Slashy Souls

Endless runner tie-in to Dark Souls III, widely criticized.

The box/cover art can or could be obtained from the distributor. · via Wikipedia: Slashy Souls · Fair use

Slashy Souls is an endless runner game created and released by Bandai Namco Entertainment as a promotional project for Dark Souls III, with funding from GameStop. It launched on iOS and Android on February 28, 2016. Critics heavily criticized it for having shallow gameplay, expressing disappointment that it failed to make good use of the rich source material from the Dark Souls series.

In the game, players control a random adventurer and must survive as long as possible while the screen scrolls automatically. They can use melee attacks and spells to fight enemies, and occasionally face bosses inspired by those in Dark Souls. The player’s score increases the further they progress.

Reviews were largely negative. Rob Rich of Gamezebo gave it 2/5 stars, praising the pixel art but calling the gameplay poorly executed. He noted that the game “almost completely falls apart” during play, lacks a tutorial or control explanation, and suffers from buggy hit detection where attacks often miss. He also mentioned other bugs, like the death screen persisting after restarting. Given its connection to Dark Souls, he said he “was expecting something better.”

Chris Carter of Destructoid rated it 1/10, stating it “disgraces the Souls name” and is “better left in the digital trash bin.” He found the controls responsive but said every other aspect was poorly done, with “no nuance.” He emphasized that there was “almost nothing authentic” about the game and urged players not to blame FromSoftware for its creation.

Thomas Ella of Hardcore Gamer compared it unfavorably to other tie-ins like Fallout Shelter, saying the concept could work if executed well but instead came off as a “soulless cash-in.” He called the game “antithetical” to the Souls formula, since the main series punishes reckless rushing, while Slashy Souls encourages it and omits core mechanics like the “corpse run” to retrieve a Bloodstain. Sam Prell of GamesRadar+ noted that the game’s references to the Souls series were “mostly superficial in nature” and lacked the “depth or satisfying combat” of a main title.