Lords Of The Fallen Review

There’s no point in tiptoeing around it: Lords Of The Fallen is a game that’s more than just vaguely similar to FromSoftware’s Dark Souls series. Deck 13 Interactive and CI Games’ collaborative effort may be extremely derivative of the popular Japanese series - with the developers even touting the game as a Dark Souls-inspired RPG - but Lords Of The Fallen actually does more than enough to make it stand apart from its inspiration. The real question isn’t whether you’ll enjoy LOTF if you enjoyed the Souls series, it’s if the game actually manages to provide the same sense of elation, entertainment and hardship as FromSoft’s series does. The answer to which is equal parts “Hell yes!” and, “Not on your life”.

On paper, Lords Of The Fallen shouldn’t even come close to being considered as a great or even good game. The title is plagued by inconsistencies, bugs and technical issues (more on these later), and while you’re likely to become frustrated with the above and other irritating ‘quirks’ on multiple occasions while playing, Deck 13 and CI Games have managed to get the core combat and gameplay so spot-on that you’re able to forgive the bad to enjoy the good.

Unlike the Souls series, there’s no character customisation in LOTF. If you haven’t already seen what your protagonist looks like, you only need to take a glance at the game’s box art to see Harkyn’s ugly mug staring back at you. The former prisoner is released from incarceration at the start of the narrative, and he’s been tasked with destroying the link between his world and the Rhogar’s: a demonic, evil race that wants to subjugate what’s left of the human race that they haven’t already killed.

The titular Lords are the biggest threat to yours and everyone else’s continued existence on Earth, and so it is that you’re told to go out and kill the buggers. It won’t come as any surprise for anyone that knows the game’s roots that LOTF is short on a uniform narrative. Like the Souls series, the developers have opted instead to tell the story through item descriptions, NPC dialogue and audio logs. Cutscenes and multiple choice conversations are present too, but the options, coupled with some rather mediocre at best voice acting, are flimsy and do little to provide much insight on the wider story. It’s a largely forgettable and superficial story, and even though the game’s developers have attempted to use the atmosphere and aesthetics to tell it in part, neither are memorable or distinct enough to pull it off.

The deeper you go into Harkyn’s world though, the more unique LOTF’s world will start to feel. Especially in how combat situations play out. Stamina bars, bonfire-esque checkpoints and refillable health items may be present, but that’s really where the similarities with Souls ends. Combat is much, much slower-paced in LOTF. The build you opt to run with as Harkyn, (light, medium and heavy armour focused setups) will dictate how fast you move and attack as the convict and the weapon type that he’ll be most proficient with. And while you can equip anything regardless of your initial choice, stat increases are designed in such a way that they promote the use of one specific build.

Heavy weapons exhibit massive build-up times to attack but hit like trucks, medium tools such as swords and axes are faster but do slightly less damage, and light weapons do small damage but poke enemies extremely quickly. All of them are viable (and come with light and heavy attacks), and they feel different enough to warrant separate playthroughs for variety’s sake. Regardless of which one you choose to progress with, you’ll also have access to one of three magic skill trees, with the two you neglect to choose being unlocked with subsequent, repeat playings.

Death is also far less punishing in Harkyn’s world. Like the Souls series, whenever you kick the bucket, you’ll drop any experience earned on the battlefield on the spot that you fell. However, if you take too long to retrieve your lost experience, the spirit will start to hemorrhage accumulated points over time, forcing you to decide whether you should try and sprint past enemies to reclaim it quickly, or ensure safe passage back to the site of your previous death by playing it safe. It’s an excellent risk/reward system which is further bolstered by a passive damage and health buff that you’ll receive from your spirit if you choose not to immediately pick it up.

It’s a great mechanic for when you find yourself up against a boss that repeatedly hands you your ass, and one that you’re likely to use often, as enemies aren’t pushovers. Enemy variety is remarkably large, but you’ll find it increasingly hard to differentiate between the less monstrous humanoid creatures, as many of them look extremely similar. Nobody likes looking at the same, generic enemy designs, but it becomes more problematic in a game like LOTF, when being able to distinguish certain enemies from others enables you to form a plan of attack in advance. But this really the least of your worries. 

LOTF’s world is quite possibly one of the most inconsistent fictional worlds in existence. Aside from the awfully choppy frame rate in certain locations (usually asset-heavy areas) being a contributing factor to death, bugs will hit you left, right and centre as you progress. Item drops from enemies will become invisible if you die before picking them up, shields with the ability to block 100 percent of damage received will sometimes still not protect you and collision detection systems are random to say the least. At one point near the start of the game, I stumbled upon a fake wall that I was able to walk through into a secret area. I died shortly after, of course, but upon returning to the same wall after respawning, it was solid, and there was no way of retrieving my lost experience.

Alone, any of these niggles become a minor inconvenience, but when you encounter them all on a regular basis, they quickly become frustrating to the point of diminished enthusiasm. With a regular, ‘see it all’ playthrough clocking in at around the 15-20 hour mark, the frequent bugs and repetitive locations can start to grate on the mind. But Lords Of The Fallen still manages to keep you trudging along with the same compelling gameplay that made Dark Souls so immensely satisfying. The sense of elation when you down an annoying boss has successfully made the transition to Deck 13’s game, and the solid combat, exploration, secrets more help to make this an above average title with a very noticeable lack of polish.

If you’re a Souls fan itching for something to fill the gap while waiting for Bloodborne next year then you won’t be disappointed with LOTF. For everyone else who isn’t familiar with the Souls series, it’s highly recommended that you try that series first. It’s far easier to appreciate what LOTF does so well when you know the experience that it has tried to emulate and innovate on.