Soulslike

A Soulslike (also spelled Souls-like) is a subgenre of action role-playing games known for high difficulty level and emphasis on environmental storytelling, typically in a dark fantasy setting.

As introduced in Dark Souls, bonfires are small campfires of bones marked by a coiled sword, but may be contextualized differently in other games.

They can also be used to restore health and magic as well as remove status effects, but these resting actions revive most enemies within the game world.

Serving as both a recovery and respawn point, Bonfires were designed to be a "powerful" aspect of gameplay and a place where players could gather together to share experiences and emotionally communicate.

It was also designed to be a "place of warmth", and one of the few "heartwarming" locations in the game's world, expressing the feeling of dark fantasy that he was trying to create.

[10] Soulslike games are commonly defined by their dark fantasy setting and lack of overt storytelling, as well as their deep worldbuilding, with a captivating world being cited as key to spark players' desire to explore.

Despite their dark themes, the settings of Soulslikes sometimes feature elements of comic relief, such as unexpected interactions (e.g. petting a cat), humorous reactions from non-player characters, peculiar outfits and weapons, and unusual, often slapstick means of death, such as being eaten by a Mimic.

[49] Interviews with developers of Soulslike games revealed that they all thought of being classified as part of the genre as a positive thing that functioned as a useful description for players.