A New Challenger

The gameplay and mechanics will be familiar to fans of soulslike video games. Lords of the Fallen adds new elements to the formula. You’re correct if you think Lords of the Fallen is familiar. In 2014, the game of the same title was released. The 2023 version is set in the same universe, but about 1,000 years after.

Lords of the Fallen lets you take on the role of a Dark Crusader who is sent to destroy the demon god Adyr. The Umbral Lamp will be used to travel between the Axiom (land of the living) and the Umbral (land of the dead). Along your journey, you’ll meet a lot of interesting characters, merchants, and enemies. You will have to adapt your character’s playstyle and personality to the new challenges to win. You never know what’s going to be around the corner.

The lighting and particle effects are a great way to tell that the game was built using Unreal Engine 5. Sometimes I let the game run and marvel at the character and armor models. The game ran smoothly on PS5, but I’ve heard that there are some problems with PC. The menus look similar to those in games like Dark Souls, but I wasn’t expecting much.

I said before that Lords of the Fallen introduced a few new mechanics to the genre, or at least from the Souls games that I’ve played. You will be most impressed by the Umbral domain. The Umbral realm will be used by players to discover and solve mysteries on the different maps. You will see white moths and butterflies as you progress through the game. You can use your lamp in order to see the secret. It’s cool that you can make yourself vulnerable to enemies on the other side. It’s a great way to surprise players. The Umbral lamp has a few interesting combat mechanics. The lamp is used to help defeat shielded enemies. The lamp can be used to draw enemies towards you, or even throw them from ledges. 

Umbral lamps also give players a second shot at life. You are resurrected when a player is killed in the Land of the Dead. The health of your respawned character is reduced. You can recover it by attacking other players before you take any more damage. As a player who is prone to death, this is my favorite feature. You can have a lot fun in this area, but you must be mindful of the time spent. When you collect in-game currency in Umbral, you get a multiplier. However, when the multiplier reaches its maximum value, a grim reaper will hunt you. The first time I saw this enemy, it was quite entertaining. As I was trying to reach my next checkpoint, I had to rush past enemies and loot.

The combat will differ depending on which character or build that you choose. You will have the option to select from nine classes when you create your character. As you progress in the game, you will be able unlock four more classes. You can play the game in a variety of ways depending on your starting class. Although your starting class determines the stat distribution and armor of your character, you can still customize it as you gain experience and more points. Dark Souls fans may find the controls a bit sluggish. It took me some time to master blocking, parrying and the different stances. Once you master the parrying system, you can use finishing moves to finish off your enemies. This was a great addition to combat. Many players will be surprised by the number of enemies you will face at any given time. In other games, you will only encounter one to three opponents at a given time. Lords of the Fallen can be a game where things escalate quickly. This can be frustrating because there is no way to predict it.

Lords of the Fallen makes a wonderful addition to the Soulslike series. The game is familiar, but it brings in some welcome changes that many people will find enjoyable and challenging. There are many hidden secrets and a variety of character archetypes. There will be the odd glitch or quirk, but that doesn’t ruin the experience. This is a good game for those who are looking to take on a new challenge.

Lords of the Fallen can be downloaded now for the PlayStation 3, Xbox Series Consoles and PC.