FromSoftware came to existence all the way back in 1986. They started off developing productivity software before moving on to game development in 1994. These days, FromSoftware is mostly known for the Dark Souls games or the recently released Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice but they weren’t always the triple-A developer they’re known as today and spent many of their early years toiling away in obscurity.
Before perfecting the third-person hack-and-slash RPG, FromSoftware was known for creating unique, relatively low-budget games. To shine some light on FromSoftware’s other great work here are ten of their best games that are not Dark Souls.
10 Metal Wolf Chaos
Metal Wolf Chaos started off as a Japanese exclusive Xbox original game until later being ported over to PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One by Devolver Digital as Metal Wolf Chaos XD. In Metal Wolf Chaos, you play as a mecha piloted by the President of the United States.
You have a large arsenal of weapons and skills like dashing and hovering to help keep the combat fast. The premise of the game is to stop the Vice President, who also pilots a mecha, from ruining your good name and bringing terror to the people of America.
9 Otagi: Myth Of Demons
Published by Sega after they had become a third-party developer, Otagi: Myth of Demons is a hack-and-slasher based on Japanese history and mythology. The gameplay is similar to the Devil May Cry series as you have the ability to use multiple weapons, dash around stages, and juggle your enemies all while trying to get high combos.
While Otagi: Myth of Demons is an early Xbox original exclusive, the graphics and lighting effects still look great to this day. It also allows you to destroy large parts of the environment and offers almost 30 stages making it quite an impressive feat for a game more than 15 years old.
8 King’s Field 2
Time has not been kind to early 3D games. What was once a great looking game in the 90s now looks like a garbled bunch of pixels. However, if you don’t mind some rough visuals, you can find some great, early 3D games, with King’s Field 2 being a great example of that.
King’s Field 2 is a dungeon crawler but with a bit more mobility than most other games from the genre. If you have played any of the Dark Souls games, many things will pop out when playing King’s Field such as slow combat, a stamina bar, and more.
7 3D Dot Game Heroes
3D Dot Game Heroes is a clone of The Legend of Zelda series that is exclusive to the PlayStation 3 with a top-down view and sword combat. The game has a striking art style with small pixels making up everything in the 3D world with some great lighting effects. You can build your own character using squared pixels to create a 3D model. Like The Legend of Zelda, every time you have full health your sword is at maximum strength; but in 3D Dot Game Heroes, you can upgrade your sword to a preposterous size so it covers the majority of the screen in front of you when swung.
6 Echo Night: Beyond
Marketed as more of a horror game here in the west, Echo Night: Beyond is a first-person game where you help the dead pass over. When you spot a ghost you must run away from it before your heart rate becomes too high. You have no weapons or way of defending yourself, instead, you must clear out the mist from the area the ghost resides in by activating the ventilation system in order to pass them. To help the ghost to pass over, you must find one of their personal items and bring it to them.
5 Kuon
Kuon is set in feudal Japan with influence from Japanese mythology. While you do have the ability to run in Kuon, if you do so you both attract enemies and lose health so slowly walking is almost mandatory at times. To regain health, you must put yourself in a vulnerable position by standing still and meditating, making the game design play into the dread and anxiety you already feel. You can attack enemies with a short blade, leaving it open for attack, or you have limited magic spells you can use which will keep enemies at bay.
4 Shadow Tower
Shadow Tower shares many similarities to the King’s Field series as it is a slow-paced dungeon crawler. Unlike King’s Field, Shadow Tower has more of an emphasis on horror with a darker setting and more unsettling enemy design.
Unlike a typical RPG where experience points are given in order to level up your character, in Shadow Tower, your character slowly improves by killing specific enemies which will increase a specific stat. There is also an item in the game that allows you to increase a stat manually to add some character customization to the game.
3 Frame Gride
Frame Gride is a fighting game where you pilot customizable mechs. The game combines the fast action found in Metal Wolf Chaos with the mecha customization found in the Armored Core series and throwing it into a 3D arena fighter.
Frame Gride has mecha in a medieval world, creating a unique, fantasy-like setting. Battles take place in large 3D arenas that you can dash and fly around while fighting and gaining gems to later upgrade your mecha. You can customize your guns, melee weapons, and equipment to create a mecha all your own.
2 Tenchu Series
Tenchu is a long-running series that got its start on the PlayStation 1 with Tenchu: Stealth Assassins in 1998, with the last release being Tenchu: Shadow Assassins in 2009 on the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation Portable.
In the Tenchu games, you play as a ninja in 16th-century feudal Japan stealthily infiltrating bases and taking out enemies without being noticed. The original game plays a lot like the original Metal Gear Solid but with the ability to zip line onto roofs, takeout enemies with a sword, and use ninja stars.
1 Armored Core Series
The Armored Core series had its start on the PlayStation 1 in 1997 with a game simply called Armored Core. The final release in the series is called Armored Core: Verdict Day which was released on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2013.
The Armored Core series centers around a silent protagonist who takes on jobs a mercenary within Armored Cores, large mechs built for fighting. You complete missions to earn money that you then use to upgrade your Armored Core. Some games in the series also offer arena modes that allow you to fight other pilots one on one for more cash or bragging rights.