5 key takeaways from Lords of the Fallen gameplay presentation

CI Games and HEXWORKS' upcoming souls-like action RPG, Lords of the Fallen, was recently showcased with a dedicated gameplay presentation. The 18-minute trailer gave players their first look at the title's many different locales, enemies, and key gameplay systems. It also gave fans a glimpse at some of the game's bosses and build variations.

Developed as a spiritual successor to Deck13's Lords of the Fallen (2014), the upcoming title is shaping up to be a great new souls-like experience. However, it differs from its predecessor in some key areas, including general progression and level design.

The trailer went in-depth on the game's unique "Umbral" world system and how it will play into the moment-to-moment gameplay and exploration.

Here are five key takeaways from the Lords of the Fallen gameplay presentation.

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From exploration to build variety: 5 important takeaways from Lords of the Fallen's recent gameplay presentation trailer

1) Navigating the world

Exploration is a key aspect of any souls-like title. With Lords of the Fallen, HEXWORKS and CI Games have taken a rather unique approach to exploration, giving players two entirely different overlapping areas, the land of the living, Axiom, as well as the land of the dead, Umbral. They can be accessed anytime during gameplay.

While most of the title's levels are centered around exploring the decrepit lands and ruins, players can also seamlessly transition into the land of the dead, i.e., Umbral, using the aptly named tool, the Umbral Lamp. Navigating the maze-like environments will require players to make intelligent use of the Umbral Lamp.

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2) Stepping into the Umbral

Most of the time during gameplay, you will be peering into the Umbral realm to find your way out of the levels (via the Umbral Lamp). However, there will also be instances where you will need to step into the Umbral. This can be done in two ways - by dying or by sacrificing one of your two lives.

While it might feel like stepping into Umbral is a bad choice, especially since it comes at the cost of sacrificing your life, it will be necessary to progress through the main story.

Umbral is also home to some of the rarest and most powerful resources and rewards in the game.

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3) Spawning your own checkpoints

As you explore the Axiom and Umbral, you will be able to spawn your very own checkpoints, called the Vestige, in certain parts of the map. However, spawning a Vestige will come at the cost of rare resources, which adds a risk-reward factor to them.

Much like a traditional souls-like, the Vestige functions as the hub that you will need to interact with to perform certain tasks, including leveling up, switching build attributes, and more.

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4) Build variations

One of the most important aspects of any good souls-like title is the amount of replayability they offer via build variety. It seems Lords of the Fallen will not disappoint in that regard, with the game featuring some really cool melee and magic build options, complete with a plethora of weapon choices.

The two options that were showcased in the recent gameplay demonstration were a melee-focused high-DPS build, which, despite equipping a rather heavy armament, was quite agile on the battlefield, and a summoner-pyromancer hybrid build.

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5) Seamless co-op

The recent gameplay presentation for Lords of the Fallen also gave fans a glimpse at the uninterrupted co-op feature. To initiate a co-op session, players will need to be online and interact with a Vestige. They will be able to invite a friend or another online player to fight alongside them.

Similarly to other recent souls-like releases such as FromSoftware's Elden Ring or Gunfire Games' Remnant 2, co-op in CI Games' upcoming title is entirely optional.

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Lords of the Fallen is scheduled to be released on October 13, 2023, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows PC.