Recent reviews by Oli Sykes

INTRO

There’ve been many Souls-like games in the last decade. Some, like Remnant 2, Nioh 2, and the Lies of P, have done a pretty decent job of giving Fromsoftware a run for their money, while others, like Code Vein, just couldn’t manage to break the mould. However, there’s one good Souls-like title that’s got critics and Souls fans buzzing, and that game is none other than Lords of the Fallen.

Lords of the Fallen is a Soulslike action/adventure role-playing game released in 2023. Despite being quite similar to the Dark Souls Universe, Lords of the Fallen managed to set itself apart through its unique gameplay mechanic that allows players to interact with both the realm of the living and the realm of the dead.

The game was released to mostly positive reviews, with an 8 out of 10 score from IGN and a 75 percent Metacritic score, which was a better score than that of its predecessor in 2014. Is Lords of the Fallen Overrated, or is it a Souls game that’s worth playing, especially as we await the release of the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC? Find out in today’s review!

STORY

The game's story is set in the same universe as the first Lords of the Fallen Game. A thousand years have passed since the events of the first game when the followers of the God Orius defeated and imprisoned Adyr, the god of Rhogar.
Now, Adyr’s seal is growing weak, and his return would spell the destruction of all humanity. As a lamp-bearer gifted with the ability to traverse through Axiom, the realm of the living and Umbral, the domain of the dead, you are tasked with restoring the beacons which imprison the demon God and preventing his return.
Lords of the Fallen’s story is a cookie-cutter dark fantasy tale that’s quite similar to the stories of other Souls games. The story simply serves as a depressing backdrop for you to run around and fight bosses while monsters attack you and poke you with their pointy sticks.
The game also has three different endings, with each one resulting in the destruction of humanity or a large portion of it. The lore may not be as complex as, say, Bloodborne, but it's still as depressing and nihilistic as all Souls fans are undoubtedly used to. So, if you are into a story that gives you an existential crisis, then Lord of the Fallen is probably the game for you.

GAMEPLAY
We all know the real beauty of Souls-like titles is in their gameplay, and Lords of the Fallen is no different. From checkpoints called vestiges, which you can also access to level up your character, to shortcuts, secret locations, weapon scaling, and cryptic NPC Questlines, Lords of the Fallen is a Souls game through and through. In fact, one could almost say it wears its ‘soul’ on its ‘sleeve’ (awkward pause). Get it? Cause it's a Souls game.
However, the game still manages to distinguish itself with the addition of some unique gameplay mechanics, the most apparent of which is the Umbral realm. Umbral is the realm of the dead, and while exploring the map, players can access the Umbral using the Umbral lamp and; by doing so, they can solve puzzles and access paths which are otherwise inaccessible in Axiom.
Also, I think it’s pretty cool that when you die, you have to venture into the Umbral realm and wade through hordes of enemies to retrieve your XP, or else you’ll lose it forever. It felt like a nice touch of innovation on a tried and trusted Souls mechanic. That said, Umbral is a pretty terrifying place to be in, crawling with all sorts of Eldritch abominations. I don’t advise any player to spend an extended period of time in there.
Another cool gameplay mechanic that Lords of the Fallen has is the use of Vestige seeds to create temporary checkpoints. This way, you can save your progress without having to fight your way to a Vestige each time. Checkpoints in the game are few and far between, so I think the introduction of vestige seeds is a commendable addition.
Ultimately, the gameplay is one of the areas where Lords of the Fallen really shines, and I found it quite enjoyable. However, the same can’t be said for the game’s combat and here’s why.

COMBAT
Lord’s of the Fallen has all the ingredients needed to create an incredible combat experience: 15 Weapon categories featuring 180 unique weapons, three different Spell types with 60 unique spells, and close to 90 Armor sets. And don’t even get me started on the four distinct damage types. Yet somehow, the combat feels unsatisfactory, as if something is missing.
The sword-swinging is janky, the rolling is clunky, the camera can be ludicrously off sometimes, and that goes double for the lock-on mechanics. At times, I found myself locked onto an archer several feet away while being mauled by the enemies right in front of me.
This is not to say it was terribly done. It’s clear the developers put a lot of work into this game. I loved how unique each of the enemies looked, none more than the Mendacious Visage enemy, which is basically giant heads that shoot projectiles at you, but combat is such an important part of any Souls game that you can’t afford to screw it up.
The Wither damage type was definitely a step in the right direction. It reminded me a lot of the rally mechanic from Bloodborne, but besides it, there aren’t a lot of other innovations in the game’s combat.
The unpolished combat is aggravated by widely inconsistent Boss fights. Some bosses, like Congregator of the Flesh, are laughably easy to beat, while others, like Pieta, are just incredibly difficult. In fact, fighting Pieta felt like fighting Sister Friede on steroids.
That said, the faulty combat wasn’t too much of a deal breaker for me. I actually enjoyed it, and I think you will too.

VISUALS AND PERFORMANCE
Lords of the Fallen is a visually spectacular game. Every inch of its massive map is well detailed and immersive—don’t even get me started on the Umbral realm. Sometimes, I had chills just exploring its sprawling map.
Performance-wise, the game could do better. From stuttering frame rates to a nightmare glitch that causes players to lose all their levels, the game can feel damn near unplayable sometimes. However, the developers, Hexworks, have consistently released patches for many of these glitches, and if you are buying the game in 2024, then I doubt you will run into too many issues; fingers crossed!

RATING
Lords of the Fallen is an incredible Souls Game. Its visuals are breathtaking, its gameplay mechanics are laudable, and its vast map has so many awesome locations begging to be explored. Although the game is plagued by a somewhat lacklustre combat, it’s definitely worth experiencing, especially if you are a fan of Souls-like games.
Therefore, I will be giving Lords of the Fallen a review score of 7 out of 10.

well written game that is very grim and depressing. 10/10 would cry again

I have not played much but so far its guud.

Edit- its a guud game. :)

one of the best games ever created.