15 Best Parry & Soulslike Games — Difficulty and Action Compared by GPA Scores
Game design analysis · High-difficulty and action scores from GPA (Gamer's Profile Analyzer) compared side by side
Finishing SEKIRO can leave you chasing the feeling of meeting a blade and turning defence into momentum. Yet “parry” hides major differences. Lies of P's Perfect Guard and Elden Ring's shield parry serve different purposes, while some difficult games here barely use parrying.
These 15 picks run from counter-led games to adjacent demanding action. GPA (Gamer's Profile Analyzer) tags describe their broader character; the notes focus on what you read, how you defend, and what success earns.
What Is a “Parry”? — Definition and 4 Types in Games
Here, “parry” means a timed response that avoids damage and creates an advantage: deflecting a sword, breaking stance, or opening a critical attack. The idea long predates SEKIRO; recent games have spread it across more genres and jobs.
① Full-Parry Type
Timed defence drives the combat loop. Repeated success wears down enemy stance and keeps you close enough to attack. SEKIRO and Lies of P fit here, though both offer other answers.
② Hybrid Type
Parry, guard, dodge, and jump cover different threats. Expedition 33, Elden Ring, and Stellar Blade belong here. Reading correctly matters more than forcing one defensive tool.
③ Stylish Type
Counters preserve a combo's flow and spectacle. Timing varies, but success feels like part of the offence. Batman: Arkham Knight and Metal Gear Rising are clear examples.
④ Rhythm / System Type
Timing plugs into a specific rhythm or resource economy. Hi-Fi Rush parries on the beat; Wo Long ties deflection to Spirit. The surrounding rules matter as much as reactions.
What GPA Scores Reveal About Parry Games
This chart estimates parry difficulty; it is neither a GPA tag nor an overall challenge ranking. Hollow Knight is difficult while parrying remains incidental; Arkham Knight makes its basic counter approachable. The bars compare mechanics, not site-wide statistics.
※ This is an editorial parry-difficulty estimate for this article — not GPA's official scores. It differs from GPA's High Difficulty tag weight.
① Top 10 Parry & Soulslike Picks — Listed on GPA
The first ten games have entries in GPA's dataset. Their cards link to full tag breakdowns and similar-game lists; the notes below stay focused on how defence actually feels in play.
1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Genre: Turn-Based RPG
Set in a world where the Paintress condemns entire age groups to death each year, Expedition 33 sends a doomed party into a dying world to break the curse. The turn-based combat integrates real-time parry mechanics that shift the rhythm of every encounter. GPA scores it highest in Emotional Story and Story Depth — the French aesthetic and existential weight make it one of the most distinctive RPGs of 2025.
Gameplay Profile
Key tags: Turn-Based / Story Depth / Existential Themes / Dystopian Setting / Emotional Story
Plan your turn, then defend theirs by hand
Sandfall Interactive's 2025 RPG lets you choose skills, targets, and AP deliberately. Your party attacks through commands for strategic decisions, while enemy turns shift into real-time parries and dodges. Builds matter, but execution can sharply reduce a bad turn's cost. Repeated attempts improve both plan and timing.
Parry, dodge, and jump are not a simple three-way chart
Most hits can be dodged or parried: dodging is friendlier, while a complete parry sequence can trigger a counterattack. Jump low sweeps and use Gradient Counter on Gradient Attacks. Delays and feints mean you must watch the impact, not the animation's start.
You learn the pauses, not just the sequence
Early enemies establish the timing baseline. Later opponents hold a swing, rush the next strike, or branch into another finish. Decide whether you know the string well enough to chase its counter or should dodge while learning.
What a full parry sequence pays back
Parrying a full sequence can produce a powerful counter, though dodging remains valid. The notorious “Grosse Tête” has an escalating bounce sequence. It does not require 100 parries: dodge or parry long enough and it self-destructs.
