Now having dropped the new ‘The’, rebooted franchise Lords of the Fallen is attempting to make a real splash on the soulslike scene on the 13th of October 2023. The original was one of the first soulslikes from another studio to expand FromSoftware’s signature genre. But it didn’t do especially well with critics, achieving just a 68 on Metacritic. Well, the IP is back, and we’re hoping nine whole years is enough to make a much more refined and rewarding experience. CI Games have released an incredibly generous (or indulgent, your choice) 18-minute gameplay video with commentary from the developer, showing off the game’s diverse and harrowing environments, supposedly seamless co-op, parallel worlds, and fast-paced combat. Check it out below, but come back when you’re done, yeah?
Hoping to have something a little different from other soulslikes, because let’s face it, you’ve got to stand out from a crowd now, Lords of the Fallen features an interesting two-lives, two-worlds mechanic. From the Press Release:
Alongside the living realm, Axiom, exists its undead counterpart, Umbral, with each realm featuring its own unique pathways, enemies, characters, and, of course, treasures. Equipped with the Umbral Lamp, players can cross over to this parallel world at any time, however, doing so will use one of their two lives. As for when a player dies in the living realm, they will automatically resurrect in the exact same spot albeit in the undead realm, for one final chance to survive… though the odds will be against them.
Promising uninterrupted and very simple co-op connectivity that will allow two friends or strangers to complete virtually the entire game together, and an overhauled melee and magic system, things are shaping up well this time around. If you’ve been missing your rock-hard Dark Souls/Elden Ring fix, perhaps Lords of the Fallen is just what you need.
Lords of the Fallen is available to pre-order now only on high-end PC’s, and current-gen consoles PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, releasing Friday 13th October 2023.
