Lords of the Fallen Review: Gameplay Impressions, Features and Videos

Lords of the Fallen returns for what might feel like the first time for many, hoping to establish its own foothold on the slippery Soulslike genre.

The effort from developer Hexworks shares the same name as the 2014 release that, at the time, was one of the only non-From Software games in the genre and predated Bloodborne and the more recent Elden Ring.

Like the combat itself, Lords of the Fallen must walk a very tricky balancing act, drawing inspiration from all of the modernizations of the formerly niche genre while being close enough to appeal to fans, but also carving out its own identity.

A parallel world system, unique lore and some powerful foundational tech certainly equip the game to succeed, but like the strongest-looking on-paper combos, it's all about how the combination all comes together.

Graphics and Gameplay

Much of how Lords of the Fallen can stand out from the pack is through its world of Mournstead, which it does to mixed results.

Make no mistake, the game looks gorgeous in most respects. The backing power of Unreal Engine 5 while leaving the last generation of consoles behind makes for some stunning landscapes and environments packed with detail. Everything feels and looks seamless from a physics standpoint and the light and shadow work never works against the immersion.

The parallel worlds of Axiom, land of the living and Umbral, land of the dead, feel about as distinct as can be beyond the overarching, depressing high fantasy backdrop. One is brighter and sells the idea of an expansive kingdom with some... issues.

The other is arguably more fun (at least as fun as it can be, anyway) in the way it tackles the job of selling the depressive despair of this gloomy underworld, complete with eyeballs throughout the environment that track the player's every move.

Sound design of combat is strong, though the "thusly" and other archaic language that is well-voice acted might annoy rather than immerse for some.

The problem, though is that it just doesn't feel all that different from other genre staples. It won't be an issue for some players, but it just might not be enough to escape a copycat reputation. This possible presentation hiccup even extends to menu systems, another, albeit minor point where the game walks this fine balance between imitation and innovation to the point it's understandable if players get confused thinking this game was made by FromSoftware.

On the gameplay front, players get to choose from several different initial classes. Some specialize in specific magic, others in various weapon classes. A favorite is bound to be the Exiled Stalker, the speed-based and rather sneaky class, though it's tucked behind an "advanced class" descriptor. There's also a jack-of-all-trades class that really lets player experiment and adapt.

While actually in a fight, players can switch between various stances, roll, hold or press the block button for a standard block or chance at a last-second counter, etc. Where Lords of the Fallen really creates some depth to combat is permitting players to switch stances mid-combo, which opens up the door for some serious creativity—and there are a handful of magic trees to loop in, too.

Overall controls don't take too long to figure out, with basic button inputs for strikes and consumables mapped to d-pad, though some of the combos required to access different types of ranged attacks on the fly can present early challenges.

The lock on system works well, but the camera seems to have problems keeping up with it at times, which can create the standard-fare frustration point.

At least at launch, Lords of the Fallen feels marginally easier than Souls games—or perhaps we're all just that grizzled and ready for this type of game now thanks to years of training (even the latest Star Wars game dips into these elements now). But parry windows feel fair enough, enemy attacks are largely well-telegraphed, staggers can happen often and there are some notable i-frames baked into the dodge roll.

On the subject of difficulty, what's really interesting is how the game smartly employs environmental difficulty spikes. Enemies will hide rather well and launch surprise attacks and if a player isn't watching their footing, they could fall back and off or into one-hit kill scenarios.

Withered Health will feel similar to gloom from Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and is damage received that impacts the health bar and is then lost permanently in one blow if struck again. So if three-fourths of the bar is grayed out, taking a single hit, no matter how light, will wipe all of that health out.

The give-and-take is simple enough on paper, though—strike enemies to un-do the grayed-out part of the health bar. It's a nice system to have, though as well as it fits the theme, isn't drastically unique in 2023.

Soul Flay is a more unique mechanic and is, funnily enough, exactly what it sounds like—players use the Umbral Lamp to rip the soul out of an enemy's body and damage it before sending it back. This can whither an adversary's health in the same manner and eventually open up a chance for unique finishers.

One way to replenish Soul Flay charges and Vigor (Souls) is through the soul-siphoning mechanic, which effectively initiates combat, too.

Don't forget magic, too. Rhogar goes boom more often than not and functions as the crowd-control tree of the system, although wielding too much of the not-so-nice power builds up ignite, which can backfire, or so to speak.

