Which of these Souls-style games should I reattempt before Sekiro?

DS II is the best one you listed. I really like Nioh gameplay wise and in elements, but the whole package really lacks lots of the good aspects of Souls games after you put some hours into it and to me becomes a big slog.

Strongly do not recommend Dark Souls III.

The only other game I might mention is Immortal: Unchained. I can't speak for it personally but have heard it's a pretty good Souls rip off, with the twist that it's a third person shooter over a melee focused game.

I played it for about an hour last week. It's basically the E.Y.E. Divine Cybermancy of the emerging souls-like genre. It is sci-fi Dark Souls with guns, but some things about it just feel a bit off compared to a traditional third-person shooter. I guess it works as a B-game.

I mean III is the best of those actual Souls games.

I suspect Nioh might be better to get into the mindset of what Sekiro looks to be doing differently.

Actually, The Surge is the shortest on that list. It's the roughest but there's things about that game's combat I really like. If you can get on with how weirdly floaty that game feels, Lords of the Fallen shouldn't be too much bother. Nioh's huge and you could probably nibble away at that over weeks. I like DS II more than III. I platinumed 3 but I feel Souls filtered through what was, at the time, Bloodborne's engine, didn't feel right.

I still firmly believe Nioh to be the greatest Souls game ever made, but it is a time investment.

I would give a vote for Dark Souls 3 though. I actually prefer many of the bosses in 2, but 3 tends to have the most flexible progression and I never felt a need to grind. Whereas 2, particularly with Scholar, might force you to either grind for a better shield or get REALLY good at dodging pretty early on.

Nioh, it does lack the cohesive world of a Dark Souls game but it makes up for it with better combat and more interesting loot.

The Surge has a great premise but it's bland enviroments and sloppy combat hold it back. I would wait for the sequel and see how it turns out.

Dark Souls 3 is definitely the best of the games listed. It's got some really fantastic boss fights and the variety in environments and enemies is fantastic, the best in the series by far.

Dark Souls 2 is a really good time even if it's the black sheep of the series. The early game is best, with some good bits along the way, but the DLC that you'll hit somewhere close to the endgame is really good. The problem is that most of the game just isn't that memorable, and almost all the best bits are in the DLC.

Nioh is fine, but it has a ton of problems. Honestly, if you've played about a quarter of Nioh, you've probably seen most of what that game has to offer. Enemy and environment design is pretty simple and repetitive, and after a while it become more about optimizing your combos and moveset than overcoming the enemies and challenges. Unless you have all the free time in the world, you'll probably not be able to finish Nioh before Sekiro anyway, whereas you'll at least have a chance to finish DS2 or 3.

Haven't played The Surge yet, but it's the most different in aesthetics so it might be a good choice.

If your goal is to finish one of them before Sekiro then I'd definitely steer clear of Nioh just because of how much time it takes. I'd probably go with DS3.

Nioh is excellent and it will get you geared up for the apparently more aggressive gameplay of Sekiro. As mentioned above it is a LONG game even without the exhaustive DLC. Also since it’s so samurai based it might burn you out a bit on that aesthetic.

If you haven’t played it yet then DS3 is also great - especially if you’ve recently replayed the previous games because DS3 is the culmination of all the gameplay enhancements the series has seen so far and thematically it’s like the Best Hits of Dark Souls. Lots of really great callbacks.

I'm curious, have you tried out Salt & Sanctuary yet? If not, I HIGHLY recommend it. So, soooooo good! Out of all the 2D Souls-like games to come out, this is the best one; it's pretty much just straight up Dark Souls, with the interconnected world and challenging but fair combat, but in side-scrolling form!

DS3 may be my favorite videogame. worth your time for sure

@knockingnick: Salt and Sanctuary is better than it has any right to be. It has some significant balance issues and the aesthetics result in ugly characters and hard to see platforms, but the overall flow of the game and the kinds of battles are spectacular. And it might be the only Souls game where I ever felt I could shield-tank every enemy through careful stamina management and not a tower shield (although I had become a dodger by then, so I could be wrong).

I keep meaning to grab that for my Switch for a replay.

Nioh is easily my favorite of the games listed, and I think it might be more in line with Sekiro just based on the raw speed it plays at. It's also mad long, so it might be the hardest to actually finish in time because of the large time commitment. (60-100h easy)

Dark Souls 3 is great, but it's more of the same. I would maybe suggest this just to finish the set of Dark Souls. I played my first run really methodical and finished p much everything I could, and it took 60h. I think you could beat this in under 30.

I have no experience with the Surge. But I hear it's cool. I expect it to probably be the shortest game on the list.

Sotfs is not different enought to warrant a replay. But if you have an itch to go back to the DS2 style gameplay it's still a great version of that game.

Of all the ones you listed, I'd say Dark Souls III. Bloodborne is my favourite but DS3 is a great game, if a pretty safe one most of the time. It's got a really well-balanced progression and the back quarter of the game has possibly the most consistently fun series of bosses without dropping a single beat in any game I can think of.

There's a case to be made for NiOh, in that it's thematically the closest to what Sekiro seems to be going for. But that game is super long, and I don't think as well-rounded as the FromSoft offerings are. I'd be slightly concerned about burning out on it a little bit by the time Sekiro arrives.

Souls III is great and SotFS is good too can’t go wrong with either one

Thanks to everyone and their responses! Always a lot to consider when comparing one Souls game to another. I’ve decided to abide by the poll and take my absolute best crack at Dark Souls III. Like many of you pointed out, it’s a great game that also comes in a little leaner than the others on the poll. Wish this lapsed Souls fan good luck...hopefully I still see a white sign or two if I really need one!

All of those games are worth trying but Dark Souls 3 is the most worth trying.

It's a really, really good game.