Watch the Review in 3 Minutes for Lords of the Fallen, a tough-as-nails Soulslike from Hexworks. For more on the game, check out our top tips for getting starting in LotF.
Lords of the Fallen Review Transcript
Lords of the Fallen is a recursive action RPG from Hexworks and a reboot of 2014’s Lords of the Fallen by Deck 13. The premise remains the same, the evil god Adyr who once enslaved mankind was banished to the Umbral Plane but after millennia of building his power there he has orchestrated an invasion of demons and corrupted worshipers to sow chaos and set him free.
As a dark crusader in possession of the Umbral Lamp, a tool that lets you travel between the two planes, it’s your duty to put an end to Adyr once again. The setup is straightforward and standard fare for this genre and there’s clearly been a lot of thought put into the world’s history. But I just couldn’t get a grasp on any of the plot points. You’ll meet several dreary characters who have their own motivations and thoughts on the world’s state of affairs, yet not one left much of an impression on me.
However, the idea of jumping between two planes of existence is a striking effect that did leave an impression, though not always a good one. When you enter Umbral, the area you’re standing in transforms into a ghastly fetid hive of insect-like pods and plantlike corruption but it can change in ways that allow you to navigate to new sections via secret bridges, platforms, or open doors. It doubles the sense of exploration for every location you visit but Umbral is extremely dangerous, which is something I’ll get to later.
Now I want to preface this next section by saying I’ve completed Sekiro, I’ve finished Hollow Knight, and beaten Celeste. I love a game that offers a steep challenge. But Lords of the Fallen is one of the most oppressively difficult games I’ve played in some time.
Its level design is confusing and paths will often circle you back to earlier areas you didn’t want to be in while desperately searching for the way forward. They are also filled with a very high density of enemies. But the bigger issue is those areas often include much tougher mini-boss style enemies among their ranks. Unlike similar games, if you’re not locked in an arena and see a named health bar that enemy will continuously respawn between deaths like the weaker mobs. You could just run from them all, except fully navigating most areas will require you to enter the Umbral plane. Entering Umbral will wither half your health, which greys it out and puts you at risk of losing it entirely if you don’t damage enemies to gain it back. It will also often reveal an entirely new set of enemies hiding behind the veil.
The Umbral set can also have mini-boss enemies among their ranks, and the initial set of enemies on the mortal plane can still see and attack you. If you were to take the time to skillfully kill every single threat in your immediate vicinity on both planes in order to move safely the Umbral plane has infinitely respawning mobs that increase in number the longer you stay. It can be exceedingly frustrating to play Lords of the Fallen with any level of caution, it seems far more interested in rushing you into making mistakes and falling for its many traps. There seems to be a real issue with balance as the same enemies in new areas seem to keep pace with you, dulling any sense of power progression.
This is especially disappointing because it does have a really fun combat system that gives you access to a versatile suite of moves depending on the weapon you’re wielding. You can block and parry with shields, kick enemies out of guard or off ledges, dodge and roll with a double tap and your Umbral lamp allows you to rip the soul out of some enemies for a few free shots, though it’s a lot less useful than I’d have liked. The boss encounters are also quite good, offering interesting mechanics that require you to use your environment, or disable buffs before engaging.
But I had to call it quits after about 18 hours. Lords of the Fallen is a vast improvement over its 2014 namesake, but the over-tuned difficulty does its fresh ideas and great feeling combat a world of disservice. I’m certain this will find an adoring audience amongst the most masochistic of gamers, but I’d rather spend my time with the hair left that I haven’t pulled out. The game is out now for $59.99 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
