While soulslikes went bigger than big, Death's Door swung open the appeal of a tighter adventure

Declaring a Best Way of Doing Things is a fool’s game, though in recent years my favourite entries in the Tricky Hitting genre – inclusive of soulslikes and their hybridised disciples – have been the big, bulging ones. Elden Rings and Silksongs, with vast kingdoms and deep, rattling toolkits for surviving them.