2. SEKIRO: Shadows Die Twice
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Genre: Action
Sekiro removes the build customization of the Souls series and replaces it with a deflection-based combat system where reading enemy attacks is the only viable approach. GPA scores it at maximum Difficulty — the highest in the database alongside Cuphead — with Action close behind.
Gameplay Profile
Key tags: Action / High Difficulty / Graphics / Dystopian Setting / Emotional Story
FromSoftware's 2019 action game sends shinobi Wolf through a mythic Sengoku Japan with a sword and prosthetic tools. Compared with the studio's RPGs, Deflect carries much more of the central combat rhythm. It is not the only correct answer: Mikiri Counter, jumps, positioning, attacks, and the Shinobi Prosthetic all answer situations a basic Deflect cannot.
Posture rewards sustained pressure
Attacks and Deflects build enemy Posture. Fill it for a Deathblow; retreat and the opponent may recover. Lower Vitality slows recovery, linking health damage with sword pressure without making every attack demand the same answer.
The clash sound tells you when the enemy is taking the initiative. An impossibly fast combo gradually resolves into audible rhythm. Perilous Attacks still demand a specific response, not merely better Deflect timing.
The modern reference point
SEKIRO won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2019. Deflect and Posture became a useful comparison point for later action games, but weapon breakage, Spirit economies, and colour-coded evasions take the idea in different directions.
3. Lies of P
Lies of P
Genre: Action RPG
Lies of P retells Pinocchio as a Soulslike set in a Victorian-era city overrun by automatons. The weapon assembly system lets players combine handles and blades from different weapons. GPA scores it close to Elden Ring on Difficulty and Dark World, with the Soulslike tag shared across both.
Gameplay Profile
Key tags: Dystopian Setting / Action / High Difficulty / Graphics / Dark
Round8 Studio's 2023 Soulslike recasts Pinocchio amid the puppets and ruined streets of Krat. Dodging and ordinary guarding both work, but Perfect Guard becomes increasingly valuable when you choose to hold your ground against long combos.
A timed Perfect Guard prevents guard damage and avoids creating recoverable Guard Regain; it does not reflect health damage. Repeated Perfect Guards help make enemies staggerable and can break certain weapons. The left-arm equipment is the Legion Arm, with options for fire, electricity, grappling, and more. Weapon assembly adds further build choice, while the consequences of lying are best discovered without spoilers.
4. Stellar Blade
Stellar Blade
Genre: Action RPG
Stellar Blade follows EVE on a mission to reclaim Earth from alien creatures. The parry-focused combat rewards learning attack patterns. GPA scores it high on Action and Graphics — the character design and environmental art are among the strongest visual presentations in the Action category.
Gameplay Profile
Key tags: Action / Existential Themes / Anime Characters / Graphics / High Difficulty
SHIFT UP released Stellar Blade on PS5 in 2024 and PC in 2025, so it is no longer a PlayStation exclusive. Eve's defence mixes standard parries with evasive responses to colour-coded threats. There is no mechanic called “Beta Parry”; parrying and Beta Skills belong to related but distinct systems.
Speed, parry, and dodge — a trinity of combat
Ordinary weapon strings invite consecutive parries, while unblockable attacks call for tools such as Blink or Repulse. The pace is busy, but the colour and sound cues provide a usable grammar. Once that grammar settles in, the screen becomes much easier to parse.
Balance and Beta Energy do different jobs
Each successful parry removes a point of enemy Balance. Empty the gauge and a Retribution opportunity opens. Beta Energy, by contrast, fuels Beta Skills and is earned through combat actions including attacks and parries. Separating those two goals clarifies when to keep defending and when to spend a powerful skill rather than treating every bright meter as the same reward.
5. Elden Ring
Elden Ring
Genre: Action RPG
Elden Ring takes FromSoftware's Soulslike combat into an open world designed by Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R.R. Martin. The Legacy Dungeons preserve the dense, interconnected level design of earlier entries while the Lands Between rewards patient exploration. GPA scores it at 95% for both Difficulty and Action — the highest Action score in the database.
