Lords of the Fallen Reviews
Lords of the Fallen draws plenty of inspiration from Dark Souls and Elden Ring in its combat, level design, and atmosphere, it also introduces one fresh mechanic: a dual-realm system that lets players seamlessly switch between the physical world and its dark Umbral counterpart.
The first souls-borne child, who seized to become a From Software successor is returning after nine long winters. This new Lampbearer presents a well-established, and captivating setting, filled with a set of well-known features, that any true soulslike fan will love and hate equally. Duality of the game's worlds provides unique aesthetics and puzzle-like mechanics; however, its potential is never reached and noticeable imperfections are ever so noticeable. Developers deliberately sabotage players and frustrate genre fans, who've simply hoped for more'
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Lords of the Fallen is an intriguing soulslike proposition that draws inspiration from well-known franchises in the genre. It offers 2 interesting worlds to explore simultaneously, characters with different styles to choose from, a cooperative mode that enriches the adventure, and a vast catalog of weapons. However, the game still has some technical flaws, and that could be the trigger to abandon it at any time.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
'Lords of the Fallen' is a soulslike that uniquely distinguishes itself from the rest. With better graphics and gameplay than its predecessor of the same name, this game can certainly be called a successful soulslike. Unique gameplay elements ensure that this game will not quickly fade from memory.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
I've played many soulslikes, both good and bad, but Lords of the Fallen is needlessly frustrating and flawed. HexWorks focuses excessively on difficulty, undermining the positive aspects of its level design. Despite innovative Umbral mechanics, the game feels like an anachronism, failing to live up to the genre's refinements over the years.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Although the launch of Lords of the Fallen was certainly not without issues, I can't deny the game's charm, and I've been absorbed by it like water into a sponge. I really like the graphical presentation, the plot outline, the dynamic combat with balanced and challenging difficulty, as well as the game design itself. Unfortunately, technical aspects need improvement, and many players might struggle with this production on lower-end hardware, but if I'm getting up earlier just to play this game, that must mean something.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Lords of the Fallen is a reboot done right. The experience as a whole immerses you in its unique dual-world system while capturing the essence of robust customization, challenging combat, and dark fantasy. Despite some technical flaws, this game takes on a challenge of its own as you reluctantly push forward into nightmarish battles. The highly detailed environments encourage you to press on, which is made easier thanks to responsive controls and unique enemy types that test your abilities.
Lords of the Fallen is an interesting new take on the Soulslike genre. While it isn't trying to reinvent the wheel with fresh new ideas, it instead acts as more of an evolution of the genre, refining ideas and concepts that have been tried and tested by other games. The game features excellent combat and fun exploration, which thankfully are more than enough to detract from its dull storytelling.
With some strong new ideas and often solid core design, Lords of the Fallen is an enjoyably grimdark soulslike. That said, Hexworks' debut release borrows a lot from Dark Souls, and while this makes for a good baseline, it could do more to escape the shadow of better games.
Lords of the Fallen may be better than its predecessor in many regards, but it isn't quite worthy of standing among the genre giants yet. However, this isn't from a lack of trying. Excellent and varied biomes are on offer that are truly striking and immersive to be beheld to. There are quality improvements to make the experience smoother. Still, balancing for builds, boss fights… the whole gambit is a little all over the place so far. Consider this with some of the bugs currently experienced in-game and it's not quite smooth sailing yet. Hopefully, before long Lords can be patched into a state where it stands solidly amongst the genre giants.
Well, we did a Dark Souls thing, so let's do an Infinity Blade thing, I guess.
Lords of the fallen has been called a Dark Souls clone but that would only be true if Dark Souls was cloned by Dr. Alphonse Mephisto from South Park.
If only it could be so grossly incandescent
Some technical kinks aside, Lords of the Fallen is a tough RPG with quite the bite. It has limited visual potential, but it masks it well and in return, it provides a varied open world full of fiends, each requiring their own approach.
Lots of fun and challenging gameplay await those that will embark on a journey that pays tribute to the Souls series, adding some new, subtle twists into the mix. However, the most appropriate description one could give to this otherwise great action-RPG would be "close, but no cigar… very close that is." The gameplay is entertaining, but lacks that extra something that would make it truly remarkable.
If you're a fan of Dark Souls, action RPGs, or if you like games that offer a challenge then this could be the game for you, as long as you can accept it won't be an easy ride.
If you're a Souls fan itching for something to fill the gap while waiting for Bloodborne next year then you won't be disappointed with LotF. For everyone else who isn't familiar with the Souls series, it's highly recommended that you try that series first.
Lords of the Fallen offers an easier experience and a few fun twists to the Dark Souls formula, but in the end there just isn't enough at which the game excels to make it a real challenger to the dominance of that series.
Overall: if you're a fan of the 'Souls' games and you're wondering what to do before FromSoftware's next offering, then Lords of the Fallen is, despite its flaws, definitely worth a go.
Despite some of its shortfalls, Lords of the Fallen is still an exceptionally remarkable game.