Lords of the Fallen

I was flabbergasted by what two largely unknown studios managed to achieve. Lords of the Fallen is not just a creative take on the formula introduced by From Software, but also a game that can rival the greatest recent RPGs and looks like Monica Bellucci and Sophie Marceau from their best years. [Dec 2014, p.40]

Straightforward copycat of "Souls" games achieved a success because it can reach players the Japanese series could not because it was too difficult. The game is still challenging but you won't be desperate from playing it. [Issue#247]

Dark Souls-ish action RPG with more civilized gameplay that makes it accessible to wider audience.

Tough, unforgiving but lacking a certain something. [Dec 2014, p.56]

Lords of the Fallen is a truly epic game but its smaller and worst than the Souls series games... at least it tried to dare where no one dared before.

Who would have thought that the union of two studios which didn’t have a single prominent game between them will yield a game worthy of all possible attention. This exciting and entertaining Action RPG adopted some Dark Souls’ basic mechanics but managed to preserve its own unique face. [Dec 2014, p.60]

Lords of the Fallen is a small miracle when you consider the size of the studios that have worked on the project and the quality of the art direction and combat system, but unfortunately it does not completely shine.

An interesting training ground for whoever wants to face bigger challenges in the near future, but it doesn't have the bone structure to fully stand as an all around experience on its own. On the other hand, some aspects of the combat system show personality, and will make the drawbacks even more annoying.

Despite the game’s shortcomings, you will hardly regret spending time with Lords of the Fallen. The developers set out to create a more humane version of Dark Souls 2, and they accomplished their mission, albeit not as brilliantly.

A good action RPG that tries to emulate the Souls series but lacks in terms of variety and length.

Lords of the Fallen isn’t ashamed of cloning the mechanics of the Souls series to bring a different perspective on the genre.

Clone or not, Lords of the Fallen is a good game in its own right. Powerful combat, lots of weapons and beautiful visuals will please those who are craving a challenge, despite some technical quirks, an obstructive camera and bland storytelling.

Lords of the Fallen is a very capable, if not fully realized and polished RPG. Its story and adventure are linear, but your path towards completion is Zelda-like in that you’ll revisit old areas and uncover new secrets. So a small world is made compelling by having it layered and fraught with danger. Deck13’s game is the sleeper hit for me of this year. I did not expect to like it as much as I did, and it certainly is a “Dark Souls Clone” much in the same way there are now “Diablo Clones” in the wild. Yet Lords of the Fallen proves there is plenty of room for more difficult, deep, and engaging RPGs in the world and does enough different to stand out from the pack. I sincerely hope we get a sequel, as I feel like Deck13 is only just beginning to build this world and carve a niche in the genre.

Inspired by the glorious Dark Souls series, Lord Of The Fallen was aiming at bringing some of the hardcore RPG magic to the next gen consoles. Truth is it's only a cheap ripoff of From Software's IP, with a difficulty that mainly comes from its slow and heavy hero, and not much appeal besides a few cleaver features.

It’s a solid action/RPG that stumbles on the execution of several of its fantastic ideas, but nevertheless provides a great entry point for those looking to get into the type of deep, challenging, and rewarding experiences that games like Dark Souls and Demon’s Souls provide.

A slightly below average game tarnished by bugs and glitches to the point where it simply can't be recommended.

Lords of the Fallen serves as a solid entry point to those toeing the waters of the Souls franchise, but simplified systems, a shallow story and forgettable bosses keep this game from dethroning the greats.

Entertaining Action-RPG with great fight mechanics, but full of problems regarding game balance and story.

This game offers entertaining battles that will make you work for it: hard. But at the same time it tries to be accessible, which seems to disturb the balance.

As a casual styled Dark Souls type game, it’s quite fun.

Lords of the Fallen is a decent role-playing experience with some innovative features but it's weighed down by the balancing problems and the technical issues. After a few updates, it might become a good and challenging RPG, but for now, it falls short.

Lords of the Fallen, a shameless and sloppy copy of Dark Souls, shouldn't be as enjoyable as it is. Somehow, through all its imbalance and oddity, it remains a surprising amount of fun, even if its propensity to make the player laugh is a sheer accident.

Lords of the Fallen has an intriguing idea for itself and as a result is simply a good game. The developers have borrowed Dark Souls' essence and modified it for a regular gamer. The game is smaller but more "to the point". Well thought-out but plagued with minor issues. Fortunately, most of them could easily be fixed, and all other flaws do not influence the fun.

Lords of the Fallen looks a lot like Dark Souls, but it doesn't reach its superb quality. It's still a good game, especially for gamers looking for a challenging Action RPG.

To those who are looking for another action-RPG fix prior to the release of Bloodborne and can overlook LotF’s derivative nature, then it’s worth a shot. For everyone else, though, there are plenty more games releasing just around the corner to warrant you overlooking this one.

Taken on its own this is a sophisticated fantasy RPG executed with consideration and thought, but Lords of the Fallen never really escapes the spectre of Souls, and it can only blame itself.

The world and characters are forgettable and uninspired without any of that deeper lore and storytelling Dark Souls is known and loved for. But despite those criticisms Lords of the Fallen is still worth a look if you’re after challenging combat and a grisly dark medieval world to explore.

If you have a capable rig—and don’t experience the crashes I did—I think it’s a worthwhile experience. Still, it’s less interesting than Dark Souls in terms of plot and setting, and full of wandering and grinding that first tested my patience, and finally made me as powerful as some of the bosses. If I could take its combat system, weapons, and enemies and put it in another more interesting game, I would.

The solid combat system is fun and entertaining, but the lack of a deep and fleshed out level design is a huge gap between Lords of the Fallen and the Souls saga.

As the game clock ticked towards 20 hours and beyond, I could never quite shake the feeling that I'd still rather be failing in Dark Souls than succeeding in Lords of the Fallen.

Lords of the Fallen isn’t going to triumph in a direct match-up with Dark Souls, but seeing the Souls combat system and level design transplanted with this degree of success into a shorter, more accessible game is really no bad thing.

The more straightforward design of Lords of the Fallen puts more focus on combat than building an interesting world. Players may be less likely to get lost, but the game lacks a sense of wonder and isn’t helped by its dull narrative and recycled enemies. Still, the solid mechanics are a step in the right direction.

A surprisingly solid title that wasn’t even on my radar. While it borrows heavily from the Souls franchise, it’s done well and with its own signature flair. I highly recommend this game to anyone that enjoys that series, and if you haven’t gone down that road before, it might be a more forgiving entry point into the action RPG.

Delivers entertaining hack-and-slash combat centered on combos and spells, but its risk-based reward system seems slightly out of place in a world where its hero so easily achieves great power and defense and makes risk obsolete.