Gameplay Profile
Key tags: Action / Dystopian Setting / Graphics / High Difficulty / Open World
FromSoftware's 2022 open-world action RPG offers parry skills on shields and certain weapons. Catch a compatible attack and the enemy may open for a critical hit. Not every move or boss can be parried, and some powerful opponents require more than one success before their stance breaks.
Parrying is one build choice among dodge rolls, sturdy shields, spells, summons, ranged attacks, and mounted combat. That freedom means there is little reason to force the tactic against a poor match-up. The timing also follows when the weapon reaches you, not simply the enemy's initial hand motion, which makes practice on a familiar knight more useful than guessing against every new boss.
6. Ghost of Tsushima
Ghost of Tsushima
Genre: Action-Adventure
Ghost of Tsushima hands Jin Sakai a katana and an open version of feudal Japan and largely steps aside. The wind navigation system replaces minimap markers. GPA scores it high on Emotional Story and Dark World, with Open World sitting close behind — a combination that describes an action game built around atmosphere as much as combat.
Gameplay Profile
Key tags: Graphics / Action / Story Depth / Emotional Story / High Difficulty
Sucker Punch Productions' 2020 open-world samurai action game separates two ideas that are easy to conflate. During regular combat, Jin can parry a blue-glint attack and use Perfect Parry timing to create an immediate counter window. Red attacks usually demand a dodge, though upgrades make selected moves parryable.
A Standoff is a separate opening confrontation: hold your nerve and release the attack as the opponent commits. Its samurai-film tension is memorable, but it is not the game's parry. Ghost of Tsushima is not a Soulslike either; selectable difficulty and a broad stealth-action structure make it a flexible route into timing-based counters.
7. Nioh 2
Nioh 2
Genre: Action RPG
Nioh 2 builds its samurai action around the Soul Core system and a Yokai Shift transformation that temporarily unlocks a second move set. The Burst Counter mechanic rewards reading specific enemy attacks. GPA scores it high on Action and Difficulty — the combination that places it in the Soulslike cluster while the transformation system provides a mechanical layer Dark Souls entries lack.
Gameplay Profile
Key tags: Action / High Difficulty / Graphics / Dark / Dystopian Setting
Team Ninja's 2020 Sengoku action RPG includes weapon-specific parries, but its shared parry-adjacent mechanic is the Burst Counter. Use it against a red-aura Burst Attack to interrupt danger and tear into the opponent's Ki.
Ki Pulse is an R1 input after attacking that recovers spent Ki. Flux extends it by changing stance during that timing; it is not a zero-frame counter. Burst Counter changes with Guardian Spirit type: Brute strikes, Feral dashes into the attack, and Phantom blocks in place. Managing those tools alongside stance changes and Yokai Abilities makes Nioh 2 broader—and busier—than a pure parry game.
8. Hollow Knight
Hollow Knight
Genre: Metroidvania
Hollow Knight puts a silent knight in a vast underground insect kingdom built with hand-drawn art and a score that shifts by region. The map system withholds information until it's earned. GPA scores it at the top for Difficulty and Action among platformers, with Dark World running high — a combination that points at players who want atmosphere alongside the mechanical challenge.
Gameplay Profile
Key tags: Action / High Difficulty / Dystopian Setting / Graphics / Dark
Team Cherry's 2017 Metroidvania allows the Knight's nail to clash with certain melee attacks. The contact can prevent a hit, and a few encounters make it practical to learn, but this is an incidental interaction rather than the backbone of combat. Spells do not provide a general projectile-reflection parry.
Dashing, jumping, spacing, and pogoing with downward nail strikes do the real defensive work. The Pantheons demand consistency in those fundamentals, not mandatory deflects. Pick Hollow Knight for exacting 2D bosses and exploration, not because it reproduces SEKIRO's back-and-forth sword pressure.
