@Mr_NutterButter souls like is just an action rpg that shares common elements with dark souls, such as the use of a currency you lose when you die that you can get back, limited saving, and an intense focus on memorizing attack patterns while using iframes to dodge stuff. I'd say the aesthetic/setting partly plays into it as well. I guess you could even say a souls like game is a marriage between the roguelite and action rpg genres.