Lords of the Fallen

One thing’s for certain: With so many routes through Mournstead and so many viable builds to choose from, Lords of the Fallen is enormously replayable and will likely remain relevant for a long time. This isn’t just a Soulslike—it’s the best Souls game since the original Dark Souls and a worthy successor to the mantle. With intricate world design, unparalleled art direction, satisfying combat, and excellent replayability, Hexworks has crafted a near-masterpiece that is absolutely worth a buy.

With its stunning visuals and unique mechanics, Lords of the Fallen has quickly become one of our favourite Soulslikes. Its setting may be derivative, but it’s so well realised that you likely won’t care, especially when you’re switching between the worlds of the living and the dead, each with their own monstrosities to deal with and treasures to find. Hexworks has created something that genuinely feels like a successor to Dark Souls, leveraging the power of next-gen to push the genre forward. And so, put the mediocrity of the original Lords of the Fallen out of your mind: this may have the sa...

Despite some of its shortfalls, Lords of the Fallen is still an exceptionally remarkable game.

Here’s a question: is it better to stretch and stumble, or play it safe and succeed? I’m a strong proponent of the former, but I can appreciate taking the well-worn path as well. I thought about this choice as I played — and sometimes struggled —through Lords of the Fallen. While much of it sticks pretty closely to the Soulslike formula, it diverges in some significant ways.  Those innovations will help Lords of the Fallen distinguish itself in a crowded genre. If, that is, some of the game’s flaws and issues don’t sour the experience for players before they can be addressed.

Lords of the Fallen does a lot of things right. Its exploration is its strongest point, and jumping from the human and Umbra realms provides unique enemy encounters and secrets. However, while its combat could have been great, it's ultimately marred by poor hitbox detection and a lock-on camera that will get you killed more than it will save you. There is just something about the world that kept me coming back for more. Whether it was the exploration, the great monster and character designs, or the world itself. Lords of the Fallen is a great return to the dark gothic style of these highly dif...

Lords of the Fallen delivers entertaining hack-and-slash combat centered on combos and spells, but its risk-based reward system seems slightly out of place in a world where its hero so easily achieves great power and defense and makes risk obsolete. It achieves its goal of creating a more accessible Dark Souls-style experience, but unfortunately it goes a step or two too far.

“Lords of the Fallen plays fast and loose with the established ideas of better games, but the results don't suck.”

Lords of the Fallen could have been a great game with several more months in the oven.

A Soulslike elevated by a magnificent realm-hopping twist, yet chained down by a host of irritating little flaws.

Lords of the Fallen has a lot to offer but is largely held back by technical issues throughout, and the further I progressed through the game, the more striking these problems became, escalating from a few dips in framerate to hard crashes and glaring pop-in.

Lords of the Fallen is a solid action RPG, but it isn’t without its flaws. The weighty combat, while enjoyable, is offset by disappointing difficulty and a lacking narrative. It is a commendable first attempt whose follow-up, if there is one planned, could stand as a worthy rival to the Souls series.

I say almost because, even in the face of near-game-ending bugs, my time with Lords of the Fallen wasn’t ruined. It largely succeeds in both imitation and with its strong variations on the formula. Lords of the Fallen is derivative; there’s no doubt about that. But it’s also a surprising show of skill and hopefully a sign of much brighter things to come.