What does “Souls-like” even mean anymore? How the overuse and misuse of Steam tags can mislead gamers
A recent Reddit post talking about the overuse of Steam tags has been getting a lot of attention lately. Created by user OrranVoriel, the thread starts by mentioning the overuse of the “Souls-like” tag on games that have little to no comparisons with FromSoftware’s popular action role-playing titles.
By definition, a Souls-like is a subgenre of action RPGs characterized by its high difficulty and environmental storytelling. The name gets its origins from Demon’s Souls and the Dark Souls games developed by Japanese game studio FromSoftware – whose mechanics can be found in many Souls-like games.
OrranVoriel first noticed the trend when redeeming his Steam key for Ghost of Tsushima – an open-world adventure game with almost no similarities to the Souls games. Upon looking up titles like Monster Hunter: World, 2018’s God of War, and Cuphead, he found that they too bear the “Souls-like” tag on Steam. Lesser-known titles such as the indie game En Garde! and the sleeper game Vampyr were also given the tag.
While these games possess certain elements of FromSoftware’s Souls games, they can hardly be counted as Souls-likes. Cuphead can be brutally difficult, but its 2D side-scrolling nature, cartoony aesthetic, and emphasis on combining platforming and bullet hell combat make it its own thing. Likewise, 2018’s God of War has light and heavy attacks as well as magic and parrying mechanics, but it does not have the Souls games’ stamina meters nor Focus Point system.
It should be noted that Steam’s tag system isn’t foolproof. While the video game distribution service’s administrators can add tags to new and existing titles, the same can be done by Steam’s users as well. While Steam tags must be added by the majority of users before they can be associated with games, they don’t paint an entire picture of the experience. Cyberpunk 2077, while containing nudity, is not solely defined by its “Nudity” tag as more raunchy Steam games are.
Other users have joined in on the discussion, citing words like “Roguelite”, “Metroidvania” and “Open World” as examples of overused Steam tags. The ability for Steam users to add whatever tags they like to a game can mislead potential buyers. It is for this reason that many Steam users tend to forgo reading Steam tags altogether; opting instead to do research on a game before purchasing it. OrranVoriel’s observations bring to light how unreliable Steam tags can be, which is one of many calls to action for Valve to take a look at revamping how they work.
Carlos "Zoto" Zotomayor
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