Lords of the Fallen is a name that some people may think back on with a hazy recollection. The original Lords of the Fallen was released back in 2014 as one of the first games to tackle the emerging Souslike genre outside of the prestigious FROMSOFTWARE. Back then, it was met with a lukewarm critical and user reception, not able to live up to its inspirations. Now, in 2023, a new developer is giving the franchise a go, with HEXWORKS taking over from Deck13 to deliver the confusingly named Lords of the Fallen. So, have they managed to resurrect this dormant IP or has it followed in the mundane footsteps of its predecessor?
Thankfully, it seems that the gamble on a new studio and a new vision has massively paid off, with Lords of the Fallen becoming one of my favourite Soulslikes and joining the hallowed halls of 2023’s incredible game line-up. Instead of focusing on reinventing the Soulslike, HEXWORKS have decided to refine and crystalise the traditional reactive style first seen in the Demon’s Soul and Dark Souls to brilliant effect, creating a combat and exploration framework that takes the best of the old and the new together. That’s combined with a fascinating, if predictably obtuse, set of lore and an absolutely mesmerising world-hopping mechanic which allows Lords of the Fallen to breathe new life into this oversaturated genre.
That doesn’t mean it’s without fault, though, and Lords of the Fallen definitely trips over itself here or there. The charmingly classic Soulslike approach to storytelling remains just as divisive as it always has been, while the combat and boss encounters may end up disappointing those looking for the brutal challenge the genre is typically known for. That’s alongside some rocky technical issues, particularly pertaining to an abundance of immersion-breaking bugs, glitches and crashes.
Despite that, Lords of the Fallen’s ghastly lustre remains, inviting any and all Souslike fans to take a deep, disturbing trip through the lands of Mournstead.
Lords of the Fallen releases on October 13th for Steam, PlayStation 4 and 5 as well as Xbox Series X and S.
Story | A War of Fire and Light
Lords of the Fallen takes place in the dark fantasy land of Mournstead, a world on the brink of desolation and madness at the hands of two warring Gods. In a past age of the cruellest tyranny, the demon God Adyr was put to rest by the Judges, followers of the divine God Orius. To contain and erase any lingering remnants of Adyr’s malignance, the Judges formed the Hallowed Sentinels, defenders of Mournstead who were to build holy beacons to defend against Adyr’s scourge. Now, whispers of Adyr’s return have begun corrupting the land and the beacons built to constrain him. With the Judges disposed or fallen to some form of malediction, the task of defeating Adyr falls to you.
As an honorary member of the Dark Crusaders given the heretical Umbral Lamp through pure circumstance, you must take up arms, seek out the five beacons which herald Adyr’s return and snuff out their flames so that the light of Orius may shine brightly once again. However, as it always is when it comes to the motives and actions of the Gods, there is more to this conflict than appears on the surface and, with another unseen entity moving in the darkness, it will ultimately fall on your head as Lampbearer to decide the fate of the world. Will you cleanse this land of its sin and folly, or will you walk a different path and learn a different truth?
The Land of Mournstead
Narratively, Lords of the Fallen is quite strange. Like a lot of the game, it isn’t particularly looking to curve any expectations or bring forward any new ideas, happy to work on refining and purifying the ideas left by its elders. On the surface, the story of Orius, Adyr and the world of Mournstead is pretty typical of Grimdark, acting as a world where the people are terrible and the Gods are even worse. There are a few moments where it reaches for more, particularconcerning to the eldritch cosmic existentialism of the Land of the Dead, but, for the most part, it is content to tow that line.
A lot of Lords of the Fallen’s wider worldbuilding and storytelling only really affected me on my second playthrough, when I had already previously immersed myself in the terminology and lore of this world. On an initial playthrough, you’ll likely be swept away by the current of fancy names and complicated expressions, holding steadfast to the only goal you’ll realistically be able to decipher, which is the destruction of the beacons. On subsequent playthroughs, though, you can focus on unearthing the hidden truths and diving into Mournstead’s quite fascinating fount of lore and story. I both understood and enjoyed the story a lot more on my second trip through it and I would recommend anybody who finds themselves at least a little fascinated by the narrative to do the same.
Overall, Lords of the Fallen’s narrative and story is quite a slow burn. If you just play through the story once and don’t take a plunge into the game’s massive array of hidden lore and NPC interactions, you’ll likely come away disappointed, especially by the rather anticlimactic ending. If you’re willing to invest the time and energy, though, Lords of the Fallen will reward you with some really compelling tales, a rich background narrative and a world that you’ll want to learn more about.
