Just a few weeks after the release of “Lies of P”, the next Soulslike is announced, “Lords of the Fallen”. The action role-playing game from developer Hexworks and publisher CI Games is a reboot of the game from 2014 that was released under the same title. Unlike its predecessor, which received only a few good reviews in the specialist press and was quickly forgotten by many players , the makers have created a serious competitor for established genre representatives like “Elden Ring”, “Nioh” or “Bloodborne” with the 2.0 version.
“Lords of the Fallen” is about overthrowing the demon god Adyr. As one of the Dark Crusaders, our job is to clear five protective beacons that the villain has corrupted. At the beginning we choose our hero from nine different character classes. Armed with sword and shield, we then set off to travel the world of Mournstead. In this we have to deal with various adversaries who always want to get at us.
As is typical of the genre, we don’t have an open world, but rather many linear areas. But what’s special is that in “Lords of the Fallen” we fight our way through not just one, but two dark and eerily beautiful fantasy worlds. This is Axiom, the world of the living. And about Umbral, the realm of the dead.
A lantern as a useful tool
The two places are inevitably connected. We often come across obstacles in Umbral that we can only remove in Axiom. With a lantern that we have in our inventory right at the beginning of the game, we can take a look into the realm of the dead at any time and switch into it if necessary. The way out is less easy: To do this we always have to reach so-called remains, a kind of checkpoint. And that can take time and seriously weaken our health bar.
In Umbral, our hero often needs his lantern to fight the monsters there. (© CI Games)
The longer we walk around Umbral, the harder survival becomes. Little by little, not only stronger monsters appear, but more and more of them. An icon at the top right of the screen shows how much attention we have already attracted. If the bar is overly full, we can hardly save ourselves from attackers.
In addition to the voluntary descent into the underworld, there is also the involuntary one – through death. If we die in Axiom, we get a second chance in Umbral. This helps enormously, especially in boss fights. This also means we don’t lose our hard-earned souls, which we can use to buy new items from merchants or level up our characters at various points in the game.
How difficult is Lords of the Fallen?
The combat system seems simple at first glance. We can strike with quick or heavy blows. Various ranged combat mechanics are also available to our hero. This provides more tactical options. We avoid our own hits either by blocking or dodging.
The monsters we encounter throughout the game sometimes look really scary. (© CI Games)
Those expecting a compelling story will be disappointed. As is typical of the genre, you have to discover it yourself. Through conversations with other characters, through notes and diary entries that we find in the game world, or through items that hide a secret. Reminder sequences in the form of short video snippets also contribute to understanding.
Compared to other Soulslike representatives, “Lords of the Fallen” is rather simple. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. As is usual in such games, some bosses require several attempts. Players should definitely have a certain tolerance for frustration – more than once we angrily threw our controller into the corner, turned off the console, only to turn it on again after a few minutes.
This is our conclusion
“Lords of the Fallen” has become a high-quality action role-playing game that also scores points in terms of scope with a playing time of 40 to 60 hours. Switching between the two worlds is a fresh new game concept. Axiom and Umbral mesh perfectly. Graphically, the game can’t keep up with big blockbuster productions like “Star Wars: JediSurvivor” or “Horizon Forbidden West”, but the result is impressive for a debut from a young development studio.
Getting started with the game is easy thanks to the tutorial. The level of difficulty is moderate, especially at the beginning. The combat system is intuitive. We quickly internalized it. This is especially important later on. Because little by little, increasingly tough things are trying to make our lives difficult. Once we have deciphered their attack patterns, the fights are challenging but never unfair, in our opinion.
“Lords of the Fallen” was released on October 13th for PC, Playstation 5 and XBox Series X/S. The game is intended for ages 16 and up and costs between 60 and 80 euros.