Lords of the Fallen Reviews
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.
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Lords of the Fallen has fun combat and a good spin on Dark Souls' skill system, but its hero is overpowered.
Lords of the Fallen is both a shameless Dark Souls rip off and a solid action/adventure game. With an easier difficulty and smaller scale, this PlayStation 4 game is a good way to ease people into the challenging sub-genre. On the other hand, the story is underdeveloped and the levels designs are too linear. This new City Interactive release is a real mixed bag.
Lords of the Fallen proves there is plenty of room for more difficult, deep, and engaging RPGs in the world and does enough different to stand out from the pack. I sincerely hope we get a sequel, as I feel like Deck13 is only just beginning to build this world and carve a niche in the genre.
In the end, the more straightforward design of Lords of the Fallen puts more focus on combat than building an interesting world. Players may be less likely to get lost, but the game lacks a sense of wonder and isn't helped by its dull narrative and recycled enemies. Still, the solid mechanics are a step in the right direction. Anyone looking for a diversion until Bloodborne may want to give it a try.
I really want to love Lords of the Fallen. Being a big fan of Darksiders II and appreciating the mystical, forbidding darkness of the Dark Souls games, it really appeals to me. But there are issues I just can't ignore and the more I play, the more I realize I can't, in good conscience, gloss over them.
I just wish it wasn't so happy to sit in another game's shadow, and made more of the few fresh mechanisms that might distinguish it and move the genre forwards. Instead, it hews so closely to a proven template that it's basically a pretty good action-adventure by default. Yet as the game clock ticked towards 20 hours and beyond, I could never quite shake the feeling that I'd still rather be failing in Dark Souls than succeeding in Lords of the Fallen.
As blatant a clone as has ever been seen, but although it does nothing better than Dark Souls it does do some things almost as well – and is certainly more accessible.
All told, this is a reasonably good first effort and a worthy attempt to imitate and iterate on one of the finest games of the last generation. Lords of the Fallen will hopefully be commercially successful enough to lead to a sequel or, better still, a more ambitious and more unique project from Deck 13/CI Games that builds off this game rather than simply tacks on to it.
Lords of the Fallen serves as a solid entry point to those toeing the waters of the Souls franchise, but simplified systems, a shallow story and forgettable bosses keep this game from dethroning the greats.
Lords of the Fallen isn't going to triumph in a direct match-up with Dark Souls, but seeing the Souls combat system and level design transplanted with this degree of success into a shorter, more accessible game is really no bad thing.
Despite the dull plot, basic character design, and occasional buggy boss fights, the overall mood of Lords of the Fallen is fantastic – even if you're forced to play it alone. The punishing difficulty may not please everyone, but fans of the Souls series should definitely consider taking a swing at the Rhogar. Those looking for a quick and easy adventure should duck and roll elsewhere, though, as this game will test your patience, skills, and dedication.
Lords of the Fallen, a shameless and sloppy copy of Dark Souls, shouldn't be as enjoyable as it is. Somehow, through all its imbalance and oddity, it remains a surprising amount of fun, even if its propensity to make the player laugh is a sheer accident.
It might be a cover version of Dark Souls, but at least it's a good cover version, with solid mechanics, gripping combat and a few twists that make it slightly more approachable to newbies. Lords of the Fallen suffers from a forgettable story and some generic art, and could be a fair bit tighter, technically speaking, but if you like your Souls and want a slightly different take, it's a decent buy.
Lords of the Fallen plays fast and loose with the established ideas of better games, but the results don't suck.
If you don't mind dying an awful lot and grinding for awesome gear, then you'll find a lot to like in Lords of the Fallen.
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.
In the end, Lords of the Fallen does manage to land in the "respectful homage" category, but only by a hair. I had fun, which is what counts, but unlike with Dark Souls, I'd be hard pressed to play a sequel that basically amounts to an evolution of the same formula. If Namco Bandai is serious about Lords of the Fallen as a franchise, its going to need to devote some serious polish and brainstorming toward a sequel. In the meantime, though, this first game is undeniably worth experiencing for its graphics and handful of unique strengths alone — just don't expect it to transport you to another world.
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.
All in all, I have and still am enjoying my time with Lords of the Fallen and it's a game that takes elements that made other games fun and popular while adding it's own charm and twists to it. Admittedly the AI of the enemies is odd at times and the boss battles are a bit on the easy side especially for those are well versed with the Soul series, but will still give newcomers a run for their money. For those who enjoyed the Soul series or even other action RPG's such as Dark Siders 1& 2, I highly recommend Lords of the Fallen, even if it only serves to be a filler for what many are calling the main course and you PlayStation 4 gamers know exactly what I'm referring to.