Lords of the Fallen review: Souls-like excellence, held back by technical shortcomings

Lords of the Fallen has me very conflicted. On one hand, I enjoyed my time with the game, exploring every nook and cranny of its "dual world," going up against brutally challenging bosses and sinking hours upon hours into min-maxing my builds. However, on the other hand, I despised some of the bizarre level design choices, gameplay systems, and technical issues.

And despite my complaints with the game, I found myself drawn to it regularly, going through two complete playthroughs on two completely different platforms. Developer Hexworks managed to nail the eery atmosphere of a dark fantasy setting, complete with nightmarish creatures and an immaculately detailed world.

While I had my fair share of souls-like experiences this year, from Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty to Lies of P, none of those games compare to the sheer amount of innovation Lords of the Fallen brings to the genre. Unfortunately, the game is severely marred by the bulk of its ambitions, especially on the technical front, souring what is otherwise a fantastic souls-like title.

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Lords of the Fallen: An exceptional souls-like with some innovative ideas, marred by severe technical shortcomings

Stellar visuals backed by immaculate presentation and art style

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First things first, Lords of the Fallen is arguably the most visually stunning souls-like game I've ever played since Bluepoint's Demon's Souls remake. While I adore FromSoftware's games, I'd be the first one to agree that their titles lack quite a lot in terms of visual fidelity. This is where souls-likes from other studios and developers shine.

We already had Lies of P a few weeks earlier, which, despite being a cross-generational title, featured some of the best visuals ever witnessed in a souls-like experience. And now, with Lords of the Fallen, the bar has been raised significantly in terms of raw visual fidelity.

Most of the heavy lifting in the visuals and presentation department for Lords of the Fallen is done by Epic Games' Unreal Engine 5.1, thanks to its advanced global illumination, lighting, and shaders. Unfortunately, the impressive visuals come at a very high cost to performance, something I'll be discussing later in this review.

Apart from the game's graphical fidelity, Lords of the Fallen also shines when it comes to its art style, which I found to be quite apt for a dark fantasy RPG. The game perfectly captures the feeling of dread, isolation, and mysticism, something very few fantasy RPGs manage to achieve with this level of complexity and detail.

Lords of the Fallen is arguably one of the most visually stunning souls-likes out there. (Image via CI Games)

Often, while exploring the game's many different biomes, from the muddy swamps to the ruined cathedrals, I found myself just stopping simply to admire the artistry on display. It is rare for me to stop dead in my tracks to my next objective in games, just so I can soak in the visual splendor on offer, but Lords of the Fallen felt like an exception to this rule.

Audio and soundtrack are hit or miss

Soundtracks and audio design is another major aspect of any souls-like that can essentially make or break the experience. Fortunately, for the most part, Lords of the Fallen's sound design is fantastic, enhancing not only the game's immersion factor but also the moment-to-moment gameplay. However, there are also a few instances where the sound designs feel lacking.

The ambient soundtrack in Skyview Bridge is mesmerizing. (Image via CI Games)

I really liked the main menu theme, which I feel is the best menu soundtrack in any souls-like game, period. The ambient score of the game's different biomes is also done well, coming quite close to titles like Dark Souls 3 in that regard. However, when it comes to the weapon sounds, Lords of the Fallen somewhat fumbles.

You see, weapon sounds in this game felt a tad bit off, especially the impact sounds for each weapon type. There's also a lack of any prominent sound for counterattacks, something that is very important for a game emphasizing parries and perfect blocks.

However, I should mention that once I got in grips with the game and sank a couple of hours into it, I eventually got accustomed to its sound design. However, the first few hours did feel quite jarring to me. I should also mention that the game does tend to cut audio entirely in some instances, especially while navigating the inventory.

Fantastic story offset by weak characters

Lords of the Fallen takes place in a world called Mournstead, where a war has been waged between Sentinels of Radiance and demon spawns of a once-fallen god, Adyr. However, the centuries of war have only brought death and destruction to the land.

The story embraces its dark fantasy roots. (Image via CI Games)

And with the impending rise of Adyr, you, as a Dark Crusader and lamp-bearer are tasked with stopping the demon lord's return. The story of Lords of the Fallen is essentially a straightforward dark fantasy affair, albeit with some clever twists. While it isn't anything groundbreaking, the story here is serviceable and engaging enough.

However, what drags the game down a couple of notches are the characters, which I found to be very bland despite featuring excellent voice acting. None of the characters, apart from Pieta, Molhu, and a few other side characters, were memorable at the least. As much as I liked the game's setting, I never got invested in the characters and their personal stories.

However, I did like how the game's ending is played out, especially the revelations made during the final few chapters. There were some cool moments in the story which left me awestruck. As such, it's a shame that the first few hours of the game do not feature any memorable enough characters to bind you to the world, apart from your Dark Crusader.

Top-notch gameplay and exploration

Now for the meat and bones of the Lords of the Fallen, i.e., its gameplay. Well, coming from someone who really adores the souls-like genre and is always on the lookout for the next big souls-like title to play and sink hundreds of hours into, Lords of the Fallen did not disappoint me in terms of its gameplay. In fact, in quite a lot of ways, the game surprised me.

The ranged classes in Lords of the Fallen are quite overpowered. (Image via CI Games)

As a Dark Crusader, you can traverse to and fro between both the land of the living - Axiom and the land of the dead - Umbral. This rifting mechanic is something I wasn't initially sold on but eventually started to appreciate quite a lot. Essentially, whenever you die in the realm of the living, i.e., Axiom, you're transported almost immediately to Umbral.