Radiant magic can heal and cast buffs, while umbral magic is rare, can cause things like decay and wither the user's own health.

There is a bit of a strength-weakness system going on too, with Rhogar strong against radiant, but weak against umbral.

Exploring the parallel worlds is where Lords of the Fallen really sets itself apart in a major way.

Players can enter the lightless world of Umbral through death itself or by performing an Umbral rift, which costs one of the two available lives. On one hand, it's nice to have another "chance" or so to speak after dying and just turning up down there.

On the other, Umbral is just plain fun to explore. While more enemies hunt the player down the longer they stay there, benefits include finding new shortcuts or secrets. At times, it's the only way to progress too, as expected.

Getting back to the land of light isn't simple either, as players will need to create a Vestige point (also where players can level up and replenish items) or find an emergence effigy. Getting back isn't something that induces a sigh of relief, though—all enemies respawn upon return.

It's a very satisfying system because it never feels like a gimmick. In fact, it could lead some players to exploration overload, peering into every single nook and cranny of both worlds, which the game routinely rewards and makes the effort worthwhile.

Story, Co-op and More

Players join the tale at a precarious, desperate time, as those left standing have no choice but to go against their own religious and/or moral codes in a last-ditch effort, crossing over the parallel worlds after discovering the Umbral Lamp.

The task? Take up mantle of Dark Crusader and Cleanse the Hallowed Sentinels, which were put throughout the kingdom to prevent the return of the demon god Adyr.

One problem—he's back, or about to be while his demons ravage the land and the only way out is to embrace the darkness.

A little cliche, but the world itself sells the high drama well and there are very memorable side characters, such as a hireable mercenary who will assist the player... unless they don't pay him.

Journals discoverable out in the world won't just provide world context, but hint at what a player should do next. The marriage of subtle design with storytelling is a boon for the lengthy story.

Along the way, players can engage in seamless cross-play co-op that they can jump in and out of at any time, with progression tied to the host player. Visiting players, at least, get currencies and item drops, but won't get world items, key items or NPC progression.

The game does need to navigate the tricky parallel worlds system and does a pretty good job of it. The rules at launch are that if a guest dies, they simply spectate the host. But if the host dies, they're both off to Umbral.

Hosts can invite friends with a password or opt for a random player to join them, so the expected functionality for the genre is there.

Like others in the genre, invades function as the player vs. player (PvP) side of the experience. This is outright blocked in some areas, but otherwise it's all fair game.

The hook for players doing the invading or defending against one is they can earn special pvp-exclusive currency for participating. For those who don't want to partake, they can purchase from a vendor infinitely items that outright restrict it (another, though, encourages players to invade).

Otherwise, invasions can always happen if a player is online, barring going into the menus and outright turning multiplayer off.

Lords of the Fallen won't win over those who didn't enjoy PvP in other Soulslike games, but it's fun for a bit to pop in or welcome others and see the wild stuff they have going on with their builds.

Overarching progression hits the expected notes. The actual mechanics of leveling up and the skills able to be boosted aren't surprising. Meaning, expected staples like strength to wield bulkier weapons, endurance of carrying capacity, vitality, etc.

Upgrading gear is also pretty standard fare too, as is a runes system that can empower weapons and equipment.

There's a healthy bit of customization to the experience too, with the initial character creation suite providing nice options and things like hair, tattoos, etc tweakable.

Given the degree of difficulty in these types of games, the onboarding process is always important. Lords of the Fallen does a solid job here, slowly layering systems atop one another, though some things aren't as well explained as they could be, like withering.

It's good the game mostly nails this, though, because there are no difficulty settings. But there are a healthy amount of other options, including mappable controls.

Conclusion

In a fitting twist, Lords of the Fallen isn't going to win any originality awards, especially now that "Soulslike" games are hitting an oversaturation point. Yet that's perhaps one of the biggest reasons it will register as a sleeper hit.

The game's setting and stunning design is a picture-perfect mix of grimdark, high fantasy and horror elements worth experiencing—especially when even death is something used almost as a tool to go do something else, not a point of frustration.

While the combat is fun and the classes diverse, the real star of the show is the distinct parallel worlds and the surrounding elements. It runs what feels like an opposite to Elden Ring's open world and stands on its own just as distinctly.

Perhaps a bit too late to the party to be a headliner in a stacked 2023 release calendar and in its formerly-niche genre, Lords of the Fallen won't be a trendsetter—but it's an engrossing type of world and fun that fans will eat up.