Souls games and Soulslikes have never been more popular. As a die-hard FromSoft fan, I couldn’t be more excited, but most recent Soulslikes are missing a crucial piece of the puzzle—and it’s holding them back from reaching their true potential.

We’ve been blessed with some excellent takes on the FromSoftware formula in recent years. Think Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, Nioh 2, and the near-masterpiece Lies of P. It’s clear that developers other than FromSoftware are capable of delivering exceptional Soulslikes, and that can only be a good thing for fans of the genre.

These games have a lot of good things in common, like top-tier combat, bombastic boss fights, and solid build diversity, all of which are key components of the Souls scheme. But they’re missing something crucial. The one thing that makes Souls games easy to get lost in, satisfying to explore and endlessly replayable, with a surreal sense of mystery and wonder that other games fail to capture: an interconnected world with branching paths, optional content, and countless secrets to uncover.

Soulslike developers tend to focus too much on combat difficulty, especially boss fights, and it’s hurting the genre. Don’t get me wrong, I love challenging bosses, but these games should be about more than just combat. They need deep and rewarding exploration.