As much as it seems to be intended as a derogatory term, I'm all about lovingly referring to games that feature a parry system as "parryslop." A term that first appeared back in early 2025, parryslop refers to a game, typically a soulslike, that focuses heavily on parrying. It was initially used to refer to games that do this in genres that don't normally feature a parry, but the label has since expanded to encompass all parry-focused games.
As with any label, there is an origin for the term, and a place where the need for that term first began. We're going to look at all of it here: the origins of modern parry-focused games, the games that have released since and done parrying justice, and the recent games that have necessitated the creation of a term that can categorize all of them.
بەرگەکان ڕێکبخەرەوە بۆ ڕێزبەندی بڵاوکردنەوەی دروستی ئەمریکا.
It all started here. There were other games that featured a parry mechanic before Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice—some even came from the same development studio, FromSoftware—but none that made parrying such a central focus. Frankly, it's basically the game's only focus.
Sekiro's system of parrying enemy attacks to build up their Posture meter, filling it completely to execute a Deathblow, and wiping out one of their health bars is now almost a genre in and of itself. That's effectively where "parryslop" comes from: a game that crafts its combat system around parrying enemy attacks in succession and building towards a massive counterattack. However, even though it has been replicated many times over, few games have nailed the "feel" of parrying to the same degree as Sekiro.
Ghost of Tsushima is a bit of a different case for a few of reasons. One, parrying isn't the focus of combat so much as it is one element of it; two, the parry is unbelievably overpowered, but it's completely intentional; and three, this game is much more of a power fantasy than a grind-you-down soulslike.
Jin Sakai's perfect parry is basically an instant kill against normal enemies, and can be used to deflect projectiles back at enemies. Even against bosses and minibosses, the parry can easily carry you through each fight if your comfortable with it. Even the toughtest enemies will go down if you destroy their posture with a perfect parry or two.
Despite having a very prominent (and very important) parry system, Sifu isn't really taking a ton of inspiration from Sekiro. It's certainly there, specifically in the stagger mechanic, but parries, dodges, strikes, and abilities are all more useful for controlling the flow of battle than ending the battle in an instant.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://gamerant.com/parryslop-masterpieces-define-the-label/