9. Batman: Arkham Knight
Batman: Arkham Knight
Genre: Action-Adventure
Batman: Arkham Knight closes the Arkham trilogy with the Batmobile fused into the combat and traversal systems. Gotham at night is the strongest visual presentation in the series. GPA scores it high on Action and Dark World — the combination that defines the Arkham series across all entries.
Gameplay Profile
Key tags: Graphics / Action / Story Depth / Emotional Story / Open World
Rocksteady Studios' 2015 trilogy finale uses FreeFlow Combat to carry a combo across an entire crowd. Counter when the warning appears, then redirect into a strike, gadget, or another attacker. The mechanic is less about studying one duelist than preserving awareness while threats arrive from every side.
The basic counter window is generous, but shields, blades, stun batons, and off-screen attacks force you to choose more than one response. Because failure is less punishing than in the harder games here, Arkham Knight works well as an introduction to reading telegraphs—or as a lower-pressure break between demanding action RPGs.
10. Bloodborne
Bloodborne
Genre: Action RPG
Bloodborne moves through Gothic Victorian streets and cosmic horror architecture with an aggressive combat system that punishes defensive play. The Rally mechanic returns health through attacking immediately after taking damage. GPA scores it at the top for Dark World and near the top for Difficulty — the Action score is higher than Dark Souls entries, reflecting the faster combat tempo.
Gameplay Profile
Key tags: High Difficulty / Dystopian Setting / Action / Dark / Graphics
FromSoftware's 2015 gothic-horror action RPG replaces the familiar shield response with firearms. Shoot as a compatible enemy commits to an attack and it staggers; close the distance in time and a Visceral Attack deals heavy damage.
Bullets are a resource, enemy windows vary, and some moves cannot be interrupted, so firing repeatedly is a poor substitute for observation. Gun parries also suit the Regain system's demand that you answer damage aggressively. Choose it after SEKIRO if you would rather stake one read on a large opening than deflect a whole sword combination.
② 5 More Essential Parry Games
These five widen the field into martial arts, rhythm action, and bullet hell. Returnal is the deliberate outlier: it has no parry, but remains here as an adjacent recommendation for readers whose real priority is difficult, fast action.
11. Sifu
Sifu
Genre: Brawler
Sifu builds its brawler around aging — dying adds years that increase damage dealt but reduce health. The counter and parry system rewards precise timing over button mashing. GPA scores it high on Action and Difficulty, with a low Beginner score reflecting the commitment the parry system demands before it feels rewarding.
Gameplay Profile
Key tags: Action / High Difficulty / Graphics / Existential Themes / Emotional Story
Sloclap's 2022 martial-arts game asks you to balance timed deflects, which pressure enemy Structure, with high and low Avoids that help restore your own. Positioning, weapons, and environmental attacks matter whenever a crowd threatens to surround you. Progress feels less like gaining statistics than returning to the same room with cleaner judgement.
Death advances the protagonist's age, increasing damage while reducing maximum health. Replaying an earlier stage with fewer deaths lets you carry a younger age forward. GPA rates Action and High Difficulty at 90% apiece, matching a loop where genuine mastery is measured by the mistakes you no longer make.
12. Hi-Fi Rush
Hi-Fi Rush
Genre: Rhythm Action
Hi-Fi Rush chains character-action combat to a persistent music beat, with every enemy attack and environmental cue synchronized to the soundtrack. Missing the rhythm reduces damage output. GPA scores it high on Action and Graphics — the rhythm-action hybrid that generated the year's biggest positive surprise from its shadow-dropped release.
Gameplay Profile
Key tags: Graphics / Action / Emotional Story / Story Depth / High Difficulty
Tango Gameworks' 2023 rhythm action keeps the world and enemies moving to the beat. Chai's attacks land on that beat even if your button press is loose, while accurate inputs improve damage and rank. Parrying arrives partway through the game and shines in call-and-response sequences where listening is as useful as watching.