The Beacons Burn
Old Dark Rabbit Holes
Of course, another thing that Lords of the Fallen subscribes to is the Dark Souls school of background lore and worldbuilding. What this means is that everything, from the main story to the NPCs to even the item descriptions, is veiled in this shroud of constant enigmatic mystery. You’ll have names of important figures and their deeds thrown at you constantly – “Oh Archibald the Lost? Yes, he will return…” – and have that backed up by the mad scrawlings of Mournstead’s history and mythos on everything from legendary weaponry to a simple cluster of berries.
Like with all Souslikes who follow this structure, it can be very overwhelming, and sometimes even very frustrating, for those not accustomed to this style of storytelling. Having to excavate everything yourself can feel like a chore, especially when the deepest and most interesting lore entries in Lords of the Fallen require investment into either Radiance or Inferno, two stats only useful for magic users. However, that effort will reward you with a surprisingly compelling piece of this world and its many characters: taking the time to decipher what I could made me appreciate and fall ever deeper into Mournstead’s many rabbit holes.
This kind of storytelling is always an acquired taste and won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. Lorekeepers and those willing to invest their team into deciphering Mournstead’s many mysteries will find a fount of really interesting stories about this grim, profane world and the people in it, one that differentiates itself enough to stand tall amongst the sea of similar dark fantasy Soulslikes. However, those just seeking out a Soulslike for its unique gameplay or those harbouring desires for a more concise narrative structure will find themselves at odds with how Lords of the Fallen presents both its lore and story.
Vestige of a Lost Soul
Gameplay | Familiar and Refined
Lords of the Fallen isn’t looking to reinvent the wheel when it comes to Soulslikes. What it sacrifices in innovation, it makes up for in refinement and clarification, creating one of the best-balanced and most satisfying renditions of Soulslike combat to date. By taking most of its inspirations from the more traditional, reactive styles of the genre’s earlier entries and mixing them with the faster, more satisfying movement of newer ones, HEXWORKS have arrived at a formula which is snappy, fulfilling and rewarding to master.
Typical of the genre, there are a bunch of different playstyles and build options for players to choose from. You can follow the path of a stalwart knight, armed to the teeth in heavy armour and with a shield that blocks all blows, just as you can become a dual-wielding rogue in equal measure. Swordsmanship, spellcraft, and all the makings of a deep font of build choice and variety exist within Lords of the Fallen and offer a high amount of replay value for those looking to learn different playstyles or engage with the game’s PvP or cooperative elements.
Something which may upset some players is that Lords of the Fallen isn’t very difficult. None of the bosses were all too tricky – in fact, I accidentally fought one of the final bosses quite early in my journey and it was fairly simple to complete – and the game doesn’t push demand as much skill or finesse as some Souls-likes do. If you’re looking strictly for a tough-as-nails game to punish yourself with, it isn’t likely that Lords of the Fallen will do the trick. What this does mean, is that is an excellent entry point for those feeling intimidated by the reputation of other Soul-likes, while also allowing highly skilled players the opportunity to flex and have fun.
Marked for Death
One of the things that makes Lords of the Fallen feel so simultaneously fresh and familiar is that it walks down the path paved by Dark Souls rather than any of FROMSOFT’s other titles. A lot of recent Soulslikes have taken after the franchise’s more active and aggressive entries, specifically Bloodborne and Sekiro, where acting first and risking a hit for a big payout is the norm. There have been a lot of these titles as of late, with Lies of P and Thymesia being two great examples, but, aside from FROMSOFTWARE’s own Elden Ring, we seldom get many games trying to emulate the slower-paced, reactive style of the Souls series.
Enter Lords of the Fallen which is, unashamedly, borrowing a lot from that traditional style. A lot of the time, you’ll be reacting to your enemies and using flaws in their attack patterns as indicators for when to attack rather than creating opportunities for yourself. Blocking and dodging take priority over parrying in most situations and there’s a lot more preparation for each major fight with regard to consumables, equipment and the like. Neither system is better than the other but, after several high-profile releases which promote relentless aggression as the best form of offence and defence, it is comforting to return to a familiar, reactive style of play which rewards patience and timing above all else.
In short, Lords of the Fallen manages to deliver a combat system which confidently stands alongside its inspirations. It absolutely nails and refines that traditional reactive Souls playstyle while keeping a lot of the quality-of-life features from newer titles to create a compelling, deep combat framework that I enjoyed breaking apart. While it may not succeed as well as its predecessor in terms of boss variety or overall difficulty, Lords of the Fallen carves out its own unique place in the genre and I suspect any Soulslike fan will thoroughly enjoy their time in Mournstead.
