Games Like Elden Ring But Easier: 12 Picks Ranked by Players
Last updated: May 2026
Elden Ring averages 7.22/10 in difficulty across 67 player ratings on this site. That puts it in the top 15% of all rated games. If you loved it but want something you can actually finish, or if you bounced off it and still want that atmosphere, you need a number, not just a recommendation.
Every game here scores below 7.22. The list runs from Dragon's Dogma II at 6.55, the pick most similar to Elden Ring in spirit, down to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim at 3.10, the wide end of the funnel for players who want the world and none of the punishment. Rankings are ordered by how closely each game scratches the same itch, not purely by difficulty score.
Why Elden Ring Is the Benchmark
Elden Ring is not the hardest game ever made. On this site, Sekiro sits at 9.18, Cuphead at 8.35, and Dark Souls II at 7.56. But Elden Ring is the hardest game that tens of millions of people actually played. For many of them, it was the first time a game genuinely refused to let them win.
That makes it a useful benchmark. A 7.22/10 average from 67 raters is not a soft consensus. It reflects players who spent real time with the game and thought carefully about where to place it on the scale. The games below that number are easier in a measurable sense. Not by vibes, but by the same voters applying the same scale.
Not every game here is a soulslike. The list spans souslikes, open-world RPGs, action games, and tactical RPGs. What they share with Elden Ring is the quality that made you search for this page: a sense that the game rewards learning, that difficulty is earned rather than arbitrary, and that finishing something hard here feels like it means something.
12 Games Like Elden Ring But Easier
- 1
Dragon's Dogma II
The closest thing on this list to scratching the Elden Ring itch directly. An open world that refuses to explain itself, enemy encounters that escalate when you least expect them, and a combat system built around reading opponents rather than grinding stats. Dragon's Dogma II shares Elden Ring's sense of discovery almost beat for beat: stumbling into a griffin fight you are nowhere near ready for, finding a cave that goes far deeper than it should. It lands 0.67 points below Elden Ring on average, which in practice means you are still going to get humbled, just not quite as often.
- 2
Black Myth: Wukong
The nearest lateral step on this list, just 0.08 points below Elden Ring and close enough that the two are practically neighbors on the difficulty scale. Black Myth: Wukong is a boss-rush action game built on Chinese mythology, and if you have been playing Elden Ring you will immediately recognize the language: learn the pattern, find the window, repeat until the performance is clean. The main difference is linearity. There is no open world to retreat to when a boss dismantles you. You solve it here or you do not move. That might actually suit you better.
- 3
Lords of the Fallen (2023)
Probably the most direct soulslike on this list that was not made by FromSoftware. The 2023 reboot by HexWorks borrows Elden Ring's blueprint closely: bonfires, stamina management, estus equivalent, pattern-based bosses. It softens all of that just enough to sit 0.22 below Elden Ring. The dual-realm mechanic, where slipping into the realm of the dead reveals shortcuts and hidden loot, gives it a distinct identity rather than pure imitation. If what you want is Elden Ring with the sharpest edges filed down, this is the nearest equivalent.
- 4
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
The 2013 original with all DLC included, and the game Dragon's Dogma II refines and expands. It does not have the graphical polish or the scale of its sequel, but the combat still stands apart: climbing on enemies, exploiting elemental weaknesses, managing your pawn party in real time. Tied at 7.00 with Lords of the Fallen and sharing its spiritual closeness to Elden Ring's philosophy. If you have already finished Dragon's Dogma II and want more, this plays differently enough to feel like a separate discovery.
- 5
Code Vein
An anime soulslike, which is either a selling point or an immediate dealbreaker, and you already know which. Structurally, Code Vein borrows from Dark Souls directly: bonfire equivalents, estus-style healing, build-defining equipment, bosses that require reading rather than brute-forcing. The 6.00 average reflects a game that has been genuinely softened: more healing items, clearly telegraphed attacks, and a companion system that can carry you through rough stretches. It is one of the more accessible games on this list in feel, not just in number.
- 6
The Surge 2
A soulslike set in a crumbling post-apocalyptic city, and probably the least-discussed game on this list with a legitimate claim to the genre. The Surge 2's signature mechanic targets specific enemy limbs to harvest their gear, which adds a tactical layer that rewards paying attention to what your opponent is actually wearing. At 6.90 it delivers most of the soulslike tension without the ceiling that sits above Elden Ring. Worth knowing about precisely because its reputation has not been inflated by gatekeeping mythology.
- 7
Monster Hunter: World
Monster Hunter: World differs significantly from Elden Ring in structure. It is a hunt-prepare-repeat loop, not an open-world RPG. But the core feeling is the same: a difficult encounter with a specific creature that you study over repeated attempts until the fight becomes a clean performance. The 6.91 rating reflects that genuine difficulty, and the depth of the game's systems makes it the right recommendation for players whose favourite part of Elden Ring was the moment a boss finally fell apart in front of them.
- 8
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher 3 sits further from Elden Ring in spirit than most of this list. The combat is looser, the world is story-driven, and the primary challenge is preparation and quest structure rather than reflexes. But at 4.77 it is one of the more accessible entries here, and the dark open world with methodical sword combat is clearly in the same family of games. If you bounced off Elden Ring because of the difficulty rather than the atmosphere, Witcher 3 on Death March fills the same aesthetic gap without most of the punishment.
