CI Games, the developer behind the critically maligned Sniper: Ghost Warrior series, is set to launch its newest game, Lords of the Fallen, on October 31 for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC, with Square Enix handling publishing duties.
Lords of the Fallen is a third person action RPG similar to Dark Souls, in which players have to master timing-based combat that is extremely punishing to those who become complacent. The game casts players as Harkyn, a convicted criminal who is released from captivity when the human realm is threatened by a malevolent god and his army. The official press release reads:
In his journey, Harkyn will forge strong alliances and face even stronger enemies. He will learn the true power of the Rhogar Lords – commanders of god’s army. He will even bring the battle to the Rhogar, travelling to the heart of the demonic dimension.
Will the god manage to enslave humans again? Is mankind really able to banish evil? Will Harkyn’s sins ever be forgiven?
Gameplay footage of the game thus far has many noting Lords of the Fallen‘s strong resemblance to Dark Souls, such as the grim fantasy setting, the methodical and brutal combat that often pits the player against few but formidable foes, and the powerful, enormous bosses.
Still, CI is determined to make their game stand apart. The game will have a deeper narrative that will involve cutscenes, fully voiced NPCs and sidequests. Players will have access to nine different weapon pools that vary in reach, attack speed, and so on spread across three starting classes. Weapons aren’t class-bound, so players will have more freedom to experiment by mixing and matching weapon and armor combinations.
Also a promising sign is that former The Witcher 2 producer Tomasz Gop will be executive producing LotF. Speaking to VG24/7, he said:
This is a game about you crossing the gap and the difference and distance between being a random noob at the beginning, and skilled pro player at the end. This crafting of your skill is what this is about, and I thought Dark Souls was exactly about the same thing. For me personally – and it was one of the biggest take-aways from Dark Souls – I could honestly say, that I was on the other side of the experience that people beginning the game have. At the end of the day I could honestly say, ‘I owned the game.’ This is exactly what you’re trying to get with the right mind-set with games like Dark Souls, and I believe Lords is going to do the same thing.”
CI Games have been working on LotF since September 2011. The developer recently noted that they are aiming to have the game run at a full 1080p resolution and at 30 frames per second, although they also conceded that achieving this goal on the Xbox One was a tougher proposition than on its rival, the PlayStation 4.