Lords of the Fallen

Lords of the Fallen is a good souls-like but it doesn't do everything right! Its neat universe with strong artistic direction and its fine level design do not completely save the whole thing! The bosses are not striking, even too predictable, and the levels full of trash mobs, often recycled, get boring very quickly because we are drowned in enemies, which increases the difficulty but not very intelligently. Too bad, the game is generally good.

Lords of the Fallen makes a great first impression, but fails to steer away from the sour taste left by a couple of annoying decisions and technical issues.

I remember reviewing Code Vein in 2019. Dark Souls had inspired that game in very wrong ways and in turn it had made me swear off reviewing Soulslikes not made by From Software for the some time. Saying Lords of the Fallen did the same would be unfair but that doesn’t mean I don’t have some harsh words for the developers…

Overall, my experience with Lords of the Fallen was average. The game has its pros and is an improvement over the original from 2014. The combat is better, although in terms of bosses, you can see that sometimes the developers had to resort to controversial choices. In addition, there are numerous technical issues and a somewhat limited world, which is quite pleasant nonetheless.

Lords of the Fallen is a good game with some interesting ideas that falls short in some (really important for the genre) areas. If someone made me choose the best soulslike of 2023, I would lean towards Lies of P.

Lords of the Fallen will be, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most divisive soulslike ever. On one hand, Hexworks has produced a brilliant spiritual successor to the original Dark Souls, enhanced by an outstanding map design and excellent innovations related to exploration; on the other, the team has badly stumbled in the challenging management of enemy progression and balance, thereby partially undermining the very best features of the game. It's a pity, because even though its flaws are severe, this game truly has a unique soul and we believe it has the potential to captivate a dedicated community. With a bit more time and some reconsideration, however, it could have reached even greater heights.

While ticking all the boxes of another strong Soulslike title, Lords of the Fallen's difficulty will be off-putting to those lacking expertise in the genre.

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.

A far more confident and competent iteration of the Souls template than what came before, Lords of the Fallen‘s all-round impressive design is marred by occasional technical issues and all-too-frequent questions on its very philosophy around challenge. Get past these rough spots, however, and what you’ll find is a game that not only understands the pull and appeal pivotal to this sub-genre, but at times, offers room to add even more nuance to a saturated style of action RPG. It’s these surprisingly-intriguing additions alongside the usual flair of compelling boss fights and environments to carefully get through that does just enough to grant Hexworks a far more positive perception, all things considered. Flawed it may be and guilty of applying the wrong lessons in its design, it may stumble, but Lords of the Fallen does eventually find its stride. Serving up another feature-rich package that will appeal to a large number of Souls veterans.

Lords of the Fallen just about justifies the return of this forgotten franchise by being basically fine. It has a few clever ideas and a whole bunch of very predictable ones, ultimately resulting in a soulslike experience that won't feel particularly new or fresh, but rarely offends or goes too far wrong.

Lords of the Fallen’s Umbral world is unlike anything we’ve seen, providing a unique spin on the Souls genre. Copycats have started to stagnate in recent years, rarely offering anything new, and the genre as a whole risks growing tired. FromSoft itself tried to break out of that habit by exploring what it would look like in an open-world setting with Elden Ring. To see a Soulslike that iterates in its own way rather than chasing new trends is a breath of fresh air, and offers hope for a genre that has never escaped FromSoftware’s shadow.

Lords of the Fallen boasts impressive visuals and an interesting story for a soulslike, but unfortunately, that's where the praise ends. Despite functional gameplay and a well-designed world, the experience is marred by frustrating combat mechanics, subpar enemy placement, and an overall lack of polish, making it one of the most frustrating soulslikes ever released.

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.

Lords of the Fallen is a marked improvement over the original and the mechanic of traversing between two realms makes it feel unique among its contemporaries. If not for a handful of questionable design choices and an overall lack of polish, this could have been something special.

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…

If you want another new Dark Souls clone, just wait til devs patch up most of the problems. In the meantime, pay attention to the Lies of P.

For the souls-like hardcore, Lords of the Fallen will be a fine conquest, but for the souls-like beginner, there are better entry points to the genre that offer a more well-rounded exploration into what souls-likes are capable of.

When I rolled credits on Lords of the Fallen, I felt no joy aside from being happy I was done, which is a shame because its first half left me excited for what was yet to come. A beautiful world, distinctive two-realm mechanics, excellent voice acting, and combat that feels good when not over-encumbered by enemies and artificial challenge, create a solid bedrock. But Lords of the Fallen fails to impress beyond that, instead growing more and more frustrating the further into Mournstead adventurers travel.

Lords of the Fallen is a game with great potential but in its current state, it can’t be recommended; at least not on PC. Moving seamlessly between the Umbral and Axiom worlds is a unique experience tainted by poor performance, bugs, and design choices.

I walked away from my time with Lords of the Fallen feeling defeated even in my victory. It was a tough road, the toughest of all the souls-and-likes in execution and also, at least partially, gameplay. I lost more levels worth of Vigor than maybe all the other games combined, but I didn't feel like I overcame some finely crafted challenge. Most damning of all, though, despite its attempts to differentiate itself with unique mechanics, I never forgot the games that inspired it through the entire runtime.