4 Highly Anticipated Soulslike Games Set to Release Before the End of 2026

Four major Soulslike releases are currently scheduled for 2026, spanning PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. The upcoming lineup ranges from the dark fantasy combat of The Relic: First Guardian to the martial arts-inspired swordplay of Phantom Blade Zero, with Mortal Shell II and Valor Mortis rounding out the release schedule.

Here's what's confirmed for each. All four games have been officially announced by their respective developers and are currently targeting release before the end of 2026.

Release Schedule At a Glance

The Relic: First Guardian - July 31, 2026

The Relic: First Guardian, from Project Cloud Games, is first up. Set in the shattered world of Arsiltus, players control Rune, a Guardian working to restore balance to a land consumed by darkness and forgotten memories.

Combat leans toward aggressive offense, with stamina reserved mainly for defensive actions rather than split between the two, so players can keep attack chains going without running dry. Builds come from more than 70 collectible Relics that alter skills, and players choose from five weapon classes, each with its own skill tree and its own lore rather than functioning as a plain stat upgrade.

Project Cloud Games says players will face up to 80 bosses throughout the adventure, each tied to its own piece of the world's collapse.

Pre-orders are open now. Buying in early gets players the Night of the Unextinguished Flame Bonus Pack, which includes:

• Sanctuary of the Forgotten Light dungeon
• Sealstone of the Undying Ember Relic
• Armor of the Unextinguished Vigil
• Unextinguished Vigil Sword & Shield set

Mortal Shell II - August 20, 2026

Mortal Shell II follows a few weeks later, continuing the series developer Cold Symmetry started with the 2020 original. Rather than just building on that game, Cold Symmetry is making real changes: a larger interconnected world, faster exploration, and a reworked combat system that drops the stamina limit on attacks in favor of a more aggressive playstyle.

The Shell mechanic returns too, expanded to eight distinct Shells players can inhabit over the course of the game, each with its own abilities and combat style.

Cold Symmetry has also confirmed a Devout Edition that grants up to 72 hours of early access, plus a physical release for PlayStation 5 for players who want a disc.

Valor Mortis - October 13, 2026

Valor Mortis takes the Soulslike formula first-person. One More Level, the studio behind Ghostrunner, sets the game in an alternate 19th-century Eastern Europe where Napoleon's ongoing war has triggered a supernatural plague.

Players take on William, a British soldier resurrected into Napoleon's army, who fights corrupted soldiers while digging into a conspiracy tied to his own resurrection. Combat mixes melee, firearms, and magic: William fights mainly with a cutlass, carries a flintlock pistol that can expose enemy weak points, and eventually unlocks offensive "Transmutations" that layer onto both swordplay and ranged attacks.

Progression runs on Catalysts, resources that boost health, stamina, and stats. Dying drops them on the ground to be recovered, which keeps every fight carrying some risk.

One More Level put out a playable Steam demo earlier this year to show off the combat system. The studio also pushed the release from its original September date to October 13, clearing out of an increasingly crowded month.

Phantom Blade Zero - October 29, 2026

Phantom Blade Zero closes out the year. Chinese studio S-GAME built the game around fast martial arts combat layered onto Soulslike-style encounters, prioritizing precise timing and flowing combos over traditional RPG systems.

Players control Soul, an assassin framed for murder and given 66 days to clear his name while working through a dark fantasy world drawing on Chinese martial arts traditions.

The game has drawn attention since its reveal for its combat animations and production values, and its October 29 release date follows a delay the team used for additional polish.