It is still a combo-driven action game rather than a constant parry test. GPA puts High Difficulty at 50%, Graphics at 90%, and Action at 85%. Those tags suit a game that would rather help you find the groove than punish every early beat you miss.
13. Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty
Genre: Action RPG
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty reframes Three Kingdoms history as dark fantasy and builds its combat around a Spirit Gauge system where aggressive play generates meter for powerful deflections. GPA scores it high on Action and Difficulty, sharing the Soulslike tag with Elden Ring while running lower on Open World.
Gameplay Profile
Key tags: Action / High Difficulty / Graphics / Story Depth / Dark
Team Ninja's 2023 Three Kingdoms action RPG builds combat around Deflect. It works on ordinary blows and red Critical Blows, converting a dangerous approach into a better Spirit position for you and a worse one for the enemy.
You can hold guard while attempting a Deflect against standard strings, which provides some insurance. Missing a Critical Blow remains costly, and delayed boss timings require practice. GPA scores Action at 85% and High Difficulty at 80%; compared with Nioh 2, the equipment and stance load is reduced so the Spirit exchange can take centre stage.
14. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
PlatinumGames' 2013 character-action game parries by combining a light attack with a direction toward the incoming enemy. There is no named “Revengeance auto-parry” system: the direction is part of the input, and switching targets under pressure is where its precision shows. Blade Mode's free cutting and vocal battle themes give each set piece its punch. This is not a Soulslike; it is a score-driven action game built for replaying compact stages more cleanly.
※ Not listed on GPA. Kept here as a parry-genre classic.
15. Returnal
Returnal
Genre: Roguelike Shooter
Returnal traps a space scout in a time loop on an alien planet, with roguelike structure and third-person shooter mechanics. The story surfaces through environmental objects between runs. GPA scores it at the top for Roguelike and near the top for Difficulty — the Action score is high enough that aim skill matters alongside the build decisions.
Gameplay Profile
Key tags: Roguelike / High Difficulty / Action / Graphics / Existential Themes
Housemarque's 2021 roguelike TPS has no parry. Selene survives by moving through open lanes, using dash invulnerability to cross projectiles, and firing without giving up spatial awareness. The melee strike can break enemies and barriers, but it does not deflect an incoming attack.
It stays on the list because learning attack patterns across failed cycles appeals to many of the same players. GPA puts Roguelike and High Difficulty at 90%, with Action at 85%. Think of it as a route from meeting danger head-on to slipping through it entirely, with movement and i-frames doing all the defensive work.
③ Other Notable Parry Games
One release arrived after the original group was assembled and earns a separate entry. Its blend of real-time sword defence and command selection makes it too relevant to leave out.
16. Beast of Reincarnation
Beast of Reincarnation
Genre: Action RPG
Beast of Reincarnation sends Emma the Sealer and her dog Koo across a post-apocalyptic Japan in the year 4026, where a corruption called the Blight has transformed the landscape into a beautiful but hostile wilderness. Emma absorbs abilities from defeated Nushi creatures, building toward a confrontation with the titular Beast. Combat blends real-time parrying in the Sekiro register with turn-based command elements. Game Freak's first non-Pokémon AAA title. GPA scores it high on Emotional Story and Dark World — a companion-bond action RPG that reviewers placed between NieR: Automata and Princess Mononoke.
Gameplay Profile
Key tags: Dystopian Setting / Graphics / Action / Emotional Story / Existential Themes
Game Freak's original action RPG launched on August 4, 2026 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Emma fights in real time with a sword, and successful parries feed the tactical half of her partnership with Koo. Input windows and incoming damage vary by difficulty mode, so a blanket comparison with SEKIRO or Stellar Blade would be misleading.
Emma's real-time sword parries generate points for Koo's command-based Bloom Arts. Opening the command menu slows time, giving you room to spend those points on offence, recovery, or control. Emma creates Koo's options; Koo then changes the field so Emma can safely begin the next exchange.
