Quest
While Deltora Quest has a very different target demographic from typical Soulslike games, being based on Emily Rodda’s book series for children, it has a lot of elements also found in games like Demon’s Souls and Elden Ring. The story follows friends Lief, Barda, and Jasmine as they go on a quest to find seven gems across the land of Deltora. Its anime adaptation began in 2007, created by OLM, Inc.
The enemies that these heroes fight against, both human and monster alike, would fit perfectly in a Soulslike game due to their designs and variety of different attacks. There are also several places in Deltora that are similar to Elden Ring, such as the Lake of Tears looking like Liurnia and Stormveil Castle having a similar layout to Del.
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Hunter x Hunter
There are two Hunter x Hunter anime adaptations, the first of which was made by Nippon Animation in 1999, while the other was animated by Madhouse in 2011. Both are based on Yoshihiro Togashi’s manga series, which follows a young boy named Gon on a quest to find his father, Ging - the best hunter ever. In this series, a hunter is someone who has passed an exam that proved how strong and skillful they are, with anyone who has a Hunter’s License getting more work.
There are a lot of tough opponents that Gon faces throughout his journey, such as Hisoka and Genthru, who would make great bosses in a Soulslike game. Bosses may even be the only encounters in a Hunter x Hunter game, and because of the magic system in the anime, each battle would be unique. If players were able to control a character they create, the magic system could also lead to diversity and replayability.
The Promised Neverland
The Promised Neverland’s anime adaptation began in 2019, animated by CloverWorks. However, because a lot of things were cut from The Promised Neverland’s original manga, written by Kaiu Shirai and illustrated by Posuka Demizu, a potential Soulslike game should follow the original source material. The Promised Neverland revolves around a group of orphans who discover that they live in a fantasy world where demons want to eat them, leading to a journey where they must find somewhere safe.
While the first major arc in the series doesn’t have much action and would probably only be mentioned as backstory in a Soulslike adaptation, the rest of the series has many great fights to play through. The demons would be wonderful enemies to put into a game developed by studios like FromSoftware due to their size, attacks, and designs. It could also be a lot of fun for players to explore The Promised Neverland’s rich world, as there are many strange aspects that would perfectly fit exploration within the Soulslike formula.
Sword Art Online
Sword Art Online is an A-1 Pictures anime that first released in 2012, based on the light novel series written by Reki Kawahara. The story revolves around people going inside various VR games, the first of which takes place in a castle called Aincrad. Players get trapped in Aincrad’s world and have to beat it in order to return home, but if they die in the VR game, they die in the real world as well.
Not much of Aincrad was shown in the anime, so a Soulslike video game would give fans the perfect opportunity to explore the castle for themselves. One of the biggest elements of Sword Art Online was how players could also kill one another, so a video game adaptation should definitely include PvP reminiscent of the Dark Souls series. There are also a lot of unique weapons and items that would make a Soulslike adaptation fun to explore for hours.
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