12 Best Games Like Elden Ring to Play in 2026

The closest compact alternative distills FromSoftware's dark-fantasy combat, cryptic storytelling and extraordinary bosses into a more directed journey. Its legacy dungeons feel like Elden Ring's strongest castles stretched across an entire game.

A polished Soulslike with precise guarding, weapon assembly and a haunting Belle Époque city. It is far more linear than Elden Ring, but its combat feedback and boss progression are among the genre's best.

Trades shields and open fields for aggressive combat, transforming weapons and a tightly connected Gothic city. Its pace is faster and its platform availability narrower, yet its atmosphere and discovery remain unmatched.

Replaces flexible builds with a focused sword-duel system built around posture and deflection. Choose it if Elden Ring's hardest humanoid fights were the moments you most wanted to master.

Combines Soulslike risk with deep stances, supernatural abilities and a dense loot system. Missions are separate rather than open-world, but character building and high-skill combat can occupy hundreds of hours.

A broad dark-fantasy Soulslike whose two-layer world creates clever routes, secrets and combat opportunities. Cooperative support and flexible builds make it one of the closer modern alternatives despite a rougher edge.

A visually spectacular action RPG centered on staff combat, transformations and cinematic boss encounters. It offers less build freedom and exploration than Elden Ring, but excels when spectacle and responsive combat matter most.

A systemic open-world fantasy RPG where huge monsters, physical combat and AI Pawns create unscripted journeys. It is not a traditional Soulslike, but captures Elden Ring's sense of danger beyond the road.

Builds fast martial-arts combat around deflection, morale and aggressive momentum. Its mission structure is linear, yet players who enjoyed parrying through Elden Ring's bosses will feel immediately at home.

Reimagines the Soulslike loop as a cooperative third-person shooter with procedural campaigns, hidden classes and inventive bosses. It is the strongest pick for friends who want repeated runs and ranged combat.

A shorter, moodier Soulslike built around inhabiting different bodies and hardening in the middle of an attack. Its smaller scale makes it approachable while retaining meaningful risk and oppressive atmosphere.

Moves deliberate stamina combat into a science-fiction city and lets players target enemy limbs for specific equipment. The tone differs sharply, but exploration shortcuts and build-focused progression follow familiar principles.