The journey through a blighted future Japan and the bond between Emma and Koo form the story's spine, so further detail is best avoided here. This is the pick for someone who wants a breath of tactical decision-making between bursts of sword timing—an action-and-command hybrid distinct from Expedition 33's turn-based structure.
Reading the Differences Behind the GPA Scores
Similar difficulty tags can hide different demands
Several cards here place both High Difficulty and Action near the top: SEKIRO, Sifu, Nioh 2, and Returnal among them. The tags do not prove a shared cause. SEKIRO tests Deflects and Perilous Attack recognition; Nioh 2 adds Ki and stance management; Returnal tests movement through bullet patterns without any parry. GPA helps narrow the field, but the source of the difficulty still needs a closer look.
Use Story Depth as a preference, not a theory
Difficult combat does not automatically produce a strong story, and the displayed tags cannot establish that causal link. What this list does offer is range: Expedition 33 foregrounds its party and journey, SEKIRO centres loyalty, and Lies of P uses truth and lies as a recurring question. Bloodborne and Hollow Knight leave more of their worlds to inference.
Story Depth is therefore useful as a second filter, not evidence for an essence of parry games. Decide whether repeated attempts need a clear dramatic thread, cryptic environmental lore, or simply a brisk sequence of memorable encounters. That choice can matter as much as the strictness of the defensive input.
Expedition 33 gives turn-based players a bridge
Expedition 33 alternates time spent planning builds, skills, and turn order with short stretches of real-time defence. A player can lean on party construction and safer dodges while learning to parry, though enemy turns can never be delegated entirely to commands. That makes it a sensible bridge for RPG fans curious about active defence, not a promise that action execution can be skipped.
The SEKIRO Fan's Guide to the Next Game
Start with the part of SEKIRO you want to keep. These are routes by feel, not a difficulty ranking.
I want more of SEKIRO's Deflect satisfaction
Lies of P → Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty → Nioh 2
Move from Lies of P's guarded combos to Wo Long's Spirit exchange, then Nioh 2's Burst Counters and Ki management. Defence powers offence in all three.
I love the soulslike story and world, but want parry to feel less mandatory
Elden Ring → Bloodborne → Expedition 33
Elden Ring offers many builds, Bloodborne balances dodges with firearm staggers, and Expedition 33 keeps command strategy while asking you to defend enemy turns.
I want stylish, visually spectacular parries
Stellar Blade → Metal Gear Rising → Ghost of Tsushima
Drain Balance through Stellar Blade parries, redirect attacks at speed in Metal Gear Rising, then explore regular and Perfect Parries in Ghost of Tsushima.
I love difficulty but want to develop skills beyond parrying
Returnal → Hollow Knight → Sifu
Returnal drops parrying for dash i-frames, Hollow Knight relies on movement and pogoing, and Sifu combines deflects with Avoid and Structure management.
I'm new to soulslikes — I just want to feel the thrill
Batman: Arkham Knight → Hi-Fi Rush → Ghost of Tsushima
Learn to watch crowd cues in Arkham Knight, find the beat in Hi-Fi Rush, then try regular and Perfect Parries in Ghost of Tsushima. Use difficulty options where offered.
Conclusion: Choose What Happens After the Parry
The button press lasts a moment; the reward after it gives each parry its identity. SEKIRO preserves pressure on Posture, Lies of P works toward stagger and weapon breakage, and Stellar Blade strips Balance until Retribution becomes available. Similar-looking defensive flashes can support very different combat loops.
Your next game after SEKIRO does not have to be the one with the narrowest timing window. Expedition 33 adds command-RPG planning, Hi-Fi Rush turns the response into music, and Returnal removes the parry entirely while retaining the thrill of reading danger under pressure.
Once two or three candidates stand out, compare their GPA pages for High Difficulty, Action, Story Depth, and the other tags you actually care about. The numbers cannot guarantee a match, but they can reveal whether you are prioritising punishment, speed, exploration, or narrative before you commit to the next long campaign.
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