Andréa, Canis Lanonbinary

soulslike is when good design is hard

ah yes, the only good design are those in that style and if you don't like it you don't like good design

Soulslike is when you leave behind stuff in your death spot

soulslike is when a game makes people argue

Good design is when a game is hard

soulslike is when a game is 3D over the shoulder and punishing (not hard), with single character continuity and a combat design that is well thought through. often has environmental storytelling

arcade games drive for coin drops. their core characteristic is how they are designed around coin drops, this usually means a difficulty ramp that might let you get in a minute and a half or so of play before the real skill demands come out at an unfair pace. '

'hardcore' is a game mode which usually has difficulty variance/risk where permadeath is enabled, and can be layered over many games, although most typically is over games with RPG (esp. wizardry-like) characteristics and/or survival characteristics

roguelikes are punishing, typically with limited resources and typically with permadeath. they often play with uncertainty in the tools given to a player in a specific playthrough (identification, variance)

roguelites are less punishing but share the same rough shape as roguelikes. they often have a meta-continuity that means that a lost run is 'global' progress for the player, even if the run died

good design is an anytime food

tldr: hades is not a souslike, neither are mario games, neither is gradius, neither is metal slug

Soulslike is when all the female npcs are soft spoken beauties or craggy old hags.

LYING