>>1133750
In a word, the presentation. Atmosphere, art direction, setting, characters, enemies and bosses, music, sound design, and tone. The gameplay is important too, but the presentation is more important. Autism warning.
Although people usually cite the term "elegance" from that interview with the anecdote about Dark Souls' undead dragon design, I think the other word used, "dignity", better embodies what distinguishes the games. I don't look at games like Lords of the Fallen (2014), Code Vein, Mortal Shell, or Covenant and feel that they understand this concept at all. It isn't just the presentation, it's that they don't have an identity. They're imitations, conceptually and thematically. I think Lords of the Fallen (2023) and Lies of P are the only two Souls-like I've played that feel like they have a distinct identity - even if they're inspired by Dark Souls and Bloodborne respectively.
I can't speak for Salt & Sanctuary or The Surge, but I know they have their fans.
Even though FromSoft loves to iterate on similar concepts and themes, they're at the best when they do so with a clear idea of what they want to do: DeS, DS1, Bloodborne, Sekiro, Elden Ring. They're at their worst when they're imitating themselves: DS2, DS3. I don't think it's a coincidence that DS2 and DS3 are the only two FromSoft games I'd describe as cynical; DS2 because it is self-aware about its perceived difficulty
and imitating Gwyn with Vendrick, and DS3 because it is self-aware about being a sequel that Miyazaki didn't want to develop. The cynicism of DS3 is at least represented in its presentation, though. My point is that their best games have a distinct, sincere identity. Games like DS1, Bloodborne, and even Elden Ring have something to say, and the creative choices that determine how they say it are exceptional for an industry as cynical and pandering as gaming. I'll stop myself from going into how good Bloodborne is in this regard.
To tl;dr, just look at what people continue to discuss about FromSoft games after all this time. It's not the gameplay. It's Gwyn's sacrifice and the undead curse, the fat officials, the Prison of Hope, Ash Lake, Shrine of Amana, Archdragon Peak, the overarching story of DS3's DLCs, Bloodborne's setting and narrative, the stories of the demigods, the metaphysics of Elden Ring's universe, even small stuff like the living jars, the humor of the games. I think Micolash is a good example. On your first playthrough of Bloodborne, you shed a lot of blood, sweat, and tears getting to the Nightmare of Mensis, a literal nightmare realm filled with horrors beyond your comprehension. Yet the game is completely unafraid to have the penultimate boss of the game be fucking Scooby-Doo chase sequence with a single, unarmed retard - and it's presented with complete sincerity. I think that one of the reasons that people dislike The One Reborn is because it's exactly what a lesser developer would have done instead of Micolash. A gross, generic flesh-monster without a clear identity or purpose. (Unfortunately we got both.)
This is why I'm skeptical about Nightreign, because it's the first time in a long time that a FromSoft game has so clearly lacked an identity and purpose.
>>1134063
The developers themselves call it an "FPS Souls-like"