Lords of the Fallen
She’s a fierce warrior, but she’s crying tears of blood.
This is Pieta, the first proper boss inLords of the Fallenafter the tutorial.
Or, as I like to call her, Budget Malenia.
It’s clear Hexworks understands the essence of why Souls games are popular.
It doesn’t make a great first impression.
There are some nice beard options though.
Die and you lose your vigor, ready to collect again.
It inspires aggressive rather than conservative play, Hexworks sprinkling a little Bloodborne flavour.
I spent hours lost in a poison swamp - a FromSoft necessity.
Never mind praise the sun, where’s the sun?
Hexworks has since patched the game to make certain bosses more aggressive.
The main cause of death?
The finicky, unreliable lock-on.
Difficulty is intensified by the checkpoint system.
Lords of the Fallen isn’t without its own ideas, primarily the Umbral lamp.
Suddenly previously hidden skeletal walkways and platforms appear - ripe for environmental puzzles, but criminally underused.
It’s wonderfully panic-inducing.
Lords of the Fallen accessibility options
Subtitles available in multiple-sized font.
Camera speed and shake adjustable.
No remappable controls or difficulty options.
I enjoyed getting lost, defeating bosses, and discovering what grisly creature I’d encounter next.
For experienced Soulslike players, it scratches an itch.
But that’s testament to FromSoft’s ingenuity more than Hexworks copying its homework.
Its own ideas aren’t enough for Lords of the Fallen to emerge from the shadow of FromSoft.
What’s worse is the game’s performance.
Initially a bug meant I had to play without sound at all, though this was fixed.
This has also since been fixed, by crudely locking a door to block off half the area.
I left the game reflecting on the state of the genre.
Why settle for a copy when you’re free to experience the real thing?
A copy of Lords of the Fallen was provided for review by CI Games.