Adyr’s Power at Your Fingertips
Relic of An Older Age
On the exploration side, Lords of the Fallen has plenty of interesting areas to explore. With a world as torn and messed up as Mournstead, there are going to be a lot of fascinating sights to see. You have your classic swampy bayous and grand fantasy castles, but there’s also a historic city doused in neverending flame and infusing the land with a constant downpour of ash or a sheer cliff where poor tortured pilgrims try to reach the apex and ascend. All of these locations are already so distinct and memorable, becoming enhanced by the fact that there are hidden secrets in all of them lurking in Umbral (something we’ll discuss more shortly).
Of course, it wouldn’t be Souls-like without shortcuts and Lords of the Fallen handles them really, really well.. for the most part. Fans of Firelink Shrine and the old-school method of world design seen in the original Dark Souls will be elated with how the game handles shortcuts and loops back to the main hub of Skyrest Bridge: there are at least 4 or 5 connecting paths back there from different parts of the world, making every location feel interconnected and like a relic from a place that was once alive and fell to ruin, instead of a world that was never populated to begin with. The only downside to this is that some of the Vestiges (the game’s equivalent to Bonfires) are quite spread out and demand a lot from you in traversal, but that’s a very minor gripe in the presence of such great worldbuilding.
Secrets Long Buried
Axiom and Umbral, the Twin Worlds
Without question, though, the best thing about Lords of the Fallen is the twin worlds system. Axiom is the Land of the Living and it is where you’ll spend most of your time as you explore Mournstead but, just on the other side of this invisible curtain is Umbral, the Land of the Dead. Umbral is a ghastly, terrifying place that is paradoxically elegant in its horror. As a Lampbearer, you are one of the few who has access to both realms: by holding aloft your Umbral Lamp, you can gain a glimpse of the Land of the Dead through your lantern’s light, allowing you to pass through previously locked doors or cross gaping pits without fully taking in the realm’s horrors.
If you need to take a more proactive approach, you can hop from Axiom into Umbral at the press of a button, completely altering the landscape into a ghoulish place full of waxy white behemoths and unblinking eyes. This process of rifting opens up new opportunities for gameplay and exploration: where a lake may rest in the Land of the Living, the Land of the Dead will answer with a chasm, as water doesn’t exist in Umbral. Or an area may be blocked and unavailable and, upon rifting to Umbral, you’ll find yourself face-to-face with a grotesque, ever-watching abomination that must be cut off from its source to open the way. Knowing that something may be lurking just beyond your compression forces you to explore Mournstead with your eyes and your insights instead of relying on a map or markers and it is an incredibly freeing feeling.
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- Axiom, Land of the Living
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- Umbral, Land of the Dead
That feeling of being watched, of constantly being monitored and judged by some unknowable thing, is even accounted for in the gameplay. The longer you spend in Umbral, the more attention you attract, focusing the gaze of whatever Eldritch nightmare lurks in the margins on you, spawning an ever-increasing legion of undead foes who only grow stronger as your lurking is prolonged. Umbral is a realm which feels unsafe and unquestionable. It can give you the power to return from death or open a new path forward but you never feel like it’s master: you are always a small, inconceivable thing in Umbral, and the constant reminders of that through both worldbuilding and gameplay are superb.
On a technical level, the ability to simply warp to a new instance of the entire world nearly seamlessly and without any load screens is an incredible feat, especially for immersion. Everything else the Umbral adds to the game is breathtaking and there was never a moment where I rifted to the other side and didn’t come away awe-struck thanks to some invisible, hidden wonder of Mournstead that I definitely shouldn’t have been able to see. Not only did they pull off Umbral as a technical marvel, but as an excellent feature in every single facet of the game, separating Lords of the Fallen from every other Souls-like in the genre.
Secrets of the Dead
Sound and Design | Heretical, Beautiful
World and art design is one part where Lords of the Fallen succeeds in spades, becoming one of the most artistically interesting and arresting fantasy games of the year. The promotional material for the game focuses heavily on the shift between highly saturated pops of colour and the light and shadows that swell to consume them. While the game itself is a lot more down-to-earth in its style, it musters up plenty of moments of evoking imagery: a bountiful field of bells offered in prayer, a room dedicated to worship where the desperate hands of statued sinners reach down from above, a long-dead warrior surrounded by delightful little flowers, there’s no shortage of the visual treats Lords of the Fallen offers up.
