Whether you’re new to dark fantasy RPGs or a seasoned soulslike gamer, Lords of the Fallen has something to offer everyone. One’s enjoyment is completely determined by preferred play style and your level of soulslike experience. With parallel realms, the large map provides hours of combat-heavy gameplay and options that will determine which of its endings you get.
Although the 2023 release follows a 2014 release of the same name, playing the earlier version is not a prerequisite for understanding this one. From the moment you choose your character, you are forging your path to the final boss. With nine different characters to choose from, traits like agility, strength, and radiance will determine what your journey looks like. Even as someone fairly new to soulslike games, I quickly recognized that I needed to restart with a different build.
Perhaps the best and most unique aspect of this game is the Umbral lamp which characters use to move between realms. Wielding the lamp lets players peek or travel into the realm of the dead, Umbral. Even in the tutorial, the Umbral lamp is paramount to clearing obstacles that prevent progress in either realm. Failure to examine the surrounding area with the Umbral lamp led me to be stuck more often than I’m willing to admit.
With no way of displaying or targeting current objectives, much of this game relies on armies of overpowered enemies to let you know you’ve made a mistake somewhere. In several cases, I was unknowingly navigating an area that I did not yet have abilities to handle. I was already fighting enemies what felt like every ten feet, but these instances of exploration seemed to result in being punished with getting stuck or being two-shot by hoards of enemies. This always redirected me to new areas that I somehow missed or overlooked in the first place.
This overwhelming number of enemies, many of which seem more difficult than some of the bosses, is part of what makes this game so challenging. After the first boss fight, it seemed as though bosses were easier to kill. Several were beatable on the first try, but this was probably due entirely to my aggressive farming so I could level up and increase my stats; this never seemed to help me fight the myriad of ever-present characters that could kill me in less than two hits. It also felt like the minute I was out of earshot, they respawned exactly where they were before. Running from them didn’t always equal escape, and I found myself rage-quitting on more than one occasion.
One thing that helped remedy the revolving door of buffed enemies was utilizing the game’s multiplayer option. In addition to PvP modes, players can beckon a friend or rando to help them along their journey in co-op modes, strings attached, of course. The assisting players will notice their stats change to reflect the primary player’s abilities, and the spoils of the journey are not equally distributed. In short, your biggest reward for helping a friend is the joy you share. Be warned- the multiplayer feature can hurt you just as much as it can help you. Online players wanting a break from their own journey have the option of spawning into a random gamer’s journey and sabotaging them with surprise combat. Over several days of playing, I had three separate players spawn into my match and kill me where I stood. Of course, this only seemed to happen when I was already feeling defeated, but the easiest way to eliminate this little caveat is to remain offline.
Playing offline eliminates more than just the possibility of randos spawning to take their rage out on you, it also eliminates a few bugs. Several times, I had a friend playing with me, and I started dropping frames. This didn’t come up often, but it happened enough that I grew tired of trying to play with a friend and decided to continue solo. A handful of times, I noted that the more enemies made it likely things would get a little wonky. Aside from the inefficient enemy lock-on that seemed to just inadequately reroute my camera angle, NPCs would randomly get stuck in boxes or walls. A few times, this seemed to work in my favor by allowing me to run away without being chased, so long as I didn’t guide the character out of their position. I probably only died to lag or lost frames two or three times, so it wasn’t enough for me to label this as an overly buggy game. I’d go as far as saying it didn’t really bother me at all because I was too busy fighting or running.
Given that almost constant inescapable combat was most of the game, my only real issue with this game is the storyline. It felt as though I didn’t have enough information about my goal. I came across areas that I never got to explore, yet it seemed like the game had paths that served only to get me lost, killed, or stuck. There were many instances wherein I had no idea where I was meant to go, and none of the NPCs gave me any clarity. Most of them had a few lines that served no purpose. I would find major pieces of loot only to have no idea where or how to use them. It felt as though this game was missing its beginning because it was so focused on the end. Most of the graphics were really detailed, and the cut scenes kept me interested enough to continue playing, but I couldn’t shake the constant feeling that I was missing something. The fact that I even made it to the final boss feels like such an accomplishment, but I still feel like I missed so much of what Lords of the Fallen has to offer.
All-in-all, the game was a lot of fun, but beating it means I won’t be reaching for it again.
SCORE: 7 out of 10
Reviewed on PC