While the general level layout between both of these worlds remains the same, there are quite a few changes that make both of these realms stand apart. Also, the lamp you carry with you at all times - the Umbral Lamp, is a tool that lets you peer into the Umbral world from within Axiom itself.

This mechanic reminded me of the "Crack in the Slab" mission from Arkane Studios' Dishonored 2, where you're given a time-piece, which lets you peer into the past while staying in the present, and vice versa.

The Umbral Lamp is a fantastic addition to the game. (Image via CI Games)

This one mechanic alone is something that blew my mind when I first started playing the game. I mean, the game at all times essentially features two entirely different levels sandwiched on top of one another while letting the player interact with either of them at any time during gameplay. I'm impressed by Hexworks' innovative approach to exploration and gameplay.

There are also plenty of environmental puzzles in the game that make use of this rifting mechanic, which I found to be quite fun. I'd admit, I initially thought the Umbral Lamp and the way it lets you interact with two different realms would be a complicated gameplay mechanic to get into grips with. But honestly, it isn't nearly as complicated or overwhelming as it might sound.

Combat system and my gripes with it

While I'm impressed with the game's moment-to-moment gameplay, I'm somewhat conflicted on having similar sentiments on its combat system. Don't get me wrong, Lords of the Fallen's combat isn't shallow or boring, but it lacks in several departments, which isn't a good outlook for a souls-like game. The combat system here feels very floaty, lacking any form of weight.

There are some challenging boss fights in Lords of the Fallen. (Image via CI Games)

I usually stick to playing melee classes, since, as much as I like sorcery and spells, nothing beats the "unga-bunga" playtstyle of smacking everything in your path with a heavy stick or a sword. However, Lords of the Fallen is the very first souls-like game where I chose to go for a mage (pyromancer) playstyle over the melee options.

The melee weapon attack animations in Lords of the Fallen feel very floaty, and as a result, it never quite felt right or satisfying to use weapons like swords, spears, hammers, etc. The "floaty" animations aren't limited to the weapon attacks but also other combat maneuvers such as parrying, side stepping, and even dodge rolling.

The combat in Lords of the Fallen reminded me of the time when I first played Dark Souls 2, right after finishing both Dark Souls Remastered and Dark Souls 3. As much as I appreciate the new things Dark Souls 2 brought to FromSoftware's "Souls" formula, I have to admit, the combat in that game was not its strongest suit, at least not in the first few hours.

The immaculately detailed world of Axiom. (Image via CI Games)

The same is true for Lords of the Fallen. If you're like me, coming from games like Elden Ring, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro, or even Lies of P, Lords of the Fallen's combat will feel quite alienating at first. However, once you do spend some time with the game, you'll eventually get accustomed to the combat system.

Lords of the Fallen might not have the flashiest combat system in the souls-like genre, but that crown is still held firmly by FromSoftware's games and 2023's other souls-like releases like Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty and Lies of P. However, it does deliver a combat system that's quite engaging and, dare I say, fun, albeit one that takes a bit of getting used to.

Technical issues and performance

As I mentioned at the start of my review, Lords of the Fallen is a visually stunning game in terms of its graphical fidelity. However, the visual splendor comes at a heavy cost to performance on both current-gen consoles as well as PCs. Unreal Engine 5.1, despite all its visual upgrades, is quite a demanding engine with very little headroom for performance improvements.

You will cross paths with several NPCs during the game's story. (Image via CI Games)

I first started playing the game on my modest PC, equipped with a Ryzen 5 5600 CPU, Nvidia Geforce GTX 1660 Super GPU, 16GB of RAM, and the game is installed on a gen4 m.2 SSD. Although I managed to get by the first couple of hours without any issues with the lowest presets and at 1080p, the later sections of the game were borderline unplayable.

The game exhibited frequent framerate drops even without much happening on the screen, freezing and stuttering, which constantly took me out of the experience, as well as a plethora of crashes. At one point, the game became so unstable that I wasn't even able to progress without it crashing.

Fortunately, thanks to CI Games, I was able to test the game on my PS5, where the performance was much better but not great. Even on the PS5, the game frequently dropped frames and also exhibited stuttering, especially after defeating a boss. There's also an issue with the game that causes it to freeze momentarily every time you unlock a trophy.

Despite the technical shortcomings, Lords of the Fallen features some of the most incredible visuals in any souls-like to date. (Image via CI Games)

However, during the review period, the game was updated three times, which rectified several issues, especially on PlayStation 5. And considering the frequency of updates Hexworks has deployed since the game's release, I think the developers will eventually iron out most of the issues present in Lords of the Fallen, it's just a matter of when.

In conclusion

Lords of the Fallen is arguably one of the most innovative souls-like role-playing games I've played since Bloodborne. The amount of new ideas it brings to the table with the dual world system, as well as the Umbral Lamp, make the game feel unique even within the niche souls-like genre.

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Coupled with some of the best visuals and a stunning art direction, CI Games' latest RPG feels like the true "next-gen" souls-like I've been waiting for a long, long time. However, at the same time, Lords of the Fallen also feels like a textbook example of biting off more than one can chew.

While I appreciate the very high ambitions Hexworks and CI Games had for this game, the duality of its level design, as well as the strict adherence to the cryptic form of storytelling, do end up dragging the experience down a bit. Add to that the plethora of technical issues with the game on all platforms leaves a lot to be desired.

Although I cannot recommend the game to anyone in its current state, I do feel that when Hexworks has rectified most, if not all, issues with title updates, Lords of the Fallen is a must-play for any souls-like or action RPG fan.