I’ve already gushed a lot about Umbral but it deserves even more praise on account of its artistic merits. Through Umbral’s lens, Mournstead completely shapeshifts, becoming a land of slick white leviathans and silently screaming piles of carrion. It’s never bloody, nor is it ever gory, but it remains eternally perturbing. Rifting and watching as a gargantuan creature materialises before you, taking up an impossible amount of space in some cave, cavern or skyline never got old and served to provide Lords of the Fallen its own distinct feel and style. That juxtaposition between warmth, whether it be Adyr’s fire or Orius’ light, and the cold emptiness of the Umbral is a theme the game constantly revisits and it works brilliantly.
Even separate from the bleak otherworldliness of Umbral, Axiom is just as disturbed. Even little details such as the fact that magic requires a blood sacrifice to conjure (something carried over to gameplay as casting any type of spell applies a slight Bleed debuff to yourself) help mystify and build up Mournstead as a dark fantasy marvel. While there isn’t anything particularly new here – a land ravaged by the war between God and man isn’t exactly cutting edge in the fantasy genre – it is refined to a fine point, making for one of the best fleshed-out fantasy worlds in a long time… even if you have to dig through a lot of lore and complicated terms to get there.
A Profane World
In the sound department, Umbral steals the show once again. The faint whispers and ever-present baby’s cry haunt the Land of Dead, ironically imbuing it with a life and energy that matches the grim surroundings. The noises of Umbral sell how dangerous and alien it is, how just being there is to be surrounded by chaos beyond reckoning. The voice actors for all the NPCs did a similarly good job, selling the disparaged, downtrodden pawns in this tumultuous world excellently. From the ever-faithful Pieta to the crazed mania of Damarose, the people of Morunstead are as cryptic and aloof as any FROMSOFT character.
On the music side, the grand orchestra that swells during boss fights or the main theme are a brilliant addition that serves to make any major fight or encounter feel as epic and audacious as possible. Aside from that, though, there’s nothing too standout about the music or sound design in Lords of the Fallen: there wasn’t any one track or sound that I heard and remembered, just the general glib vibe that was seared into my head. Lords of the Fallen’s backing and soundscape are excellent additions, heightening key moments of tension or intrigue but without leaving any real lasting impression afterwards.
The Grisly Mechanics of Umbral
Technical State | More to Tell
Technical performance is where Lords of the Fallen takes the biggest stumble, at least on PC. Starting with glitches, I ran into quite a few during my 50 hours with the game. The most common glitch I ran into involved enemies (and even some bosses) glitching above the hitboxes of certain parts of the environment, causing them to endlessly fall in one spot. Other notable bugs included a time I spawned into the game’s main hub, Skyrest Bridge, only for every NPC in the area to be completely invisible and force me to restart my game to fix it, or some minor texture bugs where enemies would explode into a mess of elongated limbs.
The worst, though, had to be a bug that crashed my game whenever I tried to trigger a specific Umbral Lamp interaction: it randomly fixed itself several hours later, but I ran into at least two instances of this sort of crash. Aside from that, Lords of the Fallen also hard crashed three separate times. The game saves itself automatically and you’ll be right back where you last were, but it did occur at a frequent enough cadence that it became slightly frustrating.
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- Floating Boss
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- Invisible NPCs
If you want to know the specs for the review PC, you can find them all below. Across 50 hours of total playtime on Medium settings, I was able to consistently hit 60 FPS most of the time. However, in certain areas with a lot of weather effects like heavy snow or rain, the FPS would fluctuate massively and I would experience a lot of stuttering. There were several updates over the review period which either increased or decreased performance, so we recommend keeping an eye out for how performance is with the Day 1 patch if you’re unsure.
Overall, Lords of the Fallen’s technical state was pretty rocky. Even with the shaky performance aside, running into glitches and bugs was pretty common. The damage this dealt wasn’t to any of the core game systems – all of the bugs (aside from the hard crashes) were minor enough that I could navigate around or even exploit them in my own favour – but to my immersion. Lords of the Fallen does such an excellent job of drawing you into its world that seeing a tough enemy become a helpless meat sack floating in the air was a disappointingly common sight. I wouldn’t skip over the game because of this performance, personally, but it is a big enough deal to point it out, especially for mid to low-end PCs.
| RAM | 16GB (3200 MHz) |
| GPU | GeForce GTX 1660 Super (6GB VRAM) |
| CPU | 11th Gen Intel(R) Core i5-11400F |
| Motherboard | ASUS PRIME B560-Plus |
| OS | Windows 11 |
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- May Radiance Guide You
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- Claimed by Death
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- Through Light and Fire
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- Echoes of the Past
Lords of the Fallen game code was provided directly by CI Games.
