Lords of the Fallen Critic Reviews

Lords of the Fallen succeeds in everything it tries. This may be a blood-filled trip but Mournstead, through its magical dual world, always calls us back for a last mortal dance.

Lords of the Fallen sets a new benchmark for all Soulslikes out there. It masters what we love about the genre, and adds to it in many ways. It won't get better than this for a while.

Lords of the Fallen is a stunningly good game. Following a path set for it by Dark Souls 3 it nails every major part of what makes From’s games so damned good. Stunning visually, the art style and music are some of my favorites. While the very end does get too “big” for its gameplay this one is an easy recommendation to both the most hardcore Souls lovers and those who feel intimidated. Seamless co-op takes what is a great game and makes it a special one.

Lords Of The Fallen doesn’t mess around. It’s a no-holds-barred, unapologetic rollercoaster ride from start to finish, and I can’t wait to go again.

Mix its intertwined-worlds mechanics into good melee, magic, and archery in a beautiful gothic setting and 2023’s Lords of the Fallen feels like something I’ll more than remember for what it did right and how it set itself apart. The duality of this game’s settings is both dastardly and dazzling.

After nearly a decade since the launch of the original Lords of the Fallen, CI Games and HexWorks deliver a reboot that exceeds all expectations. With responsive, precise, and challenging combat, innovative twists, stellar grimdark presentation, and more, it's one of the best Soulslikes I've ever played.

HEXWORKS has managed to take the best and the worst of the legendary From games, but adding new mechanics that make the title look fabulous. We have fascinating bosses, large areas to explore and enemies that I would not want to see even in my worst nightmares. Without a doubt, we are facing one of the great surprises of 2023 and it has most likely established the basis of some mechanics for future Soulslike-type titles.

Lords of the Fallen is a fantastic Soulslike. The game presents a number of its own ideas that it executes to perfection, with the duality of the worlds as its main asset. Axiom and the Threshold are masterfully created, and have a direct influence on the experience. The gameplay is respectful of the genre and innovative where it needs to be, and on a technical level the game is truly impressive.

A breath of fresh air into the stagnant genre and a big surprise. Lords of the Fallen is an example of a game into which a lot of love and carefully thought-out ideas have clearly poured. The result exceeded my expectations.

To sum it up, Lords of the Fallen turned out to be an excellent entry into the soulslike genre, cleverly combining trusty mechanics from other projects while maintaining its own identity. The game offers a unique challenge due to its complexity but at the same time doesn’t forget about the newcomers, giving them ample time to adapt.

Lords of the Fallen is probably the closest game to the Dark Souls series. Its unique world-switching mechanic, resurrection upon death, and bonfire-building features show the development team's deep understanding of Souls game design.

This recent iteration of Lords of the Fallen has finally achieved what the original couldn't do back in 2014: it has carved itself a unique place in the Soulslike genre where it can belong, allowing it stand confidently beside its inspirations. By refining the traditional Dark Souls style to a finely honed edge and combining it with some compelling lore, a fascinating world and the absolute marvel that is the Umbral realm system, Lords of the Fallen adds another notch to 2023's superb line-up of games. If you're okay with a somewhat obtuse narrative structure and the fact that it is certainly one of the easier Souslikes, Lords of the Fallen is a must-play title for anybody interested in a great Souslike set in a beautifully grim fantasy land.

Gripping and atmospheric Souls-like that scores with a gloomy atmosphere, exciting world design and precise combat system.

Lords of the Fallen is a game that wears its passion and love of the genre on its sleeve. A gorgeous world, gripping gameplay, enthralling bosses, and depthless worldbuilding persist in spite of some rough edges and a struggling sense of unique identity.

Lords of the Fallen is a great soulslike, and its killer new idea of swapping between two versions of the world to solve puzzles and slay enemies is an excellent twist to set it apart from the pack. That concept is unfortunately hamstrung by numerous, highly annoying technical issues and weak boss fights, but awesome explorable areas and fantastic buildcrafting more than make up for those shortcomings. If, like me, you’re a sucker for a quality action-RPG even amid a clear overabundance of them, then this reboot is well worth your time.

Lords of the Fallen is a solid soulslike, if at times a bit too safe. Hexworks' game neatly combines key elements of Dark Souls, Sekiro and even Bloodborne, mixing it all in a well-designed world, with a rich story and few original ideas. However, the game doesn't offer any major innovations, so it's unlikely to be a must-have for fans of the genre.

While it isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel with fresh new ideas, it instead acts as more of an evolution of the genre, refining ideas and concepts that have been tried and tested by other games.

Lords of the Fallen is an expertly crafted soulslike with innovative mechanics that add risk and reward, and wonder to exploration. Combat occasionally feels unpolished and some enemy placement is cheap but there’s a fascinating game here that ticks most of the soulslike boxes while adding some tricks of its own.

Lords of the Fallen is not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination. It has a well-crafted world, with interesting stories and plenty of player customization on offer. However, it’s tethered to a frustrating central mechanic that discourages exploration, the lifeblood of any Souls-like in my opinion, and falls into the trap of thinking that higher difficulty means more enemies with too much health. With some patching, this game could be extremely good, but based on its current form, I ultimately found it to be a frustrating exercise in someone copying the homework of a different game, but changing things ever so slightly — just enough for you to not notice at first glance, but with any scrutiny, noticing that it’s wrong.

Lords of the Fallen is an enjoyable, challenging game, and the aesthetics are out of this world, but it suffers at times from a lack of focus.