Lords of the Fallen

Lords of the Fallen is a challenging but fair game. It does look a lot like and plays like Dark Souls, but that's one if its strengths. With the addition of a good XP system and some fun challenges, Lords of the Fallen is good RPG to have for your next-gen consoles.

A challenging, rough around the edges title in the vein of the Souls games that gets a lot more right than it does wrong. It deserves your attention this holiday season, and hopefully we'll see more from this franchise.

A tactical and accessible real-time RPG that's well worth a look for Dark Souls fans, and those against self-torment. [Christmas 2014, p70]

Lords of the Fallen is an enjoyable and satisfying adventure that is definitely worth a visit.

Lords of the Fallen has a lot going for it. The story is bland and the camera will get you killed if you’re not careful, but fans of this action RPG genre will have a really great time playing it.

It's a difficult and addictive game with good combat, a variety of objects, potions, and weapons and with graphics at the level of the next-gen consoles.

Lords of the Fallen has an accessible, yet enjoyable gameplay; even though it doesn't keep that balance throughout all the game. A weak plot and technical issues are the burdens of a project that, in exchange, has some virtues that you can feel at any moment.

Lords is a solid and enjoyable action RPG, but suffers a little at the hands of over-ambition. [Issue#251, p.74]

There’s no denying that Lords of the Fallen has taken a huge amount of inspiration from From Software’s series of Souls titles, but it does so while also growing into a game that players can enjoy on its own terms. While faults both technical and creative keep it from being as enjoyable as it could have been, this is still an adventure that may be worth taking for those who love a real sense of challenge.

Lords of the Fallen has a lot to offer for fans of the genre as well as newcomers. While a few choices break up the ambiance, the learning curve is much more welcoming to newcomers of the genre without losing a lot of the challenge.

There’s interesting surprises in Lords of the Fallen, but at the end of the day it seems like a tiny proportion of what you can expect in a FromSofware game, with more frustration than reward.

It has derivative elements, undoubtedly, but they’re clearly meant as homage and built upon rather than outright aped. It’s not a showy, flashy, trailer-friendly game..., and it’s not going to set the universe aflame with its functional, stock storyline – but it is immensely compelling all the same. Dark, brutal and challenging, Lords of the Fallen is a surprisingly deep and playable game, and could be one of this year’s most promising new IPs.

Lords of the Fallen is both a shameless Dark Souls rip off and a solid action/adventure game.

It needed a bit more time to cook and perhaps more testing, as the game isn’t perfectly stable and those mechanics needed some tweaking. That all being said, I will heartily recommend it to those who love extremely dark auras, and gamers who like a more balanced – albeit less polished – fantasy adventure.

If you loved the Dark Souls games then Lords of the Fallen is made for you. Of course it's not as grand and superb as FromSoftware's franchise, but it is a decent first step towards that direction.

Lords of the Fallen isn’t a perfect game but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth playing. The lack of polish and balancing issues prevents the game from meeting its true potential, but the game successfully delivers to fans entertaining combat with a great risk-reward system that sets it apart in its own right.

At best, Lords of the Fallen serves as an accessible alternative to Dark Souls, with the emphasis going to the evolved combat system.

It’s a big, brash and colourful rendition of what makes the genre wonderful, with a sprinkling of innovation and a chunk of failure mixed up into a forgettable story, with some fun but ultimately limited gameplay.

The final dagger that prevents Lords of the Fallen from achieving greatness is its completely throwaway plot, and to a lesser extent, a nasty case of uninspired world design.

Lords of the Fallen is not a bad game, but when compared to the Souls series, it is a lesser one.

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.

A passable, if not perfect adventure, but certainly worth a look.

While not as unforgiving as its big brother Dark Souls II, Lords of the Fallen still provides a tough challenge for even the most experienced hack 'n' slash adventurer.

It is obvious Lords of the Fallen is inspired by the Souls series, but they added an interesting twist to it. Which is nice because this game has a little more mercy. It is a pity the story and setting are so forgettable.

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.

There are many issues that prevent it from becoming a better game, but that doesn't mean we haven't had fun playing it. If you've already beaten Dark Soul games, this could be a great option.

Lords of the Fallen provides players with a solid experience and fun combat system, but it never provides enough reason to care about anything else.It's a shame as the game does have a lot of potential. With a little more polish and tweaks done to the story and balance, Lords of the Fallen could be a great title. Right now though, it isn't.

A heavier, slower version of Dark Souls, this gritty dungeon crawler succeeds in creating a distinctive feel but fails to achieve mechanical perfection and coherent design.

Following in the footsteps of Dark Souls you can look forward to tense moments, a high challenge level and a lot of deaths. But you will dread the ridiculous dialogue and superficial world design.

A packet of steak McCoy's next to Dark Souls II's ribeye. The action is handsome and combat can bite, yet with Bloodborne on the horizon, Lords is a bit of a hard sell. [Christmas 2014, p.86]

At times bearably similar to Souls, at others woefully at odds with its philosophy. [Christmas 2014, p.]

There's still much enjoyment to be found in the interim grinding between boss fights, but Lords Of The Fallen's greatest sin is that all feels rather soulless. [Christmas 2014, p.116]

Not a bad game, but clearly inferior to Dark Souls, as it is lacking most of the stuff that made From Software's work so great.

There's definitely satisfaction to be had with Lords of the Fallen, but there comes a point at which it has no more tricks up its sleeve. In the end, the worst enemy in the game may be the game itself, and there's nothing hiding in a chest somewhere to fix that.

Lords of the Fallen succeeds in what it sets out to be. The influences from the Souls-series are obvious and frequent but with a few own tweaks. However, the game world is far too claustrophobic and the story fails to entertain.

Lords of the Fallen is a divisive game that has all the charm in its presentation, but doesn’t follow through with its execution.

Undoubtedly the best clone of Dark Souls so far, but with its few flaws, it remains in the shadow of this model.

Dark Souls is a better game, but they both offer a similar experience. Sluggish and unforgiving, in my opinion, isn't a good combination. If you didn't enjoy Dark Souls I can't see this being for you either.

If you’re looking for a game that has punishing fights, but is a bit easier than Souls then this is it. However the story and lore just aren’t that interesting, despite a good premise and Harkyn doesn’t have much personality. There’s also quite few bugs that really need addressing, like clipping through the environment and objects, or the enemies that just stop moving completely, yet can still deal damage, or suddenly develop the ability to fly.

Its lack of subtlety in its mechanics, it's rather clunky nature and its somewhat dull, basic setting mean it will never be more than a decent distraction: a game to play in between other games, or while you wait until Bloodborne early next year.

It looks nice enough, I suppose, but not to the point where I'd say you must own it just because of the graphics. If you're looking for something that will help you pass the time in a bland, mostly inoffensive way, then this is the game for you, I guess, but otherwise, don't bother.

It’s one thing to put out a punishing game, but quite another to punish players for no good reason.

To be fair, Lords of the Fallen isn't terrible in any way, it just fails to measure up to its inspiration by every conceivable measure, save perhaps "easier."