This list started after seeing about a dozen different "what's the Dark Souls of retro games?" threads and lists online. It eventually spread out to cover a mix of earlier From Software titles, early 3D action games (especially those with a lock-on feature), dark fantasy games, action RPGs, Metroidvania, games that people compared Demon's Souls to before the term "Souls-like" had been invented, and basically anything else I felt like including.

Consider it an odd grab-bag of older games worth looking into if you enjoy the Souls series and its derivatives. Don't take it too seriously.

Also, if you're interested in other stuff that has connections to the Souls' games, consider checking out the following media:
>Berserk by Kentaro Miura
>Blade of the Immortal by Hiroaki Samura
>Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki
>Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001) dir. Christophe Gans
>Basilisk by Masaki Segawa
>Record of Lodoss War by Ryo Mizuno
>Jojo's Bizarre Adventure by Hirohiko Araki ["The Trial of the 77 Rings"]
>Saint Seiya by Masami Kurumada
>The Writings of HP Lovecraft
>The Call of Cthulhu RPG books by Chaosium
>The Fighting Fantasy RPG books by Ian Livingstone
>Dragon Pass, 1980 boardgame/wargame