Lords of the Fallen (2023)

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About

Lords of the Fallen is a 2023 reboot of the 2014 video game of the same name, developed by Hexworks and published by CI Games. The game is a Soulslike action RPG and generated significant hype before its October 2023 release.

History

The 2014 release of Lords of the Fallen has been called the first "Soulslike" game,^[1] in that it was clearly heavily inspired by the Dark Souls franchise. However, it was released to lukewarm reviews^[2] and plans for a sequel were eventually scrapped.

Development on the 2023 release of Lords of the Fallen began in 2020 after publishers CI Games founded a new development studio called Hexworks.^[3] The first announcement trailer for the game was released on August 23rd, 2022 (shown below).

On July 22nd, 2023, IGN posted an extended gameplay overview of Lords of the Fallen, gaining over 2.1 million views in 3 months (shown below). The video showcased Lords of the Fallen's unique "Umbral Lamp" mechanic. The Umbral Lamp will allow players to travel to an alternate, more deadly dimension which may have different terrain and enemies. Use of the Umbral Lamp is necessary to complete some levels, but staying there for an extended period of time will draw hordes of aggressive and deadly enemies.

Prior to the game's release, its creative director Cezar Virtuso said the game's ambition was to be the best Soulslike game apart from the work of FromSoftware. In February of 2023, he said he hoped Lords of the Fallen could be considered Dark Souls 4.5. ^[4] The game was released on October 13th, 2023.

Reception

The game notably drew a mixed response from critics ahead of release, as the PS5 version scored a 73/100 and the PC version scored 77/100 based on reviews aggregated the day before its release.^[5] The mixed reaction from critics was covered in a piece by Kotaku,^[6] which aggregated both praise and criticisms from various gaming outlets. Pacing, artificial difficulty, unremarkable boss fights and technical issues were among several of the common complaints levied at the game. However, the level design, atmosphere and unique elements the game brought to the Soulslike formula were praised.