- 9
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II trades swords and sorcery for mud, historical accuracy, and a demanding combat system built around stamina, positioning, and footwork rather than pattern memorization. There are no bonfires, no estus flasks, no dark fantasy atmosphere. But the learning curve is real, and getting genuinely good at KCD2's sword system carries the same quiet satisfaction as clearing a difficult Elden Ring encounter: the feeling of having learned something, not just survived it.
- 10
Final Fantasy XVI
FFXVI diverges from Elden Ring in almost every structural way: cinematic, linear, story-heavy, with difficulty that rarely demands more than staying engaged. It sits at 4.95, one of the more accessible entries on this list, and belongs here for a specific type of player. You want real-time action combat, giant boss fights with meaningful stakes, and dark epic themes, but the punishment loop of a soulslike is what drove you away. Final Fantasy XVI removes the punishment while keeping the spectacle. That is not nothing.
- 11
Dragon Age: Origins
The connection to Elden Ring is thin by the standards of this list. Dragon Age: Origins is a tactical RPG from 2009 with a pause-and-plan combat system, not a real-time action game. It earns its place here because Nightmare difficulty is genuinely demanding, encounter design rewards careful preparation over reflexes, and the dark fantasy world hits some of the same atmospheric registers. Players who love difficult RPGs with grim storytelling tend to love both. Different enough in gameplay that calling it 'like Elden Ring' is a stretch, but similar enough in feel that it keeps showing up in these conversations.
- 12
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Skyrim is the wide end of the funnel. If what you loved about Elden Ring was the world-building, the exploration, and the sense that the world existed before you arrived in it, Skyrim delivers all of that while removing essentially all of the mechanical challenge. At 3.10 it is the most accessible entry here by a significant margin, and the similarity to Elden Ring is mostly atmosphere rather than systems. Not a soulslike in any meaningful sense, but worth naming for players who want to explore a vast dark fantasy world without the cost of dying constantly.
Close but No
Demon's Souls and Dark Souls II are the games most likely to surface in any 'Elden Ring alternatives' search, and they were excluded for the simplest reason: they are harder, not easier. Demon's Souls invented the genre and plays like it, without concession to modern expectations; Dark Souls II sits at 7.56 and carries a reputation for relentlessness that the numbers support. Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty and The Surge belong here for similar reasons, both soulslike in structure and both above the Elden Ring line, with Wo Long's parry window being about as forgiving as it looks (not very), and The Surge at 7.69 being notably harder than its own sequel which made the main list. Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a special case: it lands at 7.25, technically three hundredths of a point above Elden Ring, a margin narrow enough to be genuinely annoying. Its sequel made the list; the original apparently did not inherit the same forgiveness.
How This List Is Built
Every game on this list was rated by real players on How Difficult Is It?. The ranking is based on each game's average difficulty score, with a minimum of 5 ratings required to qualify. This is a monthly snapshot; for live rankings that update every hour, see the rankings page.
- Baseline: Elden Ring at 7.22/10 from 67 ratings. Only games scoring strictly below this qualify.
- Source: Player-submitted difficulty ratings on How Difficult Is It?
- Sort method: Games are ordered by how closely they resemble the Elden Ring experience in spirit: combat style, exploration, atmosphere. Not purely by difficulty score.
- Minimum ratings: At least 5 player ratings required to appear.
- Exclusions: Disqualified or flagged ratings are removed before scoring.
- Update frequency: Monthly snapshot.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most similar game to Elden Ring that is actually easier?
Dragon's Dogma II, at 6.55/10 difficulty across 11 player ratings, is the closest in spirit to Elden Ring while being meaningfully easier. It shares Elden Ring's open-world discovery, its combat emphasis on reading opponents, and its refusal to explain itself, just without the same ceiling on punishment.
Is Black Myth: Wukong easier than Elden Ring?
Slightly. Black Myth: Wukong averages 7.14/10 in player difficulty votes on How Difficult Is It?, compared to Elden Ring's 7.22. The gap is narrow at 0.08 points, which matches the experience: Wukong is a boss-gauntlet that shares Elden Ring's pattern-learning philosophy, just without Elden Ring's open-world design and ability to progress sideways when stuck.
Is Lords of the Fallen a good alternative to Elden Ring?
Yes, if you specifically want a soulslike. Lords of the Fallen (2023) averages 7.00/10 across 12 player ratings, 0.22 below Elden Ring, and follows the soulslike formula closely: bonfires, stamina, estus equivalents, pattern-based bosses. It is the most structurally similar game to Elden Ring on this list that was not made by FromSoftware.
Are there games like Elden Ring that are not soulslikes?
Yes. Monster Hunter: World (6.91/10) delivers the same feeling of studying and defeating a difficult encounter through a completely different structure. The Witcher 3 (4.77/10) covers similar open-world dark fantasy territory with looser combat. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (6.18/10) provides a genuine learning curve through realistic medieval combat. None of them play like Elden Ring, but they answer a related question.
How is difficulty measured on this list?
Every score comes from player ratings on How Difficult Is It?. Players rate each game from 1 to 10 for difficulty. A minimum of 5 ratings is required to qualify. Elden Ring's baseline of 7.22 comes from 67 ratings, one of the larger samples on the site. Games are ranked by how closely they resemble the Elden Ring experience, not purely by difficulty score.
