Skip to content

LORDS OF THE FALLEN

Written By:

Callum Shephard
lordsofthefallen

GAME REVIEW: LORDS OF THE FALLEN / DEVELOPER: DECK13 INTERACTIVE, CI GAMES / PUBLISHER: SQUARE ENIX / PLATFORM: PLAYSTATION 4, XBOX ONE, PC / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Wearing its influences on its sleeve, it’s clear that Deck13 Interactive’s Lords of the Fallen is a title trying to capitalise on the success of Dark Souls. Yet rather than being the soulless cash-in many would expect, Lords of the Fallen puts a unique spin on things to help it stand out on its own. Here the player takes the role of Harkyn, a convicted criminal in a world where every man’s sin is laid bare for all to see. Released with a chance for redemption he is sent on a seemingly suicidal mission to halt a demonic invasion.

While hardly the most genre-breaking tale ever to grace this generation, the concepts behind the story and the world itself are enough to give it some substance. As you hack your way through the legions of the damned, there’s a constant sense of what is at stake and Harkyn’s character development plays into the game’s mechanic of breaking and forming alliances. This excellent atmosphere is punctuated by a stylised gothic presentation reminiscent of a far grimmer, darker Kingdoms of Amalur.

As expected, the meat of the gameplay comes down to its combat mechanics and it’s all you’d expect. A couple of hits will generally kill you outright, timing and careful management of resources is essential, and you’ll die repeatedly thanks to the game’s sadistic placement of enemies. This said, Lords of the Fallen manages to both be far more forgiving to players while encouraging them to take greater risks. This comes in the form of the combo multiplier, which increases with every kill made, booting the chance to get that all important loot but resetting you save, die or upgrade skills. This risk-reward system always pushes anyone wanting success to try and go that little bit further, but leaves a window of opportunity to ease in new players.

Unfortunately problems begin to appear when you step beyond the core mechanics. Despite being an Action RPG at heart, the game lacks variety in terms of magic and armour types, and these ultimately boil down to the expected warrior, rogue or mage choices with a few crossover classes. Atop of this many missions come down to your common or garden find item/slay monster quests without much variety. If you’re here more for the loot and less for the story and visuals, the tedium of this quickly builds up within only a few hours.

Things are only made worse by the sheer volume of bugs, especially late in the game. These range from aggravating graphical issues which can get players killed, notably invisible enemies, to some truly game-breaking ones at times. With an already steep difficulty and blindsiding instant-death traps, this addition can turn a deadly game into a tooth-grindingly frustrating waste of time.

Lords of the Fallen is by no means bad. Once the bugs are patched out it will be a decent title, but it seems to never push that bit further with its ideas when it could have been something truly outstanding. Give it a look if you’re interested in its setting and inspirations, but don’t expect anything which will set your world on fire.
 

SHARE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW OR ON TWITTER @STARBURST_MAG

Find your local STARBURST stockist HERE, or buy direct from us HERE. For our digital edition (available to read on your iOS, Android, Amazon, Windows 8, Samsung and/or Huawei device – all for just £1.99), visit MAGZTER DIGITAL NEWSSTAND.

CLICK TO BUY!

MORE FROM AROUND THE WEB:

Callum Shephard

You May Also Like...

chinese remake of anaconda drops trailer

ANACONDA Trailer Grants First Look At Remake Of 1997 Horror Flick

Three sequels and a spinoff-crossover film wasn’t enough for the 1997 creature feature Anaconda, which not only has a new movie in development, but is getting a Chinese remake! From
Read More
black widow star scarlett johansson in talks to lead new universal jurassic world film

Scarlett Johansson In Talks To Join JURASSIC WORLD Film

Another MCU star appears to be taking up the reins for Universal’s new Jurassic World movie: two-time Oscar nominee Scarlett Johansson is reportedly in talks to lead the franchise that
Read More

Exclusive Reveal! Titan Comics to Deliver Prehistoric Hysterics in First 2 DUMB DINOS Collection

Titan Comics have exclusively revealed to STARBURST that they’re gearing up to publish the first-ever collection of the hilarious cult digital comic strip 2 Dumb Dinos, and we’re not the
Read More

New Dates For Lovecraftian Key of Dreams

Key of Dreams has announced new spaces for its titular immersive luxury horror event. The critically acclaimed company is known for its overnight experiences that dunk you into a strange
Read More

FAB Café to Host Free Film Screening of New Indie Comedy SECRETS OF A WALLABY BOY

We’re well known for our championing of truly independent filmmakers here at STARBURST, so it’s doubly exciting to be writing about one of our own! After joining the crew in
Read More
colin farrell returns as oswald cobblepot in the penguin series trailer

Colin Farrell Returns In THE PENGUIN Trailer

Colin Farrell returns as Gotham City’s answer to Tony Soprano in the first trailer for Max series The Penguin, which spins out of the world of the 2022 DC film
Read More