Lords of the Fallen (2023) - Review

If you think you're getting a sense of deja vu when hearing about a game in the last few years called Lords of the Fallen, don't worry, you're not crazy. All the way back in 2014, when soulslike games were becoming more and more prevelant, a dark, fantasy title came out with that very name on the Xbox one/PS4 generation of consoles. I remember picking it up on sale and dropped it only a few hours into the adventure. It just wasn't that good, and the reviews at the time told a similar story - decent but not memorable compared to its' inspirations.

Fast-forward almost 10 years later and another crack at the series gets released with the exact same name and some of the lore. The difference here is that the 2023 version features a much more refined experience that is able to carve out its own identity with some unique mechanics.

After creating your character and beginning class, you awaken as the bearer of the Umbral Lamp, which allows its user to traverse between realms; Axiom, the realm of the living, and Umbral, the realm of the dead. You must set out on a quest to cleanse the five beacons that have been corrupted, which signal the return of the demon god Adyr - or not, as the game features various endings depending on what you fancy, just like the Souls games. Likewise, the narrative isn't told in the traditional way, opting for more environmental storytelling and item descriptions. It's not everyone's cup of tea, however, it puts faith in the player to dive into the lore and seek out answer themselves - which I quite enjoy personally. The only downside (which is for the genre as a whole) is that the story is weak, due to no characters for the player to get attached to, but the lore is excellent.

If you've played Dark Souls, the combat won't be anything surprising. It plays pretty much the same - with the exception of its' unique feature, the Umbral Lamp. Its key combat feature allows you to rip the souls out of enemies to stun them whilst letting you attack that soul directly. I personally rarely used the feature, where the benefits didn't really outweigh the faff of pulling the lamp out to use.

Like others in the genre, the boss fights are the star of the show, offering equal parts challenge and thrills. They won't stand the test of time compared to those crafted by FromSoftware, but they are decent in their own right. Updates since release have also improved the fairness in difficulty, particularly enemy numbers, which were criticised at launch. However, there are numerous settings to make the game more difficult should you crave that kind of torture.

Exploring the world of Axiom is a key aspect to the game. Featuring various locales for you to traverse and sift through for all their secrets - Lords of the Fallen does a good job at making sure the player never gets fatigue from repetitive locations. I do wish the world was a bit more interconnected, as it can feel a bit too linear at times, however, what it lacks in that aspect it makes up for with its dual-world feature. Using the Umbral Lamp, you can transition into the world of the dead. It has the same skeleton of the regular maps, but new pathways, secrets and enemies can only be seen in Umbral. It adds a slight puzzle element to progression, but also a new challenge, as the longer you stay, the more dangerous it gets.

In terms of visuals, Lords of the Fallen won't blow you away, but it's respectable and the difference between the two worlds is a nice juxtaposition. However, the performance does regularly drop despite the underwhelming graphics. For a combat-heavy title where smooth performance is key, it becomes quite a glaring flaw.

All in all, Lords of the Fallen does plenty well and is able to carve out a unique identity for itself in a fairly saturated genre. With strong combat and bosses, to the interesting dual-world features, there's a lot to like, regardless of the unfortunate performance. It might not end up in my top games of its kind, but it's an enjoyable, dark adventure will keep you engaged right till the end.

Score = 7.5/10