2023-10-21 15:44:24
Almost 10 years following the release of the original episode, the CI Games license returns with a sequel whose development has been eventful. Just like its predecessor, the title “Lords of the Fallen” for this year 2023 immerses us in a dark universe with gameplay very inspired by Souls.
Almost 10 years ago, Lords of the Fallen landed on PS4, Xbox One and PC. The original title from CI Games and Deck13 was among the first big games to be openly inspired by Dark Souls. If the critical reception around this first episode was mixed, the publisher quickly mentioned a sequel in 2014, which, you can see, took a long time before reaching us. This new episode had a very complicated gestation. It was initially also to be developed by Deck13 before the team was replaced by Defiant Studios, but whose work did not suit the publisher. In 2020, CI Games then founded a studio named HexWorks specifically to develop this new Lords of the Fallen. The project aimed to reboot the franchise and offer a technically impressive experience thanks to Unreal Engine 5.
If you’ve ever touched a Dark Souls, you won’t be lost in this new Lords of the Fallen. Here we find all the clichés of the Souls-like genre. The title is an Action-RPG with a very pronounced difficulty, death makes us lose a currency which we use to level up, which we must then recover by defeating the enemy who defeated us, all this in a universe dark and macabre dark fantasy… We also find a minimalist narration and a world enriched by writings and descriptions of objects.
The title lets us travel in two different dimensions.
In this reboot, we play the Black Crusader, a customizable character who is in possession of a magic lantern allowing him to travel between Axiom, the world of the living, and Umbral, the world of the dead. Embarked on a quest somewhat unwillingly, our character must then face a whole bunch of creatures in order to prevent the return of their master, the demon Adyr.
Lords of the Fallen does not aim to offer an experience close to that of Elden Ring. The new title from CI Games is not an open world and instead offers a structure close to the more classic Souls-like, namely an interconnected world and linear areas. The title also offers several classes to choose from at the start of the game which defines the statistics and starting equipment of our character, and which also varies the sensations of weight of our avatar. Whether for the heaviest or lightest classes, the gameplay remains very pleasant to learn and offers very convincing sensations. The title remains very close to the cult license from From Software, even if it offers several new gameplay features that allow it to stand out a little.
We find the characteristic difficulty of games of the genre.
The biggest difference comes from the use of the lantern which allows you to enrich both combat and exploration. During clashes, we have the possibility of extracting the souls of enemies to destabilize them and inflict great damage. Additionally, dying in the world of the living gives us a second chance to escape by sending us to the world of the dead with part of our life bar. But it is especially on the exploration side that the lantern proves useful since it allows you to glimpse the world of the dead, and even to go there at any time. Without any loading time, a similar world, but with a totally different atmosphere, then materializes all around us. This second dimension allows us to progress differently by offering inaccessible paths in the world of the living. This mechanic also offers its dose of risks since if you can enter it at any time, exiting requires finding specific places, and the more time you spend in the Umbral, the more ferocious the enemies are. The two dimensions sometimes require us to pass through cramped places which unfortunately cause some major camera problems.
Another important element to take into account, especially when fighting once morest tough enemies or the game’s many bosses, is that our opponents have a “stance” gauge that can be broken in different ways. Once this gauge is emptied, enemies are immobilized for a few seconds, which gives us the opportunity to launch a devastating blow. Destroying this posture requires, among other things, the use of parries made when our opponent hits us with one of his attacks. A difficult tool to master and above all double-edged since using the guard too often still drains our life bar, which can be recovered by hitting enemies. Lords of the Fallen rewards both aggression as well as our reflexes and knowledge of enemies.
The bosses remain challenges that can be overcome with a little training.
You will have understood, the title is not regarding the joy of living and offers a dark and bloody universe. It is technically very convincing by offering detailed environments while offering a beautiful artistic direction which gives a real character to the different areas. The play of colors and lights is completely different between Axiom and Umbral and manages to adequately highlight the very elaborate Dark Fantasy universe of the game. The music also contributes very rightly to this heavy atmosphere, with compositions that are not very memorable, but totally in tune. Where Lords of the Fallen proves disappointing is in its performance on console. Despite the presence of “performance” and “resolution” modes, the title struggles to remain fluid in several cases. We must also highlight several bugs and technical issues noted by users of the different versions of the game which, we hope, will be corrected with future updates.
This new Lords of the Fallen is an episode with a high difficulty and which very effectively offers the sensations already felt while playing its models. It will take a few dozen hours of play to see the end of the adventure, a lifespan to which we can add online multiplayer which allows several people to help each other or compete. In conclusion, this new Lords of the Fallen is a well-executed Souls-like, but which remains perhaps a little too close to its models. Despite interesting new ideas, they do not disrupt the formula established by Dark Souls in 2011, but simply provide a little extra that sets this new Lords of the Fallen apart from other games in the genre. Souls-like lovers will find their feet without any problem, but this new episode may not be unforgettable.
Conclusion
Almost 10 years following the release of the original episode, Lords of the Fallen returns with a complete reboot which, if it does not reinvent the genre, turns out to be a very convincing Souls-like. The result of a particularly chaotic development, we owe this new episode to HexWorks, a studio affiliated with the publisher CI Games and specially designed to work on this reboot. Simply titled like its predecessor, Lords of the Fallen tells the story of our character, the Black Crusader, who finds himself in possession of a lantern capable of sending us to the world of the dead. As the chosen one of this magical object, we will take part in a quest to prevent the demon Adyr from waking up. If the formula remains very similar to that of Dark Souls, with linear and interconnected areas, several new gameplay ideas set Lords of the Fallen apart from its models. Its very effective gameplay is supported by new ideas related to our famous lantern, which allows us, for example, to move from one world to another to find new things to explore. It still remains a little too attached to its traditions by offering familiar mechanics and a dark fantasy universe similar to that of the cult license from From Software, even if this new world remains very elaborate and interesting to explore. The artistic direction is very successful, and the title is visually charming, but several bugs and framerate issues tarnish the results, as well as major camera issues. Lords of the Fallen remains a successful souls-like that will please fans of the genre.
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Lords of the Fallen
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On aime :
The souls formula always effective
A well-thought-out exploration thanks to the two worlds
A good gameplay
The universe and its artistic direction
A good lifespan
We like less:
A little too close to his models
Camera problems
Performance issues and bugs
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#Test #Lords #Fallen #classic #effective #Soulslike
