Probably no soulslikes for me and likely more League or Warframe. :)

Soulslikes have branched out quite a lot over the past years in terms of settings. Similarly, many games have made crossovers with other IPs to cash in on both audiences. Think Overwatch releasing constant crossovers (Gundam, Cowboy Bebop, Le Sserafim) or Magic the Gathering (any Universes Beyond set - Spider-Man, Marvel, Final Fantasy, Walking Dead). Is there a “crossover” you’d like to see spun up into a soulslike?

The first thing that came to my mind would Red Riding Hood. Lies of P adapted Pinocchio really well and combined both lore from the original novel as well as the Disney adaptation. With their own additions to lore, they created something really beautiful that’s worth playing and exploring.

The secret ending scene in the game teases that

Tap for spoiler

the next fairy tale they’ll be exploring is Wizard of Oz as you can see Alice walking about in it.

Naturally, I thought Red Riding Hood or another fairy tale, like Hänsel und Gretel, would be cool to see adapted into a soulslike as well. Now, there might not be enough lore to use as a basis for full-fledged games but given some artistic freedom, the developers of these hypothetical games could pull it off.

I know it was a horrible movie but in the case of Hänsel und Gretel, I could see the game get similarly dark in nature and tone. Maybe allow you to switch between both of them who have distinctly different functions, gameplay and kits? The question is whether they’d have presculpted identities and kits like Sekiro does, so no class system and set weapons, or if they are just used as base archetypes and to player is allowed to experiment and maybe do otherwise “inefficient” builds. Like maybe Hänsel is a melee brawler and profits from equipment that suits that class. But maybe if you give him something more agile, like a rapier, it can have hidden mechanics or payoffs you’d normally not expect?

Spitballing here, but I could see this work. What are your ideas?